Asia
RNRRS legacy
Research reports for Thailand
RNRRS legacy
Research reports for Thailand
- A better method of planning for city fringes
Developed in Kolkata in West Bengal (India), a new planning approach is available to help decision makers apply participatory planning in difficult peri-urban environments. Conventional planning systems are unsuited to the complexity of peri-urban areas. To overcome this, the 'Peri-Urban Participatory Action Planning and Implementation' (PU-PAPi) method combines established participatory planning methods with new features, and so is better suited to such complex settings. The method has already been validated in India and Bangladesh, and is expected to be applied at various locations worldwide. An adapted form of PU-PAPi is already being used in the EC MANGROVE Project working with poor communities in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. (Ref: NRSP29) - Combating fish diseases improves farmers' returns
Practical and cost-effective methods are now available to help farmers detect fish-borne diseases quickly and accurately. Severe disease epidemics threaten aquaculture, particularly smallholder production. The new methods - and simple management improvements - lower the costs of treating disease and give farmers higher yields of better quality fish. These easy-to-use practices for safe and healthy production of catfish and shrimp are already widely used in Vietnam, Thailand and India. Six Asian governments are also taking up these methods to improve fish health management services. Because people are becoming more aware of the need for better fish disease control in aquaculture these techniques could have a major impact. (Ref: AFGP05) - Agriculture-aquaculture mix boosts productivity
Growing crops and fish together raises productivity and helps relieve pressure on land and water resources. This could help many developing countries where land and water are under extreme pressure. Simple forms of community management make good use of water and nutrients and boost harvests of fish from rice fields, ponds and traps. Community groups successfully manage integrated systems in Central Bangladesh, southeast Cambodia and northeast Thailand. Integrating water use in aquaculture and agriculture is now spreading throughout South and Southeast Asia. In northwest Bangladesh around 30,000 households already produce fry and fingerlings in rice fields. These integrated systems have great potential for improving livelihoods and nutrition for millions of the rural poor. (Ref: AFGP04) - Fish genetic networks boost production
Networks to promote high-quality breeding fish are the key to profitable aquaculture, especially for poor producers. In some countries breeding fish for aquaculture is managed so poorly that farmers produce less and less. Breeding quality fish for aquaculture can be highly successful but still has a long way to go in many developing countries. Networks to improve fish genetics - and thus production - bring together government, university and private organisations locally, nationally and internationally. They are already thriving and, in some cases, expanding in South Africa, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and Thailand. The various mixes of public, private commercial, NGO and poor producers in these networks show great promise as models for improving not only fish production but also other commodities. (Ref: AFGP09) - Foods from water bodies improve life for the very poor
Simple new ways of managing wild and cultured fish in paddy fields, ponds and lakes mean that people have more reliable supplies of food, better diets and better nutrition. For centuries, the rural poor have relied on wild fish, plants, snails and other foods. But these are fast disappearing because of over-exploitation, dwindling flood plains and more intensive farming. People - especially the poorest - in Northeast Thailand, lowland Cambodia and Bangladesh are already reaping the benefits of these systems and they are being strongly promoted in Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Lao PDR. There is also great potential in hilly agricultural and tropical forest systems where rainfall is seasonal. (Ref: AFGP02) - Huge potential for safe fish and vegetable production in urban areas
Agriculture and aquaculture in and around cities creates jobs, and can improve the environment, reduce waste and provide good cheap food. Previously, the risk of contamination from poor quality and waste water posed dangers. But safe ways of producing fish and growing water vegetables around cities are now available. Techniques for aquaculture and horticulture have been tested near Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Blantyre in Malawi, Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Bangkok in Thailand, Yaounde in Cameroon, Dhaka and Mymensingh in Bangladesh and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. The potential for raising fish and growing vegetables to supply booming urban markets in developing countries is enormous and could have a major impact on improving incomes, food and nutrition. (Ref: AFGP03) - Knowledge brings opportunities in emerging domestic fish markets
