Assessing the nutrition potential of diverse local foods I am currently working on a nutrition initiative through the CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics (Humidtropics) to assess the potential of diverse local foods in Vietnam. We are looking at the potential of using diverse local foods to improve diet quality and diversity, especially for women of reproductive age and for children between 12-23 months. Malnutrition rates are high in Vietnam with a lack of dietary diversity thought to be a crucial factor. In the developing world diets often consist of … [Read more...]
Thailand R4D Platform Launched
Annual burning of vegetation and monoculture of maize on sloping lands characterize agriculture in Northern Thailand, as in many other upland areas of the Central Mekong. Farmers know the practice rapidly degrades their soil, but it generates cash and requires minimal effort. The maize is produced for the burgeoning livestock sector in Central Thailand; the farmers spend their cash to buy food. “Maize growing does not make people more food secure,†says Chao Adhikarn Somkid Charanadhammo, the abbot of Pong Kum Temple in Nan. The abbot started a local crop diversification program that … [Read more...]
Can Home Gardens be a Catalyst for Market-Based Integrated Systems?
At the start of the rainy season, some upland areas in Thailand and Vietnam offer a depressing sight of bare red-colored hill slopes, deep erosion gullies and the occasional charred tree trunk. Maize monocropping on sloping lands is the main direct culprit. The practice is destructive, yet profitable for farmers, at least in the short-run. The practice is stimulated by a high demand for maize from the rapidly growing livestock sector in other parts of the country, which is in turn related to rising urban incomes and associated changes in food habits. Hill slopes are difficult to cultivate, let … [Read more...]
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