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...]
R4D Platform Launch in China
The fourth Humidtropics Platform in the Mekong region was launched on September 24 in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China. Fifty stakeholders attended from government, research, business and NGO sectors. Two thirds of the participants were local, and the remainder came from Yunnan or National level organisations. Xishuangbanna is famous within China for biodiversity and cultural diversity: it covers 0.2% of China’s land area, but harbors 16% of China’s plant species, 22% of mammals, and 36% of birds. There are eight distinct major ethnic groups with separate languages, and many … [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...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- Next Page »