Job Opening

Market Development Specialist

CIAT is seeking applications for a Senior Scientist or Senior Research Fellow position on agricultural marketing Research and Development (R&D) to develop interventions and build capacity to enhance the income and employment opportunities for smallholder producers and agricultural service providers in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, with a specific focus on the marginalized poor in upland regions of the country. Closing date for applications is 11 February 2008 or until a suitable candidate is identified.

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Proceedings On-line

7th Regional Cassava Workshop
28 October-1 November 2002, Bangkok, Thailand

This Workshop not only dealt with cassava breeding and agronomy research, as well as the progress made in the Nippon Foundation-funded FPR projects in China, Thailand, and Vietnam, but also included the recent research conducted in various new topics, such as the use of cassava roots and leaves for animal feeding, the latest developments in cassava processing into starch and many starch-derived products, as well as the development of cassava growth models.

The Proceedings of this Workshop, entitled "Cassava Research and Development in Asia: Exploring New Opportunities for an Ancient Crop", have been published and provide an important historical record of the progress made in cassava research and development in Asia during the past 25-35 years.

Download the proceedings.

Download the program of the workshop and the abstracts (749 kb)

See the list of the PowerPoint Presentations of the workshop and download most of them.

You can also download the proceedings of the 6th Regional Cassava Workshop held in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, 21-25 February 2000. (more information)

For more information on Sustainable Cassava Production Systems in Asia, see the Project Web site.

Contact: Reinhardt Howeler

International Awards for Dr. Reinhardt Howeler

Third Class of the "Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant"

On May 1, 2006, Dr. Reinhardt Howeler, stationed at the CIAT Cassava Office for Asia in Bangkok, was conferred with a Royal Decoration in the Third Class of the "Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant" in the presence of his Thai colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, in recognition of his work to develop and disseminate together with farmers improved agronomic and soil conservation practices in Thailand. Many of these new technologies have been adopted by farmers, and have resulted in a significant increase in cassava yields and improvement in the sustainability of cassava production, while also increasing the income of cassava farmers in the country.

More information on this Order

International Service in Agronomy Award

Recently, the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) nominated Dr. Reinhardt Howeler, CIAT soil scientist, together with Mr. Watana Watananonta and Dr. Tran Ngoc Ngoan, representing his cassava colleagues in Thailand and Vietnam, respectively, to receive the "International Service in Agronomy Award". The award is granted each year to a person or team who have made a significant contribution to world agronomy.

The award ceremony will take place this coming November in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, during the 2006 International Annual Meeting of the American Society of Agronomy. This award recognizes the contribution made by Dr. Howeler and his cassava colleagues in Thailand and Vietnam in the implementation of programs, practices, and crops that benefit not only rural communities but also the general public.

Dr. Howeler has conducted collaborative research on cassava in many countries in Asia over the past twenty years.

Contact: Reinhardt Howeler

CIAT in Asia in the media

Buy Skinny, Sell Fat – Laos

The traditional methods of farming in the upland regions of Laos are based on shifting cultivation systems that allow the land plenty of fallow time between crops to recover fertility and reduce weeds. Increasing population pressure has reduced these fallow periods, and environmental changes, such as deforestation, have resulted in less forested land and increased soil erosion. This has meant a loss of soil fertility, increased weed pressure, and lower yields for the already poor rice farmers. By growing grasses, known as forages, to feed their animals, the farmers are discovering a new cash income.

Read more on the 'Hands On-Ideas to Go' Web site

Better Buffaloes from Improved Forages

CIAT's work with smallholders in Southeast Asia to improve the supply of forages is a good example of the economic power of quality improvement. The forage technologies, developed with support from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), help farmers raise healthier animals, with less investment of time and energy (especially in collecting fodder and herding animals).

See the complete text in the latest issue of our corporate annual report, CIAT in Focus 2004-2005: Getting a Handle on High-Value Agriculture

Contact: Rod Lefroy (Regional Coordinator for Asia)

For the last nine years CIAT has been working with Lao research and extension teams to develop forage-based market-oriented smallholder livestock systems in the uplands. In 2004, the Lao government requested a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to expand the emerging impacts from this and other livestock R&D projects to a wider section of the rural poor. The 'Participatory Livestock Development Project' is planned to commence in 2006 with a budget of about US$10 million. CIAT and ILRI have been contracted by ADB for the main design phase from September 2004 to June 2005.

Why are CIAT and ILRI involved in design of a development project?

• Development projects offer a direct pathway for the adoption of new ideas and technologies developed or identified by our centres.
  
• Lessons learned from development projects, and from networking with other development projects, will make our research more responsive to current demand.
  
• Building research questions into the design and implementation of development projects creates a more active learning environment for the project, and enables outputs to be collated, analysed and disseminated.

