Obama and Farm Subsidies

Just from the Washington Post:Obama Goes After Farm SubsidiesIn a speech just concluded announcing two more economy appointees -- CBO chief Peter Orszag to the Office of Management and Budget and Robert Nabors (House Approp. Comm.) to be his deputy -- President-elect Obama gave an example of one piece of wasteful government spending: farm subsidies.Obama cited a GAO report out yesterday that said

Pics from Nicaragua

Events on Agriculture and Development for the DC Area

The Basics of Feeding a Hungry World: Secure Land and Water Access and the Outlook for a Hungry WorldDate: Tuesday, November 18, 2008Time: 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.Venue: Hogan and Hartson LLP Fulbright Center, West (located on 13 West)Location: 555 13th Street, NW, Washington, DC, (Nearest metro station is Metro Center)MORE INFOSaving Niger: Addressing the Long Term Food Crisis in Northern

Obama and International Development

Hi There folks,The Obama team just released an statement describing, on broad terms, their vision of US's foreign assistance programs. Remember how during the vice-president debate Senator Biden was ask what are some of the promises he may not be able to deliver? His answer: foreign aid. So the question remains: how is president-elect Barack Obama and his team going to strengthen the capacity and

350 Jobs on International Development

Hola gente,There you go, hundreds of jobs! follow the "4 Job Seekers" link to find more info and feedback about job hunting on International development. For those in the Washington Area, stay tuned for long list of events on international development going on this month in the area and some stories about my recent trip to Nicaragua.A. NEW INTERNATIONAL JOBSConsultant - Management Information

GREAT NEWS: MacArthur Foundation Commits $15 Million for Master's in Development Practice Programs

Finally, a good, compresensive master's program for those interested in International Development. See THIS website for more information about this great initiative.MacArthur Foundation Commits $15 Million for Master's in Development Practice ProgramsThe John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced a $15 million commitment to seed the creation of Global Master’s in Development

SID-Washington Fall 2008 Career Fair

Reader, this is a good opportunity for those looking for a job....don't forget your business cardsrThursday, October 23rd, 20081:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.Academy for Educational Development8th Floor Conference Center1825 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20009The date of the SID-Washington Fall 2008 Career Fair is fast approaching.Due to the popularity of this event, we are strongly encouraging

Aid Plan Aims to Help Poor Farmers Reach Markets

an excellent initiative....UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 24 -- In an ambitious move to combat the global food crisis, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Wednesday unveiled an experimental public-private initiative that could transform rural agriculture in undernourished parts of Africa and Latin America by helping small farmers sell their surplus crops at competitive prices. Rather than only

The Gates Foundation’s Agricultural Policy Portfolio

The Gates Foundation’s Agricultural Policy PortfolioWith Speaker: Prabhu Pingali, Bill and Melinda Gates FoundationChair: Mark Rosegrant, IFPRIThursday, September 11, 20083:30 – 5:00pmThe majority of the world’s poor people depend on agricultural production to sustain their livelihoods and those of their children. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the leading private-sector

Want to practice your Spanish and learn about Fabretto Children's Foundation (the organization where I work) and its work on rural high school curriculum? Check out this video.

Debating the Rising Food Prices

The Economist has started a pretty interesting debate on the Global Food Crisis. Using a traditional format with a virtual DEBATE HALL, the magazine is offering opening, rebuttal and closing arguments on opposing views in the debate. The debate also invites readers to contribute with comments and vote for the most convincing argument.The preposition: "There is an upside for humanity in the rise

From AIARD Ag-Biotech Updates

News and articles on Agricultural Biotechnology. Spread the wordScientists Genetically Engineer 'Super Carrot' Rich in Calcium Source:Natural NewsJapan Finds Unauthorised GM Rice in China Products Source:ReutersImproved Seeds for Central Asia Source:FAO NewsroomNew Global Soil Database Source:FAO NewsroomInternational Conference for Peanut Genomics and Biotechnology Source:Crop

Agirculture development in Morning Edition

Good series from NPR's Morning Edition. Broadcast by Dan Charles, the series explore different aspects of agriculture in Honduras: Ag Investment; Supermarket Revolution; and tmrw GMO's. Stay tuned

People for development

That's right, the cute pictures cost People Magazine $14m and all of it (as far as i know) is going towards development....or at least organizations that work on issues of international development, especially global health endeavors .Through their very own Jolie-Pitt Foundations (no website), funds will be used to help organizations such as International Finance Facility for Immunization,