Small producers and cooperatives can take advantage of emerging domestic markets when they know how they work and what consumers want. Helping producers learn about consumer preferences and the options for selling, processing, transporting and marketing their fish lowers their costs and helps them get better prices. Producers in Vietnam were able to reorient their products very quickly to the emerging domestic market when the bottom dropped out of the US market for catfish. In Thailand, fish production for the domestic market has nearly doubled over the last decade. Helping producers learn about market chains and domestic demand for fish could have a huge impact wherever there are growing urban centres in Asia and Africa. (Ref: AFGP08) - Participation oils the wheels of fisheries management
Simple ways of collecting and sharing data and information are helping improve management of small fisheries. These fisheries make important contributions to national economies and exports, and provide a living for over 200 million people in Africa and Asia. Previously, poor fishers - and other stakeholders - weren't consulted on decisions that affected them, often with unfortunate results. It's proved invaluable for fisheries departments and fishers to get together to gather and use information to help manage these fisheries better. Getting stakeholders to participate means their interests are taken into account and they don't lose out. Step-by-step guidelines are already widely used in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand, and organisations in Bangladesh, Uganda, Barbados, Cambodia and Tanzania are customising the approach for their own needs. (Ref: FMSP04) - Software to boost or restore natural fisheries
Newly-released EnhanceFish software helps fisheries staff calculate the costs and benefits - both social and economic - of boosting wild fisheries by stocking them with hatchery-reared fish. The software can be used to determine whether it's worthwhile to improve a fishery and, if so, with what, when and how. Although enhancing natural fisheries can improve incomes and have other social benefits, fisheries staff need to have a good understanding of the overall system and of the likely biological and socio-economic impacts. The package guides them through analyses and helps them advise and work with stakeholders in specific fisheries. EnhanceFish is already being used in Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. Strong interest from China and other governments indicate that this software has major potential to raise productivity and restore fisheries. (Ref: FMSP10) - Working more closely with producers: a new guide
'Participatory Livestock Research - A Guide', is a new book designed to help researchers avoid the problem of new technologies not being adopted by small livestock keepers. Many technologies have not been adopted in the past for a range of reasons. Some, for example, did not take into account the limited resources of poor users, like lack of land, while others targeted problems that poor producers did not feel were urgent. The new book teaches its readers how to work more closely with end users, to ensure that the final result is something that is wanted and can be used. It details the methods and principles applied to participatory technology development, and backs this up with a range of case studies from Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. (Ref: LPP27) - Best practices for fisheries
Decision makers responsible for fisheries now have best practices to help them change fisheries policies and regulations for the better. Competing demands, environmental degradation and climate change mean that fisheries are among the most difficult resources to manage. The best practices help planners to realise the potential of fisheries to reduce poverty while maximising economic benefits in the long term. Many problems with fisheries have non-fisheries causes - social and policy issues need to be taken into account along with resource concerns. Drawing together best practices is strengthening the growing global call for better fisheries management and influencing policy change throughout East Africa and South East Asia. Already, planners have used these practices to revive fisheries in post-tsunami India and develop fisheries in Sierra Leone. (Ref: FMSP02) - From plough to plate - collaboration delivers results
Sorghum growers are generating new demand for their crop by promoting its use in place of maize in feed formulas. The feed technique was developed in India, where researchers provided farmers with seeds of improved cultivars and taught them better agricultural practices, while nutritionists collaborated with the feed industry to formulate the feed. Finally, farmer associations brought people together to store and bulk grain and negotiate better prices with the industry. The partners produced easy-to-use brochures, training and extension materials and an institutional framework to sustain the advances over the long term. Perhaps more important, they demonstrated the forcefulness of the coalition approach. This knowledge can help in fine-tuning the approach for use with other crops and in other regions. (Ref: CPH05) - Helping fishers make smarter decisions
