Supporting the Transformation of Livelihoods: Village Development Funds Managed by Self-Help Groups

This primer is used to train, monitor, and coach communities implementing the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Project (BCCP) in Cambodia on Village Development Funds, which aims to help villages effectively achieve better livelihoods and infrastructures in their communities

Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Technology Portfolios for Rice-Based Systems (Saline, Upland, and Lowland Ecosystems)

This Primer for Cambodia is describing ways to improve rice productivity by improving the management of soils and crops such as: further diversification of varieties, the inclusion of stress-tolerant rice varieties, the introduction of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), re-introduction of legumes, and management of crop residues and fertilizers

Strengthening climate resilience of rural communities by co-producing landscape-specific integrated farming systems in Cambodia

Climate change poses a major threat to the livelihoods of rural smallholder farmers in Cambodia. Adaptation measures through sustainable land management (SLM) and farming practices can help farmers to increase their resilience to climate change and secure their livelihoods. This paper presents a novel approach for promoting landscape-specific integrated farming systems (IFS) through multi-stakeholder engagement, knowledge-based decision-making and improved land use planning. It presents a stepwise participatory approach, applied under an IFAD-funded project, to define context-specific IFS models. Through co-production processes with multiple stakeholders, three landscape units and seven landscape-specific IFS models consisting of different SLM technologies were defined and demonstrated on 1,500 farms in two case study sites. The process included training and awareness raising to enhance local stakeholder engagement in developing integrated farm plans. This paper provides insights into how such a novel approach can be embedded in rural development projects to enhance smallholders’ resilience and livelihoods

Willingness to Pay for Weather-Indexed Insurance: Evidence from Cambodian Rice Farmers

This study examines Cambodian rice farmers’ willingness to pay for the weather-indexed insurance (WII) proposed to manage the financial impact of shifting monsoon rainfall patterns in Battambang Province in north-western Cambodia. Detailed interviews are conducted in the districts of Bavel and Thma Koul. We first analyse farmer respondents’ socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, climate change perceptions and experience, risk attitudes, and awareness of insurance. The binary logistic model is used to identify factors that significantly impact farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for WII. Our results show that farmers in general had lower awareness of how to use innovative financial products to adapt to extreme weather. The results also demonstrate that farmer respondents’ marital status, the number of off-farm labourers, and the farm size have a positive effect, whereas the number of children in the household has a negative effect on farmers’ WTP for WII. Specifically, being married, an increase of one off-farm labourer, and an increase of one hectare (ha) of farmland increase the probability of demand for WII by 38.6%, 21.4%, and 5.1%, respectively. In contrast, an increase of one child reduces the probability of WII demand by 9.7%. We also identify challenges confronted by Cambodian farmers for participating in the proposed WII scheme and provide relevant recommendations to overcome these challenges

Native pigs: a climate resilient business enterprise

The International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) and CCAFS introduced the low external input project on small-livestock system to communities in Guinayangan Climate-Smart Village (CSV) in the Philippines. This is part of the Developing Scalable Approaches for Community Based Adaption project of IIRR. Climate-smart agriculture approaches, including those in livestock production, were introduced to help build farm resilience in anticipation of the impacts of climate change. The experiences shared in this publication was generated over 6 years. Replication are now seen in nearly all of the Philippine Department of Agriculture CSVs

Information resources for action researchers/practitioners in Climate Resilient Agriculture

Most of the resources featured here were generated from actual climate-smart agriculture/climate resilient agriculture (CSA/CRA) programs implemented. Some of them reflect the action research nature of the CSA/CRA work of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction in Asia, specifically in the Philippines, Cambodia, and Myanmar. This compilation includes publications generated from projects supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, Asian Development Bank, the International Development Research Station, the Latter Day Saints Charities, the Department of Agriculture in the Philippines and the Forest Foundation of the Philippines, among others. Some of these resources represent five years of field-derived experiences, now made available in their current form for those at the frontlines as part of efforts to address climate risks that affect smallholder farmers and family farms. Other references were drawn from desk researches

Report. National Closing Workshop of DeRISK SE Asia in Cambodia

This report documents the presentations and discussions held during the national closing workshop of DeRISK SE Asia in Cambodia. The project results and outcomes are adopted and continued under the CGIAR Initiative on Asian Mega Deltas implementation in Cambodia

DeRISK SE Asia Regional Legacy Workshop Report

This report consolidates and presents the discussion and outputs from the Regional Legacy Workshop of DeRISK SE Asia Project, convening key stakeholders from Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar. The workshop was organized in Phnom Penh, Cambodia with support from country partners, IIRR and Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)