A bi-annual newsletter published by the SRI-LMB Project (A Project Funded by the European Union), Asian Center of Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (ACISAI), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)

SRI-LMB Newsletter Vol. 2, Issue 1: Year 2014

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

This project is funded by the European Union This project is implemented by the Asian Institute of Technology.

IN FOCUS

In th

is Is

sue: ACISAI

Steering Committe Meeting page 5

Regional Training of Trainers

page 3

SRI-LMB welcomes new staffs

page 6

National Inception Planning Workshops page 2

Inauguration ceremony of CFPAR by Mr. Chanvit Tapsuphan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Office of Non formal and Informal Education at Uttaradit province

During the course of ongoing training, 4 intensive training slots coinciding with 4 important crop development and growth stages, i.e. , transplanting/sowing, tillering, flowering, and at harvest stage are being organized. During these intensive phases, SMART farmers are developing skills starting from designing field experiments to collecting and analyzing data systematically then discussing the key learnings. In addition, they are honing skills on other aspects such as rice processing, group dynamics and communication skills.

A baseline survey preceded the setting of training program, i.e., CFPAR and based on consensus and local need three experiments are ongoing in Uttradit; a) Comparison of age of seedling of rice under different water regime; b) Comparison of low density of sowing (2 seeds /hill) with high density (8-10 seeds/hill); c) Comparison of SRI practices with local farm-ing practice. Whereas in Surin CFPAR, two experiments, i.e. Compari-son of seedling age, and Low density sowing are underway. Till date both provinces have completed the three intensive training slots and have organized mid-season Field Day attended by some 40 farmers in each prov-ince from their community to learn from these experiments. A detailed baseline survey-- involving emerging and firming up FPAR group-- and its analysis has completed and list of experiments are being firmed up for the FPAR from July 2014 onwards.

Central Farmer’s Participatory Action Research (CFPAR) at Surin and Uttaradit provinces,Thailand

Action Research : Farmers in Action

page 4

Message from Team Leader

Twenty SMART rice farmers including women and landless from both provinces, Surin and Uttradit, in North and Northeast Thailand respectively, are actively participating in the season long intensive capacity building training program from March – July 2014.These hands-on training aims to develop capacity of the SMART farmers to be able to set locally needed experiments called as “Farmers Participatory Action Research” (FPAR) to adapt and adopt SRI crop management practices for healthy and profitable crops. Under the leadership of SMART farmers, the action research will be set up in six selected districts, 3 in each province (Surin and Uttaradit), from wet season 2014 and will involve another 25-30 farmers from their communities called as FPAR. The action will continue for another two to three years.

“The intensification of smallholders agriculture with emphasis on diversity, synergy, recycling, and integration to global economy, and social processes that value community participation and empowerment, could be perhaps one

of the viable options to meet present and future food needs. Given the present and predicted near future cli-mate, energy, economic and food insecurity scenarios, SRI approach seems as one of the most robust pathways towards designing productive and resilient agricultural system that can feed the food insecure population and rest of the world.

The SRI-LMB, which has engaged 15 partners so far, national and international and government min-istries, has initiated the agricultural intensification work in the Lower Mekong River Basin countries: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. The quest is to develop practical learning and knowledge on the subject so called “sustainable agriculture development”, one that results in improved farmers well-being and social equity while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. Our ‘SRI journey’ continues…” Dr. Abha Mishra

Vol. 2, Issue 1: Year 20142

National Inception and Planning Workshops

National Inception and Planning Workshops (NIPWs) were organized in each of the four project countries, namely, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. The main objectives of these NIPWs were a) to inform the wider national level audience on the project, its goal, objective and activities; b) to revisit the project definition, goals, overall work plan; c) to finalize the country strategy paper; d) to formulate country specific log-frames, responsibility of each stakeholder and bud-gets; and e) to form National Steering Committees. The workshops were attended by rice farmers, governments, ministries, NGOs, national universities and research in-stitutions along with AIT and its project partners FAO and Oxfam.

The NIPW for Thailand was inaugurated by Dr. Shob-hakar Dhakal, Chair for the Steering Committee of Asian Center of Innovation for Sustainable Agricul-ture Intensification (ACISAI) and Associate Professor of Energy Field of Study, AIT. Mr. Ars Phonhet and Mrs. Wimonmal Rinthaisong, the Directors of Voca-tional Training and Development Center (VTDC) for Uttaradit and Surin provinces respectively, attended the workshop. Also present were Dr. Mads Korn, the focal point for SRI-LMB project from the EU Delegation, Thailand and Mr. Jan Willem Ketelaar, the focal point for SRI-LMB from FAO. CFPAR is already underway in Thailand since March 2014.

