Objectives

The overall objective of this research action is to contribute to poverty and hunger eradication and green growth in an inclusive and ecologically-sustainable way, through the transformation of agricultural and food systems in Guinea-Bissau — particularly those associated with mangrove swamp rice cultivation — and through the strengthening of researchers’ and farmers skills in the development and diffusion of innovations. This will include the mobilisation of multidisciplinary science and local knowledge in the co-production of innovations, to help frame and structure several empirical past and current interventions in support of the rice farming systems and of the contributions of mangroves' products and services to food and nutritional security and livelihoods at large. These innovations will respond to threats emanating from climate change and socioeconomic transformations, political instability and institutional weakness, and will maximise the immediate and long-term impact of national and international investments through the creation of synergies with past and ongoing projects/programmes.

Outcomes

1.

A set of technologies better adapted to changing agroecological, socio-economic and cultural contexts, is identified and incorporated in order to achieve higher and more stable inter-annual rice yields in the targeted areas.

2.

A set of sustainable practices for the agri-aquaculture-livestock farming systems is formulated and applied in order to improve the contribution of mangrove ecosystem to the livelihoods in the targeted areas.

3.

National actors, with an emphasis on young farmers, technicians and researchers, are empowered in order to revalue agriculture as a profession, co-develop and diffuse innovative technology and influence policy decisions.

To reach these ambitious outcomes, the MALMON project is divided into four Work Packages (WP) coordinated as following by one of the core-team institutions.