Plantain is one of the major crops of smallholder farmers in Nigeria. It is produced both for food consumption in the households and for cash through its transformation into various products that are marketed. Using Humidtropics' integrated systems approach, a team of researchers from FARA and IITA is working with key actors in the Nigeria Action Site to improve the plantain value chain (i.e. to effectively deliver valuable plantain products to the market, and to customers). Using the Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Innovation Systems (RAAIS) diagnostic tool, the four Innovation Platforms … [Read more...]
Central Vietnam R4D Platform and Action Site Launched
Humidtropics aims to address agricultural systems constraints in the humid tropics. In the Central Highlands of Vietnam, major agricultural challenges identified by researchers include soil degradation, physical water availability and market constraints. The overall aim at this early stage of the work under Humidtropcis is to inform partners, identify entry themes and research sites in a participatory process and prioritize research ideas. To this end, Humidtropics core Partners CIAT and ILRI launched a Research for Development (R4D) Platform and Action Site planning meeting in Boun Ma … [Read more...]
The Case of Soybean as Agricultural System Connector
At the beginning of its establishment, the Humidtropics Innovation Platform of the Kiboga and Kyankwanzi districts in Uganda identified the following commodities as important components of the main farming system: maize, soybean, agro-forestry and livestock (both districts selected poultry and piggery, and in Kyankwanzi, cattle was added as it is part of the wider cattle corridor in Uganda). With the two districts being established maize growers, the Platform decided to first focus on the soybean and maize components of the system. Later on, they would start building up the system … [Read more...]