Miscellaneous themes
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/719
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- In recognition of its essential role in healthy diets, Cambodia has included fish in its newly launched Third National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition (2024–2028). The strategy, spearheaded by the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), aims to boost food security, nutrition outcomes, and resilience nationwide. Speaking at the strategy’s official launch on 10 April 2025, Dr. Ouk Rabun, Senior Minister and Chairman of CARD, acknowledged the crucial role played by WorldFish and other key development partners, highlighting their contributions in shaping the strategic direction for Cambodia’s nutrition and food security future.
- The Feed the Future Burma Fish for Livelihoods project (2019-2025) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) focused on improving the nutritional status of vulnerable households in Central and Northern Myanmar by promoting inclusive and sustainable aquaculture growth among small-scale farmers. This report highlights the results of a survey conducted among 355 respondents (25% of the 1,365 project participants) from 20 townships who received WASH materials between 2019 and 2023. The majority of respondents were male (67%) and over 30 years of age.
- The Feed the Future Burma, Fish for Livelihoods Activity (2019-2027) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) focusses on improving the nutritional status of vulnerable households in Central and Northern Myanmar by promoting inclusive and sustainable aquaculture growth for small-scale farmers and their communities. To evaluate the outcomes of the Activity’s support, the team conducts an annual survey to assess diet diversity and fish consumption among women of reproductive age in the Activity areas. The survey results help guide the project team and relevant stakeholders in identifying effective strategies and determining necessary adjustments to current interventions, ensuring their sustainability. This report presents the 2024 survey findings on dietary diversity among women of reproductive age from 34 townships participating in the Activity. For the safety and security of the field survey team, villages deemed unsafe or inaccessible were excluded from the survey sample.
- This brief aims to explore how circular economy, food systems and practical waste management considerations – might link with regenerative agriculture, soil systems improvement, fish and rice systems, precision fermentation and enzymatic conversion to reduce carbon footprints, bio-security risks and improve food safety aspects for improvements in SEAP.
- The workshop on “improving food and nutrition security through regenerative farming systems, enhanced agrobiodiversity and farmer-led irrigation systems” is part of the ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for food and nutrition security program. The program was officially launched in October in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 45th Meeting of ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry. In Laos, with the support of National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), WorldFish, Alliance Bioversity CIAT and International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Intervention Packages 1, 3 and 7 combined the efforts in conducting the workshop, and moving forward, will leverage the ongoing activities that are spearheaded by the national partners and CGIAR colleagues to achieve long term impact.
- This brief aims to explore how circular economy, food systems and practical waste management considerations – might link with regenerative agriculture, soil systems improvement, fish and rice systems, precision fermentation and enzymatic conversion to reduce carbon footprints, bio-security risks and improve food safety aspects for improvements in SEAP.
- Stakeholders in complex landscapes with competing interests such as the Lower Kafue Basin have realized that concrete actions cannot be attempted by single entities such as the government alone. These actions necessitate efforts beyond the internal value chains of individual companies, farmers, nongovernmental organizations or traditional leaders, but must be addressed holistically at the basin scale. The primary objective of the Lower Kafue Basin platform is to encourage transparency and equitable dialogue among stakeholders that will influence local decisions and inform the direction of basin policy. This approach will ultimately improve local livelihoods and stewardship of natural resources.
- This technical report delves into the essential task of gathering validation data, focusing on surface and groundwater related data monitoring through the deployment of field equipment. The primary objective is to comprehensively monitor surface water and groundwater levels, along with rainfall, on a regular basis. This hydrologic monitoring initiative is conducted within the context of a case study centered on rice-fish systems, specifically community fish refuges (CFRs) in Prey Veng Province, Cambodia.