On the news

Good Article from USAToday about funding for International Ag research: Money for Crop Research Just a Drop in the BucketFrom Since Daily: Traditional Forms Of Agriculture: Unexpected Degree Of Diversity, Time-honored PrinciplesFrom IPS another perspective on the Doha debate: TRADE: New World Order in Doha’s Wakefrom IFPRI some good articles on AIDS: Strengthening Families Affected by HIV/AIDS

Pics from the Plot

OKRASpiral Garden...26 herbs! -3 used :(blueberry, squash and basilThe plot

Doha-ha

Hola Gente,We have already seen the signs of protectionism around the world as the preferred response to the food crisis. Yet, these signs have been coming from governments responding to their concerned constituencies that see their daily life threatened and demand immediate actions.Now, the hope that a global platform, such as Doha, would counterweight all these nonsense policies has been

go ahead and eat those kiwis

From a interesting article in the NYT that list "10 Things to Scratch From Your Worry List" here is number 3:3. Forbidden fruits from afar. Do you dare to eat a kiwi? Sure, because more “food miles” do not equal more greenhouse emissions. Food from other countries is often produced and shipped much more efficiently than domestic food, particularly if the local producers are hauling their wares

Harvest

Nothing like spending an afternoon picking tomatoes, corn, and beans, fruits of months of hardwork. Get a plot in you local community garden!More picture to come soon. Older pics here

Lessons from the food crisis: patchwork will not mend our vulnerable system

From the South Centre Bulletin, It concludes that:sustainable agriculture for domestic food security, meeting the needs of local markets and supporting local farmers must be prioritisedthe limits of the industry-led agri-food market must be recognised and more than short-term buffers for the poor must be put in placeseed aid and provision of fertiliser is rightly being advocated as an immediate

News and Links

International food aid locally purchased in the new Farm Bill. Pros and consMozambique, an example of how food aid should be doneIn Lesotho, a landlock country with very low food production, the food crisis is making things even worseFrom IFPRI Helping Women Respond to the Global Food Crisis and Physical and Virtual Global Food Reserves to Protect the Poor and Prevent Market FailureAn unpopular

the wrong response to the food crisis

Also, here is an paper from professor Sumit Roy Visiting Senior Research Fellow Jadavpur University on the food crisis a what countries are and should be doing.On the same subject here is another interesting perspective of the food crisis published by Oxfam "The Time is Now: how world leaders should respond to the food price crisis"Best,

New bloggers

Hi there,I've added two new links to the blogger side bar. The first one is Chris Blattman's Blog, an Assistant Professor of Political Science & Economics at Yale University, Chris blogs about international development and economic growth. Check out his post on the Kennedy School's MPA/ID, one of the programs listed under "Career Programs in Development". Since we're taking about the Kennedy

Urban agriculture in Washington DC

The Washington Post just added another video to their series on Community agriculture in the DC area. this third video showcases the advances of the Glover Park Community Garden in Northwest Washington.My plot in another DC community garden does not look as nice as this one. We have a lot of empty plots, a illegal dumping , and a construction equipment for a nearby construction.Yet, Blair

intersting links and more

hi there,work and my garden keeps me very busy and away from my dear blog. I promise once i settle into my new hours i'll keep AGDES more updated.In the meantime here are some interesting links:from Brookins Institution: will rising food prices reduce poverty? (it can, but it won't)the latest edition of New Agriculturalist on neglected species another report from IFPRI on world food prices: High

from WSJ How to Continue the Fight Against Hunger

Excellent oped from Wall Street JournalBy NORMAN BORLAUG and PETER MCPHERSONJune 6, 2008; Page A13 At the Washington, D.C. offices of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) there is a plaque dedicated to America's great statesman-general, George C. Marshall. It contains a quote from his epic 1947 Harvard commencement address, which spawned the Marshall Plan. The quote

Garden and Congressional Hearing

Hi Folks,Sorry i've been out of touch for the past couple weeks, but i've been busy with my new job.My garden is looking great, in particular the fava bean; they growing strong and tall. I cannot said the same thing about leafy green, slugs are feasting on then, probably because i put too much mulch. Anyway, I'll be posting some pics soon. In the meantime, for those in Washington, check out this

