EARTH SUMMIT at Columbia University

For those readers in NY, make sure you sign up for a great event I'm helping organize:

Columbia Earth Summit: A Call to Action
April 25, 2012 12:30-6:00pm
Low Memorial Library

As we face a growing number of environmental challenges, we believe that the solutions will come from partnerships between public, private and academic sectors. On April 25, 2012 at Columbia University experts, thought leaders and practitioners from a variety of sectors will come together to discuss some of the most pressing environmental questions. This FREE event (RSVP recommended), will feature interactive panels and key one on one discussions with leaders from: Bunge Limited, the Rockefeller Foundation, UNDP, TB Bank, NRDC and the Acumen Fund among others.

The Food Security and Agriculture Panel (which I'm organizing) will count with the participation of:
Glenn Denning: Director of the Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development at Columbia’s Earth Institute.
Cherly Palm: Senior Research Scientist at Earth Institute's Tropical Agriculture and Rural Environment Program.
Gary Toenniessen: Managing Director at Rockefeller Foundation's initiatives in agricultural development.
Carl Hausmann:  Managing Director at Bunge's Global Government and Corporate Affairs

The panel will address the main question of how to feed the world by 2050. We'll cover issues of vital importance such as sustainability, climate change, changing diets, GMOs and Biotechnology, and the role of the public sector.

Visit our website for registration and more information: http://columbiaearthsummit.weebly.com/

HIghlights from The Economist "Feeding the World" Conference

Find out more information about this great even HERE

Clemens' False Dichotomy about Debates in Development

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend  NYU's conference “Debates in Development.”
The agenda included Yaw Nyarko and William Easterly from NYU's Development Research Institute, Stewart Paperin, Open Society Foundations, Bernadette Wanjala, Tilburg University Development Research Institute; Andrew Rugasira, Founder and Chairman, Good African Coffee; Abhijit Banerjee, MIT's Poverty Lab, and others. 

In general, with the exception of a handful of speakers, I found the conference to filled with silly generalizations about development work and a myopic need to compartmentalize development into artificial 'conflicting sides.' This was epitomized when CGD's Michael Clemens presented an artificial characterization of the debate  as a “Goal Movement” vs. “Evaluation Movement." 
First of all, his criticism of integrated development as something “we've tried and failed” is misdated and does not meet his own rigorous evaluation standards. Monitoring and evaluation techniques have evolved tremendously and are now an essential piece of development work, both at macro and micro levels. Therefore, suggesting that the misnomer “Goal Movement” is devoid of solid evaluation does not correspond with the realities of today’s development interventions.

One of the hallmark criticisms of Michael Clemens to the Millennium Village Project (MVP) is that Integrated Rural Development Projects (IRDP) have already been attempted and deemed a complete failure by a number of evaluations conducted by USAID, World Bank and others. However, Mr. Clemens fails to recognize that if he were to apply his evaluation standards to these reviews of IRDP, few if any will qualify. Most of these evaluations were conducted using ex-post assessments of macro-economic indicators. None used RCTs and few carried out the complex quantitative methodologies that he proposes to guarantee causality.

Fortunately, development M&E techniques have gained a tremendous amount of importance among academia and practitioners in recent years. Under pressure from both donors needing demonstrable impact for their constituencies, and practitioners needing more effective feedback mechanisms to understand program outcomes and impacts, today most development projects allocate a significant amount of program resources -10 to20%- to M&E. Also at their disposal, practitioners have a well-stocked toolbox of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to monitor and measure development outcomes. As argued by Dr. Woolcock and other, a ‘mixed method approach’ using qualitative and quantitative methods simultaneously, is the best way to understand project impact. 

Hence, suggesting the differences between the “Goal Movement” and the “Evaluation Movement” are 'irreconcilable' is simply baseless. Most bilateral and multilateral development interventions and even the initiatives by small NGOs and civil organizations considered evaluation essential to their programs’ successful implementation. Therefore, Clemens’ artificial grouping of the development debate is a false dichotomy: simply put the ‘evaluation side’ will be an orphan without having something to evaluate.

