By JULIA DAY, STEPS Centre member Welcome to Salzburg, where this afternoon Kofi Annan is opening the Toward a Green Revolution in Africa conference with a speech that has called for a “uniquely African Green Revolution” founded on pro-poor policies with women as the crucial key. As food prices escalate at an unprecedented rate and…
SALZBURG DAY 1: KOFI ANNAN CALLS FOR A “UNIQUELY AFRICAN GREEN REVOLUTION”
SALZBURG: VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF AFRICAN AGRICULTURE
By JULIA DAY, STEPS Centre member As 60 plus delegates from governments, farmer organisations, NGOs, business, academia and donor foundations across Africa and the wider world make thier way to Austria ahead of tomorrow’s Toward a Green Revolution in Africa conference, this might be a good time for a little rumination. Some perspectives on the…
SALZBURG GLOBAL SEMINAR: TOWARD A ‘GREEN REVOLUTION’ IN AFRICA
By JULIA DAY, STEPS Centre member There is a clear need for a new vision for agricultural development in Africa that can deal with the complexities of agriculture in diverse settings across Africa and meet the conditions necessary to achieve more equitable benefits for Africa’s farmers. Kofi Annan will chair a conference beginning on Wednesday…
IAASTD: CHANGE IN FARMING CAN FEED THE WORLD
By JULIA DAY, STEPS Centre member The 2,500-page International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) report has garnered support from sixty countries, the World Bank and most UN bodies for radical changes in world farming. Today’s Guardian carries the story. STEPS member John Thompson takes an in-depth look at on the conflicts…
Rethinking regulation in China: decisions facing farmers
By ADRIAN ELY, STEPS Centre member See more photos from this project on our Flickr site The oilseed flowering season is almost over in central China, and cotton planting has started. Farmers first grow seedlings in nursery patches on the sides of their fields, before transplanting to a larger area after oilseed has been harvested….
Rethinking regulation in China: Zhang’s seed shop
By ADRIAN ELY, STEPS Centre member See more photos from this project on our Flickr site China’s new rural development campaign (Xīnnóngcúndianshi) was initiated in 2003 and has reshaped the agricultural sector in Hubei. Reductions in the public sector workforce led to redundancies in the central Chinese province, motivating several extension workers to move into…
FLICKR THROUGH OUR PHOTOS
I have finally gotten around to creating a STEPS Centre page on Flickr. You can check out the first sets of photos to go live, including our launch, recent seminars and the Farmer First Revisited event. Keep an eye open for new photos as they are posted in the Flickr box in the right hand…
LIVE ON AIR: FARMER FIRST ON NEW AGRICULTURIST PODCAST & RADIO
When agriculturists and academics from around the world attended the Farmer First Revisited workshop back in December, they were interviewed by Susanna Thorp of New Agriculturist. The resultant podcast is now live online (podcast 2008-1) as is the AgFax radio programme the magazine produces for African broadcasters (FFR is fourth item down). Have a listen.
STEPS SEMINAR: ANDREW JAMISON ON THE QUEST FOR GREEN KNOWLEDGE
By JULIA DAY, STEPS Centre member Read Andrew Jamison’s presentation Listen to the podcast of this seminar introduced by Andy Stirling, co-director of the STEPS Centre To give the first STEPS Seminar of 2008 we are delighted to welcome Andrew Jamison of Denmark’s Aalborg University to SPRU this afternoon. He is here to talk about…
WHAT TO WATCH IN 2008
Mindful of the folly of predictions, Lawrence Haddad, director of the UK Institute of Development Studies, outlines the eight events and trends he will be watching to shape the development discourse in the next 12 months, from the US elections and Beijing Olympics to power transitions in Africa and the new philanthropists.