Checklist: Gender-inclusive actionable agro-advisories

This checklist aims to assist producers and translators in developing agro-advisories (forecast and forecast-based advice) that are gender-inclusive and useful for both men and women farmers. It presents five indicators to determine the actionability of such agro-advisories:(1) What information is available?(2) If it is available, is it accessible?(3) If available and accessible, is it on time?(4) If available, accessible, and on time, can end-users understand it?(5) If available, accessible, timely, and understandable, is it useful

9 steps to scale climate-smart agriculture: Lessons and experiences from the climate-smart villages in My Loi, Vietnam and Guinayangan, Philippines

The Climate-Smart Village approach is a CCAFS agricultural research for development (AR4D) strategy for stimulating the scaling of climate-smart agriculture. CSVs are established in Southeast Asia through the CCAFS program to serve as sites for “testing, through participatory methods, technological and institutional options for generating evidence of CSA effectiveness as well as drawing out scaling lessons for policy makers from local to global levels (CCAFS, 2016). The CSVs in My Loi in Vietnam and Guinayangan in the Philippines were established following this strategy starting 2014 by the World Agroforestry (ICRAF) Vietnam and the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction, respectively. This guidebook showcases the common experiences of the IIRR and ICRAF in the Philippine and Vietnam CSVs, which are outlined in 5 major stages and broken into 9 steps

Roles of social learning for the adoption of climate-smart agriculture innovations: Case study from My Loi Climate-Smart Village, Vietnam

With the rapid pace of climate change and its impact on food security and livelihoods, climate-smart agriculture is one strategy aiming to help farmers adopt more sustainable farming practices. This study looked at farmers’ adoption of agricultural innovations and the role of social networks in the process. Through interviews and observations, we (1) identified determinants and barriers affecting farmers’ adoption of agricultural innovations in My Loi Climate-Smart Village in northcentral Vietnam, and (2) explored how social learning and social networks contribute to farmers’ knowledge generation during innovation adoption. Results show that determinants and constraints for the adoption of agricultural innovation exist at multiple levels. The study presents evidence of the value of social networks for the adoption of innovation, identifies what constitutes promising social networks, and gives examples of institutional structures that influenced the adoption process. Recommendations for social learning networks and scaling of climate-smart agriculture innovations are provided

Which forecast represents the local weather best?: Preliminary case study findings from My Loi village, northcentral Vietnam

All three forecasts under-predicted temperatures, while AccuWeather overestimated and Windyty underestimated the total rainfall (for the two months, by 100 mm); however no systematic error could be determined to reduce the error. As uncertainties are rapidly increasing with longer lead time than two days ahead, the researchers advise to follow several forecast sources to get a range of scenarios

Multifunctional land-use systems – a solution for food security in Africa?

What is multifunctional land use? Multifunctional land use is based on systems that are managed with the goal of producing more than one product or service. The products can be, for instance, grains, fodder, timber, firewood, biofuel, fruits or flowers, while the services can be water infiltration, wind breaks, microclimate regulation, carbon storage, erosion control, groundwater recharge or soil conservation, among others. Mander et al. (2007) describe landscapes as multifunctional through their simultaneous support of habitat, productiv- ity, regulatory, social, and economic functions. Heterogeneity (diversity), they noted, is a basic attribute of landscapes, and this heterogeneity implies the capacity of the landscape to support various and sometimes contra- dictory functions simultaneously..

Participatory identification of climate-smart agriculture priorities

With the concept climate-smart agriculture (CSA) being relatively new, there is a need to test and develop practical and systematic methodologies and approaches for documenting and evaluating CSA practices in the field. The implementation of CCAFS’ Climate-Smart Villages (CSV) involves identifying, assessing and selecting climate-smart farming practices. This report contains three sections: (i) a framework for identifying and assessing CSA in the field with a long list of CSA indicators in identifying and monitoring CSA interventions; (ii) cost-benefit analysis of some selected climate-smart farming systems; and (iii) the participatory process of prioritizing CSA options with the villagers. The work builds on our experiences from the My Loi CSV and its scaling domains in Ky Anh district, Ha Tinh province, in the north-central region of Viet Nam

Participatory identification of climate-smart agriculture priorities

With the concept climate-smart agriculture (CSA) being relatively new, there is a need to test and develop practical and systematic methodologies and approaches for documenting and evaluating CSA practices in the field. The implementation of CCAFS’ Climate-Smart Villages (CSV) involves identifying, assessing and selecting climate-smart farming practices. This report contains three sections: (i) a framework for identifying and assessing CSA in the field with a long list of CSA indicators in identifying and monitoring CSA interventions; (ii) cost-benefit analysis of some selected climate-smart farming systems; and (iii) the participatory process of prioritizing CSA options with the villagers. The work builds on our experiences from the My Loi CSV and its scaling domains in Ky Anh district, Ha Tinh province, in the north-central region of Viet Nam. English version: https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/75542/Participatory%20CSA_ICRAF_Final.pd

Organisational Baseline Study: Overview report for My Loi CSV, Vietnam (VN02)

This report covers the Organisational Baseline Study (OBS) for the CCAFS climate-smart village My Loi in central Viet Nam. During October and November 2014 interviews were conducted with ten organisations working or collaborating with farmers and/or the community in Ky Anh district in Ha Tinh province. The My Loi research site lies in the uplands of the north central coast. The region has four but increasingly variable seasons, increase in frequency and magnitude of storms and tropical low-pressure systems, increase in intensity of dry and hot westerly wind (Laos wind). The main farming systems comprise a blend of crop-livestock systems with the main crops being rainfed rice, cassava, peanut, and acacia. This OBS report supplements the qualitative village baseline studies at the same location. The objectives of the organisational baseline study are to: Provide indicators to monitor changes in behaviours and practices of locally relevant organisations that have climate change related activities in Ha Tinh over time Understand the provision of information/services at the local level that informs farmers’ decision making about their livelihood strategies in response to climate chang

Guide for impact assessment of agro-climate information services

This is a guideline for a rapid evaluation of agro-climate information systems. The questionnaire serves to evaluate project impacts and specific aspects of the climate service in need of improvements before scaling and is designed to provide both quantitative and qualitative response data. The guideline describes the process for data collection and data analysis and provides some preliminary results from a minor pilot survey in My Loi Climate-Smart Village in northcentral Vietnam. Two types of questionnaires are presented. The longer questionnaire is designed to take one hour at most and involves individual and focus group discussion with participatory rating and ranking exercises, while the shorter one takes approximately 15-20 minutes and is considered only for individual responses. Both can easily be adapted for illiterate respondents

Portfolio of CSA practices for scaling

This publication showcases some of the indigenous and research-derived CSA technologies and practices (CSA T&P) developed and tested in My Loi Climate-Smart Village in Vietnam. Prepared by the World Agroforestry Centre Vietnam, four CSA T&Ps were identified for scaling, such as: orange-based agroforestry system, black pepper home garden, acacia-based agroforestry system, and vermiculture. For each CSA T&P, discussion includes the description of the practice, CSA indicators, farmer’s benefits, risks, scaling considerations (i.e., biophysical, socio-economic, and political factors), and cost and benefit analysis