OTTAWA, April 27, 2015 /CNW/ - Canada's
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Foreign
Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) today announced CA$17
million in new funding for projects that will make food more secure
and nutritious in developing countries. The four projects are part
of an effort to scale up the most promising research supported
under the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund
(CIFSRF).
"Our Government's investments through the Canadian International
Food Security Research Fund are resulting in more nutritious and
diversified diets and higher incomes for developing-country farmers
and their families," said the Honourable Christian Paradis,
Minister of International Development and La Francophonie.
"Canada is committed to supporting
agricultural research and innovation to help increase food security
and make a meaningful difference in the lives of those most in
need."
"These international collaborations will help tens of thousands
of farmers and fishers produce more food, earn a higher income, and
provide local consumers with much needed essential nutrients that
are missing from their diets. At the same time, we are identifying
the most effective ways of taking promising food security solutions
and achieving large-scale impacts with them," said IDRC President
Jean Lebel.
CIFSRF is a $124-million fund that
works to increase food security in developing countries by funding
research in agricultural innovation and nutrition, and fostering
collaboration between developing-country researchers and Canadian
experts. The results help governments, institutions, private
enterprises, and farmers adopt better food security policies and
practices.
To date, more than 100,000 women and men farmers in poor
communities around the globe have worked with researchers to
achieve many significant results. CIFSRF is now looking to expand
the reach of the most promising solutions. IDRC and DFATD announced
three projects to scale up some of these results on January 23, 2015. They are announcing four more
today:
- Canadian, Beninese, and Nigerian researchers will help more
farmers grow underutilized indigenous vegetables using improved
farming practices—such as fertilizer micro-dosing and rain-water
harvesting—that can sustainably increase yields, save on costs, and
preserve soils and water. The team will expand the farming
practices to 50,000 farmers and promote demand through indigenous
vegetable farming and processing enterprises.
- Researchers from Canada and
Ethiopia have improved chickpea
and bean varieties, soil health, and human nutrition in a region of
Ethiopia where chickpea production
was not considered viable. They will bring the higher-yielding,
more nutritious grains to more than 35,000 farming households in
Southwestern Ethiopia, helping to
ensure their food and nutritional security.
- A Canadian-Bolivian team of researchers will further develop
the sustainable fishing of arapaima among indigenous people and
expand a primarily women-led small-scale aquaculture industry in
the Bolivian Amazon. More than 10,000 fishers and small-scale
aquaculturalists will benefit from their work, and make fish
available to 400,000 consumers.
- A team of Canadian and Cambodian researchers will focus on
nutrition and market development to extend a homestead food
production system to some 22,500 families in several ecological
areas of Cambodia. The system aims
to diversify farmers' rice-based diet by integrating aquaculture,
poultry-farming, home gardening, and nutrition education.
This funding for scaling-up will allow the research teams to
further develop the new technologies and involve partners who can
bring them to market to reach greater numbers of smallholder
farmers.
For more information on the four projects, see
Backgrounder
More information on CIFSRF is available at www.idrc.ca/cifsrf
Read more about other CIFSRF results in this Achievements Brief
The Canadian International Food Security Research Fund is
a program of Canada's
International Development Research Centre undertaken with the
financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Foreign Affairs, Trade
and Development Canada.
About IDRC
A key part of Canada's foreign
policy efforts, IDRC supports research in developing countries to
promote growth and development. The result is innovative, lasting
solutions that aim to improve lives and livelihoods.
www.idrc.ca
About DFATD
The mandate of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
(DFATD) is to manage Canada's
diplomatic and consular relations, to encourage the country's
international trade, and to lead Canada's international development and
humanitarian assistance.
www.international.gc.ca
@IDRC_CRDI
https://twitter.com/idrc_crdi
https://www.facebook.com/IDRC.CRDI
https://www.youtube.com/user/IDRCCRDI
Subscribe | Abonnez-vous IDRC Bulletin Bulletin du CRDI
SOURCE International Development Research Centre