In Cambodia, NIPW was inaugurated by Ms. Nina Brand-strup, FAO Representative and Mr. Ngin Chhay, Direc-tor of the Department of Rice Crop (DRC), the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). NIPW in Vietnam was inaugurated by Mr. Ngo Tien Dung, National IPM Programme Coordinator and Deputy Direc-tor, Plant Protection Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Similarly, in Lao PDR the NIPW was co-chaired by Dr. Somnuck Thirasack, Deputy Director General of the Department of Agricultural Extension and Cooperatives.

The NIPWs confirmed that the project is inline with national policy and priorities in all four LMB countries. Improving the rice productivity sustainably is common goal for all. The CFPAR in Cambodia and Vietnam is planned to begin from early July 2014 whereas in Lao PDR preparation is in full swing to setup the CFPAR as soon as possible.

Group photo of National Inception and Planning Workshop at Hanoi, Vietnam (23-24 May 2014)

National Inception and Planning Workshop at AIT , Thailand ( 29-30 Jan 2014)

Group discussion: National Inception and Planning Workshop at Vientiane, Lao PDR (16-17 June 2014)

Training session, National Inception and Planning Workshop at Phnom Penh,Cambodia (21-22 May 2014)

Vol. 2 , Issue 1: Year 20143

Regional Training of Trainers

Regional Training of Trainers participants from the LMB countries- Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam.

A Regional Training of Trainers (ToT) was organized from 28 August – 07 September 2013 at Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Pathumthani, Thai-land attended by Project Management Unit Coordinators (PMU), Training Experts, and Local Management Unit (LMU) Coordinators from 4 proj-ect countries namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam.

The training highlighted the project’s goals and works along with country specified implementation issues. Also, to develop common understanding among participants about the con-cept and principles of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and its relevance for rice farmers in rain-fed production

systems. ToT aimed to familiarize and strengthen the scientific capacity for experimental design, implementation and analysis, including development of a clear understanding among par-ticipants about the concept of partici-patory action research. The training’s other objectives were to agree upon the country-specific criteria for district, village, CFPAR site, farmers, land-less selection for project-supported interventions and to develop the design of the field school diaries suitable for chosen provinces.

The Central Farmer’s Action Research (CFPAR) process and its concept were developed and discussions on the curricula and session plans for the up-

coming CFPAR were concluded. ToT also discussed and integrated gender aspects into learning curricula and in practice of CFPAR and FPAR process and along with Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) aspects to support the CFPAR work.

In addition, few participants from North East Thailand also joined the ToT. AIT and its partner organiza-tion notably FAO-IPM and Oxfam- America provided inputs to the conduct of various sessions of the work. All discussion session were linked to the field exercises either conducted in-side AIT Rice Farm or during the field visit to Uttaradit Province.

Regional ToT, Thailand - Capacity building and knowledge & skill development

activities of the trainers participated from 4 LMB countries - Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam.

Vol. 2, Issue 1: Year 20144

Action Research The main intervention vehicle for this project is action research and capacity building using Farmer’s Field School (FFS) platforms to achieve the goals of improved food and nutritional security and will include women and landless and/or land-poor from the communities from selected districts of 10 Provinces in 4 lower Mekong River Basin Countries.

Farmers in Action ... Encouraging rainfed farmers to experiment and devel-op locally suited technological suit under the guiding principles of SRI. In the process of building capaci-ties of women, men and landless farmers the “science culture” (i.e., designing, documenting and discussing result) is being introduced along with bookkeeping and effective networking for a knowledge rich ecologically sustainable and profitable rice production systems.

Vol. 2 , Issue 1: Year 20145

The Asian Center of Innovation for Sustainable Agricul-ture Intensification (ACISAI) conducted its first steering committee meeting at AIT on 11 November 2013. The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Prabhat Kumar, ACISAI Centre Director and Dr. Abha Mishra, ACISAI Center Co-director.

The current activities of the Center covered organizing workshops, research activities, AIT student internships, policy dialogues as a means of providing platform for development and fund raising activity for the Center. Furthermore, the Center is partnering with School of Environment Resources and Development (SERD) to develop a Professional Master Degree course on Sustain-able Agriculture Intensification (PM-SAI). This endeavor has been moving forward for approval of the Academic Development Review Committee (ADRC) of AIT.

The Center aims to strengthen one of the thematic rsearch areas of the AIT Research Strategy, i.e., “Sustainable Land and Wa-ter Resource Management (SLWRM)” by involving students, faculties, and researchers along with SRI-LMB stakeholders.

In addition to this initiative, research students were encour-aged to submit proposals to the Center relevant to the theme such as: low carbon rice practices, GHG emission in SRI and conventional practices, climate change affecting land use, rice cultivation and crop productivity, root plasticity and developing matching management practices, arthro-pod diversity and impacts and effects of adoption of SRI practices in the LMB countries.

Also the agenda included discussions of the Terms of Reference for the Steering Committee members. The ToR consisted of the guidelines for the members to know about their role, composition, appointment of the steering committee, function, meetings, decision-making, and chair. Subsequently, the selection of the chair was carried out the same day. Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal has kindly agreed for his appointment as the first chairman for the ACISAI Steering Committee. The Chairman was then selected based on the rotation from SC members. His term would be until the next meeting of the SC.

