Knowledge for development

Population growth, arable land and fresh water limits, and climate change have profound implications for the ability of agriculture to meet this century’s demands for food, feed, fibre and fuel while reducing the environmental impact of their production. Success depends on the acceptance and use of contemporary molecular techniques, as well as the increasing development of farming systems that use saline water and integrate nutrient flows. (Source: Science, 12 February 2010). See also SCAR report, Agrominde, UK foresighting and IAASTD. 01/03/2010
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One of the main constraints to high quality teaching and learning in agriculture, agroforestry and natural resources management at universities in Africa is the dearth of contextualized learning resources. Recent studies indicate that there are several reasons for this, the main ones being the lack of policies, infrastructure and incentives at the level of these national institutions. As a result, lecturers tend to use whatever relevant materials are at their immediate disposal even though these may be outdated or out of context. Poor teaching and learning of agriculture related subjects directly affects rural development and thus the lives of farming households. 23/02/2010
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Some 1,000 World Food Prize Laureates, ministers, farmers, community development organizations, leading scientists and innovators will gather in Montpellier, France from 28-31 March 2010 for the first Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD). The G8 called for this meeting to identify research priorities and required actions to improve agriculture and outline research priorities. GCARD will seek to strengthen and harness the use of agricultural research to meet the global food requirements for a growing population in an environmentally sustainable process. For more information visit the website. 01/03/2010
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The European Commission's Directorate General for Development (DG-DEV) wants to identify European researchers, students and universities interested in the Pacific region. The Commission feels that EU-based research initiatives in the Pacific are not well known and not widely accessible. To fill the gap, the 2006 EU strategy for the Pacific included stimulating European research in the Pacific as one of its objectives. Setting up a network between the relevant actors is expected to contribute towards this objective. Contact e-mail address. For more information visit the website. Registration deadline: 31 March 2010. 01/03/2010
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On the 10 and 11 November 2009 a stakeholders' conference entitled ‘Africa-Europe Cooperation in Science and Technology: Status and Way Forward’ was held in Mombasa, Kenya as an activity of the CAAST-Net project (http://www.caast-net.org), funded by the European Union's 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. The conference was organized by the Kenyan Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MoHEST) in collaboration with the International Bureau of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (IB of BMBF). Its goal was to enhance bi-regional cooperation in science and technology (S&T) through an examination of the nature and the role of cooperation processes. The link below contains the ‘Summary Report and Recommendations’ (in English and French), which are the result of intensive discussions at the conference and which have been prepared in consultation with conference participants and therefore represent a consensus of opinion of a substantial body of stakeholders. 23/02/2010
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On 30 January the African Union gave awards to two African scientists for the first time in the history of the organization, to express its gratitude to science. The winners, Professor Diane Hildebrandt of the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa (winner in the Basic Science and Innovation category) and Dr Patrick George Eriksson of the University of Pretoria, South Africa (winner in the Life Sciences category), were chosen from 50 candidates through a transparent process carried out by the African Union, according to the AU Commission chairperson Dr Jean Ping. He said the objective of the award was to stimulate scientific research at national, regional and continental levels. (Source: All Africa, 31 January 2010) 01/03/2010
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Support is growing for a bid to persuade the G8+5 nations to fund 1,000 senior research positions in African universities. The Academic Chairs for Africa initiative would require the rich G8 countries and the emerging economies that now attend the group's gatherings — Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Mexico — to commit US$100m per year over a five-year period. The initiative is modelled on a ten-year-old Canadian programme aimed at preventing promising academics from leaving the country. The African version will be discussed at a meeting of the science academies from the G8+5 countries which takes place in Canada next month (4–5 March). African chair holders stand to receive US$100,000 a year, a substantially higher amount than professors usually earn at most African universities. They would be expected to train PhDs, mentor young academics and prove that they were using their research to address the UN's Millennium Development Goals. (Source: SciDev.net, 12 February 2010) 02/03/2010
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Proceedings of a regional workshop, 21-23 January 2009, Nairobi, Kenya The workshop ‘Learning agrobiodiversity’ for universities in sub-Saharan Africa’ was the first regional workshop of its kind gathered 46 participants from universities and international organizations in 16 African and two European countries. The workshop focused on sharing knowledge and experiences; discussing implications for and feasible approaches to, mainstreaming agrobiodiversity in higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa; and exploring modalities and mechanisms for strengthening agrobiodiversity education and research in Africa through networking and joint learning. 03/03/2010
