Categories

Access to water (91) Biofuels@ (42) Food and agricultural technology (118) Take Action - Food and Agriculture@ (2) Food and agriculture in the Pacific (21) Food and agriculture in the Pacific Islands Food and indigenous peoples (9) Food and young people (2) Food crisis, famine and food security (158)

Food policy and practice guides (4) Food sovereignty and the right to food (151) Key documents (3) Overviews (5) Rural Development@ (117) Specific crops and foods (49) Sustainable and alternative food systems (83)

Links

Sustained Market Access for Subsistence Farmers in Bolivia [pdf, 663.71KB]

This report reveals the primary objectives and key lessons learned by Save the Children during a six-year pilot project to reduce chronic malnutrition in Bolivia. The pilot project used a multifaceted approach integrating health, income generation, and natural resource management to tackle food insecurity. (STC, 2010)

http://www.microlinks.org/file_download.php/FIELD+Report+No+7_Sustainable+Markets+for+Subsistence+Farmers_Save_Bolivia.pdf?URL_ID=43319&filename=12724629321FIELD_Report_No_7_Sustainable_Markets_for_Subsistence_Farmers_Save_Bolivia.pdf&filetype=application

(Added: Thu May 27 2010   Hits: 102)

Monitoring Secure Access to Land: Progress and Prospects [PDF 890KB]

In 2008-2009, as part of its Land Reporting Initiative, the International Land Coalition (ILC) conducted a global review of efforts to improve the monitoring of land governance issues. This review included an analysis of past and ongoing initiatives; an internet-based consultation and discussion with key experts and stakeholders from civil society, research and intergovernmental organizations; and a two-day international workshop held in December 2008. ILC's status as an intersectoral coalition enables it to bring a wide range of critical perspectives to debates. In doing so, it draws on the experiences of its diverse membership, which includes actors that range from farmers' organizations to intergovernmental organizations. This report aims to bring these perspectives to the issue of monitoring secure access to land and to the development of related indicators. It aims to be a timely and useful contribution to debate as both IGOs and civil society groups move forward with innovative initiatives to improve the assessment of land issues.(Tim Bending, International Land Coalition, 2010)

http://www.landcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/monitoring_secure_access_to_land_final.pdf

(Added: Mon May 17 2010   Hits: 174)

Scaling Up Nutrition: A Framework for Action

This framework, based on collaborative efforts by a wide range of developing country partners, community service organizations, UN and others. This brief aims to catalyze actions to redress the serious neglect of nutrition in development efforts. (INF, 2009)

http://www.inffoundation.org/publications/policy-brief.htm

(Added: Mon May 03 2010   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 120)

Land grabbing in Latin America

Millions of hectares of farmland in Latin America have been taken over by these foreign investors over the past few years for the production of food crops and agrofuels for export. GRAIN, March 2010)

http://www.grain.org/articles_files/atg-24-en.pdf

(Added: Tue Apr 06 2010   Hits: 150)

The True Cost of Cheap Food [pdf, 28.50KB]

Cheap food causes hunger. On its face, the statement makes no sense. However, if you're the one growing the food, the statement makes sense. (Resurgence, March/April 2010)

http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/rp/TWG20ResurgenceMar10.pdf

(Added: Wed Mar 10 2010   Hits: 199)

Learning from experience (school feeding programmes)

A World Food Programme report sharing their experiences with school feeding programmes around the world. (WFP, February 2010)

http://www.wfp.org/content/learning-from-experience

(Added: Thu Feb 04 2010   Hits: 190)

Rethinking School Feeding - Social Safety Nets, Child Development and the Education Sector

This joint publication of the World Food Programme and the World Bank Group, provides a new analysis of school feeding programs. It explores how food procurement may help local economies and emphasizes the centrality of the education sector in the policy dialogue on school feeding. (WFP, February 2010)

http://www.wfp.org/content/rethinking-school-feeding-social-safety-nets-child-development-and-education-sector

(Added: Thu Feb 04 2010   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 187)

Sector-based approaches in agriculture [PDF 244KB]

Sector-wide approaches (SWAps) in agriculture remain expensive experiments, as a result of political, institutional and operational barriers.(ODI Briefing Papers 58, January 2010)

http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/4636.pdf

(Added: Thu Feb 04 2010   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 238)

Fair miles: Recharting the food miles map (PDF 1.63MB)