We will provide regular updates on the progress of this joint activity through the CIAT in Asia Forages page.

Contact: Peter Horne

Improving the Livelihoods of Smallholder Upland Farmers in Lao PDR and Cambodia through Improved and Integrated Cassava-based Cropping and Livestock Systems

The Nippon Foundation recently approved funding for a new five-year cassava research project to be implemented by CIAT in Asia. Cassava is currently the third most important crop in Laos, after rice and maize. It is widely grown throughout the country by upland farmers but in small areas using local varieties and with very few inputs. The roots are used mainly for human consumption and for feeding livestock, especially pigs. Young shoots are also harvested for human consumption.

Livestock are a vital safety net for vulnerable upland farmers in Indochina. Feed shortages are a common and major constraint to improving these livestock systems. Recent research in the region has demonstrated the high potential of dried or ensiled cassava roots and leaves as a feed supplement for pigs, cattle, fish and poultry.

The new project will use farmer participatory research approaches to evaluate, develop and disseminate new varieties, improved production practices and more efficient animal feeding practices that will increase yields and income for upland farmers. The work commenced in Laos in April 2004 and will expand to Cambodia in 2005.
(more information)

Contact: Reinhardt Howeler

The Brachiaria hybrid, Mulato, has significant potential in Southeast Asia because of its vigorous growth, relatively good quality feed and excellent dry season productivity. On-farm seed production trials commenced in 2003 with 7 farmers. In 2004, with support from the Mexican seed company Papalotla, more than 1800 smallholder seed producers established 700 hectares of two hybrids (Mulato and Mulato 2) using seedlings transplanted from nursery beds. The seed hand-harvested of the two hybrids was less than expected due to an unforeseen long dry season. Plans for 2005 are to produce over 200 tons of Mulato and Mulato 2 with the participation of over 1000 small farmers.

For more information see the Tropical Forages Web site.

Welcome to the CIAT in Asia Web Site

This website, highlighting the major research activities and products of CIAT in Asia, was launched in August 2003. These activities and outputs were only possible because of the strong working relationships developed with national partner organisations in each of the countries where CIAT is active. CIAT's current expertise in the region includes Agroenterprise Development, Cassava Production Systems, Forage and Livestock Systems, Natural Resource Management and Soils, Participatory Research & Gender Analysis and Spatial Analysis.

Our regional office for Asia was established in Laos in 2001 with the support of the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI). Other regional offices are located in Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. (more information about our presence in Asia)

Contact: Rod Lefroy (Regional Coordinator)

A close collaborator of CIAT's, Wilawan Vongkasem of the Thai Department of
Agricultural Extension, has been presented with the King of Thailand Vetiver Award in the category of vetiver technology dissemination by a government institution. She received the award during the 3rd International Conference on Vetiver Grass, held in Guangzhou, China, on 5-9 October, for her paper entitled "The use of vetiver grass for soil erosion prevention in cassava fields in Thailand." Vongkasem and her coauthors (K. Klakhaeng, W. Watananonta, and R.H. Howeler) describe widespread adoption of vetiver hedgerows (about 150 km of hedgerows planted so far) in Thailand, resulting from the work of the Nippon Foundation-supported Farmer Participatory Research (FPR) Project.

The award was presented by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who attended the conference as patron of the Vetiver Network. Vongkasem also received US$2,500, provided by His Majesty the King of Thailand.

Reinhardt Howeler, who coordinates the FPR project, received a certificate of excellence for vetiver grass research as part of the King of Thailand Vetiver Award. In addition, the Vetiver Network awarded him second price in the category of Agricultural Application in Asia for a paper entitled "Working with farmers: The key to adoption of vetiver grass hedgerows to control erosion in cassava fields in Thailand." Howeler's coauthors are W. Watananonta, W. Vongkasem, K. Klakhaeng, S. Jantawat, S. Randaway, and B. Vankaew, representing five partner institutions in Thailand.

It is a great honor that the achievements of the project have been recognized in this manner.

Contact: Reinhardt Howeler

New Booklet for Participatory Research in Southeast Asia

CIAT recently published a booklet on participatory approaches for helping small farmers tackle problems of low-input agriculture in remote upland areas of Southeast Asia.

Designed primarily for development professionals, the booklet provides a wealth of ideas, practical tips, and basic tools for getting started. This is the latest in the 'CIAT in Asia Research for Development Series'.

Download the booklet (374 kb)

Two other titles available are:

• Developing Forage Technologies with Smallholder Farmers in Southeast Asia—How to Select the Best Varieties to Offer Farmers
• Developing Forage Technologies with Smallholder Farmers in Southeast Asia—How to Grow, Manage and Use Forages.

Contact: Peter Horne

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