Moreover, the development community, or as he call it the ‘Goal Movement’ has made tremendous advances in strengthening institutions and policy, and developing tools and technologies since the 70s and 80s when IRDPs were commonplace (See other post about promising trends in Africa). These recent developments have enabled practitioners to fine-tune interventions by getting more accurate data and by addressing contextual issues (institutional support, local government etc.) that often impede the success of otherwise adequate interventions. Thanks to that work, today there is a robust body of evidence from development and other disciplines demonstrating the strong synergies created between economic, health, nutrition, and agriculture.

Finally, the issues Mr. Clemens list as the characteristics of the ‘Evaluation movement,’ namely; testing questions, failure is required, local outcomes, and clear accountability, are all part of the ‘Goal Movement.’ The early history of development is filled with examples in which development interventions have failed spectacularly and where local outcomes have been at the front and center of the projects.

Evidently, I was very disappointed with Mr. Clemens presentation. The language he used – calling MV’s Development Harvest 'a masterpiece of misrepresentation,' and his insistence on maintaining false dichotomies add little value to development debates. I'm not completely sold on the MV model. However, I truly believe that as African nations continue to experience economic growth and improvements in governance, they will need models on which to base interventions to attend the needs of their long-neglected rural communities. MV can play an important role in showcasing governments how to do this - the same way cooperation among nations and regions within countries have done for centuries. 


But instead of offering doable alternatives on how to tackle poverty, Mr. Clemens' contributions distract the public with hyperbole that can damage the credibility of very important and proven interventions that should instead be scaled up. 

ICT in Agriculture Sourcebook and M-PESA

Finals are coming up and this blog is suffering from lack of updates -sorry for that folks. I promise to catch up with my weekly 'Seeds and Leaves' list of resources and links. I will also be writing about the Integrated Rural Development Projects of the 60' and 70's and more recent efforts for integrated interventions such as the Millennium Villages and others. Also, tomorrow I will be attending a presentation on Food Security in Latin America: Trends and Prospects. I'll report on that as well.

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you an excited series of online forums to develop resources for "ICT in Agriculture" that the The World Bank and the e-Agriculture Community have put together.

Look at some of the modules titles:

• Increasing Crop, Livestock and Fishery Productivity Through ICT"  
• ICTs As Enablers of Agricultural Innovation Systems
• Broadening Smallholders' Access to Financial Services Through 
• Farmer Organizations Work Better with ICT
• Strengthening Agricultural Marketing with ICT
• ICT Applications for Smallholder Inclusion in Agribusiness Supply Chains

I seems that every day there are new developments in the area of technology and its potentials to help farmers. I recently read a study conducted by The IRIS Center at the University of Maryland, College Park on the impact of M-PESA's mobile technology in rural transactions. The study, titled Transforming Mobile Money into Food in Kenya, states:

M-PESA (receivers) appears to increase the likelihood of  being able to pay for seeds, casual labor, and other inputs at the time it is  most needed, and allows them to plant more of their fields.  An M-PESA shopkeeper mentioned that many of her customers receive money quickly and plant early and fully.  In the past, they might have missed the best  quality seeds, fertilizers, or might not have had money in time to plant  their fields completely.  In addition, many M-PESA receivers reported a  savings in travel time and transport costs to obtain remittance money  that they now could effectively use on productive agricultural activities.   This has enabled them to plant their fields more fully and hire more labor  when it can be most productive.

Exciting and promising things happening in ICT. As always, comment or email interesting articles in international food security.

Prabhu Pingali Talks About Gates Ag Agenda

Last week I attended a presentation on Feeding the World organized by the Chemistry Heritage Foundation. The keynote addresses was be given by Calestous Juma, Harvard University who just published a book title: The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa. You can download a PDF copy HERE.