Today's food is well travelled. A pack of green beans in a Northern supermarket may have journeyed 6000 miles, or 60. But while food miles loom large in our carbon-aware times, transporting it counts for less than you might think. And there is a far bigger picture. Food is more than a plateful of emissions. It's a social, political and economic issue that involves millions of small farmers in poor countries who export produce to the North. They have built lives and livelihoods around this trade. By buying what they grow, you've clocked up 'fair miles'. This pocketbook delves into the realities of the produce trade between Africa and the UK, examining both sides of the equation in search of a diet that is ethically, as well as nutritionally, balanced.(iied, Oxfam, December 2009)

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/policy/climate_change/fair-food-miles.html

(Added: Mon Feb 01 2010   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 208)

Food seed banks need $250 mln, experts warn

Seed banks need a further $250 million to preserve all varieties of food crops including those which may best survive future climate changes, according to the Global Crop Diversity Trust. (Reuters, November 2009)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LH694556.htm

(Added: Fri Nov 27 2009   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 227)

CG Virtual Library

An online database to information and research on agriculture, hunger, poverty, and the environment.

http://vlibrary.cgiar.org/V?RN=106844770

(Added: Wed Nov 25 2009   Hits: 201)

Profits before people: The great African liquidation sale

The fervour with which foreign commercial interests are forcing their agricultural 'solutions' on the African continent represents nothing more than an established endeavour to protect profits and access to resources. (Pambazuka, November 2009)

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/60010

(Added: Fri Nov 13 2009   Hits: 194)

Revisting the Global Food Architecture: Lessons from the 2008 Food Crisis

The 2008 episode of food price explosion, political turmoil, and human suffering revealed important flaws in the current global food architecture. This paper argues that to safeguard the strengths of the current system, four failures in market functioning and policymaking must be addressed. First, governments must reinvest in agriculture with a focus on public goods and subject to increased public accountability to re-ensure the global food supply. Second, the policy-induced link between food and fuel prices must be broken through a revision of EU and US agro-fuel policies. Third, better sharing of information on food stocks, stricter WTO regulation of export restrictions, and some form of globally managed buffer stock will be minimum requirements to prevent the resurgence of inefficient national food self-sufficiency policies. Fourth, a market-based food security system is only sustainable given well functioning national social safety nets.(UN-WIDER, 2009)

http://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/working-papers/discussion-papers/2009/en_GB/dp2009-04/

(Added: Fri Oct 16 2009   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 206)

We Have Land Rights but No Water Rights - South African Farmers

Maize and dairy farmers in one of South Africa's driest districts, the lack of running water is widespread. (IPS, October 2009)

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48726

(Added: Thu Oct 15 2009   Hits: 215)

IFC breached standards on palm oil financing - ombudsman

An audit by the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) own watchdog has found it failed to apply its own environmental and social standards in a series of investments and loans to palm oil trading and plantation owner Wilmar Group. (Environmental Finance, 13 August 2009)

http://www.environmental-finance.com/onlinews/0608ifc.html

(Added: Wed Aug 19 2009   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 218)

Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition

The Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum) is an on-line peer assist network whose members share experiences, identify resources, provide peer coaching and support and find collective solutions to food security and nutrition (FSN) issues, focusing on FSN policies. The Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is facilitating the networking effort.

http://km.fao.org/fsn/

(Added: Sat Aug 08 2009   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 219)

FAO Diversification booklets

The FAO Diversification Booklets aim to provide information on the diverse types of possible diversification and income generating activities possible at the farm and local community level. Each booklet focuses on a different type of farm or non-farm enterprise or technology that can be adopted by small farms or local enterprise groups. The target audience for the booklets is people and organizations that provide advisory, business and technical support services to small scale-farmers and local communities in low-and middle-income countries.(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations , 2009)

http://www.fao.org/Ag/AGS/publications/en/diversification.html

(Added: Fri Aug 07 2009   Hits: 274)

Resource: Why Food Inc. Fails> Documentary Bites Off More Than It Can Chew

Six years in the making, Robert Kenner's Food Inc. made it onto the silver screen. Directed and produced by Kenner himself, and co-produced by the author who brought us Fast Food Nation, investigative journalist, Eric Schlosser, Food Inc. explores the modern diet alongside the agriculture-industrial-complex responsible for the sugary/salty/fatty provender manufactured to mollify modern dieters. (Toward Freedom, 5 August 2009)

http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1635/1/

(Added: Fri Aug 07 2009   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 245)

