EMAIL DETAILS

Dear Colleague:

Thank you for attending The Chicago Council Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security. Below please find the Global Agricultural Development Initiative’s weekly Global Food for Thought News Brief, which aggregates all media, policy, and research developments related to global agricultural development. If you are interested in receiving this news brief, please reply to this email or click here<http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/GLOBALAGDEVELOPMENT/gad/NewsLetterSignup.aspx>.


[cid:image001.jpg@01CD4062.F47B0CD0]


[cid:image002.jpg@01CD4062.F47B0CD0]


May 19th – June 1st, 2012

Quote of the Week: - “No one wants to see children -- emaciated children. Hunger is a ridiculous thing. And we know what to do in order to fix it. There's, you know, these whole new approaches to agriculture to increase productivity, etc. etc. But what's key about today's announcement is that the president of the United States is supporting African ideas on how to fix their problem. There are country-owned, country-devised plans in 30 African countries. And that's what it will take to get to that 50 million people taken out of -- out of hunger over the next decade.” – Bono’s Interview with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, May 2012


For more information:

- The Global Food for Thought Blog<http://globalfoodforthought.typepad.com/> provides expert commentary, debate, and updates on key developments in real time.

- Background information on the Global Agricultural Development Initiative, and previous editions of Global Food for Thought, can be found on the Initiative’s website: www.thechicagocouncil.org/globalagdevelopment<http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/globalagdevelopment>.

- To receive Global Food for Thought weekly, please register here<http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/GLOBALAGDEVELOPMENT/gad/NewsLetterSignup.aspx>.

- To unsubscribe from Global Food for Thought weekly, please click here<mailto:slee@thechicagocouncil.org?subject=Please%20Unsubscribe%20me%20from%20Global%20Food%20for%20Thought>.

- Follow us on Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/globalagdev> and Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Global-Agricultural-Development-Initiative/194692817221550>.

CONTENTS

Key Articles and Reports
Relevant U.S. Administration and Congressional Activities
2012 Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security
Upcoming Events
Agricultural Issues
Foreign Assistance
Environment (Water/Climate)
Women & Girls
Market Access and Trade Issues
Agribusiness


KEY ARTICLES AND REPORTS

Private Sector Development Policy, African Development Bank, May 2012
The Bank Group’s vision of Africa is of a continent that will be increasingly prosperous, and whose sovereign states will remain peaceful and stable. The private sector will be a powerful driver of economic and social well-being in the continent—creating good jobs for a growing working population; generating rising incomes; and supplying an expanding range of quality goods and services at competitive prices.
http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Policy-Documents/AfDB%20Private%20Sector%20Development%20Policy-Draft.pdf

SEE ALSO: Private Sector Key To Africa’s Growth, Says 2012 African Development Report, African Development Bank, May 28
The report says laws and regulations critical for private sector development and corporate governance were undermined by poor monitoring and enforcement. Africa’s private sector accounted for more than 80 percent of total production, two-thirds of total investment, and three-fourths of total credit to the economy over the 1996-2008 period.
http://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/article/private-sector-key-to-africas-growth-says-2012-african-development-report-9295/

Towards the Future We Want, FAO, May 2012
The quest for food security can be the common thread that links the different challenges we face and helps build a sustainable future. To feed a growing population that is expected to top the nine billion mark in 2050, FAO projects the need to increase agricultural output by at least 60 percent in the next decades. We must also change the way we eat and find ways to feed the world without the need to produce as much.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/an894e/an894e00.pdf

SEE ALSO: World Can Feed More People More Efficiently: FAO, Reuters, May 30
The world can feed itself with less food output than previously forecast if it turns to sustainable farming, cuts waste and stops excessive consumption.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/05/30/world/europe/30reuters-rio20-fao-policy.html
SEE ALSO: A Future with Food, or No Future at All, IPS, May 30
The report urges governments to establish and protect rights to resources, especially for the poor; incorporate incentives for sustainable consumption and production into food systems; promote fair and well-functioning agricultural and food markets; reduce risks and increase the resilience of the most vulnerable; and invest public resources in essential public goods, especially innovation and infrastructure.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107968
SEE ALSO: FAO Says Feeding the Future Requires Bold Decisions, VOA News, May 31
http://www.voanews.com/content/decapua-fao-rio20-31may12/1145621.html

Kofi Annan’s Remarks: Unjust Global Systems, Their Impact on Worldwide Hunger and Undernutrition and Necessary Changes to be Undertaken by Relevant Actors, Kofi Annan Foundation, June 2012
We need to put in place major long-term structural reforms. First, we need to improve global governance and overhaul unfair trade rules. Second, the investment in agriculture in developing countries must be significantly increased. Thirdly, we must invest, in people and particularly in the small-holder farmers who remain the backbone of agricultural production.
http://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/newsroom/speeches/2012/06/unjust-global-systems-their-impact-worldwide-hunger-and-undernutrition-and

Annual Development Effectiveness Review 2012, African Development Bank, May 2012
The report provides an overview of the performance of the African Development Bank. With inclusive growth as its theme, this second ADER reviews development trends across the continent from this perspective and explores how the Bank’s operations have addressed them. It also looks at how well we manage our portfolio and our own organization.
http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and-Operations/ADER%202012%20%28En%29.pdf

IFPRI 2011 Annual Report, IFPRI, May 2012
Amid food price shocks and an unpredictable climate, how we approach even the most basic components of food security—what to eat and how to grow it—comes into question. To find lasting solutions to hunger, malnutrition, and poverty, we need to reassess how to meet the rising demand for food without generating large food price increases. Through its rigorous, wide-ranging policy research, the IFPRI works to clarify options and identify solutions.
http://www.ifpri.org/publication/ifpri-2011-annual-report

2012 Africa Human Development Report: Towards a Food Secure Future, UNDP, May 2012
Sub-Saharan Africa cannot sustain its present economic resurgence unless it eliminates the hunger that affects nearly a quarter of its people. UNDP's Report shows that food security and human development reinforce each other. To accelerate food security, countries in sub-Saharan Africa must boost agricultural productivity and enhance nutrition to improve availability, access and use of food.
http://hdr.undp.org/en/

SEE ALSO: Report: Food Insecurity a Huge Problem in Africa, VOA News, May 15
Tegegnework Gettu, director of the UNDP's Africa regional bureau, calls it a “harsh paradox” that sub-Saharan Africa is food insecure when the continent has ample fertile land, substantial amounts of surface and underground water, and the ideal climate to grow crops. He says that misguided policies, lack of political commitment, and weak institutions are what he calls the “deeper cause” of food insecurity.
http://www.voanews.com/content/report_food_insecurity_a_huge_problem_in_africa/666533.html
SEE ALSO: Sub-Saharan Africa Can Only Grow If It Solves Hunger Crisis, Guardian, May 15
Sub-Saharan Africa cannot sustain its much-heralded economic growth unless it eliminates the hunger that afflicts nearly one in four of its people.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/may/15/sub-saharan-africa-hunger-undp

APEC Agricultural Ministers issue Kazan Declaration on APEC Food Security, APEC, May 31
We agreed that it was necessary to increase support, including funding, for agricultural research and development of innovative technologies through domestic and multilateral agricultural research systems. To strengthen these systems, it is important to strengthen domestic research institutes and innovation centers in each member economy, to establish new centers if necessary, and to enhance capacity building activities for researchers in developing member economies.
http://www.apec.org/Meeting-Papers/Ministerial-Statements/Food-Security/2012_food.aspx

The Politics of Science, Opinion, Marshall Matz, Agri-Pulse, June 1
The month of May was an important month for agriculture. World leaders affirmed their strong commitment to global food security. The private sector was enlisted in a public-private partnership which has the capability to raise the needed funds. The one remaining issue appears to be a discussion and agreement on the needed science.
http://www.agri-pulse.com/The-Politics-of-Science-Matz-June2012.asp

G(irls)20 Summit: Women's Voices on Food Security Loud and Clear in Mexico City, Opinion, David Joslyn, Huffington Post, May 31
“If you want to change the world, invest in an adolescent girl." This quote from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs publication entitled Girls Grow, A Vital Force in Rural Economies, is being taken very seriously this week in Mexico City where the G(irls)20 Summit is in full force.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-joslyn/girls20-summit-2012-recap_b_1556533.html

SEE ALSO: G(irls)20 Summit: Moving the Debate on Women in Agriculture From Washington to Mexico City, May 24
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-joslyn/women-food-g20_b_1542733.html

Thurow’s New Book Chronicles Kenyan Farmers’ Efforts to End the Hunger Season, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, May 29
In his new book, The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change<http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Hunger-Season-Community/dp/1610390679/ref=la_B0025L9J18_1_1_title_0_main?>, Chicago Council Senior Fellow Roger Thurow tells the story of a community of Kenyan farmers working to transcend lives of dire poverty and hunger, and illuminates the challenges, and vital necessity, of transforming Africa's agriculture sector.
http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/Files/Event/FY_12_Events/06_June_2012/Last_Hunger_Season.aspx

