R4D Food and Hunger

Report to the UK Department for International Development (DFID) on the Development Strand of the World Conference of Science Journalists 29th June 3rd July 2009, London

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:46:00 GMT

Miscellaneous WCSJ 2009 74 pp.

The Development Strand at the 6th World Conference of Science Journalists aimed to deliver sessions on the role of the media in reporting on development issues, including food sustainability, climate change, and tropical diseases, and their importance to policy and capacity building.

The strand was intended to be of particular benefit to journalists from emerging and developing countries where these issues are acutely relevant to their audiences and these journalists need to be equipped to cover such issues accurately and critically. The Development Strand also aimed to focus attention of the UK media and journalists from around Europe and North America on development issues. The Strand was to be an opportunity to showcase DFID's ongoing support to the World Federation of Science Journalists' peer-to-peer mentoring programme (SjCOOP) and to the Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net), through discussion panels and in workshops.

More broadly, the strand would highlight DFID policy and projects, and DFID's goal of supporting comprehensive media development (DFID briefing paper "Media and Good Governance" (May 2008).

This report outlines the sessions of the Development Strand at WCSJ2009, the results of evaluations done by questionnaire and interviews on the day of pre-conference workshops (Monday 29th June) and by post-conference questionnaire on Thursday 2nd July and online survey. It also includes individual comments from conference delegates and scholars, including those directly supported by DFID via the World Federation of Science Journalists peer-to-peer science journalism mentoring programme (SjCOOP), and transcripts of the Development Strand podcast by Naked Scientists, and the lunch session organised by DFID on Thursday 2nd July, "Friendship or Friction: How the media relates to the research community".

Global recommitment to agriculture. CGIAR Annual Report 2008.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:08:00 GMT

Miscellaneous CGIAR 2009 72 pp. This report describes the impact of the CGIAR in its stakeholders' words, its commitment in a time of change, commitment to partnerships, centers supported by the CGIAR, challenge programs, commitment to excellence (science awards, performance measurement, CGIAR in the news, CGIAR gender and diversity program, system office - central services for centers. It includes an executive summary of the 2008 financials, and who's who in the CGIAR.

United Kingdom Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS)

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:42:00 GMT

Current

The UKCDS brings together the key UK funders and stakeholders who provide support for the development sciences research base. It will provide a framework for a more coordinated approach to development sciences research, in order to increase its relevance and impact on national and international policies and activities, aimed at improving the lives of the world's poorest people.

The key elements of work of the UKCDS are:

Strategically overview the UK development sciences research base to create an understanding of its international standing, capacity, skill base, resources and impact;
Create a common vision for the future of development science research;
Add value to existing programmes of work through coordination, synergy of activities and gap awareness;
Identify the challenges and opportunities in current and future research funding;
Coordinate and support the initiation of funding and delivery programmes;
Identify working practices which will build on existing collaborative activity;
Raise the awareness of the development sciences research base through proactive communication with stakeholders;
Promote opportunities for the wider application of the UK science base;
Provide a key link with relevant parts of the EUs research framework programme.

Harvest Plus Challenge Programme (HPCP)

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:36:00 GMT

Current In late 2002, the CGIAR Micronutrients Project was selected to be one of three pioneer CGIAR Challenge Programs. In 2004, the HarvestPlus Challenge Program was officially launched when it became the first recipient of funding for biofortification research granted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It has also received funding from many other generous donors. HarvestPlus has since emerged as a global leader in developing biofortified crops and now works with more than 200 agricultural and nutrition scientists around the world. It is co-convened by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). To improve the health of poor people by breeding staple food crops that are rich in micronutrients. HarvestPlus' primary objectives are to:

select and breed nutritionally improved varieties of seven major staple food crops with superior agronomic properties that make them acceptable to farmers to grow;
carefully test promising varieties under development to establish that sufficient nutrients are retained in staples as consumed, and that these nutrients are sufficiently bioavailable so that micronutrient status in undernourished people is improved;
develop efficient, accelerated mechanisms for testing promising materials with farmers, consumers, and other end users, including those in the most nutritionally disadvantaged areas, to identify varieties with superior agronomic, socioeconomic, and end user-acceptable traits; and
measure the nutritional impacts of these improved varieties in community-based studies where these varieties have been adopted.
deliver micronutrient rich improved crops to farmers and consumers in a cost effective manner in targeted developing countries.

HarvestPlus is biofortifying seven key staple crops that will have the greatest impact in alleviating micronutrient malnutrition, or hidden hunger, in Asia and Africa. These crops are beans, cassava, maize, pearl millet, rice, sweet potato, and wheat. Each product consists of a different crop, nutrient and country combinations as shown in the below (release year in brackets).

Bean - Iron (Zinc) - DR Congo, Rwanda (2010)
Cassava - Provitamin A - DR Congo, Nigeria (2011-12)
Maize - Provitamin A - Zambia (2011-12)
Pearl Millet - Iron (Zinc) - India (2011)
Rice - Zinc (Iron) - Bangladesh, India (2012-13)
Sweet Potato - Provitamin A - Uganda, Mozambique (2007)
Wheat - Zinc (Iron) - India, Pakistan (2012-13)

Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSA CP)

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:52:00 GMT

Current

A study of Africa's ARD initiated by FARA's secretariat has revealed a major impediment preventing ARD from achieving its potential to improve livelihoods particularly those of the poor. This impediment results from the fact that ARD relies on the linear researchextensionadoption approach. To address this challenge, the Secretariat has proposed the Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) approach, which draws upon innovation and uses a systems perspective as its organising principle. IAR4D needs to be articulated, tested, and validated to ascertain the conditions under which it works and whether it delivers greater impact than traditional approaches.

The Programme is being implemented at three Pilot Learning Sites (PLS) covering 8 countries in the ASARECA, CORAF/WECARD and SADC-FANR sub-regions. The continental perspective of the Secretariat means that it can design and conduct cross-SRO evaluations of IAR4D. It also means that it can pool data across the continent and so derive lessons and identify best practice and share this knowledge among the SROs. In this way the SSA CP contributes to NSF 5s function as a knowledge hub for best practice relating to multi-stakeholder ARD approaches.

The SSA CP is a research programme that focuses:

(i) on delivering international public goods concerned with best practices in relation to multi-stakeholder engagement in the generation and wide-scale adoption of agricultural innovations and

(ii) on evaluating whether Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) works and is more cost/benefit effective relative to conventional approaches. After satisfactorily answering the above issues, which FARA aims to achieve by the end of the current research phase, the SSA CP will metamorphose into a clearing house for promoting the adoption of IAR4D. It will do this by acting as a platform that will share information and knowledge concerning agricultural innovation and multi-stakeholder (partnership) engagement in ARD.

There are 9 pilot learning sites under the SSA CP:

Southern Africa (ZMM) based on Value chain

1. Expansion of horticulture value chains in irrigated and rainfed systems. [IPGRI]
2. Integration of sustainable soil fertility management innovations into staple food value chains in high and low potential systems [SOFECSA/CIMMYT]
3. Integration of efficient water and nutrient use innovations in high and low potential cereal grains systems [TSBF-CIAT]

East Africa (L.Kivu) based on Watersheds

4. More food products and better nutrition at reduced cost and minimal degradation of the natural resource base [ISAR]
5. Beneficial conservation and sustainable use of natural resources [Makerere/ICRISAT]
6. Wealth creation through agro enterprise diversification and improved market access [CIAT]

West Africa (KKM) based on agro-ecology

7. Sustainable agricultural intensification in the Sudan Savannah zone [IITA]
8. Innovation platforms to improve livelihoods in the Northern Guinea Savannah [IFDC]
9. Improving rural livelihoods in the Sahel of Niger [INRAN]

Water and Food Challenge Programme

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:37:00 GMT

Current

In developing countries, water for agriculture consumes 70 90% of water use. To meet the needs of a growing population, more food must be produced using less water. The CPWF has taken on this challenge from a research perspective. The initiative brings together research scientists, development specialists, and river basin communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America to create and disseminate international public goods (IPGs) that improve the productivity of water in river basins in ways that are pro-poor, gender equitable and environmentally sustainable.

The Challenge Program is working towards achieving:

Food security for all at household level
Poverty alleviation through increased sustainable livelihoods in rural and peri-urban areas
Improved health through better nutrition, lower agriculturerelated pollution and reduced water-related diseases
Environmental security through improved water quality as well as maintenance of water-related ecosystems and biodiversity.

To fund a research programme, extension and capacity building programme that will increase the productivity of water used for agriculture.

The CPWF Research Strategy concentrates its attention on five thematic areas, each one led by a specialist from a different CGIAR center.

System level:

Crop water productivity improvement
This theme takes the view that water productivity can be improved through technological and managerial innovation at the farm level. Hence it seeks plant-breeding solutions for agriculture located in areas affected by drought and saline soils. It studies integrated natural resources management and crop production at field, farm and agro-ecosystem levels. This theme promotes policies and institutions facilitating the adoption of crop water productivity improvements.

Water and people in catchments
This theme focuses attention at the catchment level. It is concerned with water, poverty and risk in upper catchments. It seeks innovations in improved water management and aims to enable people to benefit from the improved management of land and water resources.

Aquatic ecosystems and fisheries
Aquatic environments are a key source of nutrition for many of the world's poor often, they are the sole source of protein for these communities. Research under this theme investigates environmental water requirements; to value ecosystem goods and services; and to seek innovative ways in which to improve the productivity of aquatic ecosystems through policies, institutions, and governance.

Basin level:

Integrated basin water management systems
Increasingly, integrated water resources management (IWRM) is viewed as a promising strategy for managing water resources. This theme identifies appropriate technologies and management practices designed to enable IWRM. It seeks innovative institutional arrangements and decision-support tools and information that can help with the establishment of this managerial strategy.

