Intercropping mushrooms and medicinal plants, which don’t need lengthy times before harvest, with multipurpose trees is set to provide a much-needed boost in securing livelihoods in the Global South.

The Centre for Mountain Futures, the main arm of operations in China of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), has long been committed to supporting better livelihoods for the rural poor in least developed countries via the United Nations Office for South–South Cooperation (UNOSSC). In the past, staff have worked in concert with the UN to implement the Istanbul Programme of Action, which was the global framework for achieving sustainable and resilient development in the most underdeveloped regions of the world from 2011 to 2020.

On 16 March 2022, the agroforestry expertise of CIFOR-ICRAF was recognised in a valuable new publication, with big implications for the next decade of development in the Global South.

Entitled, Good Practices in South–South and Triangular Cooperation in Least Developed Countries: From the Istanbul Programme of Action to Achieving Sustainable and Resilient Development, the publication features 80 case studies of good practices and experience from least developed countries. Written in conjunction with partners from UNOSSC, United Nations’ Capital Development Fund, Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, and more, the comprehensive text reflects lessons learned for overcoming common problems, from conflicts and the climate crisis to COVID-19.

‘Planetary health is threatened by a variety of crises, from peaking anthropogenic emissions to mass species’ extinction,’ said Yufang Su, deputy director of the Centre for Mountain Futures. ‘But this book gives me hope. We are at the beginning of a new global partnership, one that affirms the immense value of South–South cooperation and least developed countries. It is here that the Sustainable Development Goals will be won…or lost.’

The book calls attention to the unique agroforestry system developed by researchers at the Centre for Mountain Futures in which medicinal plants and mushrooms are grown together with multipurpose trees. The system has already been piloted to regenerate a severely degraded phosphorus mining site in the remote hills of Yunnan Province, China, with the local Honghe Government providing additional land for expanding the scale of forest-fungi demonstration sites, providing researchers with the space and resources to explore other innovative agroforestry solutions.

Agrotechnicians from Nepal, Myanmar and India were invited to Yunnan to learn mushroom-cultivating techniques and deepen understanding about lucrative mushrooms, particularly, edible ones like Morchella species and Ganoderma lucidum, for which there is massive demand worldwide. In the five-day training programme, participants were instructed in two different cultivation methods and empowered with the tools to train smallholders, especially women, in their local communities.

‘The mushroom training case study from the Centre for Mountain Futures and other best practices highlighted in the book point the way forward,’ said Su. ‘Learning from these innovative solutions, smallholders across the Global South can build back better, promote peer exchange and knowledge sharing, and produce tangible development outcomes.’

At the end of 2021, the framework for the next decade of development in the Global South was approved, the Doha Programme of Action (2022–2031). This plan represents a new global compact designed to support rapid recovery from the pandemic, build resilience against future shocks, eradicate extreme poverty, and facilitate the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in least developed countries.

CIFOR-ICRAF will play an important role in achieving these goals through continuing to develop and implement nature-based solutions that take into account the financial realities of smallholders in the Global South.

The work of the Centre for Mountain Futures in developing the forest-fungi agroforestry system and building the capacity of agrotechnicians from India, Myanmar, Nepal and China will play a crucial role in easing the transition to a more sustainable mode of agriculture by rapidly delivering profits to smallholders before new trees begin full production.

Read the chapter

Bandara AR, Mortimer PE, Karunarathna SC, Xu JC, Su YF, Smith AG. 2022. Climate-smart practice for enhancing rural livelihoods. In: United Nations Office for South–South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Capital Development Fund, United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, eds. Good Practices in South–South and Triangular Cooperation in Least Developed Countries: From the Istanbul Programme of Action to Achieving Sustainable and Resilient Development. New York, USA: United Nations Office for South–South Cooperation; United Nations Development Programme; United Nations Capital Development Fund; United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries.