Son tra, the miracle fruit behind the tea that will simultaneously save forests, raise the income of smallholder farmers in Northwestern Vietnam, transform their landscapes, and be healthy for you. Son tra, aka the H’mong apple, taorung, maccam, or macsamcha depending on whether you are in Vietnam, India, Myanmar, or some southern provinces of China, is an indigenous fruit tree species growing naturally in forests around the Himalayas. It is especially abundant in areas populated by the H’mong people in Northwestern Vietnam, hence the local name "H'mong apple" (Docynia Indica). Listed as … [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...]