Other panelist included Andrew C. Revkin, The New York Times, who maintain the awesome NYTimes blog Dot Earth, Nina Fedoroff, Pennsylvania State University and American Association for the Advancement of Science; Antonio Galindez, Dow AgroSciences; Rik L. Miller, DuPont Crop Protection; Prabhu Pingali, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Paul Rea, BASF Corporation; Gary H. Toenniessen, Rockefeller Foundation; and Jay Vroom, CropLife America.

Although Professor's Juma presentation was quite good, I was impressed with the insights of Prabhu Pingali, Deputy Director of the Agriculture Development Division at the Gates Foundation. I tried to record his presentation but the audio didn't come up very good. Instead, I found a much better overview of his strategy to fight global hunger using agriculture as the main weapon. Enjoy

Event: Are the International Commitments to Ending Hunger and Increasing Global Food Security Real?

The year 2008 was the year of global food crisis; 2009 was the year of global promises to end food crises.  Will 2010 be the year in which action happens?

The US Government has provided critically important leadership over the past year and the President pledged $3 billion for global food security at the G8 Summit in l'Aquila.   The Administration has been developing and consulting on a whole-of-government food security initiative, with an implementation plan expected in the near future.  The arrival of a new USAID Administrator with a strong recent background in agriculture and food security is expected to help accelerate implementation at USAID and in other agencies.  The UN community - FAO, IFAD, and WFP - and the World Bank have already increased funding for agriculture and food security and are putting new mechanisms for additional into place.  And the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) is getting some traction at national and regional levels while gaining recognition from the donor community as a useful framework for coordinating actions in Africa.

SID-Washington will host a panel of experts to consider the questions, helping participants to assess whether or not we can expect that the results in 2010 will match the rhetoric of 2009.

Panelists:
Christopher Delgado, Strategy and Policy Adviser, Agriculture and Rural Development, World Bank
Brian Greenberg, Director, Sustainable Development, InterAction
Allan Jury, Director, US Relations Office, World Food Programme
Michael Yates, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade, USAID

Moderator:
Emmy Simmons, Independent Consultant, former USAID Assistant Administrator for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade

To RSVP, please click here.

When: Thursday, February 18, 2010, 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
(2:30-3:00 p.m.: Following the event there will be a SID-Washington Young Professionals "members-only" Q & A discussion with the panelists)
Where: Chemonics Auditorium, 1717 H St. NW, Washington, DC

Events on Agriculture and Development for the DC Area

The Basics of Feeding a Hungry World: Secure Land and Water Access and the Outlook for a Hungry World

Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Venue: Hogan and Hartson LLP
Fulbright Center, West (located on 13 West)
Location: 555 13th Street, NW, Washington, DC, (Nearest metro station is Metro Center)
MORE INFO


Saving Niger: Addressing the Long Term Food Crisis in Northern Sub-Saharan Africa

Monday, November 17, 2008
2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
122 Cannon House Office Building
RSVP: Contact Larry Wilcher of PRC at lwilcher@prcdc.org or 202-467-5030.


Invest in Women Farmers to Bolster Rural Economies, Ensure Food Security

Date: Dec. 9, 2008
Time: 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Place: ICRW, 1120 20th St. N.W. Suite 500 North
Washington, D.C. 20036
MORE INFO

The Gates Foundation’s Agricultural Policy Portfolio

The Gates Foundation’s Agricultural Policy Portfolio

With Speaker: Prabhu Pingali, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Chair: Mark Rosegrant, IFPRI

Thursday, September 11, 2008

3:30 – 5:00pm

The majority of the world’s poor people depend on agricultural production to sustain their livelihoods and those of their children. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the leading private-sector philanthropic organizations supporting agricultural development. It is actively working to put an end to the cycles of poverty and hunger by promoting the development of tools, knowledge, and policies that enhance farming skills, increase productivity and incomes, and create opportunities for small farmers and their families that enable them to escape poverty. In 2007, the foundation allocated over $600 million to agriculture–related projects. Dr. Pingali will discuss the Foundation’s priority areas for supporting agricultural development with a particular focus on agricultural policy.