Food crisis and land grab

GRAIN's website that offers a comprehensive information tool on the global land grab for outsourced food production. (GRAIN, June 2009)

http://farmlandgrab.org/

(Added: Mon Jun 29 2009   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 258)

The Second 'Scramble for Africa' Starts

Sub-Saharan African countries are becoming the target of a new form of investment that is strongly reminiscent of colonialism: investors from both industrialised and emerging economies buy or lease large tracts of farm land across the continent, either to guarantee their own food provisions or simply as yet another business. Investors even deal with warlords who claim property rights, as in Sudan. NGOs and activists in Europe are denouncing this land grab in Egypt, Sudan, Cameroon, Senegal, Mozambique and elsewhere in Africa as a new form of colonialism.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/20-3

(Added: Fri Apr 24 2009   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 286)

Micro-Level Analysis of Farmers' Adaptation to Climate Change in Southern Africa [PDF 122KB]

This brief is based on a study that assesses smallholder farmers' adaptation to climate change in southern Africa. The study identifies farmers' perceptions of climate change and the determinants of farm-level adaptation strategies, and recommends policies that could help stabilize national and regional food production given the anticipated adverse effects of climate change. (Charles Nhemachena and Rashid M. Hassan, IFPRI, 2008)

http://www.ifpri.org/publication/micro-level-analysis-farmers-adaptation-climate-change-southern-africa-0

(Added: Fri Mar 06 2009   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 310)

One-tenth of Burmese go hungry despite food surplus

Myanmar was once known as the rice bowl of Asia; it remains to boast about a surplus of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rice and maize. Yet, a tenth of the population is going hungry, according to the first UN food security report on the country. According to Chris Kaye, the country representative for the UN World Food Programme, "The reality is that this country has got massive potential," (Reuters, 5 February 2009)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/123382977834.htm

(Added: Mon Feb 09 2009   Hits: 253)

Gender in Agriculture Source Book

This Sourcebook looks at the role of women in agriculture. It offers advice on gender neutral agricultural progamme planning and ways to utilise the potential of women farmers.(World Bank, 2008)

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTARD/EXTGENAGRLIVSOUBOOK/0,,contentMDK:21348334~pagePK:64168427~piPK:64168435~theSitePK:3817359,00.html

(Added: Thu Feb 05 2009   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 302)

The Future of Small Farms for Poverty Reduction and Growth

This paper looks at the role of small farms in agriculture, the prospect of farming as a method of poverty reduction and the role of small farms in comparison to large scale agriculture.( Peter Hazell, Colin Poulton, Steve Wiggins and Andrew Dorward, 2020 Discussion Paper 42, IFPRI: Washington, DC, 2007)

http://www.ifpri.org/publication/future-small-farms-poverty-reduction-and-growth

(Added: Thu Jan 22 2009   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 407)

Mothers Teaching Mothers to Combat Malnutrition - Bolivia

One of every two children under the age of five in the southwestern Bolivian highlands municipality of Betanzos suffers the effects of chronic malnutrition. (IPS, January 9, 2009)

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45348

(Added: Thu Jan 15 2009   Hits: 259)

Linking International Agricultural Research Knowledge with Action for Sustainable Poverty Alleviation: What Works? (PDF 214KB)

This paper asks 'What kinds of approaches and institutions, under what sorts of conditions, are most effective for harnessing scientific knowledge in support of strategies for environmentally sustainable development and poverty alleviation?' In applying an innovative conceptual framework to a diverse set of sustainable poverty-focused projects undertaken in numerous African and Asian countries, we found that strategies key to closing gaps between knowledge and action include: combining different kinds of knowledge, learning and bridging approaches, strong and diverse partnerships that level the playing field, and building capacity to innovate and communicate.(Center for International Development, Harvard, 2008)

http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidwp/pdf/173.pdf

(Added: Wed Jan 14 2009   Hits: 300)

In 'Eat Local' Movement, Cuba Is Years Ahead

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba planted thousands of urban cooperative gardens to offset reduced rations of imported food. In the recent wake of three hurricanes that wiped out 30 percent of Cuba's farm crops, Cuba is turning to its urban gardens to keep its people properly fed. "Our capacity for response is immediate because this is a cooperative," said Miguel Salcines, walking among rows of lettuce in the garden he heads in the Alamar suburb on the outskirts of Havana. (Reuters, 16 December 2008)

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4BF01H20081216

(Added: Thu Dec 18 2008   Hits: 284)

