Investing in Food security? Philanthrocapitalism, biotechnology and development

Jubilee Lecture Theatre 144 Jubilee Building, University of Sussex, Brighton

Sally Brooks, University of York This paper traces the evolution of philanthropic involvement in developing country agriculture from the ‘scientific philanthropy’ of the Rockefeller Foundation during and after the Green Revolution era to the ‘philathrocapitalism’ of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, by examining two cases of ‘pro-poor’ agricultural biotechnology research: pro-Vitamin A-enriched ‘Golden Rice’...

STEPS Seminar: Paul Richards on social cohesion in Sierra Leone

Room 121, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, UK

‘Clash of Institutions? Researching Social Cohesion in a Post-Conflict Agrarian Society (Sierra Leone)’ Paul Richards Visiting Professor, School of Environmental Studies, Njala University, Sierra Leone; Emeritus professor of Technology and Agrarian Development at Wageningen University, The Netherlands; Honorary Professor at the University College of London (UCL). Escaping from poverty depends on the rules governing access...

Free

STEPS Seminar: Bruce Lankford on Resource Efficiency, Complexity and the Commons

Room 221, IDS Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom

Resource Efficiency Complexity and the Commons: The Paracommons and Paradoxes of Natural Resource Losses, Wastes and Wastages Bruce Lankford, Professor of Irrigation and Water Policy, School of International Development, University of East Anglia The efficient use of natural resources is key to a sustainable economy, and yet the complexities of the physical aspects of resource...

Resilience 2014. Resilience and Development: Mobilizing for Transformation

Le Corum Monpelier, France

Melissa Leach, director of the STEPS Centre, and John Thompson, our food and agriculture co-convenor, are both speaking at the Resilience 2014 conference, which this year is themed Resilience and Development: Mobilising for Transformation. The event is the third International Science and policy conference on the resilience of social & ecological systems,  and is being held in Montpellier,...

STEPS Lunchtime Seminar: ‘The Making and Unmaking of Agricultural Knowledge’

Convening Space, IDS Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom

Please join us for an upcoming STEPS lunchtime seminar on ‘The Making and Unmaking of Agricultural Knowledge’, given by Professor Glenn Davis Stone, Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL), on Thursday, 10th December 2015, from 12.30-2pm, at the IDS Convening Space. In this talk, Glenn Stone will draw on long-term research on various technological regimes in agriculture...

Webinar: African Farmer game

The African Farmer game will be presented at a webinar organised by CORE Group's Social and Behavior Change Working Group. Register online to attend this webinar. It will be held from 11am - 12pm Eastern Time. Presenters John Thompson, Senior Research Fellow, Rural Futures Cluster; Institute of Development Studies James Jackson, Designer/Developer; African Farmer Project...