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

L.Hiwasaki@cgiar.org ● 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