Farm Bill and the Political Parties

From professor Mankiw's blog

La Situación Alimentaria Mundial

Hispanoparlantes,IFPRI acaba de publicar recientemente la versión en español de su excelente reporte sobre la crisis alimentaria:Informe sobre politica alimentaria 18La Situación Alimentaria MundialNuevos factores y acciones necesariasJoachim von BraunDiciembre 2007

the garden

Farm Bill

Unfortunately, the unprecedented prices US farmers are getting for their crops were not high enough to convince the congress to stop subsiding agricultural production; what's worse, they actually increased the hangouts!!The insignificant increases in nutrition assistance to the poor at home and abroad, conservation, farmers markets, organic food, and minority farmers also part of the Farm Bill,

new job

Hi Readers!Sorry I haven't posted much lately but I been very busy with my new job at Fabretto Children's Foundation. I'll be writing proposals and projects for projects in agriculture, education and rural development. Check our website or see this vido about the NGOBest,

Jobs with Development Contractor

Hola readers,Last week, the Society for International Development hosted its Annual Career Fair. Besides having the opportunity to talk to employers from different sectors of the international development arena, invitees had also the opportunity to see thoughtful presentations on the latests trends in International Development and the implication of such trends for jobs in the sector.One

Una columna para ignorar

Otra columna del El Tiempo por Jorge Restrepo que utiliza la crisis alimentaría para criticar el libre mercado sin darse cuenta que fue la falta de libre mercado la que llevo en gran parte a esta crisis.Comentario en respuesta al articulo: No se cual con que argumento el Dr. Restrepo defiende su tesis de que “mercantilismo perdió su guerra contra la acción estatal sobre todo en asistencia y

Biotechnology News

EU Delays Decision on Whether to Let Europe's Farmers Plant 'Frankenfood' CropsSource:ReutersAuthor:James KanterFood Crisis: Political Will Needed for Scientific Solutions to Reach African Farmers Source:African Science News ServiceAuthor:Henry NeondoClick on "Read More" to see a completed post Sustainable Agriculture, Stewardship and Genetically Engineered Animals Source:Genetic Engineering

Brookings on Global Food Crisis

Good series of articles, with research and commentary from the Brookings Institution on the Global Food Crisis

FAO Gets it

I've been arguing for the last couple weeks about the importance of paying attention the benefits the so-called "food crisis" could bring to those whose livelihood depend on agriculture. After many failed strategies to improve the lives of those in rural areas, high food prices may turn out to be the right incentive to make farmers more prosperous. Yet, local goverments and institutions, the

More en Español

Otra columna del Tiempo "El problema es la seguridad alimentaria nacional" y lo que yo respondi: Aunque el Dr. Montoya no propone nada concreto, queda claro que el acento de esta columna se asemeja mucho a aquellos que promueven políticas proteccionistas bajo la excusa de la seguridad alimentaría. Japón primero dijo que era cuestión de seguridad, ahora dice que es por mantener su tradición, y en

Expensive fufu and other things

The food crisis has served as catalyst for social and economic discontent that predated the exponential increase in food crises. This is not to say that food has become extremely expensive and most of the poor are spending almost all of their income to feed themselves, creating a situation that in a global perspective is unprecedented. Yet, the countries that are been hit the hardest are those

Los Precios de la Comida; desafíos y oportunidades para Latinoamérica

Hola hispanoparlantes, Una gran sorpresa me lleve el día de ayer al visitar El Tiempo (principal periódico Colombiano) y encontrar que su editorial del domingo estaba dedicado a la crisis de la comida, y no al las ultimas revelaciones del escándalo de la parapolitica. Me ha llamado mucho la atención como, hasta cierto punto, Latino América ha estado ausente en el cubrimiento mediático que se le

Multilateral Banks and the Food Crisis

Hi There,A friend of mine just point out to me how the blog was missing out some of the efforts put together by the World Bank to address the current food crisis. Besides publishing their World Development Report with the topic of agriculture, the World Bank has been instrumental in brining agriculture back to the donors and governments discussion table. The timing, as you all know, couldn't be

More on Food Prices: article from Financial Times

Food crisis is a chance to reform global agriculture. Financial Times Matin WolfOf the two crises disturbing the world economy – financial disarray and soaring food prices – the latter is the more disturbing. In many developing countries, the poorest quartile of consumers spends close to three-quarters of its income on food. Inevitably, high prices threaten unrest at best and mass starvation

UN response to food crisis: press relase

UN just put out a press release describing their modus operandi to address the current global food crisis. Click here to check it out

