Overview of the Central Mekong Flagship, Humidtropics Lisa Hiwasaki, Jim Hammond, Ingrid Oborn, Jianchu Xu
Context and background
Key issues: • Unsustainable agricultural intensification
with adverse environmental impacts • Limited and unequal access to market • Low and decreasing productivity in upland
small-holder systems • Relatively low total farm income • Unequal access to natural resources.
Three action sites identified: • Green Triangle covering Northwest
Vietnam, North Lao PDR, and Yunnan, China • Golden Triangle covering Northwest Lao
PDR, Northern Thailand, Eastern Myanmar, and Yunnan, China
• Development Triangle covering Eastern Thailand, Northeast Cambodia and Central Highland Vietnam
Entry points identified: • Integrated livestock systems • Improved tree-crop systems e.g., ‘green
rubber’ • Sustainable food crop/multi-crop systems,
e.g., improved cassava-and banana-based systems, fruits and vegetables.
Opportunities and constraints
Opportunities: • - Existing “fast-track” activities, e.g.,
agroforestry for livelihood project in Northwest Vietnam and “green-rubber” in Yunnan, China, contributing greatly.
Constraints: • Lack of effective coordination of
activities carried out by Humidtropics partners
• Lack of efficient means of communication
Partners need to support each other to deliver the program effectively
Establishing “core team” may help.
• A mix of activities: existing bilateral projects & “full-track” activities with limited funding
R4D research grants provide new opportunities and support coherence.
Pictures
Conclusions and ways forward • 2014 will be a major year of research progress:
Situational Analyses, Baseline Studies and Entry
Point Identification will occur in each Action Site,
usually in more than one location per Action Site
(AS)
• Both Fast Track and Full Track processes will run in
each AS
• R4D platforms launched in each AS and R4D grants
will stimulate joint action research
• Outputs, e.g., journal articles, policy briefs will be
developed & distributed
• Introduction of results-based management and
recruitment of a monitoring & evaluation officer will
increase efficiency & coherence.
Progress Meetings to launch AA held in May 2013. • Green triangle:
- meeting held to launch AS May 2013 - action site & R4D platform meeting held
August 2013 - situational analysis in NW Vietnam
completed April 2014 - R4D platform activities will be intensified
first half of 2014. • Golden triangle:
- situational analysis to be launched May 2014 (Northern Thailand)
- research conducted on “mushrooms for trees and people” in Laos, Thailand, and Southern China
- “Green rubber” launched in March 2014. • Development triangle:
- stakeholder workshop in May 2014 - situational analysis ongoing.
Flagship facilitation and
learning • Led by ICRAF by Flagship
manager based in Hanoi • “Core Team” will be established
in May 2014, and will facilitate coordination & smooth implementation of activities, and to raise additional funding •Research is led by CG Centres
(ICRAF, ILRI, Bioversity, CIP, CIAT, IWMI), involves int’l/regional organizations (AVRDC, CIRAD) and national partner organizations •Actively engages stakeholders
including farmer organizations, women’s groups, development organizations and private sector • Efforts are made to make sure
research components are led by national partners to ensure ownership.
Lisa HIWASAKI
[email protected] ● ICRAF, Hanoi, Vietnam
Prepared for a capacity development workshop of the
CGIAR Research Program on Humidtropics, Nairobi, 29 April – 2 May 2014
http://humidtropics.cgiar.org/
This document is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution –Non commercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License April 2014
April- May 2014 April- May 2014