Back in Washington

Hello faithful readers,I’m very sorry it’s been so long since my last entry, but I haven’t, till now, find the energy to write a post. I gotta tell you that I had a lot of time in my hands, but I was in a no-agriculture mood, meaning no blogging. Now, as a wait for my computer to arrive, the energy came from somewhere, and it bothers me because I don’t know where. I’ve been waiting all mourning

Ag Econ Papers

Hello, Here are some articles. Click on read more to view them all.********************************************http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/pdf_view.pl?paperid=21731MODELING THE EFFECT OF SPATIAL EXTERNALITIES ON INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENTSelected PaperAmerican Agricultural Economics Association - 20062006 Annual Meeting, July 23-26, 2006, Long Beach, California2006Gregory J. MCKEE; Rachael

EVENT. AIDS & Food Security:New Directions, New Questions

Hello,IFPRI as always organizing relevant and exellent seminars. I'll be there.****Policy Seminar****AIDS & Food Security:New Directions, New QuestionsStuart Gillespie, IFPRI Bruce Frayne, IFPRIFriday, 8 December 20062:00 p.m. -- 4:00 p.m.Abstract: The seminar will explore the latest findings emerging from a series ofaction research studies in eastern and southern Africa undertaken by theRegional

School Gardens in Nicaragua

Hello,The picture was taken in a school at San Jose de Cusmapa, Madriz. This state one of has the worst food insecurity indicators in Nicaragua.Bellow is a summary of the School Garden project we're conducting. The report is not ready yet so this is rather a draft, yet it has some info you may find useful.Project Rationale and PrioritiesThe main objective of PESA Nicaragua is to contribute to the

Papers on Agricultural Economy

Hello,Every week I'll be posting the latest papers on Agricultural Economy published by universities, journals, and Ag Econ meetings. These are extremely technical, with lots of econometrics that may seem too abstract to non-economist. Yet they can be useful to some of the readers out there with a trained eye on these subjects.There are about 25 papers; read over the titles and click the ones

Is Raining Coffee in Nicaragua

As Juan Luis Guerra once hoped "I wish it rains coffee in the field" in Nicaragua it is coffee time and you can feel it in the atmosphere. Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to Jinotega, the department north of Matagalpa in the Honduran border, famous for its shade-grown Arabica coffee. The purpose of the visit was to check on the progress of a School Garden we had helped implement a couple

Why Daniel Ortega is back in power and why to Remain Suspicious

Ok, so the news that Daniel Ortega, the former Sandinista guerrilla combatant, won last Sunday presidential bid were digested easily as a learn that the democrats got back control of both houses of congress. That said, we need to explore why that Danielistas won and what are the prospects of his presidency.There are several factors that influenced last Sunday election outcome. First and most

School Garden Group

Hola Gente,You are missing something big if you haven't open an account on FLICKR, the best photo sharing website out there.Taking advantage of such technology, I've created a group of School Gardens around the world. Ideally, people will post picture of school gardens and share their experiences with them. But hey, just pics are fine. We already have 6 member (not bad...the group was created

VIEWS: Targeting Nicaraguans’ Stomachs

Hello,Trying to remain partial in the discussion of politics in Nicaragua is a difficult task, specially now that we are four day away from the elections. So here is an article by Ben Beachy of Witness for Peace who talks about U.S interventionism in Nicaraguan elections, a subject I have to some extend ignore. As mentioned before, this blog is about Agriculture and Rural Development and the

EVENT: Agricultural Research -- A Growing Global Divide

Hello,Below is the info about another interesting panel taking place at IFPRI. The issue to be discussed will be investment in Agricultural Research and Development. With privatization, budgetary constrains, and decentralization, R&D has decreased enormously in the past decade. Although we have seem magnificent benefits such as the Green Revolution, Sub Saharan Africa, Central America, and other