Global level:

Global and national water and food systems
This theme examines water, its management and use at the broadest of possible scales. Hence, globalization, trade, macroeconomic and sectoral policies have an important bearing on water, how it is used, and its productivity. This theme concerns itself with the kinds of investments and financing for agricultural water development and water supply that may improve water productivity or, indeed, hinder it. This theme area also recognizes that at international levels, the management of water resources is complex and therefore seeks to understand how best to formulate appropriate policy and institutions to deal with this complexity. The theme also considers changes in the global water cycle.

The CPWF's Second International Forum on Water and Food, IFWF2, with a theme of Partnerships for Change, Science for Development was held in Addis Ababa from 9-14 November 2008. More than 240 people participated with representation from each of the CPWF projects.

Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Challenge Programme

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:49:00 GMT

Current The Challenge Programme's main objectives are to:

Overcome critical gaps in knowledge of how to enhance and manage the tradeoffs between food security, livelihood and environmental goals in the face of a changing climate.
Develop and evaluate options for adapting to a changing climate to inform agricultural development, food security policy and donor investment strategies.
Assist farmers, policymakers, researchers and donors to continually monitor, assess and adjust their actions in response to a changing climate.

Crops for the Future ICUC (formerly known as International Centre for Underutilised Crops)

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:09:00 GMT

Current Changing lifestyles and the increasing globalization of trade have tended to favour only a few major crops and these have come to dominate agricultural production, processing and commerce, nationally and internationally. The demands for research and hence funding have inevitably concentrated on these same commodities. As a result, not only have a number of food species fallen into disuse, to be replaced by the major crops and the products derived from them, but also many other species are similarly affected such as those that can contribute fibre, medicine, fodder, or construction material. However, these neglected and underused plant species are part of a rich economic, social and cultural diversity. Many have the potential to play a much more important role than they do today in sustaining livelihoods and human wellbeing and in enhancing ecosystem health and stability. In addition, agro-biodiversity helps to keep options open for adaptation to, and mitigation of, climate changes.

Crops for the Future is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of neglected and underutilised plant species as a contribution to humanity. It evolved from the International Centre for Underutilised Crops and the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species.

It covers the whole range of underutilised species, food and non-food crops;

It catalyses the development of processing and marketing facilities for underutilised crops and will concentrate on developing options for income generation;
It has a global mandate and will thus strengthen national and regional efforts in policy advocacy; coalitions, consortia and alliances with relevant and engaged partners from the public and private sectors will form the base for its operation;
It will follow the innovation systems concept, thus being an initiator and facilitator, not implementer of research and development activities.

Crops for the Future is envisaged for the long-term, its life-span determined by regular and rigorous internal and external reviews. In a novel approach, it will be hosted by Bioversity International in a joint venture with the University of Nottingham's Malaysia Campus and located in Serdang, Malaysia.
Crops for the Future activities are arranged in three major strategic objectives formulated to increase the impact of past and ongoing research and development:
1. increasing the knowledge base for underutilised crops, especially regarding sustained market access, nutritional security, health and climate change,
2. identifying and advocating necessary policy change to promote the use of underutilised crops, and
3. fostering capacity building about underutilised crops.

African Insect Science for Food and Health (ICIPE)

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:58:00 GMT

Current

ICIPE has specific objectives in each of the 4-H research areas of human, animal, plant and environmental health. icipe develops, introduces and adapts new tools and strategies for arthropod management that are environmentally safe, affordable, appropriate, socially acceptable and applicable by the target end-users, with full community participation. In addition, there are centre-wide goals that span all programme areas:

Create knowledge: ICIPE aims to serve as the regional focus for bioscience and technology information and knowledge, and to develop and adapt improved arthropod management technologies.
Build capacity: ICIPE will continue to build the capacity of individual researchers and institutions in the tropics to initiate original research activities as new problems arise; to empower women and harness the youth; and to build capacity to use, transfer and teach icipe's technologies.
Develop policy: ICIPE contributes to policy development in areas relevant to its work by cooperating and working closely with African governments and institutions at the local level, and with other policy-making organisations at regional and international levels.
Reduce poverty: The ultimate goals of ICIPE research are to reduce the impact of arthropod pests that have a direct bearing on poverty, food production and well-being; create sustainable livelihoods for rural communities and entrepreneurs through agrobased food, fibre and health products enterprise development; and promote use of beneficial insects.

ICIPE's mission is to help alleviate poverty, ensure food security and improve the overall health status of peoples of the tropics by developing and extending management tools and strategies for harmful and useful insects, while preserving the natural resource base through research and capacity building.

New information on disease epidemics (partly as a result of climate change) permits to re-identify target sites for disease control by using bio-rational pesticide compounds, attractants and repellents detrimental to disease vectors identified.
The epidemiology, transmission and diagnosis of malaria, Human Africa Trypanosomosis (HAT) and leishmaniasis is elucidated (results published and widely recognized).
Modules and monitoring tools for predicting emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases developed.
For emerging infectious diseases such as Rift Valley Fever and Dengue Fever, Integrated Vector Management (IVM) strategies for use in different ecological settings are developed and disseminated.
Education of African vector control specialists undertaken, activities expanded into other regions and research capacity strengthened.
New icipe tsetse repellent technology optimised and validated in at least 3 different agro-pastoral locations.
New artificial baits (both visual and olfactory) for riverine tsetse developed for monitoring and suppressing fly populations effectively.
Knowledge on the biology, behaviour and ecology of vectors responsible for emerging infectious diseases such as blue-tongue and lumpy skin disease is generated and adequately communicated.
Existing and new vector management techniques are systematically integrated in training programs of icipe and of network partners.
The economics of pest management through IPM strategies, biological control (BC) as well as pesticides and the interaction with human and environmental health is assessed in at least 3 specific studies.
The factors that in- or decrease the risk of aflatoxin contamination of maize grain identified and IPM-programs designed to combat mycotoxin-producing fungi in East and Southern African.
Predictive experimental models to determine possible effects of climate change on invasive and indigenous pests of selected target crops developed.
Improved bio- and chemo-pesticide formulations screened and refined for large-scale field validation in locust control. Visible icipe contribution to a catalogue of African arthropod biodiversity.
Minimum 3 new insect-based enterprises (sericulture, apiculture and butterfly farming) exist in buffer zones adjacent to rich biodiversity habitats, creating income opportunities especially for women. The experience is documented.
Altitudinal shifts in arthropod distributions in response to climate change are monitored to provide indicators of the effects of global warming; and changes in rainfall distribution on arthropod populations are understood and documented for at least 4 model species (pests and beneficials).
200 mid-level practitioners and extension workers from 30 national systems trained for enhanced technology uptake and out-scaling.
Institutional strengthening capacity initiatives for national collaborators and African Universities developed.
Research and capacity building in bio-prospecting for useful products from biodiversity undertaken.

Highlights include:
Community-based management and comprehensive farmer training programmes implemented on:

Deployment of ICIPE's NGU tsetse traps (e.g. in Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda), reducing fly numbers by up to 99.9% without chemical pollution;
Adaptation of IPM systems for vegetables for semi-arid zones by communities in several parts of Kenya;
Adoption of commercial insects farming in improved apiculture (beekeeping) and domestic and wild silkmoth rearing (sericulture), by over 10,000 farmers and extensionists in 24 African countries;
Introduction of community production and processing facilities for medicinal and insect-repelling plants adjacent to biodiversity-threatened areas.

CGIAR Change Management Programme (Change Initiative Fund CIF)

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:56:00 GMT

Current

In 2008, the CGIAR completed two strategic initiatives intended to enhance the Systems capability and effectiveness in addressing global challenges such as rising food prices, climate change and poverty. Guided by a Change Steering Team, a Change Management Initiative engaged a broad range of stakeholders to develop alternatives for improving the CGIARs vision, governance, finances and partnerships. In parallel, an Independent Review of the CGIAR System conducted an intensive and thorough assessment and contributed its findings and recommendations to the Change Initiative.

The two processes culminated in a far-reaching reform proposal which CGIAR Members adopted unanimously at the Annual General Meeting in Maputo, Mozambique in December 2008. The agreed reforms will clarify accountabilities, streamline governance and programs for greater efficiency, open the system to stronger partnerships and foster an exciting research environment. The result will be a stronger CGIAR, which better serves the billions of people who depend on agriculture.

With the course for revitalizing the CGIAR now clear, the real work of moving from vision to realization begins. The year 2009 will be one of intensive transition efforts to implement the agreed reform while continuing to develop and disseminate international public goods in the face of the three pressing global issues of food, fuel and finance.

To provide leadership to keep the CGIAR transition process on track, which will include the establishment and functioning of the Consortium and the CGIAR Fund

In implementing the transitional arrangements, to articulate the next level of detail of the reform and ensure that each proposed changes adds value to a new and improved CGIAR that is more effective in delivering positive development outcomes and higher impacts on poverty and hunger.

A clear strategic focus.
Increased research output, outcome and impact.
Greater efficiency, effectiveness and relevance.
Simplicity and clarity of governance.
Enhanced decentralized decision making.
Active subsidiarity to capitalize on complimentarities of the Centers.

1. The CGIAR approved, in principle, the document A Revitalized CGIARA New Way Forward: The Integrated Reform Proposal at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Maputo Mozambique. (December 08)

2. ExCo confirmed the new Fund was on track with some remaining issues to be worked out around the composition of the Fund Council and Funders Forum, the role of the Independent Science and Partnerships Council and what the donor agreements with the Fund and performance contracts will look like. (June 09).

CGIAR Change Management Programme (Change Initiative Fund CIF)

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:56:00 GMT

Current

To provide leadership to keep the CGIAR transition process on track, which will include the establishment and functioning of the Consortium and the CGIAR Fund

A clear strategic focus.
Increased research output, outcome and impact.
Greater efficiency, effectiveness and relevance.
Simplicity and clarity of governance.
Enhanced decentralized decision making.
Active subsidiarity to capitalize on complimentarities of the Centers.

