Developing farmers’ capacity is a key component of Humidtropics to support innovation and expansion. Monitoring results in the Central Mekong Flagship Project has suggested ways of increasing its effectiveness. The saying goes that ‘It is better to give someone a fishing rod rather than a fish’. While this principle is the basis of sustainable development, it’s also true that the woman or man with the rod still needs to learn how to fish. Capacity development in Central Mekong is monitored not only by counting the number of participants but also through participatory evaluation … [Read more...]
Involving Farmers in Research to Facilitate Adoption of Agricultural Innovations
The ultimate goal of research on agricultural innovation is that it will be useful to farmers to enable them to enhance their productivity, income and living standards. Experience from Northwest Vietnam demonstrates that improving farmers’ participation in research will enable research uptake. Researchers found that farmers’ participation in research will increase their ownership of results and motivation to change their agricultural system for long-term benefits. Scientists can also benefit from farmers’ local knowledge. This was what we learned from the project Agroforestry for … [Read more...]
New Partnership Platform for Better Impact on Poverty in Northwest Vietnam
Northwest Vietnam is a mountainous area bordering China to the North and Lao PDR to the South. About 30 ethnic minorities with distinct languages and traditions, including cultivation practices live in the area, the most populous groups being Thai, H’mong and Nung. It is estimated that roughly 80 percent of the population’s livelihoods are based on agriculture. The area is also poor: poverty rates of Son La and Dien Bien are 29.4 percent and 38.6 percent, respectively, compared to the national average at 9.8 percent, according to statistics from Vietnam’s General Statistics Office. In … [Read more...]