Innovation for African Farming Systems

COINS aims to address persistent land degradation and the challenges faced by smallholder crop–livestock farming systems in semi-arid West Africa by developing context-specific, scalable and climate-resilient Sustainable Intensification (SI) pathways. The project deploys a multi-tiered approach—Targeting, Enabling and Advising—to integrate field-level data, agronomic innovations, socio-economic insights and digital advisory tools. This includes activities such as identifying suitable SI options, supporting adoption through tailored extension mechanisms, integrating financial and insurance services for risk reduction, and generating evidence-based policy recommendations for sustainable land use and governance.