Cooking up a sustainable diet for all

by Madelline Romero | Jan 11, 2018

It is an irony in the developing world that those who produce food are most often the ones that are nutritionally-deprived themselves. There are many factors contributing to this status quo, and one that the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is...

Helping build sustainably productive farming systems through the work of the Asian Cassava Breeders, and Forage Legumes, Networks

by Madelline Romero | Dec 21, 2017

Researchers from eight Asian countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam – gathered on December 12-13, 2017 in Haikou City, China, to form the Asian Forage Legumes Network. This is in response to the increasing pressure for...

Could messiness be a good thing?

by Natalia Gutiérrez | Dec 11, 2017

Could messiness be a good thing? Adaptation strategies in response to rapid urban development and transformation of food systems in Hanoi ; Overlooking the new urban area of Trung Hoa Nhan Chinh By Aaron Vansintjan & Brice Even | Dec 11, 2017 We stood in one...

Climate-smart agriculture profiles: A peek into 2050 and what can be done for Asia’s most at-risk countries

by Maria Eliza Villarino | Nov 3, 2017

A female farmer in the community of Beora in Nepal’s Rupandehi District. Photo by: Neil Palmer / CIAT Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) profiles for some of Asia’s most climate change-vulnerable countries are now out. CSA involves agricultural practices that can help...

Sweet deliverance by sweetpotato

by Madelline Romero | Nov 3, 2017

Like many of his neighbors, Nguyen Duc Du relied on government food aid when typhoons – which regularly visited Tan Tien village in Quang Binh province – destroyed their rice crops. Except one time, nearly a decade ago, when the valley got flooded and no relief teams...

Strength in diversity: How cassava intercropping benefits the crops, the farmer, and the environment

by Madelline Romero | Oct 20, 2017

Photo by Madelline Romero/CIAT Cassava currently covers 25 million hectares worldwide, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization – more than all the land in the entire United Kingdom. At this huge scale, the impacts of agriculture on the...