IMPACTLite Tool

The Integrated Modelling Platform for Mixed Animal Crop systems (IMPACT) was initially developed to encourage data sharing through standard protocols, and allowing tools to be linked to facilitate evaluations of various farming systems. The IMPACT model has since then purposely been turned into a 'light' version by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), as commissioned by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). IMPACTLite was designed and implemented for field work. The survey was carried out in 15 of CCAFS benchmark sites in twelve countries across East Africa, West Africa and South Asia. The tool helps capture the diversity of farming activities and characterize the main agricultural production systems. It is really useful to anyone with the ambition to better understand farmers' production systems and their dynamics. In addition to that the IMPACTLite tool provides a unifying framework for collecting data. The dataset includes detailed information and data about household composition, agriculture production systems and activities, in addition to information about land and labour allocation within households, farmers’ income from on-farm and off-farm activities as well as household consumption on food and assets. A gender-lens, related to control over resources, land ownership and allocation of activities, has also been added to the datasets. Researchers can easily download the data and figures that have been prepared. It is also possible to replicate the survey in other sites, which can then be used to compare with existing data. Researchers could develop other surveys building on the existing IMPACTlite existing tool and data