Humidtropics, a CGIAR Research Program led by IITA

Road to Self-Reliance: the Story of an Innovation Platform in Uganda

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Innovation platforms are structures that bring together different stakeholders from the same area to identify solutions to common problems. They exist as long as necessary to handle existing challenges and new ones that might emerge during the process, and they take advantage of opportunities that help them create solutions to existing problems. Past experience has shown that when platforms are driven by specific projects, there is often a risk that they will cease functioning if funding no longer becomes available. For platform members, stakeholders, and the communities who benefit from the … [Read more...]

Public Policy Analysis with a Gender Lens: the Case of a High-Profile Program in Nicaragua

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Humidtropics recently developed a practical toolkit for public policy analysis with a gender lens (in Spanish) that can be easily implemented by organizations that normally do not have staff with specialized and formal training to carry out policy research. It is a collection of nine tools, which are used in a sequential manner to generate outputs essential for public policy analysis with a gender lens. The toolkit follows a sequential process that starts with setting the scene by discussing critical concepts and myths surrounding public policy relevance and impact. A timeline is then used … [Read more...]

Involving Farmers in Research to Facilitate Adoption of Agricultural Innovations

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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...]