Dong Tan is a coastal village in the province of Thanh Hoa. The income of the local farmers here is mainly from rice production and some extra off-farm activities. Their life, which has always been a challenging one, has been more difficult since climate change has begun to present severe threats to their main livelihood: rice production. Climate change has caused sea water intrusion which has led to increasingly saline soil, as well as more frequent and severe weather events such as extreme drought and flood. For years, the local farmers wish that if only they had proper rice seed and technique which can response to sea intrusion so that they could lead an easy life.
A local farmer impacted by climate change Saline soil in a rice field in Dong Tan, caused by climate change
With these impacts of climate change in mind, SRD in cooperation with the local farmers and local government, has been implementing the project “VM042: Putting lessons into practice: Scaling up people’s biodiversity management for food security” since June 2012. The objectives of the project are to: Develop locally appropriate adaptation strategies for food security by bridging traditional knowledge and science on plant genetic resources and incorporating local perceptions on climate change; Build the capacities of ethnic minorities and smallholder farmers to engage in local, national, regional and international food, agriculture and climate change policies toward realizing food security; and Strengthen the adaptive capacities of smallholder farmer communities and ethnic minorities in plant genetic resources conservation, and access and sustainable use, by scaling up successful and/or innovative models. These objectives will be accomplished though activities such as identifying the farmer’s knowledge/policy gaps, assessing climate change trends (with the help of farmers), piloting new adaptation and crop diversity strategies, growing the capacity of farmers and local institutions to advocate for relevant policies, and identifying policy gaps using a gender perspective.
SRD staff discussing with local authorities Farmers making a rice variety diversity map at an FFS class
So far, the project has made part contribution to the positive changes in lives the farmers of Dong Tan. Mrs Tran Thi Tien, a rice farmer and mother of 3, shared with SRD how the Framer Field School (supported by the project) has impacted the lives of her and her family. She shared that before FFS, she cultivated a variety of rice that was not of good quality due to the changing climatic conditions, and she used it feed her livestock. “The rice I grew was such poor quality that I had to buy rice for personal consumption”, she shared. She joined the FFS class in January 2013 to improve her farming knowledge and techniques to deal with the climatic changes she has been seeing, and to share these with her family and fellow Women’s Union members. The expertise of offered by the technical officers who attend the classes has been very beneficial in coping with the challenges the farmers are dealing with, Tien shared. The class has taught farmers how to apply a saline-resistant rice variety called M2, how to space their plants, how to save seeds for the next season (which are System Rice Intensification techniques), seed evaluation, how to reduce input costs, and rehabilitation. Variety evaluation was also a valuable technique that the class implemented, where 7 varieties were planted by locals and compared to select the ones that were most suited to local conditions.
Mrs Tien presenting at the FFS class The FFS trainees with a technician in their rice fields
Thanks to the techniques and new varieties Tien has learned about rom the FFS class, the quality of rice she grows has increased so she doesn’t have to buy rice, the rice she grows is more resistant to changing weather and salinity, and she was able to reduce the crop damages caused by natural disasters. Not to mention, being the head of the class has given her confidence in public speaking, and women are increasingly participating and raising their voices in the class. Tien encourages new farmers to join the class to expand their knowledge, to use the more resistant M2 variety, and even wants to talk to the village committee about funding the class once the project is over.
FFS students sharing their findings with other students
-SRD-
Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD)
No.31, Alley 19 Kim Dong Street, Hoang Mai District, Ha Noi
Phone: +84 24 3943 6676/78 | Fax: +84 24 3943 6449