Executive Development Programme on Inclusive and Sustainable Business

The World Bank Institute's Executive Development Programs are designed for business managers and public sector leaders working in emerging markets. Their programs guide participants through the creation and implementation of sustainable corporate strategies and development policies that create opportunities for the world’s four billion poor people to raise themselves out of poverty.

http://info.worldbank.org/etools/edp/

(Added: Wed Dec 03 2008   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 317)

THE STATE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE 2008

The impact of biofuels on food prices remains the subject of considerable debate, as does their potential to contribute to energy security, climate-change mitigation and agricultural development. Even while this debate continues, countries around the world confront important choices about policies and investments regarding biofuels. Careful assessment of the prospects, risks and opportunities posed by biofuels is essential and this is the focus of FAO's 2008 report on the State of Food and Agriculture. (FOA, 2008)

http://www.fao.org/docrep/011/i0100e/i0100e00.htm

(Added: Thu Oct 16 2008   Hits: 346)

Extreme poverty in Bangladesh: Protecting and promoting rural livelihoods [pdf]

This paper examines evidence on the links between social protection and agricultural growth in Bangladesh by synthesising existing impact evaluations from four programmes in the country (Rebecca Holmes, John Farrington, Taifur Rahman and Rachel Slater. ODI Publications - Project Briefing 15, September 2008).

http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/project-briefings/15-bangladesh-extreme-poverty-social-protection.pdf

(Added: Fri Sep 19 2008   Modified: Tue Oct 21 2008   Hits: 313)

Unheard Voices: The Case for Supporting Marginal Farmers',

People who live and work on small farms in developing countries should be at the centre of efforts to defeat poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. However, this Concern Worldwide discussion paper argues that marginal farmers are given low priority by governments, in both developed and developing countries. (concern worldwide UK, August 2008)

http://www.globalfocus.org.nz/infoservices/downloads/Concern_UnheardVoices.pdf

(Added: Fri Aug 15 2008   Hits: 338)

The minimum cost of a healthy diet [pdf]

An understanding of the minimum cost of a healthy diet for children could help policy-makers determine how to achieve the best nutritional outcomes for children and families within their programmes.(Save the Children, June 2007)

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/docs/The_Minimum_Cost_of_a_Healthy_Diet_Final.pdf

(Added: Mon Jul 21 2008   Modified: Tue Oct 21 2008   Hits: 329)

Revolutionising bio-cultural research

This article by Ashish Kothari argues 'Western science has treated the knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities as a resource to be exploited. Now, a more collaborative relationship between the two is being forged. The most remarkable development is the return of 420 potato varieties to the Quechuas of Peru.'

http://infochangeindia.org/200807147220/Other/Analysis/Revolutionising-bio-cultural-research.html

(Added: Tue Jul 15 2008   Hits: 320)

GLOBAL: US farm bill "too little, too late" for developing world

This Article examines discusses the pros and cons of the new US farm bill - a bill which regulates how the worlds largest provider of food aid, distributes that aid.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79036

(Added: Mon Jul 07 2008   Hits: 331)

The Cattle realm : a new phase in the livestock colinzation of Amazonia [pdf]

Thanks to subsidies from domestic and international institutions such as the World Bank, as well as displacement of cattle by other agricultural activities in the South of Brazil, ranching expanded at an unprecedented rate in the Amazon region. (by Amigos da Terra - Amazonia Brasileira, 2008)

http://bionegocis.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/informe_2008_deforest_amazonbr.pdf

(Added: Wed Jun 11 2008   Hits: 290)

The food crisis and the international trade

The increase in the international food prices is an easily verifiable fact in recent times. As usual, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and especially the World Trade Organization (WTO) came out with its old and permanent recipe. But, is this not exactly the medicine that is complicating the international arena of food supply and is raising the prices?

http://ifis.choike.org/informes/852.html

(Added: Mon Jun 09 2008   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 381)

OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook: 2008-2017

This edition covers the outlook for commodity markets during the 2008 to 2017 period, and brings together the commodity, policy and country expertise of both Organisations. The report analyses world market trends for the main agricultural products, as well as biofuels. It provides an assessment of agricultural market prospects for production, consumption, trade, stocks and prices of the included commodities.

http://www.oecd.org/document/32/0,3343,en_36774715_36775671_40444896_1_1_1_1,00.html

(Added: Fri May 30 2008   Hits: 378)

