La incorporación de nuevas tecnologías en el agro comporta beneficios, riesgos e inequidades diferentes para distintos tipos de usuarios. Las regulaciones (leyes, normas, resoluciones, acuerdos, etc.) pueden contribuir a controlar…
Agricultura transgénica y regulaciones: el caso del algodón en la Provincia del Chaco, Argentina
Orphans or Siblings? Opportunities and Constraints in Alternative Dryland Staple Crops (maize briefing 5)
Sorghum, millet, cowpea, pigeon pea and green grams: these resilient plants once dominated smallholder farms in the drought-prone regions of Eastern Kenya. But in the last 50 years these ‘orphan…
Maize Security does not equal Food Security? Breaking the ‘Lock in’ to the Dominant Maize Pathway (maize briefing 4)
Maize is central to household food security for most Kenyans. As a result, policies that affect maize directly influence most Kenyan families’ access to food. Moreover, ‘maize politics’ is played…
The STEPS Pathways Approach (maize briefing 2)
The term ‘pathways’, in the STEPS project, is used to refer to the particular directions in which interacting social, technological and environmental systems co-evolve over time. A ‘pathways’ approach recognises…
New models of Technology Assessment for development
Technology assessment (TA) is a term for processes that collect, interpret and evaluate information and perspectives about different technological options, in order to inform investments, strategies or policies (see Figure…
Reforming water rights: dynamics, discourses and risks
The increasing recognition of water as a vital substance for which demand is spiralling has resulted in scarcity scenarios and tales of a ‘looming water crisis’ becoming staple fare for…
Test, test and test again: accumulating knowledge for vaccine development
Some vaccines are developed at lightning speed. Other, potentially useful, vaccines do not see the light of day. Understanding why this happens may help identify new policies aimed at a…
Transgenic cotton: a ‘pro-poor’ success?
Many policy makers, journalists and politicians are keen to celebrate the ‘pro-poor success’ of genetically modified (GM, transgenic) crops in developing countries. However, a detailed look at the evidence reveals…
Reframing Resilience
In a world where threats – linked to climate change, epidemic disease, or fluctuating financial markets – loom ever larger, resilience thinking highlights the complex dynamics of social-economic- environmental systems,…
One World, One Health? Learning from the International Response to Avian Influenza
In 1997, 18 people were infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, H5N1. Six died, and since then a further 245 deaths have been reported. The virus has spread…