Humidtropics, a CGIAR Research Program led by IITA

Equitable Rural Development: Impact Study on Public Policies and Women

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Seeking to share the results of the Humidtropics study on the Impact of Public Policies on Rural Women and their Protagonism for Equitable, Integrated Rural Development, 43 representatives from 20 member organizations of the Nicanorte Territorial Learning Alliances gathered to discuss the socio-economic implications of the country’s public policy framework as it affects the particular case of rural women. The study delved into the public policies and programs that have had an impact on women’s lives in the area’s rural communities since the decade of the 80s until the present. … [Read more...]

New Partnership Platform for Better Impact on Poverty in Northwest Vietnam

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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...]

Marketing Analysis Confirms the Intertwined Nature of Agricultural Production, Marketing and Natural Resources Management Systems in Uganda

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Last week the Humidtropics, Dryland Systems and Aquatic Agricultural Systems CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) met in Ibadan, Nigeria for the International Conference on Integrated Systems Research. The purpose of these three ‘systems’ CRPs is to identify and make the most of the complex intertwined nature of the agricultural production, marketing, and natural resources management systems to contribute to reducing poverty, improving incomes, nutrition and the status of women and other marginalized groups in humid tropical, drylands and aquatic ecosystems. The preliminary results from my … [Read more...]

Improving Dietary Diversity and Quality through Systems Innovation: a Pilot Study from Vietnam

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As part of her research for Humidtropics, Jessica Raneri, Nutrition Programme Specialist, Bioversity International, explains some of the challenges in gathering baseline data in the Mai Son district in Son La Province, Vietnam, to assess local food biodiversity and identify opportunities for improving diet quality and diversity. The focus is on women of child-bearing age and children between 12-23 months – an age group part of the critical 1000 day window for child development and the stage where they are able to consume a more diverse diet. As such, it is from this age group that … [Read more...]

Scientists Call for Systems Research in Agriculture to Realize the Sustainable Development Goals

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From March 3 to 6, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) hosted the global systems research and development community at the International Conference on Integrated Systems Research for Sustainable Intensification in Smallholder Agriculture. Social and agricultural scientists participating in the conference are stressing the importance of agricultural research to be done with a holistic systems perspective, and for better links between research on improvements in specific commodities and natural resources management. Dr. Frank Rijsberman, CEO of the CGIAR Consortium, … [Read more...]