1. The CGIAR approved, in principle, the document A Revitalized CGIARA New Way Forward: The Integrated Reform Proposal at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Maputo Mozambique. (December 08)

Core Funding for International Agricultural Research, including Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Centres

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:27:00 GMT

Current In March 2006 the Secretary of State announced the allocation of £200 million pounds over 5 years for the new Strategy for Research on Sustainable Agriculture (SRSA). This covers the first of 4 main components below:

International agricultural research to deliver high quality and effective international public goods to tackle poverty reduction and achieve sustainable growth. The majority of this support is channelled through the 15 centres and 5 challenge programmes of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
A facility to capitalise on the achievements of DFIDs current and past investment in Renewable Natural Resources research;
Four regional research programmes (East, West and Southern Africa and South Asia);
A responsive programme in partnership with UK research councils to support long-term basic/fundamental research linked to applied research in southern-based organisations.

Hear how the WorldFish Center is working to alleviate hunger and poverty in Africa

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:00:00 GMT

The work of the WorldFish Center will be highlighted in part 2 of 'Food for Thought' being aired on BBC World News this weekend (24-26 October 2009)

DFID's Chris Whitty Opens Global Summit: Food Security in a Climate of Change

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:00:00 GMT

DFID's Chief Scientist Chris Whitty and Mr Gao Hongbin, Vice Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, People's Republic of China provided the keynote addresses to the CABI Global Summit: 'food security in a climate of change' currently taking place in London (19-21 October).

This is Open Access Week

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:00:00 GMT

This week, 19-23 October 2009, is the first International Open Access Week, which aims to broaden awareness and understanding of Open Access.

New variant famine: AIDS and food crisis in southern Africa.

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:41:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Waal, A. de; Whiteside, A. 2003 The Lancet (2003) Volume 362, Issue 9391, pp. 1234-1237 [doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14548-5] Southern Africa is undergoing a food crisis of surprising scale and novelty. The familiar culprits of drought and mismanagement of national strategies are implicated. However, this crisis is distinct from conventional drought-induced food shortages with respect to those vulnerable to starvation, and the course of impoverishment and recovery. We propose that these new aspects to the food crisis can be attributed largely to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region. We present evidence that we are facing a new variant famine. We have used frameworks drawn from famine theory to examine the implications. HIV/AIDS has created a new category of highly vulnerable households namely, those with ill adults or those whose adults have died. The general burden of care in both AIDS-affected and non-AIDS-affected households has reduced the viability of farming livelihoods. The sensitivity of rural communities to external shocks such as drought has increased, and their resilience has declined. The prospects for a sharp decline into severe famine are increased, and possibilities for recovery reduced.

Living with Environmental Change Brochure

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:59:00 GMT

Miscellaneous LWEC Partnership 2008 6 pp. The brochure describes this major interdisciplinary research and policy partnership to tackle environmental change. Information is given on the challenge to be tackled, the objectives, expected outputs and funders.

Hunger and gender inequality go hand-in-hand

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:00:00 GMT

The 2009 Global Hunger Index just released by IFPRI draws attention to the link between hunger and gender inequalities

Exploring the broader use of Community Therapeutic Care

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:32:00 GMT

Current High levels of poverty, food security, childhood illness and HIV/AIDS combine to increase the risk of malnutrition, which is associated with more than 50% of childhood deaths. Services to treat severe acute malnutrition in many areas of the developing world are often not able to reach those most in need and have failed to achieve a sustainable impact. To produce and disseminate evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of CTC in multiple contexts through research, programme development and documentation of best practice.

This proposal aims to achieve outputs as follows:

A. Substantial evidence of where CTC is appropriate and how to maximize its effectiveness
1. CTC will be the internationally accepted approach and practice for a nutrition response in humanitarian emergencies and will be incorporated into policy and programme documents of international, national and local institutions and organisations
2. Evidence will be generated to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of integrating CTC within primary health care services as part of emergency preparedness and disaster mitigation, as well as treatment of severe malnutrition in non-emergency/development context as demonstrated by increased number of MOH-run integrated CTC programmes.
3. Refined CTC models for different country contexts (e.g. conflict, disaster preparedness/mitigation, HIV/AIDs, development) incorporated into policies and programmes in five (5) target countries at national, regional and district levels

B. Improved, affordable therapeutic products available for use in CTC programmes
1. Credible published evidence that local recipe RUTFs made from local crops are as effective as Plumpynut® in promoting recovery from acute malnutrition.
2. Locally produced RUTF integrated into new and ongoing CTC programmes thereby increasing stability of supply and eliminating cost of RUTF importation.
3. Alternative compositions of Ready to Use Supplementary Foods (RUSF) developed and proved to be effective
4. A growing body of evidence of the effectiveness of RUTF consumption on the rehabilitation of severe acute malnutrition in PLWHA
5. Evidence of the effectiveness of the addition of Synbiotic to RUTF in promoting recovery and decreases mortality and morbidity in acute malnutrition and HIV/AIDS.

C. Dissemination of results/best practices and expanded capacity to implement CTC
1. Broad dissemination of CTC best practices through national and international training and workshops
2. Key international and national organisations involved in translating results into policies and practice
3. Cadre of health professionals trained in CTC implementation in target countries

Tracing policy connections: the politics of knowledge in the Green Revolution and biotechnology eras in India.

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:32:00 GMT

Miscellaneous S. Seshia and I. Scoones 2003 IDS Working Paper 188. Brighton, UK: IDS. ISBN 1 85864 492 5, 35 pp. This paper explores the dynamic interaction of global and more local knowledge about agriculture, food and rural development through a comparison of policy-making during two periods in India the Green Revolution and biotechnology eras. The paper highlights how the biotechnology era differs in a number of key respects from the Green Revolution. These include: the nature and complexity of policy narratives associated with agriculture, food security and poverty; the types, numbers and networks of actors inside and outside the state involved in policy-making; the form and location of expertise and sites of policy-making, from the local to the global; and the nature and extent of policy debate, controversy and dissent. Between the two eras, the paper shows how policy emphases have shifted from a focus on national food self-sufficiency and nation-building in a planned economy to engaging with a liberalised, highly unequal and uncertain global market economy and, with this, from Cold War security concerns to liberalisation and trade issues. Agricultural policy debates have thus shifted from small-scale farming for food production to agriculture as a globally competitive industry. The result has been a move from the involvement of relatively few players in the policy process to multiple players, including many non-state actors (such as NGOs, private sector corporations, the media), each with global connections. Funding flows too have changed from international philanthropy with state support to an increasing reliance on the private sector. This is associated with different practices of science from field based to lab based and from research premised on the free exchange of knowledge to research governed by intellectual property concerns and commercial confidentiality. Despite the easy similarities and apparent continuities between the two eras used prolifically in popular and policy discourse the paper argues that the biotechnology era is unquestionably different. There is not going to be a simple replication of the great Green Revolution story in India, and, the paper argues, more attention needs to be paid to the important differences in policy context and process if some of the challenges of the biotechnology era are to be met.

The International Regulation of Modern Biotechnology

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:22:00 GMT

Miscellaneous R. Mackenzie 2003 60 pp. The main aim of this paper is to detail the international legal and institutional context within which developing countries operate as they elaborate and implement national biotechnology and biosafety policies and legal frameworks. The primary focus of the paper, as it is in the international agenda, is on agricultural biotechnology and related biosafety issues. The paper considers international rules and guidelines setting out the rights or obligations to regulate biotechnology/biosafety as well as the international legal obligations that discipline the rights of countries to apply food safety, health, and environmental regulations and to take food security considerations into account in making regulatory decisions on the import and use of GMOs.

Intellectual property rights, biotechnology and food security

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:14:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Farhana Yamin 2003 IDS Working Paper 203. Brighton, UK: IDS. ISBN 1 85864 519 0, 71 pp. This paper examines the relationship between food security, agricultural biotechnology and intellectual property rights (IPRs), particularly for developing countries and poorer groups within those countries. As a result of industry pressure, harmonised standards of IPRs have been agreed at the global level, chiefly through TRIPs/WTO. Recent empirical work demonstrates that for low income developing countries, the costs of strengthening IPRs may well outweigh the gains. Moreover, potential gains through increased technological inflows resulting from stronger IPRs are likely to be realised over the long term, while costs accrue immediately, suggesting that developing countries should thinking carefully about promoting the expansion of IPRs, particularly in the field of agriculture. This is because although in the long term, IPRs incentivize research and development they also go hand in hand with unsustainable, and possibly unsafe, forms of agriculture, make R&D more expensive, especially in developing countries and tend to reduce national developmental choices. Despite this, pro-IPR industry representatives and trade officials, with privileged access to patent offices, judicial processes and WTO negotiations, continue to push for stronger IPRs at the global and national level. Those negatively impacted, such as small-scale farmers, traditional knowledge holders, environmental groups and developing countries, will need to play a larger role in IPR policy-making, at all levels, if biotechnology is to benefit the poorest and most vulnerable groups in the global economy. Lack of negotiating power and policy expertise of developing countries within the WTO, combined with strategic forum-shifting by more powerful countries, needs to be countered to ensure that the IPR playing field is not skewed further against R&D that would benefit the poor and forms of agriculture that would improve their food security must be positively encouraged.

Governing modern agricultural biotechnology in Kenya: implications for food security.

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:03:00 GMT

Miscellaneous H. Odame, P. Kameri-Mbote and D. Wafula 2003 IDS Working Paper 199. Brighton, UK: IDS. ISBN 1 85864 514 X, 40 pp. This report reviews governance issues of modern biotechnology. The study used two case studies of transgenic sweet potato and Bt maize to examine how governance issues influence household and national food security in the country. The report argues that for biotechnology to engender food security in Kenya in the context of globalisation and international governance, the national context for biotechnology has to be facilitative. More specifically, there is need to synchronise biotechnology development with national development imperatives taking into account structural limitations that could negate gains made through biotechnology activities.

Five key findings emerge from this report. First, alleviating rural poverty and food insecurity in Kenya requires changes at the local, national and international levels because of the inter-connectedness of agricultural systems and development in general. Second, developments in agricultural biotechnology will require slow and careful policy planning and implementation in order to improve food security of smallholders and reduce possible negative and socio-economic impacts of technology. Third, the Kenyan public sector will continue to play an important role in the biotechnology development because this area of research is crucial to the national and local interests. Fourth, the transfer of agricultural biotechnology to developing countries as advocated by international agencies and their national collaborators is a risky undertaking, particularly when it proceeds faster than the capacity of the state to cope with the management of new knowledge. Fifth and finally, while recognising that agricultural biotechnology has potential to alleviate food insecurity in rural Kenya, its programmes must be strongly linked to the interests of smallholders and institutions that support local participation.

Regulating Biotechnology in India

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:38:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Biswajit Dhar 2003 Background paper, Globalisation and the International Governance of Modern Biotechnology project, Brighton: IDS. 39 pp. This paper looks at the governance of biotechnology and its implications for Indian agriculture. For the past four decades, Indias agricultural policy-making has focused almost exclusively on the issue of ensuring food security to the growing population of the country. This orientation in policy-making resulted in the adoption of the strategy to realise the objective of self-sufficiency in foodgrains production in the country. Consequently basic cereals have come to dominate the production structure of Indias agriculture. Although in recent years, India has emerged as a net exporter of the major cereals, the objective of meeting the objective of food security continues to remain the cornerstone of Indian agriculture.

The paper has been organised into the following sections. The first section indicates the priorities for the biotechnology sector in India. These priorities are counterpoised against the problem that Indian agriculture faces at the present juncture. The second section deals with the state of the agri-biotech sector. The developments in this sector will be analysed in light of the structure of Indian agriculture. The third section discusses the regulatory framework for transgenics that is currently in place. Besides bringing out its key features, this discussion also provides a critical assessment of the regulatory framework.

Can agricultural biotechnology be pro-poor?

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:43:00 GMT

Miscellaneous I. Scoones 2003 Democratising Biotechnology: Genetically Modified Crops in Developing Countries Briefing Series. Briefing 2. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies. ISBN 1 85864 487 9, 2 pp. The argument for agricultural biotechnology appears, at face value, simple. Well-harnessed new technologies can solve the problems of famine and hunger in the developing world, by increasing yields and overcoming challenges of disease, pests, drought and nutrient deficiencies. The reality, of course, is that things are not so simple. A more sceptical look at the assumptions of the feeding a hungry world storyline suggests some important questions.

Biotechnology and the policy process: Zimbabwe.

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:29:00 GMT

Miscellaneous J. Mohamed-Katerere 2001 Background Paper, Biotechnology and the Policy Process in Developing Countries project. 103 pp. This paper is produced as part of the IDS project on 'Biotechnology and the policy process: challenges for less developed countries'. This project seeks to untangle the policy process in three very different developing countries: China, India and Zimbabwe. A central focus of the project is to understand how poor peoples perspectives can effectively influence the policy process in order that future developments in agricultural biotechnology meet their livelihood needs in a sustainable manner. This paper examines the policy context for biotechnology in Zimbabwe. Its objective is to sets the basis for further research and is essentially a 'map' of what exists as opposed to a deep theoretical exploration. It explains the main features of policy processes that influence and inform the development of policy on biotechnology. It considers in broad terms how it has evolved and in particular the events, processes and institutions that have influenced the form it has taken.

The paper focuses on three areas. Firstly, it looks at the national policy framework, identifying key development and economic policies and in particular considering the implications of policy on food security and development. The policy frameworks for environmental management, particularly in the areas of risk assessment and access to genetic resources, are considered. This section concludes that the general policy framework is supportive of the development and use of biotechnology. The legal framework in which policy initiatives take place and the legal process for evolution of law and policy is considered. Secondly, the paper identifies the predominant perspectives on biotechnology. These include the issue of food security, bio-safety, access to genetic resources and Zimbabwes economic strategies and its dependence on export markets. Broadly these debates reflect positions and approaches that have emerged around the world. Additionally, perspectives on institutions, accountability and representation are considered as this has influenced the current institutional systems for regulation. Thirdly, as an integral part of this discussion of perspectives this paper identifies the positions that key actors have taken and the actor-networks that have emerged. It considers how these have influenced the policy process particularly in the areas of access to genetic resources and intellectual property rights, defining research priorities and biosafety.

Multiple-use water services could advance all Millennium Development Goals

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Research conducted by the DFID-funded RiPPLE (Research Inspired Policy and Practice Learning in Ethiopia and the Nile Region) programme shows that adapting water systems for multiple-use could address all the Millennium Development Goals.

Living with Environmental Change (LWEC)

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:24:00 GMT

Completed

Our planet faces unprecedented change. If we continue on our current path, by the end of this century, or earlier, our environment will be in a state that modern humans have never experienced. In parts of the world, supplies of food and water will be at risk and flood defences stretched.

The UK will not be immune. Already we know that tens of thousands can die in European heat waves and that severe storms cause billions of pounds of damage to the economy, disruption to society and individual distress.

We are confident that we can avoid many of the most seriously damaging consequences of a changing climate and environment, but only if we act with sufficient urgency and make the right choices about the future. Failure to act is likely to be very costly.

The Living With Environmental Change programme, LWEC, is the response of the UK's major funders of environment-related research to this urgent situation.

To explore the predicted impacts of climate change and to promote sustainable solutions through mitigation and adaptation

To manage ecosystems for human well-being and protect the natural environment as it changes

To promote human well-being, alleviate poverty and minimise waste by ensuring a sustainable supply of food and water

To protect human, plant and animal health from diseases, pests and environmental hazards

To make infrastructure, the built environment and transport systems resilient to environmental change and less carbon intensive

To understand how people respond to a changing environment and develop thriving, cohesive and informed communities

The Department for International Development is committed to joining forces with the other Living With Environmental Change partner organisations to develop and implement a 10-year programme in a national and international context. This commitment includes an active contribution towards meeting the Terms of Reference of the Living With Environmental Change Partners' Board.

We will work with the partners to design a set of common strategic objectives and build and implement a research and knowledge-exchange strategy based on the policy needs of each of the countries of the UK and their world-leading strengths in both research and policy development.

In helping to design, build and implement the programme, we are committed to take part, where we can, in a range of co-ordinated approaches, including modifications to our existing and planned activities to align with LWEC objectives; our investment in new activities, improved knowledge exchange, and better communication of capabilities, capacities and needs. To enable this, we will play our part in developing effective working practices between the partners. We are committed to active consideration of formal and visible accreditation of any of our existing or planned activities to LWEC, where appropriate.

Countdown to 2015: will the Millennium Development Goal for child survival be met?

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:08:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Lawn, J.E.; Costello, A.; Mwansambo, C.; Osrin, D. 2007 Archives of Disease in Childhood (2007) 92 (6), pp. 551-556 [doi:10.1136/adc.2006.099291]. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), ratified by most nations in 2000, set specific targets for poverty reduction, eradication of hunger, education, gender equality, health and environmental sustainability. MDG 4 aims to reduce child mortality with a target of reducing under-five mortality rates by two thirds over the period 19902015. Over the last year, Live Aid, Make Poverty History, the G8 summits and prominent entertainers have directed unprecedented attention towards development and health. Africa particularly has been in the spotlight. Reports are published and commitments are made, but is there real progress? Are poor people being reached with essential health care? Who will hold leaders to account: celebrities, activists or health professionals?

WHO guidelines for severe malnutrition: are they feasible in rural African hospitals?

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:48:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Karaolis, N.; Jackson, D.; Ashworth, A.; Sanders, D.; Sogaula, N.; McCoy, D.; Chopra, M.; Schofield, C. 2007 Archives of Disease in Childhood (2007) 92 (3), pp. 198-204 [doi:10.1136/adc.2005.087346]. Aims: To assess the feasibility of implementing and sustaining the WHO guidelines for inpatient management of severe malnutrition in under-resourced rural South African hospitals, and to identify any constraints. Intervention: Three 2-day training workshops were held in 1998, followed by monthly 1-day visits for 5 months, ending in March 1999, in two rural district hospitals with limited resources in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Methods: A 12-month observational study was conducted from April 2000 to April 2001 in Mary Theresa and Sipetu hospitals (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa), including 1011 child-hours of observation on the wards, medical record reviews, interviews with carers and staff, and inventories of essential supplies. All admissions (n = 193) for severe malnutrition to the two hospitals were studied. The main outcomes were the extent to which the 10 steps for routine care of severely malnourished children were implemented, proficiency of performance and constraining factors. Results: The hospitals made the changes required in clinical and dietary management, but the tasks were not always performed fully or with sufficient care. Play and stimulation and an effective system of follow-up were not implemented. Doctors poor knowledge, nurses inattentiveness and insufficient interaction with carers were constraints to optimal management. The underlying factors were inadequate undergraduate training, understaffing, high doctor turnover and low morale. Conclusions: Guidelines for severe malnutrition are largely feasible but training workshops are insufficient to achieve optimal management as staff turnover and an unsupportive health system erode the gains made and doctors treat cases without having being trained. Medical and nursing curricula in Africa must include treatment of severe malnutrition.

DFID releases a new project database

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Information about projects funded by DFID, ranging from emergency aid for countries affected by conflict or humanitarian crises, to ongoing support to improve health, education and sanitation in the poorest countries, is now available online.

Asian irrigation systems need updating to meet future food supply challenges

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:00:00 GMT

A new IWMI/FAO report highlights the need for improvements in irrigation.

Experiences from the WCSJ 2009

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:00:00 GMT

A collection of blogs from R4D Research Dialogue based on experiences from the 6th World Conference of Science Journalists.

Leading women scientists from Africa meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Women scientists from the CGIAR Gender &Diversity Program project, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), urge policymakers to put women at the heart of investments in African food security.

DFID seeks applications for three posts in the Research Uptake Team

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:00:00 GMT

DFID is seeking to fill three posts in the Research Uptake team within the Policy and Research Directorate - Team Leader and two Research Evidence Brokers

Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation Study in South Asia (ESPASSA): A Situation Analysis for India and the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region.

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:37:00 GMT

Miscellaneous ESPASSA Project Team 2008 New Delhi: The Energy & Resources Institute. 84 pp. Since the early 1990s, countries in the South Asian region have been on high economic growth trajectories, but the expected improvements in human development levels have largely been non-commensurate in a number of well-being dimensions. Further, the environmental costs of such high and non-inclusive growth patterns continue to be largely unaccounted for in conventional development planning and resource allocation. The degradation of ecosystems is likely to be a significant barrier to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to reduction of poverty, hunger and disease in the region.

The present report is structured around the multiple and varied links that characterize the relationship between human well-being and ecosystem services. Understanding of these links is still constrained both by difficulties in conceptualising the underlying notions and large gaps in the scientific evidence base. This Situation Analysis feels that the assessment of ecosystem services at the landscape level is important because changes at this level may impact on goods and services in relation to existing structural habitat diversity and its vulnerability and resilience to changes resulting from both direct and indirect drivers.

This report is presented in 11 chapters as follows:

1. Introduction to the ESPASSA project
2. Characteristics of the study region
3. Poverty and ecosystem services
4. Poverty in South Asia
5. Major ecosystems and their services in South Asia
6. Drivers of ecosystem change in South Asia
7. Impact of ecosystem changes on the poor in South Asia
8. Policy responses to ecosystem degradation in the South Asian region
9. Ingredients for a successful policy response to ecosystem management
10. Addressing stakeholder needs for poverty alleviation
11. Lessons learnt and future research priorities.

Annexes to the report containing Discussion Papers, Country Reports and Workshop reports are presented as separate output records.

Going to Scale: The Potential of Community-led Total Sanitation

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:44:00 GMT

Current Sanitation remains one of the biggest development challenges in developing countries. Around 6,000 people, mainly children under five, die everyday due to poor sanitation, hygiene and water.

Sanitation-related diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera continue to seriously undermine human health and well-being, particularly in South Asia where 900 million people have no access to adequate sanitation. Improving sanitation is therefore key to achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing child mortality and combating disease.

In recent years, the impact of the Community led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach has drawn significant attention. At the heart of this approach is a shift away from the focus on supporting toilet construction for individual households, to an approach that seeks to create open defecation free villages through an emphasis on attitudinal and behaviour change of the whole community. CLTS is an approach in which people in rural communities are facilitated to do their own appraisal and analysis of their sanitation situation and the extent and consequences of open defecation. They are not instructed or taught but allowed to come to their own conclusions, and take their own action.

In its classical form, a small team of facilitators conduct a triggering. The facilitators may be government, NGO or project staff, or Natural Leaders from other communities. The PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) principle that they can do it is fundamental and PRA methods are used. These include participatory mapping on the ground to show where people live and where they defecate, transect walks to visit and stand in those places, calculations of quantities of shit (the crude local word is used) produced by each household and the community, and identifying pathways to the mouth leading to the shocking recognition that we are eating one anothers shit. This triggering is designed to facilitate the communities recognition of the negative externalities to all as a consequence of the sanitary practices of some, and thus lead to a moment of ignition and a collective decision and action to end open defecation. When triggering is successful, Natural Leaders emerge. People dig holes and build latrines. There are no standard models and construction is by self-help.

There is a growing recognition that this approach offers tremendous potential for developing countries to achieve their MDG targets for sanitation. This has resulted in this approach spreading from Bangladesh where it originated in 2000 to India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Pakistan and Nepal in Asia; Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia in Africa, Bolivia in Latin America and Yemen in the Middle East.

OBJECTIVE:
To make a difference by reducing the deprivation and enhancing the wellbeing of poor people through research to generate knowledge and insights concerning CLTS, through participatory action research engaging with practice, and through the sharing of knowledge, experience and insights across communities, organisations and countries.

PROJECT AIMS

Research to understand on-the-ground realities of CLTS and issues of spread, scale and quality
The research examines some of the core assumptions of CLTS around hardware subsidies, local notions of sanitation/hygiene, facilitation, sustainability and replicability. It is concerned with identifying on-the-ground realities through interdisciplinary research drawing on sociological, anthropological and political and institutional analysis. The project involves research in communities with and without CLTS, and in various stages of moving towards it, looking at the processes of ignition, adoption, dissemination and spread, local dynamics within communities, the effects of Government and NGO programmes with and without subsidy or other inducements, and the relationships between bureaucratic norms and imperatives, and programmes at the community level. Another issue for consideration is the social and physical sustainability of total sanitation. The research will seek to identify the most favourable conditions under which total sanitation can be achieved.
Participatory action learning to engage with practice and improve processes and outcomes
Participatory Action Learning engages with the facilitators and implementing organisations (both NGOs and governments) in ways which will enhance learning and improve practice and policy. Areas of attention include the selection, training and mentoring of facilitators; processes of preparation, ignition and follow up and support; forms of support for external and also community facilitators, networking at local and other levels, and overcoming obstacles.
Networking and sharing between organisations and countries to influence policy and practice
The aim of the networking and influencing component is to optimise the exchange of experiences and learning and to have an impact on policy. The networking activities facilitate sharing, learning and functional linkages between and across organisations, programmes and countries via Sharing and Learning workshops, presentations at UK and international events to share research findings and policy-relevant lessons, experiences and insights, a CLTS mailing list and a website. The CLTS website www.communityledtotalsanitation.org serves as a global hub for CLTS, connecting the network of practitioners, communities, NGOs, agencies, researchers, governments, donors and others involved or interested in CLTS. The site, which contains practical information about the approach, information on CLTS in different countries, research papers, relevant news and events and many other useful materials, serves as an up-to-date virtual resource centre and a space for sharing and learning on CLTS across organisations, countries and sectors. The site reflects the rich, varied and dynamic nature of the approach and hopes to encourage debate around key aspects of CLTS in order to improve policy and practice. The CLTS website is populated with contributions from those engaged and interested in CLTS around the world.

Book on CLTS
Website hot topic on CLTS on livelihoods connect (now replaced by www.communityledtotalsanitation.org)
Establishment of a CLTS network
IDS Working Papers on CLTS and related issues
Events to facilitate sharing and learning on CLTS
Practical publications (eg Handbook on CLTS)

Through generating cutting edge knowledge on CLTS and sanitation, and ensuring that lessons are learnt and shared across countries and organisations, the project supports the development and spread of good CLTS practices and supportive policies which will contribute to major gains in human wellbeing and help to address the MDGs.

The research that has been carried out by IDS and its partners in Bangladesh, India and Indonesia will be published in the form of research papers and a book on CLTS in 2009.

The main output of the action learning to date has been the CLTS Handbook published by Plan (UK) and IDS.

Networking activities have established an active and well-connected global CLTS network with linkages and partnerships across organisations, sectors, countries and continents; linking practitioners, researchers, policymakers, governments, NGOs and donors, facilitating exchanges of experience and information with the aim of contributing to policy and practice. Goodwill, momentum and interest have focused on the CLTS website which is the core global resource for CLTS. A new website dedicated to CLTS, which replaces the old hot topic on livelihoods connect, was launched in December 2008: www.communityledtotalsanitation.org.

Sharing and Learning Workshops on CLTS (at SACOSAN II and III and AfricaSan+5).
Workshop reports:

Bongartz, Petra (forthcoming) One Day Sharing and Learning Workshop on Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), 17th November 2008, Workshop Report.
Bongartz, Petra (2008) CLTS Sharing and Learning Workshop at AfricaSan, Durban, South Africa, 17th February 2008
Bongartz, Petra (2007) CLTS Workshop at SACOSAN II (Second South Asian Conference on Sanitation), Islamabad, Pakistan, 19th September 2006.
Chambers, Robert (2008) Durban remarks: Lessons learned with CLTS, 19th February 2008.
A global conference on CLTS (December 2008) to present research findings, take stock of global developments and experiences with and research on CLTS, and mark the end of the Year of Sanitation.

id21 natural resources highlights 3. Water

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:15:00 GMT

Miscellaneous id21 2006 IDS, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, 4 pp. This issue includes the following short articles: Rain, a global resource for fighting hunger; Linking water management and poverty reduction; Can market forces guide the use of irrigation water?; Do water policies reflect the priorities of poor people?; How can dry countries manage water shortages?; and Linking sanitation, water and livelihoods in Nairobi slums.

Strengthening the response to HIV and AIDS: Helping make the MDGs a reality (Policy Brief)

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:15:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2008 Policy Brief 17. International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, New York, NY, USA. 8 pp. This brief, endorsed by 43 partner organizations, examines the critical role of the response to HIV in advancing the Millennium Development Goals as well as the impact that better tools and technologies to prevent HIV transmission could have on the MDGs' attempts to reduce poverty, hunger, maternal mortality and morbidity and child mortality.

Viet Nam Country Case Study.

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:54:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Pham Anh Tuan 2008 Background Paper for the Chronic Poverty Report 2008-09. Chronic Poverty Research Centre, London, UK, 135 pp. As part of the world chronic poverty report 2007-08, the Viet Nam case study attempts to look at the various steps of implementation of policies meant to serve the chronically poor. Specifically, the report will provide a thorough analysis of the two most important programmes. The first is the National Targeted Programme on Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction (NTP on HEPR). This programme is directly aimed at a demographic group that is living below the poverty line (poor households). The second is the Programme on Socio-economic Development for Communes faced with Extreme Difficulties in mountainous and remote areas (Programme 135). This programme is directly aimed at a geographic group who live in mountainous and remote areas of Viet Nam. The majority of this group is comprised of people of ethnic minorities.

Resurrecting the Vestiges of a Developmental State in Malawi? Reflections and Lessons from the 2005/2006 Fertilizer Subsidy Programme.

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:43:00 GMT

Miscellaneous B. Chinsinga 2007 Paper presented at the 2007 Guy Mhone Memorial Conference on Development: Public Sector Reforms in Africa: Retrospect and Prospect, 22-24 August 2007, Zomba, Malawi. 24 pp. This paper explores how the experiences leading to the adoption and successful implementation of the 2005/2006 fertilizer subsidy programme can be exploited as the basis for churning out a viable framework for a developmental state in Malawi broadly understood as the state that seriously attempts to deploy its administrative and political resources to the task of economic development. This is inspired by the fact that the success of the 2005/2006 fertilizer subsidy programme is widely orchestrated as the most significant policy achievement of the government since the advent of a democratic political dispensation over a decade ago, especially in view of the fact that the programme was implemented against the advice of a whole gamut of technical experts and development partners. The huge paradox, however, is that the experience with the democratic political dispensation on the development front has been generally disappointing. Instead of facilitating tremendous transformation from conditions of abject poverty to prosperity, the state has found itself presiding over a period of rampant economic decay and the progressive weakening of the state machinery to spearhead development relative to the authoritarian one-party era. Malawi's Human Development Index (HDI) ranking has tumbled from 138 (out of 178 nations) in 1990 to 166 in 2006. This entails a steady decline in health care delivery, education, economic growth and general living standards, characterized until very recently, by widespread incidences and episodes of severe hunger at household level.

Family Planning: the unfinished agenda.

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:59:00 GMT

Miscellaneous J. Cleland, S. Bernstein, A. Ezeh, A. Faundes, A. Glasier, J. Innis 2006 The Lancet 368 (9549) 1810-1827 [doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69480-4] Promotion of family planning in countries with high birth rates has the potential to reduce poverty and hunger and avert 32% of all maternal deaths and nearly 10% of childhood deaths. It would also contribute substantially to women's empowerment, achievement of universal primary schooling, and long-term environmental sustainability. In the past 40 years, family-planning programmes have played a major part in raising the prevalence of contraceptive practice from less than 10% to 60% and reducing fertility in developing countries from six to about three births per woman. However, in half the 75 larger low-income and lower-middle income countries (mainly in Africa), contraceptive practice remains low and fertility, population growth, and unmet need for family planning are high. The cross-cutting contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals makes greater investment in family planning in these countries compelling. Despite the size of this unfinished agenda, international funding and promotion of family planning has waned in the past decade. A revitalisation of the agenda is urgently needed. Historically, the USA has taken the lead but other governments or agencies are now needed as champions. Based on the sizeable experience of past decades, the key features of effective programmes are clearly established. Most governments of poor countries already have appropriate population and family-planning policies but are receiving too little international encouragement and funding to implement them with vigour. What is currently missing is political willingness to incorporate family planning into the development arena.

APPP Discussion Paper No. 3. A research design fit for purpose.

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:27:00 GMT

Miscellaneous D. Booth 2008 London, UK, Africa Power and Politics Programme (APPP), 40 pp. The design phase of the Africa Power and Politics Programme (APPP) was completed at a workshop held in Cape Town on 14-16 May 2008. Launched in July 2007, the programme committed the bulk of its first year to a series of activities - brainstormings, country scoping missions and debate around commissioned 'think pieces' - which were intended to feed into the necessary decisions about priorities and approaches for the forthcoming four years. This paper was written in April 2008 preparation for the Cape Town workshop. It was meant to set the scene, structure the agenda of discussion and, in particular, suggest realistic limits for the participants' expectations. It is addressed to the workshop participants. It can, however, also be read as an essay on the challenges likely to be faced by any consortium research programme starting, as the APPP does, with the ambition of addressing in a coherent way an important but only roughly formulated research hypothesis.

The paper responds to consortium members' hunger for 'definition' in regard to both outcome variables and explanatory concepts. In respect of outcomes, the case for adopting a programme-wide focus on the production of public goods is reaffirmed, with an emphasis on the need to distinguish between the theoretical concepts deployed in thinking about outcomes and their operationalisation. The paper argues additionally that the programme may find it useful to address the extensive literature on collective action problems in analysing the proximate causes of changes, or differences, in the under- or over-production of particular sorts of public goods. The assumptions about rational choice made by practitioners of this type of political economy may be too unrealistic to generate valid accounts of behaviour. Nonetheless, their work may provide a useful counterpoint in our efforts to generate better explanations. In respect of explanatory concepts, the paper draws attention to what is involved in defining a theoretical concept. It argues that disagreements about the meanings of words may need to be treated as pointers to important empirical or theoretical questions, rather than as mere confusions to be settled by definition.

Provision of Endowment Funds to Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT)

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:52:00 GMT

Current The Global Crop Diversity Trust was founded by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Bioversity International, acting on behalf of CGIAR. It was established in response to the lack of secure funding for the conservation of the vast diversity of crop varieties on which our future food security depends. The conservation of crop diversity is neither technologically complicated, nor, considering the importance of the task, expensive. The varieties of many of the most important crops can be simply stored as seed in freezers. It is instead the reliability of funding that is so crucial to conserving seed, as even short-term breaks in funding can lead to cutbacks in basic maintenance and the loss of unique varieties. The Trust's response is to raise an endowment, the interest from which is enough to guarantee the effective conservation and vitally, the ready availability to those who wish to use it of the biological basis of all agriculture. The endowment will ensure that the conservation of this most critical resource is placed forever on a firm foundation. To ensure the long-term conservation and availability of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture with a view to achieving global food security and sustainable agriculture. Crop diversity is fundamental to defeating hunger, but it is at serious risk. The Trust addresses this risk by seeking to conserve and make available the diversity of globally important crops, and to further the development of a global system for conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA). This conservation will be achieved through long-term storage, management and curation of unique and important collections of crops, and through creating safety duplications of the germplasm held in the collections. The genebanks involved must commit to distributing germplasm in accordance with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

study of the impact of development interventions on poverty and well being in E Nepal

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed The main objective of this research is to understand how people manage to survive in the context of chronic hunger, a rapidly depleting natural resource base and shrinking safety nets and to analyse the ways in which public policy affects the lives of these people.

Gender as a key variable in energy interventions in developing countries: are we asking the right questions?

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Current Women/gender and energy has successfully emerged on the international agenda, and is widely viewed as one of the critical pathways for linking energy interventions to the Millennium Development Goals, for example to MDG Goals on women's education and employment, maternal health, child mortality, and even on income and hunger:

*Recognition of the enormous health burden of indoor air pollution - now estimated to kill 2 million women and children in developing countries every year - is one of the drivers stimulating what may be increased attention to household energy interventions in the coming years.

*Productive uses of renewable energy are more and more viewed as necessary to the successful dissemination as well as development impact of renewable energy interventions, though the link to women's income generation and human capital building is only beginning to be considered seriously.

*Rural electrification is enjoying a revival in interest, in particular decentralised sources; inter-sectoral, poverty and gender linkages are receiving some attention.

*A number of energy programmes in both North and South are starting to pay closer attention to gender and have launched important initiatives.

Energy interventions are generally seen as potentially beneficial to both women and men in a number of ways, and there are now some specific experiences and documentation of some projects that have effectively involved both women and men as staff and entrepreneurs as well as beneficiaries.

Yet despite many efforts, energy poverty is still widespread, and gender inequality persists at every level of the energy sector in development. Energy and gender/poverty discourses remain, in most venues, far apart. Gender- and poverty-sensitive energy projects and research are still the exception rather than the rule.

The importance of bringing a gender perspective to energy policy analysis and design is still not widely understood, and the conceptual basis for doing this is still lacking. Nor have the lessons from past energy projects as regards gender and poverty been fully integrated by donors or national policy makers. While many are sympathetic, gender is still commonly viewed as a political agenda and given this, not central to questions of energy efficiency or project effectiveness in the energy sector.

At the same time, most poverty assessments and research exclude energy, except, sometimes, in as regards rural electrification infrastructure. In social development sectors, energy proponents are frequently suspected of having a hidden environmental or technology dissemination agenda.

Working relationships between energy macro-economists/engineers and other social scientists have been slow to develop, with different "ways of thinking". Most distressing, has been the difficulty to convince sector experts that gender (for energy projects) and energy (for gender/social development projects) are key variables in project success. While enormous quantities of empirical evidence on gender and sustainable energy have been generated in recent years, much is undigested and frameworks for analysis are weak. This indicates that there is a critical need for some really good analytical work to draw on this mass of empirical material, from a historical perspective of past experience and research on gender, poverty and energy, to critically assess the secondary data and re-think relationships and frameworks, and to lay down an overall research agenda for testing specific hypotheses about these linkages. To improve understanding, policy and capabilities in gender, poverty and energy research. An analytical framework for understanding and measuring linkages between gender, poverty and energy, that would be credible in both gender/poverty and energy terms, with a view to improving project design.

The international research agenda and programme and project practice on gender, poverty, and energy, is influence by ,looking critically backward at concepts and empirical evidence, and by ,looking forward, at ,the right questions,.

Increased and improved gender, poverty and energy research in key developing country institutions through partnerships and coordination of research.