Another factor for the food equation

Excellent series of articles put together by NY Times about the consequences of increased fertilizer prices on the world food crisis:The Food ChainShortages Threaten Farmers’ Key Tool: FertilizerBy KEITH BRADSHER and ANDREW MARTINPublished: April 30, 2008Shrinking grain stocks and an increasing appetite for meat have collided with a shortage of fertilizer

lots of jobs from DevEx

click on Read More to see them allA. HIGHLIGHTED JOBSPartnerships and Refugee & Asylum Seekers Initiative AdministratorThe Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial FundLocation: London, UKLast Date: May 12, 2008http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_45578.shtmlShort-Term Experts: Organizational Training for ProducerOrganizationsACDI/VOCALocation: MaliLast Date: May 30, 2008http://216.197.119.113/

Don Marcos and the snake

Hi there!i just came back from working all day at the garden. The day was perfect; sunny, a little windy, and a very loose soil after two days of rain. Marcos, a dishwasher at the restaurant where i have a part-time, showed me how corn and beans are cultivated in his native Honduras.Whenever i meet a latino, i always ask them what they grew. Their reaction to the question is one of surprise to

Ag Econ Paper

Ag Econ Papers are here, fresh from the oven. Click on "read more" to see them all, or click on the label to see older post with same content. You can also do a search by topic here.Looking for a lighter read, check out other posts about media coverage of the world food crisis.http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/pdf_view.pl?paperid=28363ORGANIC FARMING IN DENMARK ? PRODUCTIVITY, TECHNICAL CHANGE

News, World Food Prices

Hi there,HERE a must-read three day report put together by the Washington Post with multimedia, analysis and graphics about the global food crisis. Also NPR's To the Point had their program dedicated to the irony of record food prices and record US commodity subsidies.

the 'Gates' are open

Hi there,how is the new header? i took that picture a couple months ago in a village an hour away from Lome, Togo. Under the Neem tree, the women and the men had gathered to discuss with extension agents from IFDC the latest harvest and how it was affected by the use of Macuna, a legume grown as cover crop. They were very happy as their cassava yields were clearly increased. Cheap nitrogen and

NYT Better Roses Than Cocaine

New York Times oped on the need for economic partnership with Colombia.Link

Ag Econ Paper

Below, a list of agricultural economics journals publications. I used to post these every time a new list would be sent out.Here, the is a link other post with more publication, or you can go to University of Minesota, AgEcon Search. TILES (full records with URLs follow):*Transition and foreign trade: the case of the Ukrainian agri-food sector*Informal barriers, agricultural trade, and the Euro

Paul Polak and my garden

Today, after three days in a row of pretty intense showers here in Washington, the sun showed up and i decided to work on my plot at the Blair Community Garden. This year i'm planning to go big on beans, as many variety as i can find. So i had to go to the hardware store to get some nails and rope to star working on the structure for the pole beans. On my way back, NPR broadcast an interview to

Donate to WFP

World Food Program has now a website where you can donate money online towards their effort to address the current food crisis. Remember that such crisis is unprecedented and in a time where food inventories are at its lowest, everybody's help is necesary. Follow linkFill the Cup Campaign

Event: Assessing the Current Food Crisis

Hi readers,For those of you in the Washington metropolitan area here is another timely event to discuss the current food crisis. Organized by UNA-USA's Council of Organizations and the American Public Health Association, and with speakers from USAID and WFP this presentation comes as the "quiet tsunami" continues throughout the developing world. For those attending, i suggest an earlier post on

WP Article: Ethanol's Failed Promise

Good article published today by WP and written by Lester Brown and Jonathan Lewis about the urgent need to reevaluate the US policies towards biofuels, specially corn ethanol.It would be interesting to see a similar analysis with sugar cane ethanol and its impact in world prices; does this efficient way to produce energy outweighs its effect on the world food prices?..By Lester Brown and Jonathan

Taking Stock of the Doha Round Agricultural Negotiations:

Hello ReadersI've been busy changing the layout of the blog to make the resources offered more accessible, so stay tunned as this blog will look very different sometime soon.For Washingtonians, another excellent presentation by IFPRI:Taking Stock of the Doha Round Agricultural Negotiations: Where are we and what does it really mean for the U.S.? Thursday, May 1, 2008 Rayburn House

For Job Seekers

International Development Job Search EnginesIndeed OneWorld Commongood Careers ARD InfoSys Bridgestar Craigslist Idealist Guide to nonprofit Careers Careers Without Borders Development Executive Group DevNetJobs Idealist Make sure to check out the great resources Idealist have to offerOneWorldNetworkingConnections are extremely important when it comes to finding the job you're looking for. Big

For Young Professionals

Some good resources from IDEALIST