- Aquatic foods are important and hold a significant role in the global food system through income, food and employment. The Lower Kafue Basin is one of the most important ecosystems in Zambia in providing fisheries, livestock, wildlife, forestry, irrigation farming, hydro-electricity, water for industrial and municipal use services. These multiple and competing uses of the Kafue River and its basin are some of the drivers that are exerting pressure on the ecosystem and challenging its capacity to continue to provide livelihood services to the people in the basin. Hence, investing in effective aquatic food landscape governance through the development of a Multi-Stakeholder Platform and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy for Aquatic Food Systems is expected to contribute towards sustainable and integrated development. A literature review was conducted on the Aquatic Food Systems for the landscape and multi-stakeholder platform/engagement in Zambia. Key informant interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted with Government officials, Non-governmental Organizations, Traditional Authorities and Resource Users to have an in-depth understanding. Findings indicated that agriculture is one of the dominant sectors with about 0.1 to 20 hectares per farmer under cultivation contributing 17% of the national maize production. The Lower Kafue Basin has the largest population of livestock within the country with a cattle population estimated at 92,900 heads; Namwala district alone accounts for 24.2% of the country’s total livestock population. Fish production in the Lower Kafue Basin represents approximately 7% of the total fisheries industry in Zambia. Wildlife distribution is largely attributed to the diversity and complexity of habitats while forestry resources in Southern Province of Zambia are estimated at 4,673,000 hectares of standing forest area. Based on this review, it was recommended to design and develop the Multistakeholder Platform (MSP) and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy (SES) that should respond to the Multi-Sectoral challenges in the management of the Lower Kafue Basin. The report also recommends that a cost-benefit sharing and financing mechanism should be devised to sustain conservation and management of the Lower Kafue Basin.
- Transition to unhealthy food choices and lifestyles is causing health problems for Solomon Islanders. Due to these circumstances, a tok stori was organized in 2023 to start addressing the following question: “what does a vision for a healthy and safe food system comprise?” (Tutuo et al. 2023). To follow up on these discussions, WorldFish and the Kastom Gaden Association (KGA) organized a second series of forums called Island Food Systems in Transition: Strengthening Indigenous Food Systems in Solomon Islands. The forums were hosted in Gizo, Western Province, on June 13, 2024, and in Buala, Isabel Province, on August 14, 2024 . These forums brought together rural actors and key stakeholders (i) to talk about traditional farming and aquatic foods under a nutrition-sensitive approach and (ii) to listen to ideas about what the future of food systems in Solomon Islands could look like at the provincial level.
- This three-and-half day Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) training workshop was designed to equip researchers and partners of AABS and NARES from Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda with foundational GESI knowledge and the tools needed to conduct gender research and design development interventions within AFS. The workshop aimed to encourage knowledge exchange through interactive methods, including group activities, role-playing, and collective discussions.
- Key messages: Forests and fisheries are interconnected, and both are impacted by changes in land use within watersheds. Watershed functions are affected by climate, land-use change, overfishing, deforestation and forest degradation. Riparian communities value watersheds but lack political structures for effective integrated management. Community-based governance of natural resources within watersheds can protect ecosystem services and support livelihoods of riparian communities. Even where there is little data now, actions can be taken to enhance monitoring and management of watersheds.
- AICCRA Zambia has significantly empowered smallholder farmers in Eastern Province of Zambia by equipping them with validated climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices and enhanced climate information services (CIS) to adapt to climate change. Field discussions with farmers revealed that those who adopted AICCRA’s climate-smart solutions such as drought-resistant seed varieties, conservation agriculture, agroforestry with Gliricidia, and agro-advisories on better planting timing achieved improved yields, even during challenging seasons. In Eastern Province, COMACO directly trained 175,000 farmers through its cooperative model, with 130,000 (50% women) adopting climate-smart agriculture practices. All farmers have access to enhanced climate information services through the climate-smart radio program, broadcast twice a week from 15:00 to 15:30 hours, with a repeat airing from 20:00 to 20:30 hours. The program receives calls from farmers, including those across the borders in Malawi and Mozambique. The success of this initiative underscores the importance of collaborative efforts in addressing climate challenges and improving livelihoods in vulnerable regions. Farmers have expressed appreciation for the timely and practical information provided, which has led to better planning and increased yields.
- This recipe book celebrates the rich culinary heritage of Bihar, showcasing traditional fish preparation methods from diverse communities across the region. Designed to promote the nutritional benefits of fish consumption, it encourages healthier diets, supports the local economy, and enhances household culinary skills.