Dr Prabhu Pingali is Deputy Director and Head of Agricultural Policy and Statistics, Agriculture Development Division, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Mark Rosegrant is the Director of the Environment and Production Technology Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, DC.

Seminars & Conferences
International Food Policy Research Institute

Email: s.hill-lee@cgiar.org
Fax: (202) 467-4439
Phone: (202) 862-8107

Event: Assessing the Current Food Crisis

Hi readers,
For those of you in the Washington metropolitan area here is another timely event to discuss the current food crisis. Organized by UNA-USA's Council of Organizations and the American Public Health Association, and with speakers from USAID and WFP this presentation comes as the "quiet tsunami" continues throughout the developing world. For those attending, i suggest an earlier post on different articles on the subject and the comprehensive report put out by IFPRI on The World Food Situation.

Finally, the Blog's calendar is back in the left column. Click on it to learn about events on international development taking place mostly Washington DC.

Event Info:
Assessing the Current Food Crisis
When: Tuesday April 29, 2008, 2:30-4:00 pm
Where: American Public Health Association 800 I Street NW Washington, DC

With food prices continuing to rise globally, and food supplies not able to meet demand, international attention has been brought to bear on the looming food crisis, yet no concrete long-term solutions have been put forth.

The World Food Program has made an urgent call for $500 million to stave off the worst of the food crisis, but continually points to a lack of resources to adequately address the problem. So how is WFP beginning to address the crisis, and what solutions are they proposing beyond an influx of funds? How is the US government responding to address the problem in the long-term, beyond the short-term financial request made by President Bush for release of $200 million in emergency aid? And what are some of the health and development implications of the food crisis? These questions and more will be discussed at this briefing hosted by UNA-USA's Council of Organizations and the American Public Health Association.

Featured Speakers:
Kenn Crossley, Deputy Director, US Relations Office, World Food Program
Jeffrey Borns, Director, Office of Food for Peace, US Agency for International Development
Donna Barry, Advocacy and Policy Manager, Partners in Health




RSVP to Jessica Hartl at jhartl@unausa.org or via 202-462-3446 x12.

Event updates can be found at www.unausa.org/councilcalendar.

Taking Stock of the Doha Round Agricultural Negotiations:

Hello Readers
I've been busy changing the layout of the blog to make the resources offered more accessible, so stay tunned as this blog will look very different sometime soon.
For Washingtonians, another excellent presentation by IFPRI:

Taking Stock of the Doha Round Agricultural Negotiations:

Where are we and what does it really mean for the U.S.?

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Rayburn House Office Building B-318, 3-6pm

Featuring

Representative Ron Kind (invited)

Former Representative Cal Dooley

Joachim von Braun, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Carl Hausmann, Bunge North America

J.B. Penn, John Deere & Co.

Following the release of revised agricultural modalities in February, agricultural negotiations in Geneva have entered perhaps their most productive stage. Please join us for a discussion on the state of play in the negotiations and for an examination of what the scenarios laid out in the modalities mean in particular for U.S. exporters and producers. The seminar will also address how likely U.S. gains and concessions match up to those of other WTO members.

RSVP to Simone Hill-Lee: s.hill-lee@cgiar.org or (202) 862-8107

Panel I: Why We Should Still Pay Attention to the Doha Negotiations

Moderator: Cal Dooley, President & CEO, Grocery Manufacturers Association, former

Member of the US House of Representatives, IPC Member

· The Honorable Representative Ron Kind (invited)

· Deputy Under Secretary A. Ellen Terpstra, USDA (invited)

· Joachim von Braun, Director General, IFPRI, IPC Member

"The New Price Environment and Implications for the Doha Negotiations"

· Carl Hausmann, President and CEO, Bunge North America, IPC Member

"Private Sector Perspective"

· Ambassador to the WTO (tbc)

"An Update from Geneva"

Panel II: What's at Stake for the US in the Doha Negotiations?