Land struggles [pdf]

This paper is intended to highlight a selection of local perspectives on the root causes of land loss in Cambodia, the Philippines and Brazil. (Focus on the Global South, October 2007)

http://www.landaction.org/spip/IMG/pdf/LandStruggles_f10_color.pdf

(Added: Tue Apr 15 2008   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 266)

Global Food Projections to 2020: Emerging Trends and Alternative Futures (pdf)

The authors give their best assessment of what the future food situation will be in the baseline scenario. Then they examine the effects of changes in policy, technology, and life styles through two sets of alternative scenarios. (International Food Policy Research Institute, 2001)

http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/books/globalfoodprojections2020.htm#download

(Added: Mon Mar 10 2008   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 306)

Supermarkets' looming threats

Major chains are taking over the food-retail business in developing countries. That will have serious implications for agriculture, because traditional methods of production and sales are put to the test. Small-scale businesses that cannot cope are in danger of being left behind. (By Rudolf Buntzel, InWent 2008)

http://www.inwent.org/ez/articles/065101/index.en.shtml

(Added: Tue Feb 05 2008   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 541)

World Development Report 2008: agriculture for development

This report seeks to assess where, when, and how agriculture can be an effective instrument for economic development, especially development that favors the poor. The report undertakes a comprehensive review of the role of agriculture in light of major changes in globalisation of trade and supply chains, science and technology innovations, climate change and governance. The World Development Report 2008 is available for download as individual chapters (World Bank, 2008).

http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTWDRS/EXTWDR2008/0,,contentMDK:21410054~menuPK:2795178~pagePK:64167689~piPK:64167673~theSitePK:2795143,00.html

(Added: Tue Jan 29 2008   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 467)

Farmer Organisations along US/Mexico border protest NAFTA deals

Starting January 1st, taxes on some agricultural products will be completely lifted under the North American Free Trade Agrement (NAFTA), and Mexican farmers say this will lead to food insecurity and price rises. Protest action is planned from several groups. (1/1/08, Mexico Monitor)

http://mexicomonitor.blogspot.com/2007/12/nafta-protests-planned-on-border-for.html

(Added: Thu Jan 03 2008   Hits: 347)

The State of Food and Agriculture 2007

The State of Food and Agriculture 2007 explores the potential for agriculture to provide enhanced levels of environmental services alongside the production of food and fibre. The report concludes that demand for environmental services from agriculture - including climate change mitigation, improved watershed management and biodiversity preservation - will increase in the future, but better incentives to farmers are needed if agriculture is to meet this demand.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1200e/a1200e00.htm

(Added: Wed Dec 19 2007   Hits: 355)

The World Food Situation: New Driving Forces and Required Actions

The world food situation is currently being rapidly redefined by new driving forces. Income growth, climate change, high energy prices, globalization, and urbanization are transforming food consumption, production, and markets.

http://www.ifpri.org/publication/world-food-situation-2

(Added: Mon Dec 10 2007   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 376)

Silent Hunger: Policy Options for Effective Responses to the Impact of HIV and AIDS on Agriculture and Food Security in the SADC Region

Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), 2007. AIDS has killed around 7 million agricultural workers since 1985 in the 25 hardest-hit countries, mostly in east and southern Africa. Often described as "new variant famine" or "HIV-induced famine", this form is radically different from traditional famines, said the report, "The paradox is that while the traditional drought-related famines kill dependents first (children and elderly), the HIV-related 'silent hunger' affects the most 'productive' family members first." The Book is based on a study commissioned by FANRPAN on the impact of HIV and AIDS in the seven most affected countries in Southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

http://www.fanrpan.org/documents/d00351/FANRPAN_Silent_Hunger_2007.pdf

(Added: Mon Nov 05 2007   Modified: Tue Oct 21 2008   Hits: 313)

You Are What You Grow: Will This Year's Farm Bill Make Us Fatter and Sicker?

A look into America's obesity problem and the Farm Bill that supports it (Ecoliteracy, Michael Pollan, 2007)

http://www.ecoliteracy.org/publications/michael_pollan_farm_bill.html

(Added: Tue Oct 30 2007   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 529)

KYRGYZSTAN: Locusts remain threat despite successes in south

Kyrgyzstan has staved off the worst of a locust infestation in the south of the country, officials say, but challenges remain as other regions brace for invasions of the crop-eating pests (IRIN News, 10 June 2007).