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There is an emerging consensus about what needs to be done to save biodiversity in the next few months. Seven steps need to be observed, including the following. Species and ecosystems need space to develop and recover. Without biodiversity there will be no agriculture. Therefore farming practices should not jeopardize any species’ survival. Improving farmland diversity and reducing the usage of pesticides and fertilizer are key efforts to saving biodiversity. And biodiversity concerns thus need to be integrated into all areas of policy making. Measures include market incentives, development assistance, biodiversity-friendly trade and international governance processes. (Source: Countdown, 2010) 01/03/2010
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The Pacific regional countries, including Fiji, are facing a serious threat from alien invasive species, according to a new publication coordinated by the Global Invasive Species Program (GISP). The publication, released on February 19, listed a number of alien species as a major threat to life on earth, ‘and unfortunately a number of these now exist in the South Pacific islands’, said Don Stewart, Regional Director of BirdLife International in the Pacific. Invasive alien species are plants and animals not native to the South Pacific countries but have been introduced either through trade, or through ‘misguided’ attempts to protect local flora and fauna. (Source: English.news.cn, 19 February 2010) 02/03/2010
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FAO is coordinating a United Nations Environment Programme/Global Environment Fac)ility (UNEP/GEF) project worth $26.45 million to better manage those aspects of wild biodiversity that provide pollination services for human livelihood. The five-year project, entitled ‘Conservation and Management of Pollinators for Sustainable Agriculture, through an Ecosystem Approach’, will be implemented in seven countries: Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Nepal and South Africa. The development objective of this unique project is improved food security, nutrition and livelihoods through enhanced conservation and sustainable use of pollinators. The immediate objective is to harness the benefits of pollination services provided by wild biodiversity for human livelihoods and sustainable agriculture, through an ecosystem approach in selected countries. (Source: FAO, 2010) 01/03/2010
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A ‘miracle’ plant, once thought to be the answer to producing renewable biofuels on a vast scale, is driving thousands of farmers in the developing world into food poverty, a damning report concludes today. Five years ago jatropha was hailed by investors and scientists as a breakthrough in the battle to find a biofuel alternative to fossil fuels that would not further impoverish developing countries by diverting resources away from food production. Jatropha was said to be resistant to drought and pests and able to grow on land that was unsuitable for food production. But researchers have found that it has increased poverty in countries such as India and Tanzania. (Source: the Independent, 15 February 2010) 02/03/2010
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Research to improve and promote yam in West and Central Africa (WCA) has received a €750,000 (about US$1 million) grant from the European Union-African, Caribbean and Pacific Science and Technology Programme (EU-ACP). The programme will benefit six WCA countries: Cameroon, Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo. The research project entitled ’Strengthening Capacity for Yam Research for Development in Central and Western Africa’ or SCYReC, aims to improve research for development capacity for yam in the region. (Source: IITA, African Agriculture, 1 February 2010) 01/03/2010
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Scientists have created a new computational model that can be used to predict the gene function of uncharacterized plant genes with unprecedented speed and accuracy. The network, dubbed AraNet, has over 19,600 genes associated to each other by over one million links and can increase the discovery rate of new genes affiliated with a given trait tenfold. It is a huge boost to fundamental plant biology and agricultural research. (Source: Carnegie Institute for Science, 1 February 1 2010) 01/03/2010
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By C. da Silva; H. de Souza Filho, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2007.This paper gives guidelines and presents a methodological strategy for the analysis of agrifood value chains. The guideline aims to provide information on the conceptual fundamentals of chain analyses, such as the components of the agrifood chain, research planning and stakeholder validation. 02/03/2010
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By A. Vatn; P. Vedeld and J.G. Petursson, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 2009. This paper examines whether reduced emissions from forests – from deforestation and forest degradation (the REDD project) – should be included in a post-Kyoto agreement. It focuses on how REDD could be instituted at the national level, and sheds light on specific challenges for two African countries – Tanzania and Uganda. The paper demonstrates that REDD would require an international agreement concerning its role and format and an international governance structure to distribute the resources involved. It would also need national governance structures in countries where REDD activities are supposed to take place to ensure that measures are instituted on the ground. 02/03/2010
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