Humidtropics, a CGIAR Research Program led by IITA

When Scientists Learned to Become Communicators

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The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that is has taken place. George Bernard Shaw The main job of scientists is to do research; starting from observing situations, asking questions, conducting research, analyzing data, making conclusions, publishing results, and suggesting further research, and the cycle starts again, and again. The desirable outlets for the results of scientific research are peer-reviewed journals as they are deemed to be the most credible source, for fellow scientists. The scientists also disseminate their results at conferences, which are also for … [Read more...]

Public Policies and their Influence on Rural Women’s Agency

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The phenomenon of single women and female heads of household is widespread in the Nicaraguan countryside. It is estimated that 34% of rural households are headed by women and this proportion increases in the poorest strata. The participation of women in productive agricultural activities also increases with the degree of poverty and can make up more than 50% of the workforce. In spite of the massive participation of rural women in productive processes, rural women’s access to productive assets such as land, credit, technical assistance, and inputs remains marginal in most of the regions of … [Read more...]

Humidtropics to Enhance Food Security in Ivory Coast

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Humidtropics launched its Ivory Coast Action Site last September at Pullman Hotel in Abidjan. The workshop gathered representatives from universities, national and international research centers, farmer organisations, private sector and civil society. The ceremony was opened by the representative of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The workshop provided the opportunity to inform participants about Humidtropics and its integrated research for development approach, which entails the establishment and operations of Research for Development (R4D) Platforms at Action Site … [Read more...]

Drivers of Change for Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia

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In the western part of Ethiopia, implementation of Humidtropics' research agenda is well underway in the midland and highland areas of Jeldu District. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), in partnership with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Potato Center (CIP), has been working to help farmers improve agricultural productivity, natural resource management and tackle challenges such as high level of degradation, serious erosion and loss of soil fertility, as well as unstable land use and market failure. Since early 2014, IWMI has … [Read more...]

Digital Libraries for Better Access to Information in Remote Territories

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Although we are in the information age, information is not always available where and when we need it. This is especially true in remote territories of developing countries, where it remains a challenge to generate simple delivery mechanisms to provide local organizations and farm households with easy access to multiple sources of information on critical themes that concern them. To meet this challenge, Humidtropics embarked on the journey of building and distributing digital libraries on critical themes identified by the partner organizations in the Nicanorte Action Site. These digital … [Read more...]