ACISAI Concludes First Steering Committee Meeting

ACISAI Steering Committee Members

Asian Institute of TechnologyGround flr. Admin bldg.P.O. Box 4, Klong LuangPathumthani, 12120ThailandTel. no. +(662) 524 5823

Dr. Shobhakar DhakalEnergy, Field of StudySchool of Environment Resources and Devel-opment (SERD)Asian Institute of TechnologyEmail: shobhakar@ait.asia

Dr. Mokbul Morshed AhmadRegional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP)School of Environment Resources and Devel-opmentAsian Institute of TechnologyEmail: morshed@ait.asia

Dr. Anil Kumar AnalFood Engineering and Bioprocess Technology (FEBT)School of Environment Resources and Devel-opment (SERD)Asian Institute of TechnologyEmail: anilkumar@ait.asia

Dr. Avishek DattaAgribusiness Management, Agricultural Sys-tems and Engineering (ASE)School of Environment Resources and Devel-opment (SERD)Asian Institute of TechnologyEmail: datta@ait.asia

Dr. Yuosre BadirManaging Technology, Innovation & New Product DevelopmentSchool of Management (SOM)Asian Institute of TechnologyEmail: badir@ait.asia

Vol. 2, Issue 1: Year 2014 6

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

This project is funded by the European Union This project is implemented by the Asian Institute of Technology.

SRI-LMB Newsletter is published bi-annually by SRI-LMB Publications Unit. We welcome your input, preferably in English. The deadline for submissions is on 30 May for June issue and 30 November for December issue. We reserve the right to edit all contributions.

Please send inputs to Ms. Shreya Pradhan, Media & Communication Officer-SRI-LMB (shreyap@ait.asia) and cc to Dr. Abha Mishra, Project Manager-SRI-LMB, (abhamishra@ait.asia).

SRI-LMB welcomes new staffs ! Ms. Dang Bao Nguyet joined as Policy and Communication Officer for SRI-LMB project. She is currently playing a lead role in policy works starting from research preparations for policy advocacy related activities and initiatives to the development and delivery of policy and communication documents.

She has been working for 12 years in the development sector in Vietnam with a wide range of partners from grassroots to national policy level and multilateral level. Some of her key expertise areas include: community development, poverty reduction, ethnic

minority and indigenous issues, agricultural and rural devel-opment, adult education and capacity building. She holds a Master degree in Public Management and Economics from Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. She has a strong research background and is familiar with project management; participatory, results-based and rights-based approaches. She is based in Oxfam America East Asia Regional Office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Contact details: Cell (Cambodia) : +855 17 504 287 Cell (Vietnam): +84 916 279 792 Email:NDang@oxfamamerica.org; Skype: nguyetdang

Mr. Digpal Bahadur joined as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist for SRI-LMB project. He has key expertise in sev-eral areas like project cycle management, livelihood

promotion of marginalized communities, community development, local governance and institution building, and research, anal-ysis and advocacy. He is a graduate of Tata Institute of Social Science Mumbai (India) and has worked with many organizations in India such as BASIX, Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Pravah. He has worked as Senior Pro-gram Officer in AIT for the development of M&E mechanisms/tools which includes providing support to overall coordination to the IFAD funded project “APMAS” in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam.

Contact details Office: +662-524-5822 ; Cell: +66880074130 Email: digpal@ait.ac.th

Ms. Ariya Watthana-karnkitikun joined as Programme Officer Thai-land for SRI-LMB project. Her works includes ensur-ing data collection from field experimentation, li-

aising with national/international agencies and governmental bodies and enhance proj-ect’s visibility in Thailand through develop-ment of appropriate media. Her expertise areas are greenhouse gas, biogas, sustain-able development, genetic engineering and biotechnology.She has also worked with King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), National Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, World Vegetable Center of East and South-east Asia (AVRDC-ESEA) and Bayerische Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft.

Contact details Office: +662-524-5823 ; Cell: +66873370710 Email: ariyaw@ait.ac.th

For more information please visit our social media links: https://www.facebook.com/sri.lmb https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5P9MFLsKIbshwMDY918XXw http://www.slideshare.net/srilmb/ https://plus.google.com/photos/100435612470757772541/albums

Ms. Shreya Pradhan joined as a Media & Communication Officer for SRI-LMB project. She will be responsible in sup-porting implementation and visibility action of the

project and liasioning and communicating with national and regional media, also with project partners and associates for any media related matter. Her expertise include informa-tion technology, information management, database management, knowledge dis-covery, website development and web content management system. She holds a Master degree in Information Manage-ment from AIT. She has also worked with organizations in Nepal namely Scott Wilson Nepal and World Wildlife Fund (WWF Nepal).

Contact details Office: +66-2-524-5823; Cell: +66845419201 E-mail: shreyap@ait.ac.th