IFPRI EVENT: Distributional Effects of WTO Agricultural Reforms in Rich and Poor

Thomas W. Hertel, Purdue UniversityThursday, 2 November, 2006. 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.The presentation is based on a paper by Thomas W. Hertel and RomanKeeney of Purdue University, and Maros Ivanic and L. Alan Winters, TheWorld Bank, for the 44th Panel Meeting of Economic Policy in Helsinki,Finland, October 2006. Paper AbstractRich countries' agricultural trade policies are the battleground onwhich the

International World Food Day. Oct 16

Hello,Last week we celebrated the International World Food Day (WFD), as well as, the creation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. Coincidence or not, FAO has been working extensible in the reduction of food insecurity around the world, and Nicaragua is not the exception.There is now a global consensus on the fact that the fight against hunger requires a comprehensive

Un poco de Quejas

SaludosVoy a escrivir en espanol pues la verdad es que me tengo que quejar un poco, y esto lo hago mejor en espanol. Las eleciones en Nicaragua estan a la vuelta de la esquina y todo parece indicar que Daniel Ortega podria ganar inclusive en la primera vuelta, con un poco mas del 30% de los votos. Esto, gracias a una estupida ley concorda entre mienbros del PLC (Partido Liberal Consituyente) y el

Elections in Nicaragua: Two Contrasting Paths to Choose

Hola Gente,We're less than a month away from the presidential elections of Nicaragua, yet it seem that the voting is taking place tomorrow: the whole country is flooded with unregulated expensive political advertising (see the picture), the parties' caravans are seem everywhere making traffic worse, and politics is in everybody's conversations regardless of where you are. Since my arrival to

Nicaraguan Agriculture: Private Property and the Revolution's Legacy

Private property in Nicaragua is a dubious concept in the process of being rediscovered. The country is been recovering from the revolutionaries years in which most of the productive land was confiscated by the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional (FSNL) and reorganized into cooperatives and Unidades de Produccion Estatal (UPE. State Production Units). The policies enacted during the

Vegetables Gardening Videos

HelloI came across these 2 videos of Gardening by Join Robert Norris, Associate Professor and Associate Botanist at UC Davis. They're each an hour long but definitely worth seeing. Is a class presentation so it can get a bit dull, but the material is excellent and his comments are thoughtful and funny.Here is the first part: and the second part: Enjoy

School Gardens as a Tool Against Food Insecurity

Hello All, I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been very occupied gathering material to what is going to be a busy blog for the coming weeks.School Gardens: I arrive to Nicaragua about a month ago. I've been working (or rather volunteering) on the Special Programs on Food Security, task force set up by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. As an

Top Three Sites in Guatemala

Hello All,Sorry it's been so long to write a post, but I've been very busy with my new job: I'm working with FAO on Special Programs in Food Security. My assigment is to analize the economics of School Gardens. These are being introduced as tools to combat food insecurity. Stay tunned, in the meantime check my three favorite places in Guatemala.TOP 1 River Semuc Champey(Picture on top)This

Photos of Guatemala´s Fields

Agricultural Plots Outside AntiguaMacademia Nut FarmCotton, the Raw Material for Guatemala´s Beautifull TextilesEnrich by Volcanic Soils, Guatemala´s Coffee is one of the Best

Colors of Guatemala´s Markets

Saludos Seño. Check Guatemala´s latest pictures HEREGuatemala is a country filled with colors. Right after our second day in the city, we decided to visit the capital’s Central Market in Zona 1. We were amaze at what we saw: A whole range in colors depicted in fruits and vegetables. Similarly beautiful were the colors of the dresses of the Mayan women who sell these products. Colors and odors is

Central America Trip, First Stop: Guatemala

HolaDisclaimer. During august, Agdes will be a travel blog. Although I’ll write about agriculture in Central America, I will also describe my trip around Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, and Nicaragua. As some of you know, three days ago Kate and I started our trip throughout Central America. First stop: Guatemala, a country filled with beauty in culture and landscapes. Although the capital,

Promoción del Cultivo de Caucho y Palma Africana en Colombia

El periódico Colombiano El Tiempo publicó hace poco un artículo sobre la posibilidad de expandir los cultivos de caucho y palma africana en Colombia. Titulado “Es necesario aumentar áreas de cultivos de caucho y palma para depender menos de las importaciones”, el articulo argumenta que al producir mas caucho y palma africana el país se beneficiará pues dependerá menos de los mercados globales.

