Last week we launched a Special Issue of the journal Solutions. The issue featured solutions to food security problems, as proposed by younger scholars.

Writing about solutions is much more difficult than it sounds, at least that has been our experience. Thinking about why this is, we came up with a few idea which we outlined in the editorial.

Our basic message is that as academics, we have a role to play in solution building, and part of that role is to created spaces for diverse perspectives to be represented and for these perspectives, and lived experiences, to inform the development of food security solutions. Further, we need to foster the types of skills (inside universities and outside) that prepare people to discuss, to reflect, to debate, and to weigh trade-offs associated with solutions. It becomes more clear every day that there are no silver-bullet solutions when it comes to food security.

I encourage…

Agriculture, food and nutrition for Africa (FAO 1997)

Posted by Prof. Dr. Willem VAN COTTHEM

Ghent University – Belgium

Having participated in all the meetings of the INCD (1992-1994) and all the meetings of the UNCCD-COP, the CST and the CRIC in 1994-2006, I had an opportunity to collect a lot of interesting books and publications on drought and desertification published in that period.

Book Nr. 36

Please click: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k9HOxwdFv-awCjpq1_QTGskYLYWV8V0NY5623Ob4G1g/edit?usp=sharing

or see agriculture-food-and-nutrition-for-africa-fao-1997

In Tanzania most goat production is extensive and aimed at selling live animals with limited direct impact on food security and nutrition.

The Crop and Goat Project (CGP), implemented in Kongwa and Mvomero districts, aimed at improving income, food security and nutrition of poor households by promoting dairy goat production integrated with cassava and sweet potatoes. Within the project area, village leaders generated a list of 70 potential goat recipients in each of the 4 intervention villages, based on resources and capacity. Out of these, 108 households received a total of 229 dairy goats over the project period.

This poster, produced for the Tropentag 2016 conference, highlights findings from an evaluation of the impacts of introducing dairy goats on income, assets and food consumption in the two districts in Morogoro region.

Mayan women in a concert of the Ma OGM campaign. Source maria Boa

August 18 María del Refugio Boa Alvarado successfully defended her MSc-thesis ‘Resistance in Action; Mobilization of Mayan beekeepers against GM soy: The case of the ‘Colectivo MA OGM‘ for the Master International Master in Rural Development. Below a post by Maria.

Are you interested on social movements? On Indigenous rights? On collectives and their practices? For years, many social scientists have been fascinated by the study of social movements and collective action. In my case, I am fascinated by the research of complex associations that frame and articulate their claims or grievances. Particularly, the processes of social transformation that have their grassroots within indigenous communities.

Farming scene in the highlands of Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu).

Zoonotic diseases, or zoonoses, are diseases that can be passed from animals to people. Nearly two-thirds of emerging infectious diseases affecting people are zoonotic and about 60% of all human pathogens are zoonotic.

Zoonoses such as brucellosis, anthrax and rabies are endemic in eastern Africa and yet formally published research studies on zoonoses in the region are hard to come by; useful research findings remain tucked away in the libraries of universities and other research institutions in form of working papers and students’ theses: the so-called ‘grey literature’.

In order to bring to the fore the wealth of unpublished research on zoonoses from studies carried out in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, the first-ever regional conference on zoonotic diseases in eastern Africa was held in Naivasha, Kenya on 9-12…

New York, Feb 22 2012  1:05PM
A top United Nations official today <“http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2012/13.htm”>committed to pull up to 90 million people out of poverty by 2015 and help small farmers and all those in rural areas to realize their potential in eliminating hunger and promoting development.

“Smallholder farmers can feed themselves and they can help feed the world,” Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said in his opening <“http://www.ifad.org/events/op/2012/gc.htm”>address to the agency’s Governing Council.

“The time has come for smallholders to play their rightful role in contributing to economic growth and food security,” he told the gathering of world leaders, global policy-makers, farmers and government ministers.

Mr. Nwanze noted that agriculture is a growth industry. With the world population expected to pass 9 billion by 2050, demand for food is guaranteed to rise in the coming years.

