Knowledge for Development

Developments

News items relevant to the policy dialogue on S&T for Development.


African science academies get US$20 million boost

SciDev.Net, 23 April 2004. The foundation set up by software billionaire Bill Gates has agreed to provide US$20 million over the next ten years to promote better decision-making on science-related issues in Africa. The money will be channelled through the US National Academy of Sciences to build up the policy-related activities of three African academies, in the hope that these will be able to exert similar influence on their governments as the NAS does in Washington.

18/11/2004


Argentina's bitter harvest

New Scientist, vol 182 issue 2443 - 17 April 2004, page 40. When genetically modified soya came on the scene it seemed like a heaven-sent solution to Argentina's agricultural problems. Now soya is being blamed for an environmental crisis that is threatening the country's fragile economic recovery.

18/11/2004


Realigning South Africa’s science

Science, 16 April 2004. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is encouraging scientists to focus their research on South Africa?s significant social issues. At the same time, the DST has identified areas of basic science in which South Africa has advantages, for which the government has allocated significant funds for research.

18/11/2004


African and Chinese scientists win World Food Prize

SciDev.Net, 2 April 2004. This year?s World Food Prize is to be awarded jointly to an African and a Chinese scientist, both of whom have made significant contributions to increasing rice yields in the developing world. In announcing the winners, World Food Prize president Kenneth Quinn praised their ?breakthrough scientific achievements which have significantly increased food security for millions of people from Asia to Africa?.

18/11/2004


EU Member States on target for a 35% increase in development aid

EuropaWorld, 12 March 2004. The European Commission has adopted its second annual report on Member States? efforts to deliver on their commitments taken in the context of the Financing for Development Conference in Monterrey (2002). The report concludes that Member States remain on target to significantly increase their volume of ODA by 2006. This is ?10 billion more per year in comparison with 2002, and equivalent to a 35% increase. European Commission press release.

18/11/2004


India, Brazil, South Africa ready to lead global South

IPS news, 5 March 2004. India, Brazil and South Africa emerged confident in leading South-South cooperation at a two-day meeting of their foreign ministers that ended Friday. The new confidence was enshrined in a plan of action adopted by these countries and in the ?New Delhi Agenda for Cooperation? issued the first ministerial meeting of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Forum.

18/11/2004


FAO and IFS sign agreement to support agricultural research in developing countries

UN press release, 5 March 2004. Young scientists in developing countries will benefit from grants offered by the International Foundation for Science (IFS) and from FAO?s wide technical information in the fields of agriculture, forestry and fisheries thanks to an agreement recently signed by the two organizations.

18/11/2004


Uganda gives cautious approval to GM food

SciDev.Net, 2 March 2004. The Ugandan government has announced that GM foods can be imported into the country ? but that they should be used ?strictly for consumption?, and not for cultivation. In a statement, the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) says that the government ?recognises the controversial nature of this subject and has therefore decided to proceed with caution, building consensus at all stages?.

18/11/2004


Zambia launches its first biotech outreach society

Biosafety News no. 42, July 2003: Leading Zambian scientists this month launched the first biotechnology outreach society in Lusaka in a ceremony snubbed by the government of President Levy Mwanawasa, a leading opponent of genetic engineering in Africa.

18/11/2004


GM: Africa’s opportunity

OpenDemocracy, 2 October 2003: Walter Alhassan explores the reasons why marketing and developing GM crops across Africa is intensely controversial. He argues that African farmers have little to fear from biotechnology when it is correctly monitored, and much to gain.

18/11/2004


Germany backs rival analysis of GM safety in Africa

SciDev.Net, 7 October 2003: The German government is planning to approve a ?2 million grant to help African nations develop regulations requiring GM crops to be shown to be safe for human health and the environment before allowing them on the market.

18/11/2004


Developing nations 'should assist each other more'

SciDev.Net, 22 October 2003: The Third World Academy of Sciences has called for larger developing nations to increase their efforts to help other developing countries build up their scientific capacity.

18/11/2004


Wireless Networking

ICTP, Trieste, November 2003. New web portal on Wireless Networking for Developing Countries. Researchers at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, are establishing a community of people interested in Wireless Networking, Linux and Open Source for Developing Countries. The website includes a set of 'forum pages' that will become the meeting point of this virtual community. Individuals are invited to submit questions, answers, proposals and ideas, with the aim of facilitating a wider sharing of knowledge and skills.

18/11/2004


AGORA

FAO, Rome, November 2003. Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) is an initiative of the FAO and a range of public and private sector partners to provide free or low-cost access to major journals in agriculture and related biological, environmental and social sciences to public institutions in developing countries. AGORA provides access to over 400 journals, many dealing directly or indirectly with biotechnology, from the world's leading academic publishers. Participating institutions need computers with Internet connections of 56k baud rate or higher.

18/11/2004


Biotechnology: A Solution for Ending Hunger and Poverty in Ghana

GhanaHomePage, 4 November 2003: Ghana?s ratification of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety should have a significant meaning to food policy and poverty reduction. In particular, it will help to deal with future population increases and their impact on land tenure and management.

18/11/2004


Nepad opens new centre for bioresearch

The Nation (Nairobi), 22 December 2003. African scientists have identified centres of excellence as the best avenue for spearheading scientific research in the continent. At a NEPAD meeting scientists agreed that cutting-edge science and technology in Africa will enable researchers and farmers to increase productivity and improve the quality of food where conventional methods have failed. The first centre will be established under the NEPAD initiative, with funding from CIDA, the Rockefeller Foundation and other donors.

18/11/2004


allAfrica.com: Science and Biotechnology

AllAfrica.com news reports on science and technology in Africa.

18/11/2004