Author : Queblatin, Eduardo

Summary : An increasing number of upland farmers in Southeast Asia such as Nang Editha are taking advantage of recent technological and institutional innovations to help improve farm practices and overcome hunger and poverty. These innovations are building on two important milestones: the lessons of the earlier green revolution programs and the recent policy reforms towards decentralized natural (forest) resources management. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) are now collaborating to provide "knowledge support" on soil management and agroforestry for representative community initiatives in SEA. The joint project is called the Technical and Institutional Innovations Project for the Upland Poor or simply the innovations Project. The collaborative knowledge support under the Innovations Project includes documentation of beneficial farmer practices and development and testing of innovations. This is in support of government and non-government programs that directly work with farmers. An example of such government program being supported is the Western Mindanao Community Initiatives Project which helps Nang Editha. There are these type of programs in the Philippines, two in Indonesia, two in Laos PDR and one each in Cambodia and Vietnam.