- Malawi is endowed with wetland ecosystems that provide essential services to the country’s people and the environment. As in the rest of the world, however, the wetlands are facing a challenge to sustain their services due to, among others, a lack of research-based evidence to support a farming system that balances food production and efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This chapter critically analyses the link between Malawi’s dominant wetland farming systems and GHG emissions. It addresses the following research questions: To what extent will converting wetlands for aquaculture and rice production contribute to GHG emissions, and what could be the potential implications? Given the trade-offs in climate change mitigation efforts and food production, to what extent will the integration of the two farming systems mitigate GHG emissions? The chapter instigates debate to uncover much-needed data on how much GHG Malawi’s wetland farming has contributed to global emissions, its implications, and future interventions.
- Delivering climate justice remains a challenge at UN climate talks. High-income countries missed their $100 billion climate finance target and are now negotiating a new goal at COP29. However, discussions often overlook the blue economy, which includes sustainable aquatic resource use and can drive climate justice. Investing in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture supports vulnerable coastal communities while fostering sustainable growth. Yet, climate finance for aquatic food systems remains minimal. Policymakers must integrate small-scale fisheries into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), enhance coastal resilience, and ensure climate funds address losses in aquatic food production to create a more equitable, food-secure future.
- WorldFish’s research and development programs have piloted and scaled fresh fish, dried fish and fish powder to bridge production systems and consumer wellbeing. This video showcases the various activities across the Pacific, Asia and Africa implemented to deliver essential nourishment while benefiting food systems. Dive into the inspiring story of fish-powered progress! The video was developed by WorldFish, and funded by the CGIAR Nutrition Impact Platform under the Nutrition-sensitive Food Systems Impact Video grants.
- After selecting the artisanal fishing households, ECOFISH II forms Women and Nutrition Groups (WING) with the women members from artisanal fishing households and conducted trainings on income-generating activities for them. It is observed that most of the fishing households engage in multiple income-generating activities to mitigate the impact of uncertain catches, fishing bans, or reduced income from their primary occupation of fishing. These additional enterprises, typically small-scale and household-based, often include activities related to small livestock. Consequently, ECOFISH II provides training on multiple enterprises to enhance household economic resilience. These trainings followed this combined module of income-generating options, including goat, chicken, and duck rearing. The objective was to strengthen the skills and capabilities of WING members, motivating them to either start or enhance household-based income-generating activities based on available opportunities and resources. Along with the technical matters including shade, food, vaccination of the small livestock and poultry, the women beneficiaries were taught on documenting their income and expenditure-related data. This initiative aims to help WING members gradually understand the importance of documenting their finances in their small businesses.
- IRR-Cambodia has studied on nutrition-sensitive agri-food systems policies, literatures review, and consultation workshop with stakeholders since 2022. It also conducted a study on scoping of nutrition sensitive agri-food system interventions in Mekong Delta, 3 case studies on nutrition and gender sensitive agri-food system interventions, and organized synthesis workshop to derive lessons, good practices and policy implications on designing and implementing nutrition sensitive agri-food systems. The findings will be used for replicating at community level in Ba Phnom district of Prey Veng province, and then disseminate to other target area, especially in the Mekong Deltas.
- This report examines nutrition-sensitive interventions (NSIs), and agri-food systems positioned in the CGIAR Initiative on Asian Mega-Deltas (AMD), specifically focusing on Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Vietnam. These countries face distinct socio-economic and environmental challenges, making them pivotal in addressing food and nutrition security (FNS). Despite progress in agricultural productivity, economic growth, and nutrition and health, these countries are also faced with the triple burden of malnutrition, encompassing undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and rising obesity rates. Limited access to diverse and nutrient-rich foods, compounded by climate variability and environmental degradation, exacerbates these nutritional issues. The report utilized a scoping desk review as its primary methodology. This involved qualitative data collection through an extensive review of documents related to NSIs and agri-food systems in the deltaic regions of Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The study analyzed reports, policy documents, and literature provided by AMD and WorldFish, covering implemented projects and national strategies. Key findings highlight persistent nutritional issues like stunting, anemia, and micronutrient deficiencies, with all three countries falling short of global nutrition targets. Despite increases in food production, access to diverse, nutritious diets remains limited, particularly among vulnerable groups.