The ‘dry corridor’ is a region of guatemala that covers part of the departments of Baja Verapaz, Zacapa, El Progreso, Jalapa, Chiquimula, Jutiapa and Santa Rosa. It is vulnerable to drought and, in some parts, communities lack food security, with a high level of extreme poverty. Malnutrition is a significant problem, especially among young children and their mothers. The traditional diet in guatemala and throughout much of Central America is based on maize and beans and, as diversifying this has proved problematic, increasing the nutritive value and yields of these crops is seen as a key approach.
Introducing and promoting new crop varieties is notoriously problematic without the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. For this reason, in 2016, this initiative was selected to be one of the country’s CDAIS innovation partnerships, continuing the work that FAo (the Food and Agriculture organization of the united nations) had started with the ‘Seeds for development’ programme, strengthening the ability of smallholder associations to produce certified seeds. The partnership is also complementary to other initiatives that are working towards the same goals, such as the ‘Biofort’ platform that aims to create permanent collaborative links between the public and private sectors, civil society and farmers, to improve the nutritional quality of food production in guatemala, in order to increase the food and nutritional security of the most vulnerable populations in a sustainable, efficient and participatory manner.
The CDAIS project has been an accelerator of processes, with results that have spread from community to governmental levels. Those who have been involved consider that CDAIS was a key reason for these changes, having arrived as a springboard in 2015. Of...
Pineapple is one of the most important commercial fruit crops in the world. In Bangladesh, it is ranked third in
terms total production and area farmed, both of which are increasing continually. It is grown in all regions, but...
There have been clear changes in Guatemala and, according to those involved, outcomes exceeded expectations. These have resulted from the strengthening of functional capacities across individual, partnership, organisational and national levels, using processes that have evolved since the CDAIS project began...
Angola has so much potential as an agricultural country, with up to 50 million hectares that could be cultivated. But why
is it not being cultivated now? “It is simply a case of lack of will – political will...
The policy environment for agricultural innovation in Lao PDR has never been better. Agricultural development is high on the agenda at the most senior levels of government, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry recently published a strategy framework that lays out...
