Innovative approaches that combine agriculture and aquaculture have been developing significantly in the Asia-Pacific region, resulting in enhanced livelihoods for small landholders. Although adding fish to flooded rice paddies originated in China hundreds of years ago, it has since spread to many other nations. Additional agro-aquaculture systems have emerged recently, such as incorporating shrimp into flooded rice paddies. To aid the strengthening of the varying socio-economic and environmental conditions in the region, USAID wished to study and promote new innovations to make these traditional practices more productive and sustainable and strengthen food systems in Asia. TIV’s experts assisted Winrock International in the USAID endeavor, Feed The Future Asia Innovative Farmer’s Activity (AIFA), a regional project in Bangkok, Thailand.

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The project “facilitated the scaling of agricultural technologies by developing a robust regional innovation ecosystem, commercial partnerships, regional technology transfer, and improved regional policy-enabling environment.” Central to the 5-year project’s goals was the augmentation of food security in developing and impoverished regions of Asia, in tandem with efforts to reduce poverty and improve environmental sustainability through the vehicle of agricultural innovation and technology diffusion.

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Fundamental to the duties of this undertaking, TIV’s experts were tasked with extensive research on relevant stakeholders and mapping low-cost technologies that could function in low-resource ecosystems for aquaculture and horticulture for small landholders. Comprehensive value chain analysis also focused on low-cost technologies for sustainability, resource efficiency, and value addition. Additionally, the role entailed findings and analyses, with subsequent content development for similar future activities. As part of the engagement, TIV’s experts provided an expansive set of recommendations for use by project stakeholders and organizational leadership, including suggestions for developing and expanding the stakeholder database and mapping initiatives and technology roadmaps extending beyond the project's life.