Moderator: J.B. Penn, Chief Economist, John Deere, former USDA Under Secretary, IPC Member

· Mike Gifford, Former Chief Agricultural Trade Negotiator, Canada, IPC Member

"An Overview of the Modalities"

· David Blandford, Professor of Agricultural and Environmental Economics, Pennsylvania State University

"Implications for U.S. Domestic Support (and Export Credits and Food Aid)"

· David Laborde, Postdoctoral Fellow, IFPRI

"Implications for U.S. Market Access"

Panel III: Brazil; Europe; Trade and Development

Moderator: David Orden, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

· André Nassar, President, ICONE

"Brazil's Perspective on the Negotiations (Emphasis on Domestic Support and Ethanol)"

· Tim Josling, Professor Emeritus, Food Research Institute, Stanford University, IPC Member

"How do the Modalities Impact Europe?"

· Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz, Chief Executive, ICTSD (tbc)

"The Doha Negotiations and Development"

Idealist; Nonprofit Career Fair

Hello there,
Just to let you know about a series of career fairs Idealist.org will be organizing. The one in Washington will be on April 2nd at G.W campus. for more info follow this link

EVENTS: Transforming the Rural Nonfarm Economy: Opportunities and Threats in the Developing World

For those in the Washington Area, here is a very intersting event:

IFPRI, the Sustainable Rural and Urban Development Unit of the World Bank’s Development Research Department, and the World Bank’s InfoShop invite you to a panel discussion on

Transforming the Rural Nonfarm Economy: Opportunities and Threats in the Developing World

With

Paul Dorosh, World Bank
Steven Haggblade, Michigan State University
John Horton, Inter-American Development Bank
Forhad Shilpi, World Bank
Maximo Torero, IFPRI

At the World Bank InfoShop
Friday, 14 December 2007
12:00 – 1:30 pm

Abstract

Contrary to the conventional belief that rural economies subsist on agriculture, nonfarm work actually accounts for between one-third and one-half of rural incomes in the developing world. The nonfarm rural economy, a vibrant, often fast-growing, small-scale service and manufacturing sector, holds much promise both for overall economic growth and pro-poor rural and agricultural transformation. But it is also threatened by globalization, competition from larger businesses, and other trends.

How can this rapidly evolving segment of the economy contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction, despite the many risks? This new book, edited by Steven Haggblade, Thomas Reardon, and Peter Hazell and published by Johns Hopkins University Press on behalf of the International Food Policy Research Institute and the World Bank, answers this question in detail. Contributors examine the varied scale, structure, and composition of the rural nonfarm economy; the role of public intervention in this sector; the ways that poor people can successfully navigate the rapid transition underway in rural areas; and the most effective policy environment.

“Policymakers focus on macro-magnitudes first, urban-industrial growth next, agriculture last, and on the rural nonfarm economy hardly at all. Yet it creates at least one-third of rural income, output, and employment, and faces huge new prospects, but also huge threats, from post-liberalization supply chains. This path-breaking book organizes numerous examples and experiences into a new picture of what causes or impedes rural nonfarm growth, what makes it pro-poor, and what governments can do about it.”

--Michael Lipton, Research Professor of Economics, Poverty Research Unit, University of Sussex

This panel discussion on the book will include a question-and-answer session, as well as panelist presentations. The discussion will be held at the InfoShop, located at 701 18th St. NW, corner of 18th St. and Pennsylvania Ave.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase in the InfoShop bookstore after the event.

For more information on the book, visit http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/jhu/transformrural.asp.
Please RSVP to InfoShopevents@worldbank.org if you intend to come.

