Knowledge for Development

Selected publications

Publications and reports in the field of S&T for Development in ACP countries.


How can agriculture and food system policies improve nutrition?

The Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition argues that the traditional view that increasing agricultural productivity will improve nutritional security is no longer tenable. Nor can nutrition-specific interventions or social protection programmes provide long term and sustainable nutrition for those most in need. Much more needs to be done to ensure that countries have agricultural and food systems that support a food environment that delivers healthy, diverse diets and ensures nutrition outcomes. This technical brief, and the accompanying policy summary, represent the first of a range of outputs from the Global Panel, designed to guide decision makers, particularly governments, on how to generate nutrition-enhancing agricultural and food policies and encourage investment in low- and middle-income countries. (Global Panel on Agriculture and Food System for Nutrition, 01.11.2014)

5/02/2015


Operationalising an EU Approach to Research and Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture and Food and Nutrition security: Drawing on lessons learned

During 2014 the EC Directorate General International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO), redefined its approach to agricultural research and innovation for development (AR4D). On 7 November 2014, DEVCO presented its new approach during a workshop that brought together CGIAR stakeholders with representatives of the European and African research communities and the relevant Commission services. This publication provides an annotation agenda of the workshop and provides links to the various presentations.

11/01/2015


What is the Future of Horticultural Science in Africa?

Horticulture is a labour intensive sector that is important for human wellbeing: ‘agriculture supplies protein, carbohydrates and staple crops - but we would have a pretty boring life without horticulture.’  Nevertheless, in many countries, faculties of agriculture and their departments of horticulture have been swallowed by schools of life or earth sciences. As a result horticulture gets attention only as a side subject when specific crops are being addressed. However, in Kenya the horticultural sub-sector has emerged as the most important in the agricultural sector providing not only food and foreign export earning but also many new jobs. This development is reflected in Kenyan universities establishing departments of horticulture and increased undergraduate enrolment in horticultural sciences. In view of the need to create 74 million jobs in Africa over the current decade to prevent youth unemployment from rising, can Kenya show the road to go to other African countries?

11/01/2015


Is Horticultural Science in Crisis? What is Needed to Assure Its Future?

“Kenya has a shortage of competent horticultural staff at institutional and commercial levels.” “Horticulture is facing a crisis in the United Kingdom.” “Is horticulture a withering field in the USA?” “Concerns over shortage of agriculture graduates In Australia.” “Uganda’s flower sector faces an imminent shortage of qualified managers and supervisors in flower firms.”“New Zealand horticulture requires a net increase of 7,800 qualified people by 2025 with an additional 26,300 people needed to cover natural attrition.”Horticulture is facing a crisis in many countries, as captioned above. There are insufficient well-trained people available to service the broad range of careers in the horticulture sector, and employers are becoming very concerned. A recent Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) publication noted that 70% of horticultural businesses surveyed in the UK struggled to fill skilled vacancies, with 90% saying horticulture lacked career appeal (RHS, 2014).   Within the last 11 years, the number of horticultural graduates has declined from about 150 to about 40 per year in Australia. Horticultural degrees have disappeared from all universities apart from Charles Sturt University and the University of Melbourne, with similar trends in many European, American and Oceanic countries.  It has been projected that the horticulture sector will require about 2,000 new jobs each year for the next decade in order to retain its current situation (J.E. Pratley, Charles Sturt University, personal communication).

11/01/2015


Science for a Social Purpose – A New Agenda for New Times

The specific challenge African countries face is how to take advantage of positive indicators and move towards an inclusive and people-centered development agenda that harnesses the power of science and research and more importantly, how to transform this knowledge into commercially viable products and enterprises.Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) play a significant role in knowledge creation and its translation into products and processes that are key components for development. Economic transformation is directly linked to technological innovation, and one sector where this is very visible is agriculture. However for miracles to happen, the human capital issue comes across very strongly and African States need to focus on building their human capital (local and ways to attract highly talented diaspora) Investment in schools and universities, colleges must go side by side those in roads, and internet access. These investments, along with the appropriate policies, would nurture the emergence of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are among the engines for economic development. 