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72649

(Added: Tue Jun 12 2007   Hits: 483)

The Profit Behind Your Plate: Critical issues in the processed food industry

Myriam Vander Stichele & Sanne van der Wal The processing of food and drinks and their exports has traditionally been seen by developing countries as a way to diversify out of low-priced, volatile and environmentally damaging commodity production and trade, and to get more added value and foreign exchange earnings. This report analyses particular obstacles for the development and trade of processed food from developing countries, and the contribution the processed food industry can make to poverty reduction and sustainable development in the current national and international context. December 2006. (SOMO - Centre for research on Multinational Corporations, December 2006)

http://www.somo.nl/html/paginas/pdf/Profit_behind_your_plate_dec_2006_EN.pdf

(Added: Wed Mar 07 2007   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 307)

China to share farming expertise with poorer nations

At least 3,000 Chinese scientists will spend three years working in rural communities in developing countries to help improve their food security. The arrangement is part of a strategic partnership between China and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. (Zhao Huanxin, SciDev.Net, 22 May 2006)

http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2856&language=1

(Added: Wed May 31 2006   Modified: Tue Oct 21 2008   Hits: 341)

Violations of Peasants Human Rights 2005

Since 2004 Via Campesina has released an annual report on violations of peasant's rights in different parts of the world highlighting important cases and typical forms of violations on peasants' human rights. This new report of violations of peasants' rights contains grave cases in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Philippines, and South Africa. We learn about peasants who are facing forcible evictions from their lands and situations in which their right of access to productive resources is neglected. The report also presents other cases of violations of civil and political human rights. (Via Campesina & FIAN International, 2005)

http://www.fian.no/nedlasting/g37e-01PeasantsRights.pdf

(Added: Wed May 24 2006   Modified: Tue Oct 21 2008   Hits: 425)

Indonesian Food Policy Program

Under USAID Indonesia funding, DAI is assisting the Government of Indonesia to reappraise Indonesia's macro food policy. Macro food policy focuses on national food security evidenced by adequate farm incomes, consumers with access to sufficient nutrients and participation of the poor in rapid economic growth. Links between the macro economy and the rural economy are brought about by changes in food production, consumption, and prices. The project is helping develop and implement policies to promote domestic food production, ensure the equitable expansion of rural incomes, and contribute to a more dynamic rural economy, while minimizing costs for the state budget. Activities of the project thus include policy-oriented research, analysis, advice, and teaching. The project is sited in Jakarta and based in BAPPENAS and the Ministry of Agriculture but has an extensive outreach program for regional universities and policy-makers.

http://www.macrofoodpolicy.com/

(Added: Fri Feb 24 2006   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 314)

The State of Food and Agriculture 2005

Agricultural trade and poverty. Can trade work for the poor? FAO, 2005.

http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/008/a0050e/a0050e00.htm

(Added: Mon Dec 12 2005   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 859)

Process deficits or political constraints? Bottom-up evaluation of non-contributory social protection policy for rural labourers in India [PDF].

This CPRC working paper looks into process deficits of income maintenance programmes designed for agricultural labourers in the Indian state of Maharashtra, and its impact on people in persistent poverty. It notes that anti-poverty programmes can strengthen local elites' capacity to wield power and support their own private interests. Furthermore, local elites often have the ability to manufacture outcome indicators, thereby bolstering their authority and the legitimacy of the state. This points to a need to rethink evaluation methods in such programmes (Pellissery, 2005).

http://www.chronicpoverty.org/pdfs/54Pellissery.pdf

(Added: Mon Nov 21 2005   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 330)

Giant Experiment

GiantExperiment is a network of people committed to providing clear and accurate information to the GE debate. Formerly known as 90 Degrees, it was set up by individuals concerned about the prospect of releasing GE in New Zealand.

http://www.giantexperiment.co.nz/news/action.aspx

(Added: Thu Mar 10 2005   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 670)

Power hungry : six reasons to regulate global food corporations (PDF)

ActionAid, January 2005. This report, highlights the growing power of many global food companies. Multinationals such as Nestlé, Unilever, Monsanto, Parmalat, Cargill and Wal-Mart have gained control of the global food chain - all the way from seed to supermarket shelf and are threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of poor farmers and undermining their basic rights. ActionAid calls for national and international legal obligations on companies to promote, secure and protect human rights and the environment. Immediate action is also needed to reform global food markets in order to stop multinationals abusing their power, so that farmers and producers get a fair deal.

