Poster prepared by Lisa Hiwasaki, Jim Hammond, Ingrid Oborn and Jianchu Xu for the Capacity Development Workshop of the CGIAR Research Program on Humidtropics, Nairobi, 29 April–2 May 2014

1. 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/
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April- May 2014
April- May 2014