Colors of Colombia

Greetings from Colombia,
Apologies for not keeping the blog up to date, but for the past month I've been taking a break from my computer and electronic gadgets. Instead, I've been traveling around Colombia, starting in Boyaca where its cold climate is ideal for vegetables and fruits, to the Cauca Valley where sugar cane abounds. Books and articles about the role of land tenure in Colombia's

Land Grabs- a New Global Trend

An excellent article on the NYTimes about land grabs in Mali and other developing countries.

Climate Change Implication on Agriculture and CIAT's Work on it

Wknd Reading Oct 9th.

News, articles, and reports from on food security and agricultureThe Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) Launches Official Website: GAFSP has launched an official website housing information on the fund, its recipients and the proposal process. The fund is a multilateral mechanism to assist in the implementation of pledges made by the G8++ at L'Aquila in July 2009 and set up in

This American Life on Hatian Devevlopment , Agriculture, and More

As as a big fan of This American Life, I was really pleased to hear a story about Haiti and the dificulties of making development work. Adam Davidson and Chana Joffe-Walt of Planet Money tell the story of a poor farmer with a couple of mango trees and enormous potential to get herself out poverty with a tiny bit of investment. As it turns out, this little investment requires navigating a complex

Obama Presents his new Approch to Development

Yesterday at the U.N. Millennium Development Goals Summit,  President Obama gave a speech describing the fundamental changes to the way US delivers aid: the new US Global Development Policy. The "big-hearted and hard-headed" approach, seeks "creating the conditions where assistance is no longer needed." In his speech, the president outline the three pillars that will sustain this approach: 
A

Wknd Reading Sept 19: Sunday Edititon

A short list for this wknd reading:
Sylvia Mathews Burwell,  President of the Global Development Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes about A Green Revolution Growing in West Africa
For DC area resident, see list of different events on food security and agriculture happening in the next couple weeks.
Why Stunting Matter? A very good technical brief from Alive and Thrive
News

Oxfam International: Halving Hunger, Still Possible?

In their latest Briefing Paper, Oxfam argues that reducing hunger by 2015 is still possible:"While time is running out, the global crises push the MDGs desperately off course. The only chance of avoiding failure is a rescue plan for all MDGs that includes the necessary measures, both political and financial. Halving hunger is still  possible if developing countries take the lead with the right

Funding Feed the Future Initiative:

www.feedthefuture.gov.
Funding for the Feed the Future Initiative has been cut by the folks in the hill.  The following excerpt comes from an excellent summary put together by U.S Global Leadership Coalition:
"Both House and Senate bills cut the $1.65 billion request for Feed the Future, but in different ways and in different amounts.  The Senate provides $1.3 billion, with $250 million

FAO: 925 Million in Chronic Hunger Worldwide

Today, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization announced that there are 925 million individuals enduring chronic hunger worldwide, a significant reduction from the 1 billion, 23 million hungry estimated at the peak of the food crisis of 2007 and 2009. Many news wires broadcast the press released as an important milestone: "World Hunger to Fall for First Time in 15 Years on Growth"

Wknd Reading Sept 13th: Monday Edition

Agdes starts this week of with a fresher look. I also fixed some broken links and got rid of some outdated content (Thanks Joe). As always, email me if you have relevant material to share.
Here is your reading list for the week(end):
The new addition to our list of relevant reports: Rising Global Interest in Farmland: Can it Yield Sustainable and Equitable Benefits? This long report offers an

Hidden Hunger: the Impact of Chronic Malnutrition and Tools to Tackle it

Hidden Hunger from Bob Caputo on Vimeo.

The Rockefeller Foundation Continued Support for Agricultural Development

Throughout the years, philanthropy has played a vital role in agricultural development. Many individuals and families were instrumental in providing the resources needed for important agricultural innovations that brought prosperity to poor areas of the world. Chief among the examples of foundations supporting Ag development was the Rockefeller Foundation's commitment to the work of Dr. Norman

Weekend Reading (WR) Aug 13

For this week's list of a ag and food security weekend reading, don't miss Natures's articles and the paper on international food security. As always, send me an email to agdesblog@gmail.com with any suggestions next Friday. enjoy. Can Science Feed the World? Nature, August 2010: Excellent compilation of articles and agriculture research Gates Foundation inform us about their progress on Ag

Weekend Reading (WR)

Links to articles, events, reports, and sites. Have any suggestion? Send me an email and I'll add it to next's Friday round of GWR  President Obama's announcement at the G8 Summit of "A New Approach to Global Development," outlining a more significant role for global development. See also the administration new initiative Feed the FutureEvents and Activities on agriculture and food

President Obama Outlines New Approach to Development

Check out this press release from the White House listing the administration's major initiatives and outlining Obama's new approach to development:  A New Approach to Advancing DevelopmentAt the Muskoka G8 Summit, President Obama outlined his views on a new approach to development.  In his recently released National Security Strategy, development is recognized as a moral, strategic, and economic

Fellowship Opportunity for Early Career Professionals Working in African Agriculture.

Find below a funding opportunity for young professionals working on agricultural and policy research in Africa. Link to the announcement can be found here. Stay tuned for more news on the unprecedented Feed the Future Initiative rThe Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) aims to encourage critical debate and policy dialogue on the future of agriculture in Africa. Founded in 2005, the Consortium

Press Release: MacArthur Awards $5.6 Million to Support New Master's Programs...

The MDP network keeps expanding! below find today's press release from the MacArthur Fd listing 10 additional universities that will be offering the Masters in Development Practice. Notice how the agricultural component of the network keeps getting stronger with the addition of CATIE in Costa Rica and UC Davis in California.
Cheers,

****
Chicago, IL, May 4, 2010 –  The John D. and Catherine T.

International Women's Day 2010 and women on Ag

A great short clip from IFPRI via HarvestPlus on the role on women in agriculture, enjoy

So many good films, not enough time to watch them all

DCist and others who happen to be here this week, tomorrow is beginning of DC’s Environmental Film Festival. They wil be screening about 150 movies, documentaries and shorts. Of those, 32 are listed un the Food and Agriculture Category. Below are the links to some that look interesting:

FRESH; TERRA MADRE (I already bought tickets for this one) SOIL IN GOOD HEART; HOMEGROWN; SEED HUNTER; POTATO

The Economist on Contract Farming in India

Another good article about recent developments on India's agricultural sector. THIS piece argues that contract farming -where farmers commit to grow a commodity for a particular buyer- is growing rapidly in response to the severe problems faced in the sector. A combination of poor agronomic techniques, such as flooding irrigation and animal traction, combined with government policies that create

Have you ever thought about....

From: Health vs. Pork: Congress Debates the Farm Bill

WSJ: Green Revolution in India Wilts as Subsidies Backfire

An excellent report from WSJ about the overuse of urea in the state of Punjab, India. This is a textbook example of government policies that incentive the exhaustion of resources for short-term gain and constituency appeasement. A lesson that must be taken into account as we explore a new green revolution for Africa, that hopefully won't rely as much on finite inputs.  Article LINK

Event: Are the International Commitments to Ending Hunger and Increasing Global Food Security Real?

The year 2008 was the year of global food crisis; 2009 was the year of global promises to end food crises.  Will 2010 be the year in which action happens?

The US Government has provided critically important leadership over the past year and the President pledged $3 billion for global food security at the G8 Summit in l'Aquila.   The Administration has been developing and consulting on a