11/01/2015


Life stories of African women and young professionals in science

This booklet takes a look at the life stories of 12 remarkable African agricultural scientists who are making a difference on the continent and internationally. Ten of them are the women and young researchers who were winners of the 3rd Africa wide science competitions. They are motivated to be part of the solution, and not the problem. Indeed, as researchers they are helping to transform agriculture by developing science-based solutions to some of the complex issues facing African farmers. Their journeys to becoming agricultural scientists are strikingly similar: most of them come from smallholder farms, and their flair for science was spotted and nurtured by their secondary school teachers.

11/01/2015


Biofortification Progress Briefs

The Biofortification Progress Briefs present existing evidence on biofortification, identify knowledge gaps, and stimulate discussion on how to leverage biofortification to improve nutrition and health. Each of the biofortified crop in development have a fact sheet detailing the breeding effort to date, the future releases, capacity building efforts, regional efforts, development highlights and challenges. For example, one highlight in the development of vitamin A cassava is the existence of clones with up to 15 ppm provitamin A content , and breeding challenges include low dry matter content of linmited root mealiness of provitamin A varieties. The 40 briefs are grouped under three braod topics: Crop Development and Alternative Approaches; Nutrition Consumer Acceptance and Cost-Effectiveness; Crop Delivery Experiences. They served as background papers to the April 2014 Biofortification conference in Rwanda, on agriculture, food, nutrition, and health. The conference culminated in a series of commitments to tackle hunger and micronutrient deficiency through nutrition-sensitive agriculture, captured in the Kigali Declaration on Biofortified Nutritious Foods.   (HarvestPlus, 08/2014)

31/12/2014


Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of global research rises

Sub-Saharan Africa’s contribution to global research output increased from 0.44% in 2003 to 0.72% in 2012, suggesting a reversal of the trend reported in 2007 that Africa’s contribution to worldwide research was declining. Focusing on research output and citation impact, the World Bank report, 'A Decade of Development in Sub-Saharan African Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Research' reveals that while research in the region has doubled over the past 10 years (most research in Africa focuses on agriculture and the health sciences, as the continent is battling serious diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, and most recently the Ebola epidemic), research in the physical sciences and in the  science, technology, engineering and mathematics based fields has lagged behind other subject areas. STEM research makes up only 29% of sub-Saharan Africa’s output, leaving a gap in many countries' ability to enhance sectors like energy, transport, light manufacturing and the extractive industries.      Report: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2014/09/26/000456286_20140926094154/Rendered/PDF/910160WP0P126900disclose09026020140.pdf(University World News, 02/10/2014)

31/12/2014


The Australian Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) framework: A model case for bioprospecting?

Despite a pioneering ABS legislation in Australia, there is still only one biodiscovery case involving commercial benefit sharing under Commonwealth legislation. One lesson is the need for improving the dynamic element in ABS contracts, building in a clearer trigger point for when the obligations to share are actualised and to reverse the burden of tracking and follow-up to the user rather than leaving it to the provider. Linking the ABS and IPR legislation through disclosure of the source of biological resources in patent applications can be an appropriate legal measure to track compliance. Fridtjof Nansen Institute  (FNI) ABS expert researchers argue the outside world would also benefit from Australia being a party of the Nagoya Protocol because the country has learned many ABS lessons to be shared with other parties of which many will not have come nearly as far in their ABS experience. Among others, there are lessons about drawing up an effective regulatory system, but also about legal challenges for federal nations with mixed jurisdictions between the federal and state level. These lessons concern partnerships between public academic institutions and the private sector with great benefits for both parties, as well as difficulties in distinguishing scientific from commercial biodiscovery and defining roles.   (FNI, 01/2014)

31/12/2014


Unpacking postharvest losses in Sub-Saharan Africa: a meta-analysis

Knowledge of the magnitude of postharvest losses (PHL) in sub-Saharan Africa is limited. Hippolyte Affognona, of ICIPE, Nairobi, Kenya and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to expose the nature and magnitude of PHL, and the kinds of interventions that have been attempted to mitigate the losses. Their findings reveal inadequacies of loss assessment methodologies that result in inaccurate PHL estimates. Moreover, losses are often economic rather than physical product losses. Overall, technologies for loss mitigation fail to address the dynamics of supply chains.    (World Development, 31/08/2014)

