Zooming in on nutrition-sensitive landscapes
At Nutrition-sensitive landscapes, a CIFOR and ICRAF organized side-event at the Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition, Bioversity International's researcher Céline Termote spoke about putting people at the centre of the landscapes approach: "Food is an expression of their culture, we must not forget that," she said. Photo: CIFOR
International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition
The International Conference on Forests, Food Security and Nutrition will take place at FAO in Rome, Italy from 13-15 May, 2013. The Conference aims to increase understanding of the crucial role that forests, trees and agroforestry systems can play in improving the food security and nutrition of rural people, especially in developing countries.
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Using crop diversity to tackle climate change
Meet Bhutanese farmer Pema
Pema is a smallholder farmer living with her parents, husband, and daughter in a traditional Bhutanese farmhouse in the village of Tsento, Shari in the central western part of Bhutan. There are about 50 households in the village throughout the area in the fertile Paro valley. Although the households are dispersed throughout the countryside, agriculture depends on cooperation among villagers throughout the year in an area that is experiencing changing environmental conditions.
Pema explains: “Right now is the rice transplanting season. Transplanting is done by teams of women. First, the men plough the land which is flooded before transplanting. Neighbours work together to finish the work on time going from the field or fields of one household to the field of another. Nowadays, most of the households cultivate a variety that was introduced in the area about 10 years ago. It is named “Nepali.” It yields well and responds effectively to increased fertilizer use. Two other varieties can be found as well named “Paro China” and “Chadanath 1.” Before, we used to grow two traditional red rice varieties “Kuchum” and “Raynam,” but these were affected by disease and decreasing yields. With government support, we changed our varieties. “Nepali” is a good variety.”
Farmers in the village are interested to grow new varieties, especially ones that adapt well to environmental changes. Pema points to a particular field in which 16 small red flags can be seen: “Right now, we have a small experimental plot with 16 new varieties introduced by the Research Centre Yusipang in collaboration with the National Biodiversity Centre of the Government.
Pema in the field. Photo: R. Vernooy\Bioversity
It is the first time that we are testing these new varieties together with researchers. These varieties are supposed to do well in higher altitudes; respond better to drier conditions, and have good disease resistance. We are pleased with this experiment. It is too early yet to identify the most promising varieties, but we hope that one or more will grow well. Then we intend to try them again in the next growing season.”
Apart from rice for household consumption, Pema grows potatoes as the main cash crop. She also has a garden with several vegetables, herbs and spices, such as beans, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, turnips, pumpkins, rapeseed, onions, mint, and some maize as well. She also has a small field with oats, several fields with various types of chili peppers (for home consumption and for the market), and an orchard with apples and peaches.
A rich diversity goes a long way to increase resilience but the changing climate will require new growing options. Research Centre Yusipang and the National Biodiversity Centre of Bhutan is collaborating with Bioversity International to search for such new options and to establish community seed banks throughout the country.
Pema is the first farmer in the locality to have a greenhouse. She has been selected by the local Agricultural Extension Centre to try cultivating vegetables in the greenhouse because of her innovative and collaborative spirit. She has planted tomatoes, cucumber, chilies, climbing beans, lettuce, amaranth, and other crops in the greenhouse. She hopes that the greenhouse will give her more diverse produce throughout the year and that she will be able to sell some of the harvest at the market. The Agricultural Extension Centre provides technical advice for all agricultural activities. It is a free service. The technician comes to visit the fields every once in a while. She also interacts with the rice researchers and monitors the experiment. Pema is very pleased with her support.
Pema's vegetable garden affected by drought. Photo: R. Vernooy\Bioversity
However, the villagers face several problems in their fields, including destruction by wild boars. Pema explains: “They come from the forest during the night and invade our fields. They dig up the potatoes and empty a field in one “haul”. We have to stay overnight in the fields to chase them away, but it is not easy. One of my potato fields was invaded some days ago; the boar devoured all the potato seeds. When the maize is ripening, they will return. They also like rice and oats. That is why all our rice fields are fenced.”
Another major problem is drought. “This season,” Pema observes, “drought is affecting us in a severe way. For the rice we still have irrigation water, but the reduced inflow has already caused some tensions between households that depend on the same source. The drought could cause the non-flowering of the potatoes and thus their loss. That would be a serious setback for me. The vegetables, oat, and maize are also suffering. I hope the rains will come soon.”
Story by Ronnie Vernooy (Bioversity International) and Lhab Tshering (National Biodiversity Centre of Bhutan).
 | Bioversity International is a member of the CGIAR consortium |
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This work by Bioversity International is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. |
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