Paul Dorosh is a senior economist in the Bank's Spatial and Local Development Team of the Sustainable Development Network and a book contributor. Steven Haggblade is professor of International Development at Michigan State University . John Horton is a senior natural resource specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank. Forhad Shilpi is a senior economist in the Bank’s Sustainable Rural and Urban Development Unit of the Development Research Department. Maximo Torero is director of IFPRI's Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division.

Thomas Reardon, coeditor of the book, is a professor of agricultural economics at Michigan State University . Peter Hazell, coeditor of the book, is Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London, prior to which he was director of IFPRI’s Development Strategy and Governance Division. They both will be unable to attend but can be contacted at reardon@anr.msu.edu and p.hazell@cgiar.org, respectively.

About IFPRI
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) was established in 1975 to provide sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI is one of 15 agricultural research centers that receive their principal funding from governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations, most of which are members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.
For more information, visit http://www.ifpri.org.

About the InfoShop
The InfoShop is the public information center and development bookstore of the World Bank. It functions as the only publicly accessible space at headquarters, hosting book launches, exhibits, seminars, receptions, and other community outreach events.
For more information, visit http://www.worldbank.org.

International Experience and Your Career

International Experience and Your Career:
Networking Panel
Wednesday November 14, 2007 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Location: University Career Center, 3100 Hornbake
Library

About the event:
This event will begin with a panel discussion.
During the panel employers from various
organizations will discuss their international
experiences as well as how students can market their
international experience. Employers will also share
the skills their organizations value the most in
potential employees. After the panel discussion,
employers and students will move to the resources
for the networking event. During the networking
event employers will collect resumes, answer
questions and provide interested students with
information about employment opportunities.
Refreshments will be served.

Organizations in Attendance:
The organizations in attendance recruit a variety of
majors.

Organizations represented: U.S. Department of
State, REHAU, Peace Corps, Education Development
Center, and Cross Cultural Solutions.

For more information contact:
Letitia Williams
lwillia7@umd.edu
301-405-0276

Taking Action for the World’s Poor and Hungry People

Here is another intersting seminar on the 2020 series at IFPRI. Hope to see you there.

IFPRI cordially invites you to a 2020 Vision Policy Seminar

Taking Action for the World’s Poor and Hungry People

Monday, November 19, 2007
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Lunch to Follow

The Melrose Hotel
Potomac Rooms I & II
2430 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20037

Please feel free to share this invitation with your colleagues. Kindly RSVP
to s.hill-lee@cgiar.org or 202.862.8107.

Speakers:
Akhter Ahmed, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI
Johannes Linn, Executive Director, Global Economy and Development, The Wolfensohn Center , The Brookings Institution
Joachim von Braun, Director General, IFPRI

Chair:
Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Head, 2020 Vision Initiative, IFPRI

Despite much progress reducing poverty worldwide, a substantial number of the world's poorest people are being left behind. New IFPRI research finds that 162 million of the world's poorest people -- the "ultra poor" -- survive on less than 50 cents a day. They have benefited the least from substantial reductions in poverty around the world during the past 15 years. Who are these poorest people? Why are they being left behind? What new and different actions are needed to accelerate poverty and hunger reduction for these people?

The seminar will:
* highlight the new report on "The World's Most Deprived: Characteristics and Causes of Extreme Poverty and Hunger";
* offer insights on the suitable mix of pro-poor growth and social protection policies to decisively accelerate poverty and hunger reduction, and address political and institutional changes needed for effective action; and
* present conclusions and recommendations for the way forward from an international conference "Taking Action for the World's Poor and Hungry People" held October 17-19, 2007, in Beijing, in which more than 400 leading policymakers, researchers, and practitioners from around the world participated.

Trends on Food Security and the work of Gordon Conway

Hola readers,

The debate on food security seems to be shifting from undernutrition to malnutrition or, in other words, from quantity to quality. The developing world, urbanizing at a rapid stage, is experiencing a move from diseases resulting from lack of food to diseases resulting from a poor diet balance. As food in the cities tend to be more accessible, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are becoming very prevalent in emerging economies like Mexico and India. Both, the change in the diet (more meat, sugars, and oils) and the change in life styles (less walking more sitting) are causing this health care crisis. However, the international development community must not forget about the people who are still living on conditions of starvation and severe food insecurity.