SEE ALSO: The Last Hunger Season: How An NGO Is Raising African Crop Yields, The National, May 26
http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/books/the-last-hunger-season-how-an-ngo-is-raising-african-crop-yields#full
SEE ALSO: The Last Hunger Season, Nourishing the Planet, May 29
http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/the-last-hunger-season/
SEE ALSO: The Last Hunger Season, Public Affairs, May 29
http://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/publicaffairsbooks-cgi-bin/display?book=9781610390675
SEE ALSO: What We’re Reading: The Launch of Roger Thurow’s New Book The Last Hunger Season, Opportunity International, May 30
http://www.opportunity.org/blog/what-were-reading-launch-of-roger-thurows-new-book-the-last-hunger-season/#.T8fzFVKY2W8
http://one.org/blog/author/roger-thurow/


RELEVANT U.S. ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Committee Approves FY13 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, May 24
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved, by a vote of 29-1, the FY 2013 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill. The bill includes $3.1 billion for Development Assistance and $5.1 billion for Economic Support Fund/ESF. ESF assistance for Egypt totals $250 million, and for Jordan $410 million. The bill includes $800 million for basic education; $1.15 billion for environment and energy programs; $1.2 billion for food security and agricultural development; and $350 million for water and sanitation programs.
http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=268b9a1b-a65b-40b9-af34-e4005271c22b

SEE ALSO: Webcast: Full Committee Markup: FY13 State, Foreign Operations Bill
http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/webcasts.cfm?method=webcasts.view&id=ff27f0e0-5b1f-41ff-8e91-4a493af03712

Nutrition Research Aims to Make Food Security Investments More Effective, Feed the Future, May 22
Under Feed the Future, American universities work with counterparts in developing countries, international agricultural research institutions, U.S. agribusiness, U.S. federal agencies such as USDA, and many others to deliver health, nutrition, and agricultural assistance in ways that lead to cost-effective and sustainable improvements in the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and their families.
http://feedthefuture.gov/article/nutrition-research-aims-make-food-security-investments-more-effective

U.S. Government Donates $30 Million to WFP's Emergency Operation in South Sudan, USAID, May 21
The U.S. Government has announced it will provide emergency relief to assist conflict-affected and food-insecure people in South Sudan. The $30 million contribution will be delivered through the UN WFP.
http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2012/pr120521.html

President’s Emergency Plan For Aids Relief Agencies Can Enhance Evaluation Quality, Planning, And Dissemination, GAO, May 2012
GAO recommends that State work with CDC and USAID to (1) improve adherence to common evaluation standards, (2) develop PEPFAR evaluation plans, (3) provide guidance for assessing and documenting evaluators’ independence and qualifications, and (4) increase online accessibility of evaluation results.
http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/591284.pdf


Commentary

Decades of Partnership in Research, Opinion, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, USDA, May 18
USDA research has helped today’s producers to be the most productive in history – ensuring a secure, home-grown food supply while enabling increased exports of American products around the world. Last year, America exported a record $137 billion in agricultural products and achieved a nearly $43 billion agricultural trade surplus, supporting more than one million American jobs.
http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/05/18/secretarys-column-decades-of-partnership-in-research/

Recognizing MCC’s ‘Outstanding Leadership’ In Food Security, Opinion, Jolyne Sanjak, MCC Blog, May 29
MCC and a majority of our partner countries believe that improvements to their agricultural and rural sectors are a crucial part of lifting people out of poverty and to improving food security. MCC’s portfolio includes $4.4 billion of investments in improvements to the agricultural and rural sectors that are relevant to reducing food insecurity. MCC projects also invest in direct assistance to farmers with a focus on smallholders.
http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/blog-052912-recognizing-mccs-outstanding

Food Security Open Data Challenge, Opinion, Maura O’Neill and Kat Townsend, DipNote, May 27
USAID launched a Food Security Open Data Challenge that invites technologists, agriculture stakeholders, entrepreneurs, academics, and others to determine the most creative and wide-reaching use of open data for food security solutions and better, cheaper, and faster results. USAID’s Food Security Open Data Challenge includes three core events.
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/food_security_open_data_challenge/

SEE ALSO: Putting Data to Work for Food Security, Opinion, Hillary Chen, The White House Blog, May 25
The Challenge builds on a number of Administration priorities, such as the Open Government Initiative and the Open Data Initiatives Program announced this week by U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, and Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, and the recent G8 announcement of a New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/25/putting-data-work-food-security