http://www.actionaid.org.uk/wps/content/documents/power_hungry.pdf

(Added: Thu Feb 24 2005   Modified: Tue Oct 21 2008   Hits: 391)

World Food Programme Publications

WFP's policy unit is frequently contacted by academics, students or food aid experts requesting information on its specific publications. This section opens some of the contents of the department's library to the general public for online reading or downloading.

http://www.wfp.org/policies/Introduction/other/index.asp?section=6&sub_section=1

(Added: Tue Mar 23 2004   Modified: Tue Oct 21 2008   Hits: 402)

Institute of Science and Society

The Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1999 by Mae-Wan Ho and Peter Saunders to work for social responsibility and sustainable approaches in science. A major part of our work is to promote critical public understanding of science and to engage both scientists and the public in open debate and discussion.

http://www.i-sis.org.uk

(Added: Fri Jan 09 2004   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 398)

UNODC Afghanistan Opium Survey 2003 (PDF)

The Survey shows that in 2003 Afghanistan again produced three-quarters of the world's illicit opium. While this is disheartening, the preconditions for change are slowly being put in place. The recently adopted National Drug Control Strategy, for example, foresees rural development and law enforcement initiatives. Similarly, the new drug control law aims to counter opium trafficking and money laundering, reduce abuse and enhance international cooperation. Important progress, albeit slow, is also being made in areas of governance with an indirect bearing on the drug issue -- for example, the constitutional process and the related establishment of a modern administration. The experience of several countries in Asia and Latin America demonstrates that the dismantling of a drug economy can be a long and complex process, lasting a generation, or even longer. A generation is a long time. This prompts the question -- can Afghanistan, with its democratisation threatened by old terrorists and new drug barons; neighbouring countries, affected by drug addiction, an HIV/AIDS pandemic, corruption and violence; and the international community, with its 10 million people addicted to Afghan opiates afford to wait that long? (PDF- 5.2MB)

http://www.unodc.org/pdf/afg/afghanistan_opium_survey_2003.pdf

(Added: Thu Nov 06 2003   Modified: Fri Dec 16 2005   Hits: 660)

The State of Food and Agriculture 2002

Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations, Rome, 2002. The State of Food and Agriculture is FAO's annual report on current developments affecting world agriculture. It reviews policy factors underlying recent agricultural performances at the world and regional levels. It also discusses issues of current or emerging interest, and presents each year an in-depth analysis of a selected topic of importance to world food and agriculture. The report offers a worldwide as well as regional overviews of the economic and agricultural situation and trends. Two selected issues: "The role of agriculture and land in the provision of public goods" and "Harvesting carbon sequestration through land-use change: A way out of poverty?" are included.

http://www.fao.org/es/ESA/sofa.htm

(Added: Fri Sep 20 2002   Modified: Tue Oct 21 2008   Hits: 409)

The world's problems on a plate

Meat production is making the rich ill and the poor hungry, according to Jeremy Rifkin in the Guardian on May 17, 2002.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4415252,00.html

(Added: Mon May 20 2002   Modified: Tue Oct 21 2008   Hits: 479)

Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS)

Provides publications and reports with current information on world food supply

http://www.fao.org/giews/english/index.htm

(Added: Thu Jul 26 2001   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 468)

World Food Summit: five years later

At the World Food Summit in 1996, representatives of 185 nations and the European Community pledged to work towards eradicating hunger. As an essential first step, they set a target of reducing the number of hungry people by half by 2015. At this year's World Food Summit: five years later, participants reveiwed progress made towards that goal and considered ways to accelerate the process. This website includes the reports and declarations of the summit.

http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsummit/

(Added: Thu Jul 26 2001   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 380)

FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP)

The some 175 staff of the regional office work together to alleviate poverty and hunger in the region by promoting the pursuit of food security - the access of all people at all times to the food they need for an active and healthy life. The aim is to meet the needs of both present and future generations by promoting development that does not degrade the environment and is technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable.

http://www.fao.org/world/regional/rap/

(Added: Thu Jul 19 2001   Modified: Mon Sep 29 2008   Hits: 459)

Food into Cities Collection

Database collection of full-text articles, reports, case studies, etc., focusing on food supply and distribution to urban areas in developing countries and countries in transition (DTCs)

http://www.fao.org/ag/ags/AGSM/SADA/collections/en/collections.htm

(Added: Thu Jul 19 2001   Modified: Wed Dec 00 0   Hits: 467)