To improve the capacities and capabilities of rural communities in addressing climate change challenges, the Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) model is being introduced as a means to ensure food security, promote adaptation and build resilience to climatic stresses particularly in the Mekong Deltas. With local partners, Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) are being established where a set of existing 'no-regret' CSA technologies will be tested and prioritized based on yield and resilience potential and other beneficial features. These initiatives will then be scaled up to other farms and villages in the Mekong Region.

• Testing approaches and tools for dissemination of CSA and outscaling of CSV
• Engaging stakeholders and building capacities for upscaling of CSA/ CSV
• Mainstreaming selected CSA practices and the CSV concept in Mekong Basin countries

Scales and activities of the project

The scaling process of these CSA technologies will be facilitated through participatory approaches with farmers, complemented with knowledge platforms and multi-stakeholder forums. Innovative ICT approaches such as mobile phone apps for reaching a large number of end-users will be deployed and certification of CSA practices will be explored to define incentives within broader technology promotion schemes.

Project Outcomes

• Policy-makers at provincial and national levels improve their knowledge and capacity to integrate major principles of CSA and food production into development planning
• Farmers at both CSV and district levels improve their knowledge and capacity to experiment and adopt some promising CSA practices into existing local farming systems that can result in positive agronomic and socio-economic impacts
• Local agriculture service providers (e.g. government extension services, traders, NGOs) improve their capacity to provide appropriate support to the farmers on CSA practices and to facilitate knowledge sharing and cross learning for further scale-out through best practice approaches
• Development organizations take into account a coherent CSV approach for planning their portfolio
• Researchers regard the four CSVs as ‘lighthouse projects’ for CSA practices in the Lower Mekong Basin

The CSVs are hosted by the three partner centers of this project: International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and WorldFish which automatically render good knowledge on the local settings and national contexts in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The partner centers also bring in their technical knowledge on rice production, water management and aquaculture, respectively, covering the major thematic areas for CSA adoption in the region. While IRRI is the overall coordinator of the project, all partner centers will engage in cross-regional activities related to outscaling and upscaling of CSA through CSV approach.

Partners

IRRI is the overall project coordinator, and will bring in technical knowledge on rice production, while work of partner centers namely, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and WorldFish (WF) will focus on water management and aquaculture, respectively. They will concertedly engage in cross-regional activities related to outscaling and upscaling of CSAs through the CSV approach.

Local collaborators include various national and local stakeholders such as Can Tho University and Nong Lam University in Vietnam, District and Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Offices, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Mekong Delta Center and Cuso International in Laos, and Department of Agriculture Extension and Aphivat Strey in Cambodia.

This project operates under the auspices of CGIAR's Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in Southeast Asia.

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