Towards climate resilience in agriculture for Southeast Asia: an overview for decision-makers.

This sourcebook, and accompanying poster learning series, is aimed at policy makers, planners in government, local research administrators, civil society partners and researchers in Southeast Asia. Compiled and repackaged by Dr. Julian Gonsalves and a resource team, the Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) source book draws from a rich pool of literature from over 700 sources. The compilation provides succinct, relevant and timely information about climate challenges, and potential solutions from previously published work in a simplified or a shortened form from around the world. While the focus is on challenges specific to Southeast Asia, solutions may come from, or already have been tested elsewhere; it is for this reason that articles from around the world have been included, to demonstrate that adaptation efforts are already being implemented, and a wide range of approaches and strategies are available. This resource seeks to bridge the gap between what policy makers know, and what research shows can work on the ground to improve adaptation, increase productivity, enhance livelihoods, and contribute to sustainable development affected by climate change. The related poster series can be found here: http://hdl.handle.net/10568/71099

The Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA): From the Andes to Africa and Asia.

The PMCA is a flexible approach that engages smallholder farmers, market agents, researchers, and other service providers in a collective process that identifies and exploits potential business opportunities that can equitably benefit the diverse actors in a market chain. This approach was developed and first applied in the Andes, to increase the competitiveness of potato market chains and improve the livelihoods of small farmers. Subsequently, through South-South knowledge sharing, the approach has been introduced and enhanced by local organizations focusing on different market chains in different regions. The PMCA is most effective when implemented as part of a multi-pronged strategy that includes support for farmer organizations, business development, policy change, and public awareness. The International Potato Center (CIP) has not only spearheaded development of the PMCA but has supported the development of local capacities needed to facilitate successful innovation processes. Both the approach and an emerging network of PMCA practitioners around the world have been enriched by South-South knowledge exchange and feedback from field experiences

The PMCA, business development services and farmer business schools in Indonesia.

Il contributo si propone di presentare i principali risultati dell\u2019attivit\ue0 sperimentale, svolta presso l\u2019Universit\ue0 di Pavia, allo scopo di valutare le pressioni e quindi le forze esercitate su una parete vertica-le da una colata detritica. Il modello fisico consiste in una canaletta in cui correnti granulari sature, di concentrazioni note, vengo-no innescate mediante il sollevamento rapido di una paratoia. A valle della canaletta, \ue8 fissata, in dire-zione normale al fondo, una parete equipaggiata con trasduttori di pressione ad elevata frequenza. Il processo d\u2019impatto \ue8 stato ripreso con una videocamera ad alta velocit\ue0 e dai filmati si sono desunte le caratteristiche e la composizione del fronte. La quota delle corrente \ue8 stata registrata con un trasduttore laser di livello e la forza media \ue8 stata acquisita mediante una cella di carico. All\u2019impatto si \ue8 evidenziata la formazione di getti verticali, con picchi di pressione maggiori di oltre un ordine di grandezza rispetto alla pressione idrostatica associata alla quota del fronte e di durata dell\u2019ordine dei 10 ms. I valori misurati delle pressioni e delle forze sono stati confrontati con formulazio-ni analitiche tratte dalla letteratura e risultano bene approssimati da modelli teorici basati sull\u2019ipotesi di fluido perfetto

Market and supermarket issues for development. Enhancing farmers' capacity to link with markets.

Research and development efforts to strengthen farmers’ linkage with markets often focus on the systematic assessment of market chains, formulation of pro-poor policy recommendations, and the introduction of macro level enabling mechanisms. Meanwhile there is growing recognition of the critical need for action-learning approaches for enhancing smallholder producers’ capacity to better manage farm businesses within dynamic market chains. Traditional agricultural extension generally deals with production-focused, technology-driven learning content. Yet it is now widely acknowledged that farmers also need to acquire knowledge, skills and attitude to improve their participation in and benefit from market chains. The main objective of this paper is to analyze key learning approaches in enhancing farmers’ capacity to link with markets, in particular by comparing: 1) crop management- and marketing-based curricular frameworks, 2) farmer-group and chain wide participatory processes, 3) classroom- and field-oriented learning settings, and 4) single-activity and season-long learning designs. The paper assesses the emerging trends in farmer capacity strengthening towards a more experiential learning process with a market chain perspective — as exemplified by the participatory market chain approach and farmer business school. It highlights experiences and lessons from the root and tuber crops sector, drawn from collaborative work by the International Potato Center and partners in developing countries of Asia, Latin America and Africa. Finally the paper identifies needs and opportunities to further improve capacity strengthening approaches, including their potential adaptation and upscaling across agricultural market chains and contexts

Exploring the complementarities of in situ and ex situ conservation strategies for asian sweetpotato genetic resources: Proceeding of the 3rd International Workshop of the Asian Network for Sweetpotato Genetic Resources (ANSWER), Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, 2 - 4 October 2001

These proceedings have been compiled and jointly edited by CIP and IPGRI-APO based on the papers presented at this workshop dealing with objectives as set by ANSWER (Asian Network for Sweetpotato Genetic Resources) members. They contain the information on the progress made during the three years since the members met last time, but more importantly they record the commitments made by different partners for furthering sweetpotato genetic resources work in Asia. They also contain critical analysis of feasibility of on-farm conservation of sweetpotato diversity. They also contain the recommendations on strategies and approaches proposed at the workshop which will form the basis for future work of ANSWER. I hope that the publication and distribution of this volume will stimulate further research on sweetpotato genetic resources conservation and use in Asia