In COINS, methods of sustainable intensification of agriculture are being catalogued with a total of 14 German and African partners, evaluated in terms of their suitability in local contexts in innovation labs in Ghana and Senegal under real conditions, and the appropriate measures implemented on the ground.

West Africa faces the major challenge of ensuring sustainable livelihoods in the face of climate change, global uncertainties (e.g. the current COVID-19 pandemic), social transformation and a growing population. To ensure long-term food security and food sovereignty while conserving natural resources, efficient land management is needed. One aspect of this can be sustainable intensification (SI) of agriculture, i.e., increasing productivity without taking up new land.

In the recently launched COINS project (Co-developing innovations for sustainable land management in West African smallholder farming systems), a total of 13 German and African partners are cataloging SI methods, evaluating them for their suitability in local contexts in innovation laboratories in Ghana and Senegal under real conditions, and implementing the appropriate measures on site. As part of the COINS consortium, the Geomatics working group, under the lead of Dr. Valerie Graw and in collaboration with the research group interdisciplinary geoinformation sciences, Jun. Prof. Dr. Andreas Rienow, deals with knowledge systems to support sustainable farming methods and coordinates together with Manobi Africa Tier 3 ‘Advising’. This includes the development of guidelines for the establishment of advisory services for the implementation of sustainable farming and land use practices and the formulation of policy recommendations in this regard. Digital technologies play an important role throughout the project. The landscape approach is based on modeling, data science, and Earth observation to promote improved cropping practices and agricultural management practices for SI and soil rehabilitation practices on degraded soils, and to support efficient knowledge transfer.

COINS is funded by the BMBF under the funding code 01LL2204E from 2022-2026.

The partners are:

• German Aerospace Center (DLR), German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD), Weßling, Germany
• Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany
• United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), Bonn, Germany
• University of Hohenheim (UHOH), Stuttgart, Germany
• University of Bonn (UBonn), Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), Institute for Food and Resource Economics (ILR), Bonn, Germany
• University of Ghana (UGHA), Soil & Irrigation Research Centre, School of Agriculture, Accra, Ghana
• United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA), Accra, Ghana
• West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
• International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Manobi Africa Group Company, Dakar, Senegal
• Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rurale (IPAR), Dakar, Senegal
• Savanna Agriculture Research Institute (SARI), Tamale, Ghana
• Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise Limited (ACRE Africa), Nairobi, Kenya