FIPS’ in-house research team ensures the technologies it promotes are suitable for smallholder farmers by co-creating research with the farmers who will use them. The team also studies how to influence behavioural change among small-scale agricultural producers, helping design training and communication approaches that encourage adoption of improved practices.
FIPS research programmes focus on adapting and validating inclusive, scalable solutions that improve food security, soil health, climate resilience, and rural livelihoods. Priority is given to frugal technologies—those with low barriers to entry, quick returns, and manageable risk—that can deliver practical benefits for smallholder farmers.
We work with leading universities, research centres, and CGIAR institutions to co-design farmer-centred research that generates rigorous evidence within real farming systems across Sub-Saharan Africa. With over two decades of experience and deep roots in rural communities, FIPS provides a stable platform to design, test, and scale innovations that reflect the social and economic realities farmers face, while maintaining robust safeguarding and inclusion standards.
Through an extensive network of Village-based Advisors (VBAs), Farm Business Agents (FBAs), youth enterprises, Farmer Research Networks (FRNs), and Farmer Learning Networks (FLNs), FIPS enables rapid and ethical recruitment of research participants and delivers studies at scale in authentic smallholder settings.
Join forces with FIPS to design and test climate-smart solutions that reflect the real-world challenges of rural communities.
Learn more about the value chains we support, where FIPS works, our impact, case studies, and publications.
FIPS research has led to frugal innovations that are restoring soil health – including:
Testing:
Testing
Quality seedlings, nutrition, and management:
With more than two decades of experience and a deep community footprint, FIPS offers partners an unparalleled platform to design, test, and scale innovations that work for smallholder farmers.