As clearly discussed on the book “The Elusive Quest for Growth” by William Easterly, development practitioners keep coming out with panaceas in attempting to solve world’s problems. Ranging from industrialization and education to production and more recently governance, each “golden bullet” takes away resources of other programs. For instance, the World Bank’s relatively new emphasis on governance and institutional reform has displaced resource from still vital agricultural projects.

Although comprehensive and holistic approaches are becoming more popular in international development, the panacea approach still prevails, undermining the sustainability and continuity of the development process (which is generational on its nature). This is not to say that programs proven to be unsuccessful should remain funded. Rather programs that were effective must not be replaced for newer and trendier approaches to development.

All this to say that, although diet quality will definitely present a new challenge to developing countries, there is still a lot of work needed for those that are not getting enough on their tables. In this point, Gordon Conway, world renowned agricultural ecologist and one of the first one to develop the concept of sustainable agriculture, suggest what he calls the “doubly green revolution”; a “green revolution” with its increases in productivity and efficiency with an additional emphasis on environmental sustainability and participatory approaches.

In a couple hours I’ll be attending a presentation of his work at IFPRI from which I’ll be posting some of his remarks in this blog. Yet, from what I’ve read so far, his work needs support, not only because we still have a lot of hungry people in this world, but also because we must give continuity to the programs that worked.

His book “The Doubly Green Revolution: Food for All in the Twenty-First Century”

His paper “The Paradoxes of Integrated Development”

Quote "To realize lasting peace and sustainable development in human society, members of the international community have to cooperate with one another fully and make concerted efforts" Wu Bangguo
to tackle

Blog's New Calendar

Hello
This is just a sample of the calendar now available for the blog. Here it be posting events related to agricultural and international development, politics of Latin America, and career advancing issues. Most of the events posted will take place in the Metropolitan Area of Washington DC, yet I'll make some exception.
To see the large version of the Calendar just follow this link CALENDAR, or you can click the forth link of the right bar.
I hope is useful

EVENT. AIDS & Food Security:New Directions, New Questions

Hello,
IFPRI as always organizing relevant and exellent seminars. I'll be there.

****Policy Seminar****

AIDS & Food Security:New Directions, New Questions

Stuart Gillespie, IFPRI Bruce Frayne, IFPRI

Friday, 8 December 2006

2:00 p.m. -- 4:00 p.m.

Abstract: The seminar will explore the latest findings emerging from a series ofaction research studies in eastern and southern Africa undertaken by theRegional Network on AIDS, Livelihoods and Food Security (RENEWAL) andhow these findings are being translated into more effective policy andprogramming in the context of AIDS. This will be followed by a shortpresentation of plans for the next phase of RENEWAL activity (2007-2010)and an extended discussion of remaining knowledge and policy gaps inwhich participants are encouraged to share their institutionalexperiences in this field.

IFPRI is pleased to invite you to the following Policy Seminar which wewill hold in our fourth floor conference facility located at 2033 KStreet, NW (entrance on 21st Street, between K and L Streets). PleaseRSVP to Simone Hill Lee (s.hill-lee@cgiar.org; Tel: 202.862.8107).

EVENT: Agricultural Research -- A Growing Global Divide

Hello,
Below is the info about another interesting panel taking place at IFPRI. The issue to be discussed will be investment in Agricultural Research and Development. With privatization, budgetary constrains, and decentralization, R&D has decreased enormously in the past decade. Although we have seem magnificent benefits such as the Green Revolution, Sub Saharan Africa, Central America, and other parts of the world are lagging behind in terms of yields, infrastructure, inputs markets, and commercialization. In these areas, public R&D must play an essential role in ensuring small and medium scale farmers are getting adequate information to become competitive. We already know that the returns on investments in Ag R&D are huge; now he need more political commitment from the local governments and the international donors. If you cannot make it to the event, check this article by Marc Cohen on R&D for Agriculture "Aid to Agriculture and Rural Development"

**** Panel Discussion****
Agricultural Research -- A Growing Global Divide

Nienke Beintema, IFPRI
Philip G. Pardey - University of Minnesota
Dana G. Dalrymple -- USAID
Isi A. Siddiqui -- CropLife America

Monday, 13 November, 2006
3:30 - 5:00 p.m.