Market information systems, often based on simple mobile phone and local-centre web access, help poorer groups make smarter decisions. Although market intelligence systems are widespread globally, they mostly serve large companies in developed countries. Flexible local networks connecting producers, traders, NGOs, the public sector and consumers help them quickly find and use the information they need. Artisanal fishers have rapidly caught on to using mobile phones to find out where they can get the best prices for their catch. 'One Stop Shops' in Bangladesh, and similar networks in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, also offer fishers cheap local access to market information. These simple systems could have a major impact, particularly in countries where aquaculture is booming. (Ref: AFGP07) - Opportunities in sustainable coastal aquaculture for the very poor
Easy, low-cost methods for adding value to sea foods - fattening low-value soft-shell crabs into high-value hard-shell crabs, producing good quality dried fish, molluscs and seaweed - help the coastal poor enter local markets. The lives of many poor people in coastal areas who traditionally depended on fishing and foraging are seriously threatened. Now, small-scale producers with very modest assets and skills can produce less familiar but high-value sea foods for both local and export markets. The very poor in coastal areas in Bangladesh, and also in Vietnam and the Philippines are already seeing quick returns on their investments using these methods. Such ventures have great potential for improving livelihoods in almost all Asian coastal regions. (Ref: AFGP10) - Priming gets rice off to a good start in upland Africa and Asia
A simple, low-cost method for getting rice off to a good start is now available. On-farm seed priming simply means soaking seeds in water overnight, drying them so that they don't stick together, then sowing them as usual. Previously, poor farmers in upland rice-farming areas suffered because much of the seed they sowed failed. Farmers in Cameroon, the Gambia, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Thailand now prime rice seed. Primed rice germinates better, grows more quickly and strongly, flowers and matures earlier, and often produces more grain than rice that isn't primed. And, when rice gets a good start it is better able to compete with weeds - a big problem with upland rice, particularly in West Africa. (Ref: PSP25) - Seed priming makes good stands of maize the rule rather than the exception
Even when maize is irrigated, good crop stands are the exception rather than the rule for poor farmers. Yet, simply soaking seeds in water overnight and drying them before sowing as usual has been proven to increase yields in India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Nepal. In western India, where maize is often followed by another crop, priming means that maize can be harvested earlier. This gives farmers a chance to sow the second crop earlier and makes the most of the end of the rains. Hundreds of NGOs, farmers and researchers have asked for instructions on how to prime maize seed. Through these, priming maize seed has spread to Thailand, Myanmar, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania. (Ref: PSP28) - Trapping coffee beetles with natural baits
Natural chemical extracts - pheromones - that attract female coffee stemborers are now being commercially manufactured in India. This new bait, together with specially designed traps, means that females can be caught and destroyed. The coffee white stemborer is a beetle that seriously damages coffee crops in India, Sri Lanka, China, Vietnam and Thailand. In India, coffee growing, as well as providing a living for over half-a-million workers and their families in remote rural areas, checks soil erosion on hillsides. Farmers in all the main coffee-growing areas of India, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, now use over 40,000 pheromone traps. Since the only pesticide effective on stemborer has been withdrawn from use in India, there is major potential for these traps to help control this major pest of coffee. (Ref: CPP77)
RNRRS legacy: Asia
External resources
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Bangladesh at a glance
Source World Bank - Bangladesh: Data & Statistics (35KB) |
- Cambodia - background information
Source: World Bank - Fiji - background information
Source: World Bank
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India at a glance
Source World Bank - India: Data & Statistics (35KB) |
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Nepal at a glance
Source World Bank - Nepal: Data & Statistics (35KB) |
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Sri Lanka at a glance
Source World Bank - Sri Lanka: Data & Statistics (35KB) |
Archive
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Bangladesh takes up the challenge Innovation Challenge Fund brochure 1 2008 (PDF 480KB) |
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Nepal takes up the challenge Innovation Challenge Fund brochure 2 2008 (PDF 410KB) |
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India takes up the challenge Innovation Challenge Fund brochure 3 2008 (PDF 320KB) |
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Enabling the poor to benefit from research RIU introductory flyer Asian version - in English 2008 (PDF 270KB) |
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Bangladesh RIU country assessment, executive summary Authors: Jill Lenné, Craig Meisner, Harriet Matsaert 2007 (PDF 60KB) |