Video Tour of my Garden

HolaFor those of you that have been asking about my garden, here is a quick tour of it.The quality of the video is not the best, but you can see what I'm growing at the moment (late july 06). The garden is located in Blair Road Community Garden Association, Washington DC. If you just want to see pictures of the plot click HEREEnjoy

Programs on International Development. Pt 2

HolaBrowsing the internet I found a very usefull document published by Queens University of Canada. The orginal format was a Word document, but I copied the content into this post so you can have better access to its exellent links. To see the original source please click here. This information is for educational purposes. If used, please give credit to the source.See infomation belowGraduate

Integrated Farm Management in Benin

HolaIt's about time to start adding more media technology to the blog.I found this video surfing the internet. It describes an on-going project in the west African country of Benin. The project, Songhai Centre Commitment to Excellence,is a perfect example of what developing countries are doing to address the social and economic problems facing their nations.Although I've seen several models

Colonial Gardening

Also...New Pictures from the gardens of Colonial Williamsburg and Moticello, Jefferson's Farm House. Both places have demostrations of colonial gardening using heirloom seeds and old, very old techniques.Check the pictures HEREHasta la vista

Graduate Programs in International Development. pt. 1

Graduate School is next for me and finding the right university is not easy task. I’m interested in international development, with a lot of emphasis in agriculture. The cross-sectoral nature of agriculture must be the main component for a good understanding of developmental studies. Of course there other very important subjects that should be cover in an ID master’s, but rejecting or paying

Photo Gallery of Lesotho: Agriculture, Faces, and Landscapes

In January 2005 I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Kingdom of Lesotho. Located in Southern Africa, this country is one of the three in the world completely landlocked by another country (South Africa).Lesotho, the Switzerland of Africa, offers beautiful landscapes, delicious food, and best of all welcoming people. This characteristic allowed me to go a little beyond the tourist eye and

Blog's New Calendar

Cursos por Internet en Agroecologia y otras Areas de Agricultura

Saludos REDCAPA es una organizacion que organiza diversos cursos en agricultura, con la alianza de distintas universidades. El programa se lleva a cabo en linea, y usualmente duran 3-4 meses. Abajo encontraras mas informacion sobre la lista de cursos mas reciente.Desde REDCAPA le informamos acerca de nuestros Cursos por Internet para el período de septiembre-diciembre del 2006:Encuentre todas

Urban Agriculture in Lesotho

Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, is an overcrowded city located in the lower lands of this mountainous country. The night I arrived in the city I was only able to hear the incessant noises of taxis honking at pedestrians, as if they all needed one. But it was the first morning while driving around this city that I realize how most of the houses have productive gardens. It was amazing to see how

Kate's Spiral Garden

Kate's Spiral Garden Originally uploaded by rafamerchan. The spiral garden of my girlfriend is now cover with beautiful colors, intense flavors, and lasting aromas. Ranging from Pineapple Sage and Cilantro, to Heirloom Lettuce and Rosemary, the garden has made our summer cooking experience unforgettable.

El Círculo Latino Americano

Un círculo es la mejor figura geométrica para describir los que ha estado pasando en Latino América en los últimos cinco anos: comunidades étnicas, clases obreras, y minorías marginadas por siglos de recursos y derechos por las clases tradicionales, están tomando poco a poco las riendas del poder. De la misma manera, el rol de la mujer en un continente netamente machista, esta viviendo cambios