31/12/2014


Food and nutrition security: the concept and its realisation

Food and nutrition security (FNS) for all needs accelerated and revised action at international and national levels. Better understanding of the dynamics, synergies and causal linkages in FNS for human development is required and current concepts need revision. In this paper, Joachim von Braun, Director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF), Bonn University, Germany presents a menu of policy actions for enhancing food and nutrition security and discusses the linkages between 'bread and brain', i.e. cognitive and educational issues of nutrition. He argues that policies need to focus on overcoming supply constraints, reduce price volatility, enhance food productivity and quality, and reduce waste.   Editor’s comments – It is heartening to see that we are beginning to question the concept of FNS in more depth, to be able to find solutions to this global challenge. See CAAST-Net Plus impact pathway FNS diagram by Francis and Nkobu-Talleh (2014).   (Pontifical Academy of Sciences, 2014)

31/12/2014


Proceedings of the 49th annual meeting of the Caribbean Food Crops Society

Proceedings of the July 2013 Caribbean Food Crops Society (CFCS) 49th Annual Meeting are available. The theme of the meeting was 'Agribusiness Essential for Food Security: Empowering Youth and Enhancing Quality Products'. Research topics were varied, and included topics such as: Tilapia production in Trinidad, biomass briquettes, food safety standards, sensory evaluation of local foods, etc. The Caribbean Food Crops Society is an independent professional organisation with interdisciplinary orientation and membership. It fosters communication between persons capable of contributing to the development of science, technology, and production of food crops and animals in the countries of the Caribbean Basin and brings together scholars, researchers, extensionists, growers, and other professionals associated with food production, distribution, and policy.   (Caribbean Food Crops Society, 30/06/2014)

31/12/2014


The State of Food and Agriculture 2014: 'Innovation in family farming'

Family farms must be supported to innovate in ways that promote sustainable intensification of production. This is according to the report The State of Food and Agriculture 2014: Innovation in family farming which analyses family farms and the role of innovation in ensuring global food security, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. Innovation is considered to be a process through which farmers improve their production and farm management practices. Key messages point to the need for (i) innovation systems to include the extreme diversity of family farms and embrace environmental and institutional complexity of; (ii) an enabling environment for innovation, including good governance, stable macroeconomic conditions, transparent legal and regulatory regimes, secure property rights, risk management tools and market infrastructure; (iii) an increase in public investment in agricultural R&D and extension and advisory services.   (FAO, 16/10/2014)

31/12/2014


Bioenergy, food security and poverty reduction: Mitigating trade-offs and promoting synergies along the water-energy-food security nexus

An analytical framework to assess the track record of policy actions to encourage modern bioenergy innovation in order to achieve multiple-win outcomes in terms of poverty alleviation, improved health, gender empowerment and environmental sustainability is presented. Modern bioenergy is a core ingredient of sustainable economic development and could play an important role in poverty reduction and green growth. Managing the multiple trade-offs among bioenergy use, agricultural productivity, and ecosystem functions is a major development challenge. According to Alisher Mirzabaev and colleagues of the Center for Development Research (ZEF), Germany, addressing this challenge requires the identification of the drivers, trade-offs and impacts of bioenergy production, trade and use in the water-energy-food security nexus.   (ZEF, 08/2014)

31/12/2014


Understanding the water-food-energy nexus in the context of climate change

Energy, water and food resource systems are fundamentally interrelated but to date the three resource systems have mostly been organised and studied separately. A 'nexus approach', a multidisciplinary type of analysis of the relationship between energy, water and food, can help to reduce trade-offs and to build synergies across these three sectors. Produced by the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), this report reviews the current thinking on the 'energy-water-food Nexus' and the water-energy interrelationship to provide relevant information for local and regional decision-makers responsible for development and implementation of policies related to energy and water resource systems.   (ECN, 08/2014)

