Knowledge for Development

Judith’s pick – Mid March 2014

17/03/2014 - Judith Francis

--A short selection of developments in S&T of interest to agriculture in ACP countries.--Challenges for European policy coherence for food security in AfricaMichael Brüntrup, of the German Development Institute, writes about the ongoing debate on how to harness policy coherence for development (PCD) in Europe to improve food and nutrition security in poor countries. PCD enables the screening of the EU’s external and internal policies for their development implications, to help detect nega...   read more >>

Judith’s pick – Late February 2014

24/02/2014 - Judith Francis

---An annotated selection of recent developments in agricultural research of interest to ACP countries.---Diversity of global rice markets and the science required for consumer-targeted rice breedingTo understand better the importance of the different traits that make up the quality of the rice grain and obtain a full picture of rice quality demographics, a research team led by Mariafe Calingacion of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has engaged with local experts across t...   read more >>

Judith’s pick – Early February 2014

17/02/2014 - Judith Francis

The Global State of Young Scientists – project report and recommendations In January 2014, the Global Young Academy (GYA) published 'The Global State of Young Scientists' (GloSYS). This report, authored by Catherine Beaudry (Canada) and Irene Friesenhahn (Germany), provides a snapshot of recent scientific literature and new analyses of the state of young scholars in different world regions. GloSYS identified global deficits and a need for action in the following areas: Mentoring and support s...   read more >>

--A coincidence. We recently posted two new articles in our Livestock dossier, one written by Alastair G. Paterson on the importance of indigenous cattle breeds in improving small-scale dairy production, the other by Don Peden on the livestock-water productivity nexus.As a timely and immensely relevant complement to our publication, CIRAD has published a study on extensive livestock systems in harsh environments. The study, which followed a emergy methodology (a unit is used to eval...   read more >>

Dear Colleagues:Please find the proceedings of the conference here: http://extension.cta.int/This CTA publication reflects the state of the art and contemporary thinking and approaches for transforming advisory and extension services and making them more responsive, efficient and effective. It is a major output of the International Conference on 'Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Linking Knowledge to Policy and Action for Food and Livelihoods' held in Nairobi in November 20...   read more >>

--A selection of developments and publications in ARD relevant to our dossiers.--A vision for solutions-oriented research to support transformations towards global sustainabilityThe Future Earth Transition Team, representing a wide range of disciplines and countries, and the main partners of the Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability, produced the Future Earth Initial Design Report early December 2013, at the International Council for Science (ICSU). The report sets ou...   read more >>

Judith's Pick: Early December 2013

08/12/2013 - Judith Francis

--A selection of links and resources shared on the web relevant to our dossiers.--Returns to Food and Agricultural R&D Investments Worldwide, 1958-2011Researchers with InSTePP (International Science & Technology Practice & Policy) at the University of Minnesota have compiled a comprehensive database of rate of return (RR) estimates from the worldwide literature on food and agricultural R&D. They found that the wide dispersion in the reported RR makes it difficult to discern me...   read more >>

Judith's Pick: Early November 2013

19/11/2013 - Judith Francis

Productive agriculture benefits more than just food securityA new report, ‘The social, economic and environmental value of agricultural productivity in the European Union’, has been published by the Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture, an international non-profit think tank based in Berlin. The study assesses data on the economic, social and environmental effects of productive agriculture (which uses modern technologies such as agricultural machinery, new seed varieties, organic and/or mi...   read more >>

Judith's Pick: Early October 2013

20/10/2013 - Judith Francis

Empowering farmers through community seed banks in South Africa The Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries of South Africa and Bioversity International scientists, launched a feasibility study to understand better the role of seed banks in strengthening community-based seed systems. A revised strategy for conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources for food and agriculture in South Africa has extended its focus from just ex situ national collections to also include...   read more >>

New generation of natural food colourings are replacing traditional synthetic coloursNatural colours used centuries ago are making a resurgence in response to consumer preferences, manufacturers' needs and the promise that these antioxidant-rich substances may have health benefits. The natural colours industry for foods and beverages is gaining in value and one major change is the appearance of root crops like black carrots and purple sweet potatoes, which are grown specifically for the this...   read more >>