Characterisation of the causal virus of pigeonpea sterility mosaic disease: a further step towards attaining sustainability of pigeonpea production in the Indian sub-continent

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed Pigeonpea supplies dietary protein to 1.1 billion people around the world. The crop is used in multipurpose ways and plays an important role in food security, balanced diet and is important in allowing the poor access to food and employment. Sterility mosaic disease (SMD), endemic in the subcontinent is a major constraint on pigeonpea production and the economic well being of the poor farmers. Eco-friendly technologies to enable development of resistant pigeonpea cultivars were developed and several promising sources were identified. This project seeks to select and supply elite pigeonpea genotypes to farmers for cultivation to mitigate losses due to SMD and other major biotic problems to enhance pigeonpea production. This will be achieved by collaborating with national/international institutes and extension workers, who will use the technology for pigeonpea improvement and supply seed to farmers. This will achieve cultivation of high yielding pigeonpea varieties with durable resistance to major biotic constraints and form the basis for sustaining and stabilising pigeonpea production with a consequent increase in income to poor farmers. Promotion of strategies to reduce the impact of pathogens and stabilise yields in semi-arid cereal-based cropping systems, for benefit of poor people. The goal of the project is to improve livelihoods of poor people through sustainable enhanced pigeonpea production by mitigating losses due to SMD through the cultivation of broad-based SMD resistant varieties thereby contributing to the increased economic returns to the farmers and thus poverty alleviation. This was achieved through this project's outputs. Information obtained on important PPSMV isolates and its geographic distribution. Developed efficient resistance screening techniques for the precise selection of broad-based resistant sources, which were used in a participatory manner with NARES to evaluate several cultivated and wild pigeonpea accessions at various agro-ecological conditions. This led to the identification of promising genotypes suitable for cultivation in different agro-ecological zones. For long-term impact of the outputs, the technology and the products of the project were disseminated to the NARES, NGOs and farmers through participatory research, training courses and on-farm trials. This contributed to the capacity building at national level and also stabilises the seed production of promising varieties locally. Further information on three isolates of PPSMV, revealed the diverse nature of the various isolates prevailing in the subcontinent, their geographic distribution, and contributed to the development of bioassays and serological and nucleic acid-based tools which are useful for the identification of isolates, to determine isolate virulence, and for the selection of resistant sources. This way the outputs of the project were interlinked and led to the achievement of the project goal. Sources of SMD resistance in accessions of cultivated and wild pigeonpea germplasm collections underlying priority traits identified and made available for pigeonpea breeding programmes.

Selection of high-yielding pigeonpea cultivars with broad-based resistance to SMD and other biotic constraints suitable for cultivation by resource poor farmers in SMD endemic regions.

Integration of new SMD resistance screening tools and technologies to NARS and NGOs to enhance the efficacy of pigeonpea breeding/improvement programmes.

Additional information on biochemical characteristics of PPSMV and its biotypes. *PPSMV characterisation has led to the development of diagnostic tools and identification of its biotypes, which were categorised into virulent and highly virulent isolates. Three PPSMV isolates were bio-chemically characterised and ELISA and RT-PCR based diagnostic tools developed. SMD epidemiology studied and critical factors contributing to inoculum survival during off seasons identified. Physiological effects of SMD on host plants, flowering and crop yield determined.

*An efficient SMD screening strategy for the precise selection of broad-based resistant sources was established. This method resulted in selection of six pigeonpea varieties (ICP7035, ICPL 87051, 99050, 96053, 96058 and 96061); six breeding lines (ICPL 83015, 93087, 93183, 93184, 95020 and 95024); and fifteen wild pigeonpea accessions (ICP 15164, 15615, 15626, 15684, 15688, 15700, 15701, 15725, 15734, 15736, 15737, 15740, 15924, 15925 and 15926), for on-farm evaluation and utilisation in breeding programmes. ICP7035 has been approved for pre-release and ICPL 96058 and 96053 is being evaluated on-station and on-farm for release to the farmers. Seed of these promising pigeonpea varieties was multiplied and supplied for farmer cultivation and to NARES as foundation and breeders' seed.

*The ICPL96058 is being cultivated by the farmers in central peninsular India, where PPSMV P isolate and fusarium wilt are endemic. This variety has been incorporated into a national IVT programme through the Agriculture Research Station, Gulbarga. The ICP7035 was evaluated for 5 years in the farmers' fields in southern Karnataka. This variety is a boon to SMD resistance due to its durability and broad-based resistance. It was evaluated in the SMD endemic zones where P and C isolates (most severe isolates and resistance to these was scarce) are prevalent. This variety was tested in several states in India, Nepal and China. It can be grown for vegetable and also for seed purposes. It is being well adopted in peri-urban regions in south Karnataka. ICP7035 has been approved for pre-release in south Karnataka, and a proposal for full release of this variety will be submitted in April 2005.

*PPSMV isolates from Coimbatore (C) and Bangalore (B) were characterised; whereas preliminary properties and severity of PPSMV isolates from Varanasi (V) (Uttar Pradesh), Nepalgunj (N) (Nepal), Dharwad (D) and Gulbarga (G) (Karnataka) were determined. B, C, V and N isolates are severe types, and can overcome resistance selected against P isolate. Whereas, B and D isolates are similar to P isolate and have a similar reaction on various pigeonpea genotypes tested. In DAS-ELISA using PPSMV-P polyclonal antibodies, all three isolates reacted with similar sensitivity and specificity. This study indicated occurrence of several PPSMV isolates with varied bio-chemical properties in the Indian sub-continent.

*Nearly 16kb genome of PPSMV-P isolate (c. 30% of PPSMV genome) was obtained. PPSMV genome sequences lacks any similarity with known sequences present in the databases. These sequences were used to devise a new set of oligonucleotide primers. Detailed studies on three PPSMV isolates indicated complexity of various PPSMV isolates occurring in the subcontinent. Some isolates have similar biological properties, but are different in their physico-chemical characters, whereas some isolates have different physico-chemical characters, but have the same biological reaction. Despite continuum in pigeonpea cultivation three PPSMV isolates, P, B and C isolates, are geographically restricted and precise factors contributing to these ,isolations, were not known.

*Physiological effects of PPSMV on pigeonpea determined, which showed that modification of axillary buds into leaf structures even at maturity was the reason for sterility (lack of flower production). The thickness of epidermal cell wall and cuticle in susceptible varieties is lower than in resistant varietie

International assessment of the role of agricultural science and technology in reducing hunger, improving livelihoods and implementing economic growth

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Completed It was agreed in Dublin that the consultative process must be transparent and inclusive with balanced participation with particular attention paid to geographical and gender balance. Specialists and generalists, natural scientists and policy experts, experts in traditional and modern knowledge, producers, environmentalists and health experts from all relevant stakeholder groups active in the area of agriculture (governments, private sector, producers, consumers, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, extension systems, foundations, scientific organisations and individual scientists) should be included. It was noted that high-level participation, especially of governments, is essential for buy-in to the process. It is proposed to do this via regional meetings which will, where possible, leverage meetings planned by other entities and utilise the CGIAR centers where possible. A deliberative process, which will feed into the regional meetings, will engage producer groups in developing countries. These reference groups are aimed at including the voices of those who are usually marginalised, eg: landless farmers, fishers and pastoralists. The end goal is to reflect the concerns of all stakeholders about issues related to agricultural science and technology in the questions that frame the assessment. To fund meetings in Dakar, Delhi and Beijing which enable a number of stakeholders in each region in the consultative process on the proposed role of agricultural science in reducing hunger, improving livelihoods and stimulating economic growth. To engage a balanced and representative set of stakeholders in each region (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Pacific, Europe and North America) in the consultative process on the proposed assessment of the role of agricultural science and technology in reducing hunger, improving rural livelihoods and stimulating economic growth over the coming decades.

The goals of each regional meeting are to:
*Assess the value of an assessment of agricultural science and technology.
*Draft a list of key questions for the proposed assessment, ie: define the scope of the assessment, ensuring regional priorities are taken into account.
*Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different organizational structures and governing principles and procedures for an assessment.

CGIAR - Core funding to the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Current The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (known as CIAT from its Spanish language name Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical) is one of the four CGIAR founding members. CIAT is actively involved in the Generation Challenge Program and HarvestPlus Challenge Program.

To reduce hunger and poverty in the tropics through collaborative research that improves agricultural productivity and natural resource management.

To engage its key scientific competencies to achieve significant impact on the livelihoods of the poor in the tropics. Interdisciplinary and applied research will be conducted through partnerships with national programs, civil society organizations, and the private sector to produce international public goods that are directly relevant to their users. These goods include improved germplasm, technologies, methodologies, and knowledge.

CIAT aims to help create conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean and elsewhere vin the tropics that are essential for eco-efficient agriculture through a tri-partite strategy.