JOINT PRESS RELEASE

2nd PACIFIC AGRIBUSINESS FORUM

LINKING THE AGRIFOOD SECTOR TO THE LOCAL MARKETS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH AND IMPROVED FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY

Organised by PIPSO, CTA, IFAD, SPC and SPTO

The 2nd Pacific Agribusiness Forum held in Apia, Samoa, from 29 August to 1 September organised by the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO), the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and supported by key regional partners, has not only identified pressing challenges but mostly opportunities and creative solutions focused on the development, partnerships and strengthening of linkages within the agriculture, agritourism, health, education and finance sectors.

“On my right shoulder, you will see a gold medal. It’s our Pacific gold medal. For me it’s a symbol of what we can achieve. Small as we are, under-resourced that we are but with true Pacific spirits and resilience, we can…

The next Brussels Development Briefing n.46 on the subject of “Agribusiness development in SIDs: the potential of tourism-related markets” will be held in Brussels at 09:00-13:00 on 21st September 2016 at the ACP Secretariat (Avenue Georges Henri 451, 1200 Brussels).  This Briefing will be organised by the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), in collaboration with the European Commission / DEVCO, CONCORD and the ACP Secretariat.

View the coverage on Twitter with @BruBriefings

REGISTRATION

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Programme and Background Note

Learn More:

• BB 37: SIDS Agribusiness (July 2014)
• Regional Briefing Caribbean agrifood products (November 2014)
• 2nd Caribbean Agribusiness Forum 2015: expanding markets (November 2015)
• 1st Pacific Agribusiness Forum (July 2015)
• 2nd Pacific Agribusiness Forum (August 2016)
• Vanuatu Agritourism Policy Setting Workshop 2016 (May 2016)
• Using cuisine as an effective development tool (September 2016)

Reader (available soon)

Highlights (available soon)

Photos (available soon)

Biodata of the speakers (available soon

FAO welcomes historic commitment to end hunger in Africa by 2025 / Challenge is to transform vision into reality, Director-General says

ROME, Italy, February 2, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today welcomed a breakthrough commitment by African heads of state to end hunger on the continent by 2025.

“This is the first time in history that African leaders have made such a strong pledge to eliminate hunger and it is also a show of confidence that, working together, we can win the fight against hunger in Africa in our lifetimes,” Graziano da Silva said after African Union (AU) Member States officially adopted the target at the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“Africa is witnessing economic growth of unprecedented proportions, but it is also the only continent in the world where the total number of hungry people has gone up…

Africa Cup of Nations to rally support for home-grown efforts to end hunger / FAO and CAF kick off “African Football against Hunger”

ROME, Italy, January 16, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ — A footballer dressed in white garb dribbles a ball across an abandoned underground construction site, laser focused, dust stirring up around him as he angles for the winning kick — he takes it and scores. The scene: part of a video ad by FAO that will be shown throughout the upcoming African Cup of Nations; the winning kick: a metaphor for overcoming hunger in Africa by 2025.

The initiative is part of “African Football Against Hunger”, a collaboration between FAO and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to highlight the breakthrough commitment by African leaders to end hunger in the next decade.

The campaign leverages the global popularity of “footie” to spread a message…

Four new Africa Solidarity Trust Fund projects will benefit 24 countries / Activities reflect African priorities, including youth employment and nutrition

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, June 26, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The FAO-managed Africa Solidarity Trust Fund today gave a green light to four new, continent-spanning projects at a ceremony during the African Union Summit, being held here this week.

The President of Equatorial Guinea, Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, a key supporter of the fund, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, and FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva were in attendance.

The projects, worth $16 million, will span 24 different countries in West, Central, East, and Southern Africa, focusing on youth employment and malnutrition, transboundary animal diseases and food safety and urban food security.

“In Africa we see the growing commitment of countries not only to improving their own food security, but that of their neighbours as well,” said FAO…

First six countries to benefit from Africa-led fund / Africa Solidarity Trust Fund to support ongoing efforts to eradicate hunger, reduce malnutrition and poverty

TUNIS, Tunisia, March 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — A unique, Africa-led fund designed to improve food security across the continent has become a reality for the first six countries slated to benefit from the initiative.

The Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Niger and South Sudan signed agreements in Tunis with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to receive $2 million each from the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund.

“The Africa Solidarity Trust Fund shows that African countries are ready to step up and work with their neighbours to build a sustainable and food secure region, and to have the future we want,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.

The agreements were signed during the FAO Regional Conference for…

African trust fund for food security becomes reality / Equatorial Guinea provides first contribution of $30 million for “Africa for Africa” anti-hunger pool

ROME, Italy, February 25, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Equatorial Guinea today donated $30 million to a new solidarity trust fund that aims to mobilize African financial resources in support of strengthening food security in the region.



The first donation to the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund was made official in a ceremony at the margins of the third Africa-South America Summit in Malabo, attended by FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.


Meeting with the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, before the signature of the donation agreement, Graziano da Silva said that the contribution was a sign of the country’s commitment to eradicating hunger in Africa.

FAO Regional Representative in Africa, Maria Helena Semedo, who signed the…

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a US$21.6 million cash contribution from the Government of Japan to provide vital food and nutrition assistance to the most vulnerable people in 11 countries, with 90 percent of the contribution going to 10 African nations. A large portion of the contribution will be used to purchase foodstuffs such as cereals and pulses to provide nutritious… Read more on http://africa-newsroom.com/press/japan-steps-up-support-to-fight-hunger-and-boost-nutrition-in-africa?lang=en

In the run up to the Livestock and Fish gender working group meeting in Addis Ababa in October 2013, ILRI agro-economist Jo Cadilhon shares some ideas on the importance of gender in value chain development.

Facilitating an income-and-expenditure seasonal calendar with members of the Mulukanoor Women’s Dairy Cooperative (Photo credit: Jo Cadilhon)

I have finally realized the importance of incorporating gender into my research on value chain development. From a development perspective, numerous studies have shown how the empowerment of women (through education, increased incomes and getting a real say in household decision making) has a powerful impact on the livelihoods of households.

We, however, still need to make the connection between this wider understanding and the specifics of our value chain research. In particular, we need to gather information and data to prove that our value chain interventions have positive impacts on women.

So when the Mulukanoor women’s dairy…

On 21-24 September 2014, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) together with the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) will host an African Dairy Value Chain Seminar. The discussions of the four-day event which will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi will focus on three broad topics:
i. Conducive policies to foster sustainable dairy value chain development in Africa
ii. Review and assessment of methods and tools for capacity development of dairy value chain actors
iii. Review and assessment of analytical models and tools to measure the performance of dairy value chains

In a continent where women make up more than two-third of the agricultural production and livestock contributes about 30% of the gross value of agricultural production, gender issues in the dairy sector are among the important issues that must be considered in policy options.

The seminar organizers seek to…

Nutrition and Food Production in the Congo Basin (2014)

Posted by Prof. Dr. Willem VAN COTTHEM

Ghent University – Belgium

Having participated in all the meetings of the INCD (1992-1994) and all the meetings of the UNCCD-COP, the CST and the CRIC in 1994-2006, I had an opportunity to collect a lot of interesting books and publications on drought and desertification published in that period.

Book Nr. 31

Please click: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bOD_4DjhJo_mgvP8UxB-I5DFgB4qfYcmeVrZrajy4Vg/edit?usp=sharing

or see nutrition-and-food-production-in-the-congo-basin-2014

On 19 September 2016, ’empowering livestock and fish smallholders through multi-stakeholder platforms and value chains’  is the focus of a Livestock and Fish research program workshop at the Tropentag 2016 conference.

Guided by the Tropentag theme ‘Solidarity in a competing world’, the workshop will synthesize experiences and lessons of the program and its partners, focusing on food security, livelihoods and empowerment towards a fairer, more sustainable world.

Since 2012, CGIAR Livestock and Fish program partners have worked in a solution-driven approach to agricultural research for development. This combines technical upstream interventions in animal health, animal feeding and animal genetics with multi-stakeholder interventions with communities and along value chains. Special attention is given to inclusive value chain development, by and for the poor, targeting women and people facing environmental and public health issues.

