December 8, 2022

Best practice guidelines for vegetable seed kit and irrigation interventions to support populations impacted by disasters in need of emergency crop support

Duration: 1 Oct 2022 – 30 Sep 2023

Problems to be addressed

Vegetables are increasingly included in emergency crop support programs to rebuild people’s livelihoods and diversify their diets. The rationale is that vegetables are high-value crops that can generate income quickly, and many people affected by emergencies lack adequate amounts of vegetables in their diets. While this rationale is laudable, the inclusion of vegetables in emergency crop support programs is not well supported by evidence and a general framework is lacking on if and how to include vegetables. There is a need for a clear strategy on how vegetables can contribute to improving the livelihood of vulnerable populations during emergencies.

How does the project address the problem?

The project will develop a set of guidelines to support better decision-making on whether to include vegetables in emergency crop support programs and if so, how to optimally design a vegetable intervention. The best-practice technical guidelines will:

1. employ a co-creation process with USAID-supported humanitarian organizations

2. focus on vegetable seed and irrigation as two critical elements to the success of any vegetable intervention, and highlight crop management options

3. cover emergency seed supplies

4. align with ongoing initiatives that have developed systematic guidelines for crop support programs such as Standards for Supporting Agricultural Livelihoods in Emergencies (SEADS) and the Seed Emergency Response Tool (SERT).

The project is a collaboration with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) whose focus will be on developing a decision-support tool for irrigation interventions.

What results are expected?

At the end of the three-year project, the following major outputs are expected:

– a review of current practices around vegetables in emergency crop support programs,

– 4 workshops to understand the implementation of emergency support programs,

– 3 training events,

– 1 toolbox of best practice guidelines & 1 video on how to apply the tool, and

– 1 impact assessment to evaluate emergency vegetable support programs.

Website: https://avrdc.org/

Published: December 8, 2022