Abstract

Sustained, well-targeted, and effectively used investments in Research
and Development have reaped handsome rewards from improved agricultural
productivity and cheaper, higher quality foods and fibers. At the
beginning of a new millennium, the global patterns of investments in
agricultural R&D are changing in ways that may have profound
consequences for the structure of agriculture worldwide and the ability
of people in poor countries to feed themselves.

What are the key trends in agricultural R&D spending?

What are the implications of the changing trends in agricultural R&D
spending?

What are the developments in public and private sector investment in
agricultural R&D?

Please join us for a panel discussion based on the recently published
IFPRI Food Policy Report "Agricultural Research - A Growing Global
Divide." The report may be downloaded at
www.ifpri.org/pubs/fpr/pr17.asp.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nienke Beintema -- Head of the Agricultural Science and Technology
Indicators (ASTI) initiative, International Service for National
Agricultural Research Division, International Food Policy Research
Institute

Philip G. Pardey - Professor, Department of Applied Economics and
Director, International Science and Technology Practice and Policy
(InSTePP) Center, University of Minnesota, St. Paul

Dana G. Dalrymple -- Senior Research Advisor, Bureau of Economic
Growth,
Agriculture and Trade, U.S. Agency for International Development

Isi A. Siddiqui -- Vice President for Science and Regulatory Affairs,
CropLife America

IFPRI is pleased to invite you to the following Panel Discussion, which
we will hold in our fourth floor conference facility located at 2033 K
Street, NW (entrance on 21st Street, between K and L Streets). Please
RSVP to Simone Hill Lee (s.hill-lee@cgiar.org; Tel: 202.862.8107).

IFPRI EVENT: Distributional Effects of WTO Agricultural Reforms in Rich and Poor

Thomas W. Hertel, Purdue University
Thursday, 2 November, 2006. 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
The presentation is based on a paper by Thomas W. Hertel and Roman
Keeney of Purdue University, and Maros Ivanic and L. Alan Winters, The
World Bank, for the 44th Panel Meeting of Economic Policy in Helsinki,
Finland, October 2006.

Paper Abstract
Rich countries' agricultural trade policies are the battleground on
which the future of the World Trade Organization's troubled Doha Round
will be determined. Subject to widespread criticism, they nonetheless
appear to be almost immune to serious reform, largely because of the
widespread belief that they protect poor farmers. Our findings counter
this view. Using detailed data on farm incomes, they show that only
large, wealthy farmers in a few heavily protected subsectors would be
seriously affected by trade reform. By contrast, reforming rich
countries' agricultural trade policies would lift large numbers of
developing country farm households out of poverty, according to an
analysis using household data from 15 developing countries. In most
cases, these gains are not outweighed by the poverty-increasing effects
of higher food prices among other households. The analysis conducted
here indicates that maximal trade-led poverty reductions occur when
developing countries participate more fully in agricultural trade
liberalization.

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Thomas W. Hertel is a Distinguished Professor at Purdue University,
where he teaches and conducts research on the economy-wide impacts of
trade policies. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Global
Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) which encompasses 5,000 researchers in
over 100 countries around the world.

IFPRI is pleased to invite you to the following Policy Seminar, which
will be held in our fourth floor conference facility located at 2033 K
Street, NW (entrance on 21st Street, between K and L Streets). Please
RSVP to Simone Hill Lee (s.hill-lee@cgiar.org; Tel: 202.862.8107).

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