Agrobiodiversity - Providing affordable and nutritious food as well as pathways out of poverty by increasing the productivity of crops
Tropical soils fertility management - Overcoming one of small farmers greatest obstacles to sustained increases in agricultural production
Latin America and the Caribbean - Working with partners to solve problems of high priority in Latin America and the Caribbean while also generating global public goods

In the last decade or so, bean production in Latin America has increased by about 25 percent, despite a substantial decrease in area planted. Steady growth in yield has resulted to a large degree from widespread adoption of improved varieties by small farmers. About 240 varieties originating from CIAT germplasm have been released in the region, generating total economic benefits estimated at US$1.2 billion.
African national programs have released 111 CIAT-related bean varieties, together with improved farming practices. Production increases resulting from new varieties have an estimated total value of $102 million. Women have been the main beneficiaries, since they account for most of the continent's bean production.
National programs in Asia and Latin America have released 62 CIAT-related cassava varieties. The cumulative value of the increased production derived from these varieties is estimated at more than $432 million in Asia and $81 million in Latin America.
CIAT contributed importantly to the search in South America for natural enemies that could control the cassava mealybug and cassava green mite in sub-Saharan Africa. These pests devastated production across the continent, threatening a major food source for about 200 million Africans. The highly successful biological control campaign was coordinated by our sister center in Nigeria, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
In the 1980s the Center launched a series of integrated projects in Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador aimed at devising a research and development strategy that would empower farmers to establish, operate, and manage local cassava-based industries. One such project in Colombia created economic benefits totaling about $19 million through improved cassava production and processing. An impact study showed that the project also built local capacity to market crops and identify new economic opportunities.
In Latin America the 45 improved tropical forages released so far by national programs are planted on about 6.8 million hectares. New grasses have been shown to boost livestock productivity by a factor of 16 over native species. The cumulative value of the meat and milk production increases brought about by new forage grasses and legumes is estimated at $1.4 billion.
Under a recent project in Southeast Asia, about 3,000 poor farm families in five countries adopted one or more improved forages. Their experience has demonstrated the large potential of forages for boosting livestock production in marginal upland environments while reducing grazing pressure on the land.
Rice production in Latin America has tripled over the last three decades, partly as a result of the approximately 300 improved rice varieties developed by CIAT and national programs. Today these varieties account for more than 70 percent of the region's total rice production. More efficient production has helped lower the price of this vital staple by about 40 percent, benefiting the urban and rural poor in particular.
Participatory research approaches are increasing the effectiveness of technology development and transfer. One method by which farmers operate local agricultural research committees is now being used in eight Latin American countries. Other participatory approaches devised by CIAT and its partners are being widely applied in Southeast Asia as well as eastern and central Africa.

CGIAR - Core funding to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Current

CIMMYT is committed to improving livelihoods in developing countries. Through strong science and effective partnerships, it creates, shares, and uses knowledge and technology to increase food security, improve the productivity and profitability of farming systems, and sustain natural resources.

CIMMYT is a non-profit research and training center with direct links to about 100 developing countries through offices in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It participates in an extensive global network of people and organizations who share similar development goals, including the public and private sector, non-governmental and civil society organizations, relief and health agencies, farmers, and the development assistance community.

The abbreviation "CIMMYT" derives from the Spanish version of the name: Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo.

To develop better seed and cropping practices
Improved maize and wheat seed can produce plants that naturally resist diseases and pests, tolerate too much or too little water, overcome the limitations of poor soils, survive excessive cold or heat, offer more nutrition, are more marketable, and yield more grain for food or sale. Better cropping practices save water, land, and other natural resources, aside from raising yields.

To help the world conserve and use the great diversity in maize, wheat, and related species
Through the genebank, important worldwide collections of maize and wheat are held in trust for future generations. The genes in these seeds will help solve emerging food production problems, such as those caused by climate change.

To build capacity and share knowledge to promote development
Train and mentor researchers. We teach farm households and rural communities to use new farming practices and produce seed. We provide technical information and support that helps researchers, policymakers, and development workers worldwide. We advocate appropriate policies to foster food and income security. Results of our research are widely shared and publicly available.

To speed the recovery from natural disasters and civil strife
Advise government agencies, relief organizations, and health organizations about appropriate seed and cropping practices to help farm households recover from famine, drought, floods, war, and other disasters. We help nations restore agricultural research material and infrastructure. These activities reduce the threat of continuing food shortages and long-term dependence on food aid.

Better understanding, coordination and linkages among different value chain actors (breeders, seed distributors, farmers, agro-processors) in selected maize and wheat mega-environments.
Better provision of services (inputs, market information etc.) to value chain actors in selected maize and wheat mega-environments to improve uptake of improved germplasm.
Improvements to the policy and institutional environments for selected maize and wheat mega-environments.

Wheat varieties bred at CIMMYT and its predecessor organization prevented famine and hunger in South Asia and elsewhere in the world. The benefits of this Green Revolution were recognized through the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize.
More nutritious maize varieties developed by CIMMYT won recognition through the 2000 World Food Prize.
Recent estimates indicate that wheat varieties developed by CIMMYT and its partners are planted on more than 64 million hectares in developing countries, representing more than 75% of the area planted to modern wheat varieties in those countries.
Maize varieties developed by CIMMYT and its partners are planted on nearly half of the area sown to improved varieties in non-temperate areas of the developing world.
As reported in Science (v. 300: 758-62), in the absence of CGIAR Centers such as CIMMYT, with their many partners in the developing world, crop yields in developing countries would have been 19.5-23.5% lower; prices for food crops would have been 35-66% higher; imports would be 27-30% higher; calorie intake would have been 13.3-14.4% lower; and 32-42 million more children would have been malnourished. The area planted to crops would be 4% higher for wheat and 2% for maize.
Lower food prices extend the benefits of agricultural research to poor consumers in urban areas and landless people in rural areas (and even to the industrialized world).
If the developing world attempted to meet its food requirements in 1995 without the improved varieties of food crops developed since the Green Revolution, an additional 426 million hectares of cropped area would be needed (a five-fold increase over cropped area in 1965).
This land savings helped to preserve forested and environmentally fragile lands and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35%. A higher concentration of greenhouse gases might have caused climate change to begin sooner.

Multiple micronutrient supplements and the prevention of newborn deaths

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 01:00:00 GMT

Should a policy recommending that pregnant women take a combination of vitamins and minerals to improve the weights and outcomes of their babies be introduced?

Sweet Solutions to boost Vitamin A

Fri, 25 May 2007 01:00:00 GMT

The Vitamin A for Africa Programme (VITAA) successfully promotes a new orange-fleshed variety of sweet potato

Fufu for thought in Ghana

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 01:00:00 GMT

A collaborative food hygiene research project has helped street vendors in Accra, Ghana to attract more customers and earn more money

Improving Food Security and Safety in Urban Slums in Africa

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 01:00:00 GMT

Enabling access to advice and support for urban farmers...

Safe Food For All

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 01:00:00 GMT

Training in food safety for vendors in Zambia

Too Much Salt - research case study

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 01:00:00 GMT

Improving the formula for Oral Rehydration Salt Solution...

Small-Scale Irrigation Can Sustain Rural Livelihoods

Wed, 04 Jan 2006 01:00:00 GMT

DFID-funded research has found that small-scale irrigated agriculture can contribute to food security and rural prosperity...

R4D Food and Hunger

Report to the UK Department for International Development (DFID) on the Development Strand of the World Conference of Science Journalists 29th June  3rd July 2009, London

Global recommitment to agriculture. CGIAR Annual Report 2008.

United Kingdom Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS)

Harvest Plus Challenge Programme (HPCP)

Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSA CP)

Water and Food Challenge Programme

Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Challenge Programme

Crops for the Future ICUC (formerly known as International Centre for Underutilised Crops)

African Insect Science for Food and Health (ICIPE)

CGIAR  Change Management Programme (Change Initiative Fund CIF)

CGIAR  Change Management Programme (Change Initiative Fund CIF)

Core Funding for International Agricultural Research, including Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Centres

Hear how the WorldFish Center is working to alleviate hunger and poverty in Africa

DFID's Chris Whitty Opens Global Summit: Food Security in a Climate of Change

This is Open Access Week

New variant famine: AIDS and food crisis in southern Africa.

Living with Environmental Change Brochure

Hunger and gender inequality go hand-in-hand

Exploring the broader use of Community Therapeutic Care

Tracing policy connections: the politics of knowledge in the Green Revolution and biotechnology eras in India.

The International Regulation of Modern Biotechnology

Intellectual property rights, biotechnology and food security

Governing modern agricultural biotechnology in Kenya: implications for food security.

Regulating Biotechnology in India

Can agricultural biotechnology be pro-poor?

Biotechnology and the policy process: Zimbabwe.

Multiple-use water services could advance all Millennium Development Goals

Living with Environmental Change (LWEC)

Countdown to 2015: will the Millennium Development Goal for child survival be met?

WHO guidelines for severe malnutrition: are they feasible in rural African hospitals?

DFID releases a new project database

Asian irrigation systems need updating to meet future food supply challenges

Experiences from the WCSJ 2009

Leading women scientists from Africa meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

DFID seeks applications for three posts in the Research Uptake Team

Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation Study in South Asia (ESPASSA): A Situation Analysis for India and the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region.

Going to Scale: The Potential of Community-led Total Sanitation

id21 natural resources highlights 3. Water

Strengthening the response to HIV and AIDS: Helping make the MDGs a reality (Policy Brief)

Viet Nam Country Case Study.

Resurrecting the Vestiges of a Developmental State in Malawi? Reflections and Lessons from the 2005/2006 Fertilizer Subsidy Programme.

Family Planning: the unfinished agenda.

APPP Discussion Paper No. 3. A research design fit for purpose.

Provision of Endowment Funds to Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT)

study of the impact of development interventions on poverty and well being in E Nepal

Gender as a key variable in energy interventions in developing countries: are we asking the right questions?

Characterisation of the causal virus of pigeonpea sterility mosaic disease: a further step towards attaining sustainability of pigeonpea production in the Indian sub-continent

International assessment of the role of agricultural science and technology in reducing hunger, improving livelihoods and implementing economic growth

CGIAR - Core funding to the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

CGIAR - Core funding to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

Multiple micronutrient supplements and the prevention of newborn deaths

Sweet Solutions to boost Vitamin A

Fufu for thought in Ghana

Improving Food Security and Safety in Urban Slums in Africa

Safe Food For All

Too Much Salt - research case study

Small-Scale Irrigation Can Sustain Rural Livelihoods

Report to the UK Department for International Development (DFID) on the Development Strand of the World Conference of Science Journalists 29th June 3rd July 2009, London

CGIAR Change Management Programme (Change Initiative Fund CIF)

CGIAR Change Management Programme (Change Initiative Fund CIF)