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In 2003, the CGIAR Secretariat asked the Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA) to initiate a series of impact assessment studies on natural resources management (NRM) research. The main objectives of this SPIA initiative were to obtain better information on the demonstrable impacts of CGIAR investments in NRM research, to identify gaps in data and methodology, and to provide avenues for better NRM impact assessment in the future. The impact brief presented here describes the major results of one of seven center NRM impact assessments emerging from this SPIA initiative: Dalton T.J., Lilja N.K., Johnson N., and Howeler R. Forthcoming. Integrating germplasm, natural resources, and institutional innovations to enhance impact: cassavabased cropping systems research in Asia. In: The Impact of Natural Resource Management Research: Studies from the CGIAR (Zilberman D. and Waibel H., Eds). CAB International: Wallingford, UK.

Science Council Brief Standing Panel on Impact Assessment Number 15

Participation Works: Evidence from Thailand and Vietnam

FAO/17448/A. Odoul

The vast majority of Southeast Asia’s poorest farmers eke out a living on marginal or degraded land. What can be done to help these people break out of the double bind of chronic poverty and dependence on farm fields with low agricultural potential? Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is one answer. It is a hardy crop, yet easy to grow; it requires few inputs; and it is extreme­ ly versatile, providing food, fodder, and a variety of other products.

Nourishing the Future through Scientific Excellence

Cassava was at the heart of a 10-year quest (1994–2003) to raise living standards while protecting soil health, undertaken in four of the region’s countries by the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) and national partners. CIAT’s Regional Cassava Office for Asia worked with national researchers in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China on the ­project, which was entitled ‘Improving the sustainability of cassava-based cropping systems in Asia’. The work was funded by the Nippon Foundation. Although previous research had identified numerous options for ensuring soil health in cassava systems, farmers had not adopted them. The CIAT project aimed to identify and adapt existing technologies using farmer ­participatory research (FPR). In this inclusive approach, farmers would be ­actively involved in identifying, testing, and promoting promising technol­ ogies, thereby ensuring their relevance and adaptation to local conditions. This, it was hoped, would increase adoption rates. At the end of the project, researchers found that more farmers had indeed adopted the improved cassava varieties and soil fertility management and conservation practices, leading to sizeable gains in productivity. Crucially, it was found that the participatory learning process had generated yield gains through increased managerial expertise.

Background Vietnam and Thailand posted declining or stagnating cassava yields in the period 1970–1999, but the pace of development has since picked up.

C o n s u l tative Group on International Agricultural R esea rch


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