19 scaling pathways: What makes innovation stick?
Proven agricultural innovations achieve lasting impact when farmers, businesses and public institutions have the means and incentives to adopt them. That requires partnerships, finance, policy, markets and delivery services—and these must be built into the approach from the outset.
Across Africa, Asia and Latin America, CGIAR’s Scaling for Impact (S4I) program brings together 19 Scaling Solution Tracks to develop these pathways. Each connects proven innovations with the systems needed to make them accessible, affordable and sustainable.
The country examples show what this means in practice. In Kenya, climate advisories depend on trusted channels that help farmers use weather information. In India and Bangladesh, mechanization services enable smallholders to access equipment without buying it themselves. In Egypt, introducing barley into staple bread requires coordinated changes across production, supply chains, food standards and public policy.
Together, these examples illustrate the portfolio’s central premise: demonstrating that an innovation works is one step; creating the conditions for sustained adoption is what turns it into impact at scale.
Designing for adoption from the outset
Successful pilots can struggle to expand when they lack connections to the institutions, markets and incentives needed to sustain them. A technology may deliver clear benefits, yet remain inaccessible or unaffordable to its intended users.
S4I’s Scaling Solution Tracks address these barriers from the beginning. Each brings together a proven innovation or bundle of innovations, a defined geography and target population, delivery mechanisms, strategic partners and clear ambitions for adoption and impact.
The guiding question is: What will enable this innovation to become part of everyday practice—and who will sustain it?
The portfolio applies this approach to three major challenges: closing the climate adaptation gap; delivering inputs and services through inclusive markets; and improving nutrition through demand, institutions and policy.
Kenya and India: Turning climate information into practical decisions
Climate information can help farmers respond to drought, erratic rainfall and other risks. Its value depends on whether it reaches them in time, offers relevant advice and supports decisions they can act on.
Scaling pathways in Kenya, Bangladesh and other countries connect weather forecasts with agronomic recommendations and delivery channels, including digital platforms and extension services. Trusted partners help translate the information into decisions about planting, fertilizer use and risk management.
In Kenya, SMS-based agro-weather advisories reached more than one million farmers. Among farmers surveyed, 50% expressed willingness to pay approximately US$0.58 per month—a useful indication of demand, although sustaining the service will require viable financing and delivery arrangements.
In India, digital advisory programs generated average yield increases of around 4%, demonstrating that modest benefits can matter when delivered consistently at scale.
These examples show why the delivery system deserves as much attention as the information itself. Reaching farmers is a starting point; enabling them to use and benefit from advice is the goal.
The same principle applies to solar-powered irrigation and water management. Their contribution to climate resilience depends on farmers being able to access, operate and maintain them over time.
India, Bangladesh and Vietnam: Making innovation accessible and affordable
Smallholders often face practical barriers to adopting improved inputs and equipment. High purchase costs, unreliable supply and limited advisory support can prevent uptake, even where technologies offer clear benefits.
In India and Bangladesh, mechanization service models allow farmers to access equipment without the expense of individual ownership. These models also create business opportunities for service providers, linking farmers’ needs with an incentive to keep delivering.
In Vietnam, pilot results from precision nutrient management demonstrate the potential benefits of combining technologies and practices. Across approximately 1,000 hectares in 2024–2025, mechanized direct seeding, fertilizer deep placement and associated practices reduced seeding rates by 30–50%, nitrogen fertilizer use by 20–30% and pesticide use by 10–30%.
Those results provide a foundation for expansion. Sustained adoption will also depend on access to machinery, suitable inputs, technical advice and service providers capable of supporting farmers beyond the pilot.
Across the portfolio, tracks covering improved seed systems, conservation agriculture, rice intensification, forage development and aquaculture address this wider challenge: building delivery systems that make innovations a practical choice for users.
Kenya and Egypt: Connecting production with demand for nutritious food
Improving nutrition requires connections between what farmers produce, what markets and institutions purchase, and what people choose to eat.
In Kenya, the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) is working to increase demand for healthier foods through public procurement, value chain development and consumer-focused innovations. Connecting producers with institutional buyers can help create dependable demand while improving access to nutritious foods.
In Egypt, a Scaling Solution Track is developing a pathway to incorporate locally produced barley into the subsidized balady bread system. This involves improved barley production and seed multiplication, alongside changes to supply chains, milling and baking standards, policy coordination and stakeholder engagement.
The initiative builds on field testing involving more than 51,000 loaves, 642 households and over 5,000 consumer evaluations. By 2030, it aims to achieve adoption of 10–20% barley-enriched balady bread in the governorates of Matrouh and New Valley, potentially reaching up to 800,000 people.
The Egyptian example makes the systems approach tangible. A bread recipe can demonstrate technical feasibility and consumer acceptance. Adoption at scale requires farmers, suppliers, millers, bakers and public institutions to make it work together.
Partnerships that sustain adoption
Across these country cases, different partners perform essential roles. Governments shape policy, public procurement and extension services. Businesses provide inputs, equipment, investment and market access. Farmer organizations help ensure solutions respond to local needs. Research organizations generate evidence and support learning.
Scaling Solution Tracks bring these actors together around shared goals, with attention to the responsibilities and incentives needed to sustain delivery.
Building these relationships early helps establish who will supply an innovation, who will pay for it, who will support users and who will take responsibility as project funding ends.
Measuring whether scale delivers lasting benefits
The country cases also point to a broader way of judging success. Numbers reached, trained or supplied help describe activity, but understanding impact requires evidence of adoption, benefits and continued use.
In Kenya, that means examining whether farmers act on climate advice and whether services can sustain delivery. In India and Bangladesh, it means understanding whether mechanization services remain affordable for farmers and viable for providers. In Egypt, it means tracking whether barley-enriched bread becomes embedded in production, procurement and consumption.
CGIAR’s 19 Scaling Solution Tracks are designed to test and strengthen these pathways. Their ambition is to make proven innovations part of functioning systems that continue delivering benefits long after individual projects end.