31/12/2014


Strengthening resilience of coastal and small island communities against climate change hazards

UNESCO puts emphasis on the integration of scientific and local and indigenous knowledge in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. The Asia-Pacific Network for global change research (APN) has contributed to the studies that have informed this publication, especially for those in coastal and small island communities in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste. Section 1 of the publication introduces the background, basic concepts and methodology used in the UNESCO project on 'Strengthening the Resilience of Coastal and Small Island Communities towards Hydro-meteorological Hazards and Climate Change Impacts'. Section 2 consists of country-specific lessons learned and action points derived from programmes implemented in the three countries. Sections 3 and 4 present specific policy actions and tools for promoting the integration of local and indigenous knowledge and science for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.   (APN, 18/09/2014)

31/12/2014


Climate-smart agriculture and resource tenure in sub-Saharan Africa: A conceptual framework

Key characteristics of four categories of agricultural practices with high climate-smart agriculture (CSA) potential related to sustainable land management are discussed in this paper. They include: Conservation agriculture (CA), Agroforestry, Soil and Water Conservation (SWC), Irrigation and Drainage. Nancy McCarthy and Josh Brubaker, consultants based in Washington D.C., USA, have hypothesised interactions between tenure security and adoption of changes in agricultural practices with high CSA potential, to help inform the design of CSA and tenure interventions, monitoring and evaluation plans, and impact assessment designs. They have laid out a conceptual framework for evaluating the pathways by which expanding property rights and strengthening tenure security affects incentives to adopt technologies broadly, and then apply the framework to each of the four CSA practices.   (FAO, 09/2014)

31/12/2014


Science-practice interactions for effective climate change adaptation: identifying new approaches for collaboration between Europe and low-income countries

Although research can provide context-specific data, analysis and knowledge for climate change adaptation, yet in practice, the potential of science-practice interaction is still underdeveloped. Funds for research on climate change adaptation will considerably increase in the coming years. It is therefore important to explore ways of channelling the funds to promising research that can provide context-specific data, analysis and knowledge for climate change adaptation in low-income countries. This policy brief summarises the key findings and recommendations of an international expert workshop organised by the German Development Institute (Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik, DIE), the EU project CIRCLE-2 (Climate Impact Research & Response Coordination for a Larger Europe), and the German Aerospace Centre Project Management Agency (PT-DLR). Two key recommendation are: Extend the basis for identification of knowledge needs beyond literature review and the advice of a limited number of experts and high-level stakeholders. Funding agencies need to provide sufficient time and resources for science-practice interaction and should reconsider its incentives structures for research. (DIE, 29/01/2014)

31/12/2014


A global vision and strategy for organic farming research

The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) argues that sustainable pathways to innovation will require the engagement of all stakeholders in a science driven multi-disciplinary approach. The organisation has developed the Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM (TIPI) with a vision and a 14 point action plan to advance organic agriculture through research, development, innovation and technology transfer. The new paradigm proposed by TIPI is founded upon a whole systems approach, that engages farmers, researchers and other practitioners in co-innovative efforts; and open access technologies that are readily adaptable to local conditions. TIPI envisages bottlenecks in realising its vision and calls upon the organic farming community to support the action plan to advance organic agriculture in a forward-thinking and innovative way.   (IFAOM and FiBL, 23/10/2014)

31/12/2014


Research and innovation for sustainable agriculture and food and nutrition security

DG-DEVCO’s of the European Commission is reconsidering its approach to agricultural research for development (AR4D) in the context of current policy priorities on sustainable agriculture, nutrition and resilience and how it is positioned within the European and global agenda to achieve maximum impact. There are four main pillars: Ensuring the success of global and regional AR4D initiatives, building on existing AR4D initiatives and African research organisations supporting the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) process; Improving European leadership, coordination and influence, in particular complementing the Horizon 2020 programme of Directorate General Research and Innovation (DG RTD);. Exploring new strategic directions to put research into use and achieve impact, particularly on innovation and value chains, and Ensuring that AR4D delivers impact at country and local level. (EuropeAid, 11/10/2014)

31/12/2014