This is a follow-up story on a series of special reports published in 2015 from Vihiga County, Kenya, where Humidtropics researchers are empowering the community to better use available agricultural biodiversity to improve nutrition all the year round. In this report, the author describes a series of events organized by the communities to start the interventions that aim to improve their nutrition. These events included everyone bringing along their diverse local food dishes, including a dish of living termites which are a great source of animal protein. Rural populations in developing … [Read more...]
Times of Change: Organizational Innovation in Nicaragua’s Territorial Learning Alliance
In the center-north region of Nicaragua, local organizations working with coffee, cocoa, and mixed crop-livestock production systems have joined forces under the Territorial Learning Alliances launched by Humidtropics. As this initiative continues to boost networks of collaboration and transcend territories, local agricultural development organizations are participating in knowledge and learning spaces that are empowering them to take on leadership roles to foster organizational and territorial innovation."Innovation can only be achieved when we’re clear about the environment, and … [Read more...]
Not So Amaizing: The Need for Agricultural Land Use Diversification in Northern Thailand
Life as a farmer in the mountainous north of Thailand is not easy. The land can be steep, soil quality is poor and water for irrigation is largely unavailable. Markets are also far away and inputs are hard to get by. Yet, modern life requires cash for nearly everything.Against the backdrop, government extension introduced feed maize as a cash crop in the early 1980s. The crop is ideal for poor farmers as it requires little care, traders come to supply inputs and buy the output, and the government guarantees a minimum selling price. Maize has become an important source of income for many … [Read more...]
Case Studies: Building Multi-Stakeholder Processes in Burundi, Rwanda and DRC
Since early 2014, multi-stakeholder platforms at (sub)national and field site level have been established under Humidtropics/CIALCA in Central Africa. Multi-stakeholder platforms form part of a strategy to facilitate demand-driven research for development to achieve development outcomes at scale. But multi-stakeholder processes are complex, and there is still limited knowledge about their success factors and pathways towards impact.To capture the processes and lessons learned within Humidtropics, three case studies have been developed around multi-stakeholder platforms in Burundi, Rwanda … [Read more...]
World Science Day for Peace and Development – How Humidtropics Empowers People to Design the Solutions They Need
Established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2001, the World Science Day for Peace and Development (WSDPD) is celebrated on November 10 each year. This is a day to highlight UNESCO's mandate and commitment to science. However, peace and development cannot be addressed unless we use tools that include the voices of all who are involved.Successful agricultural research for development (AR4D) should go beyond the generation of quantitative research findings, to ensure that these findings feed into context-relevant development interventions. … [Read more...]