Drawing on experiences from several ‘value chain’ countries as well as livestock and fish technical specialists, the workshop…

· Pathogen and organic pollution rises in more than 50% of river stretches in Africa, Asia and Latin America · Asia hit hardest by rise in severe pathogen pollution with up to a half of all river stretches affected · Up to 323 million people on three continents at risk of infection from diseases caused by pathogens in water Water pollution has risen across three continents, placing hundreds of… Read more on http://africa-newsroom.com/press/hundreds-of-millions-face-health-risk-as-water-pollution-rises-across-three-continents?lang=en

Africa is developing fast. Growing economies, burgeoning middle classes and a booming technology industry are all propelling the continent forward. However, the agricultural sector still lags far behind many other sectors, in part due to underutilized water resources. African countries are some of the least irrigated in the world. Less than 4 percent of the […]

via Stronger together: unlocking Africa’s food production potential — THE GFAR BLOG

Fishermen and Sahelian goats by the Niger River, in Segou, Mali (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann).

World Water Week in Stockholm is organized annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute and brings together experts from around the world to discuss pertinent issues around water and development.

At the start of this year’s World Water Week, taking place from 28 August to 2 September 2016, the University of Gothenburg, the Swedish International Agricultural Network Initiative, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation convened a seminar on antimicrobial resistance and linkages between humans, livestock and water in peri-urban areas.

Among the speakers at the seminar was Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Her presentation was based on a report published in July 2016 by the Committee on World Food Security High-Level Panel…

The EU-funded research project GLAMUR has been completed earlier this year. More info on the project, its sustainability performance-based approach and the findings can be accessed at the website. Next to all reports a synopsis of the project, its approach, the main findings and recommendations has been published, a leaflet with the main messages and finally a Special Issue of Sustainability: Sustainability Performance of Conventional and Alternative Food Chains was recently published containing eight open access articles following an editorial by Gianluca Brunori and Francesca Galli.

Back to School: Local school gardens help kids

There are several school gardens in the Marathon County area and it could be helping your kids more than you think. The National Gardening Association found that school gardens will help students eat more fruits and vegetables and improve their social skills by working with others.

The Hatley Elementary School and Community Garden has expanded over past couple of years and more recently the school received a grant to purchase a green house helping kids like Caleb Breyton even more.

“I like to pull weeds and I like to pick the plants,” said Caleb Breyton in the garden.

The fifth grader works hard as he gets his knees and hands dirty while picking green beans and other veggies. Caleb not only likes to garden, but enjoys eating the growing plants too. Since being in the garden he says he has eaten more…

While we spend a lot of our time with our noses stuck in books, reports and articles we also like to hear from global experts from time to time. Here are 6 of our favourite TED talks.

Ellen Gustafson: Co-creator of the philanthropic FEED bags, Ellen Gustafson says hunger and obesity are two sides of the same coin. In her talk, she launches The 30 Project — a way to change how we farm and eat in the next 30 years, and solve the global food inequalities behind both epidemics.  Watch the video

Tristram Stuart: Western countries throw out nearly half of their food, not because it’s inedible — but because it doesn’t look appealing. Tristram Stuart delves into the shocking data of wasted food, calling for a more responsible use of global resources.  Watch the video

Jonathan Foley: A skyrocketing demand for food means that agriculture…

Cattle for export to Middle East from Somaliland (photo credit: ILRI/Peter Ballantyne).

Livestock are the backbone of the Somaliland economy. Livestock production accounts for about 60% of the country’s gross domestic product, 70% of employment opportunities and 85% of export earnings, and about 15% of total government revenue. Despite being Somaliland’s biggest livestock export market, little is known about marketing channels, grading and pricing of Somaliland livestock in Saudi Arabia. A recent research report, ‘Saudi Arabia end-market requirements and the implications for Somaliland livestock exports’, sheds a light on these key issues and how they affect Somaliland exporters.

The report found two main trading channels: the sacrificial value chain and the commercial value chain. The sacrificial value chain is active during the lunar months associated with Hajj and Umra pilgrim movements and other religious occasions when livestock demand is high, while the commercial value chain is dominant during the lunar months of Muharram to