Peace Corps: Helping Feed the Future, Opinion, Aaron S. Williams, White House Blog, May 25
The President announced a new alliance with the G-8, African leaders and private sector partners to drive investment in sustainable African agricultural development and lift 50 million people out of poverty. This landmark meeting underscored the importance of the President’s Feed the Future initiative, and last summer, the Peace Corps and the USAID pledged to provide enhanced food security training to more than 1,000 Peace Corps volunteers.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/25/peace-corps-helping-feed-future


2012 SYMPOSIUM ON GLOBAL AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY

The Chicago Council Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security
The event agenda, speaker biographies, and a summary of announcement materials are available on the symposium website.
http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/GlobalAgSymposium

SEE ALSO: Videos
http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/globalagdevelopment//gad/Events/2012/Video.aspx<http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/globalagdevelopment/gad/Events/2012/Video.aspx>
SEE ALSO: Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thechicagocouncil/sets/72157629787980666/
SEE ALSO: Expert Commentary
http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/globalagdevelopment//gad/Events/2012/Relevant_Materials.aspx<http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/globalagdevelopment/gad/Events/2012/Relevant_Materials.aspx>

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah’s Interview with Andrea Mitchell, MSNBC, May 18
The big spiking in food prices in 2008 actually for the first time in four decades reversed a trend. The friend was every year, fewer people go to bed hungry at night and in 2008 - 2009, more than 100 million people were pushed back into a condition of hunger essentially because of that price spike.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/mitchell-reports/47478402/#47478402

U2's Bono Talks Curbing Hunger With NBC's Andrea Mitchell, MSNBC, May 18
No one wants to see children -- emaciated children. Hunger is a ridiculous thing. And we know what to do in order to fix it. There's, you know, these whole new approaches to agriculture to increase productivity. But what's key about today's announcement is that the president of the United States is supporting African ideas on how to fix their problem.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/18/11758704-u2s-bono-talks-curbing-hunger-with-nbcs-andrea-mitchell?lite

USAID Administrator: Food Security a 'Grand' But 'Achievable' Goal, PBS News Hour, May 18
Ray Suarez and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah discuss the initiative to lift millions out of poverty and hunger through farming partnerships.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june12/foodsecurity_05-18.html

Weekly Wrap Up: President Obama Tweets to America, The White House Blog, May 25
G8 Summit: This past weekend the U.S. hosted leaders from the eight largest nation’s in terms of economy at Camp David in Chicago. At this summit, world leaders held conversations about world hunger, as well as on the priority of growth in jobs in the world economy.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/25/weekly-wrap-president-obama-tweets-america

Summit – Private Sector To The Rescue Of The World's Poorest?, Opinion, Joanna Rea, Guardian, May 25
The initiative is limited in scope and ambition, and focused on mobilizing private capital. It includes agreement by 45 local and multilateral companies to invest $3bn in African agriculture and the alliance will be launched initially in only three countries: Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Ghana. Many NGOs have expressed concern.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/may/25/2012-g8-summit-private-sector<http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/may/25/2012-g8-summit-private-secto%20r>

African Agriculture Gets a Boost, VOA News, May 25
Mike Mack is the C-E-O of an international company called Syngenta. The company makes and sells products as seeds and herbicides. He says the world is hungry—and it’s only going to get hungrier. From a business perspective, the world’s increasing demand for food is good news — which is one of the reasons private multinationals like Syngenta are investing in agriculture in Africa.
http://www.voanews.com/content/african_ag_gets_boost/1105538.html

Foreign Aid and Trade: A Balanced Approach to Promote Greater Food Security, Opinion, Eva M. Clayton, Huffington Post, May 28
G8 leaders emerging from Camp David still spoke of the same old aid commitments without any backbone, all the while ignoring the impact that trade barriers and U.S. and European multi-billion dollar subsidies have on food production in those countries most in need of development. This G8 summit was, yet again, a missed opportunity for international leaders to make a real commitment to long-term food security and support for African and developing world farmers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eva-m-clayton/an-opportunity-for-the-g8_b_1528380.html

Five Questions about the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, Tjada McKenna and Jonathan Shrier, Feed the Future Blog, May 23
The New Alliance includes specific commitments from: African leaders to refine policies in order to improve investment opportunities and drive their country-led plans on food security; Private sector partners, who have collectively committed more than $3 billion to increase investments; and G-8 members, who will support Africa’s potential for rapid and sustained agricultural growth, and ensure accountability for the New Alliance.
http://feedthefuture.gov/article/five-questions-about-new-alliance-food-security-and-nutrition

10 Great Quotes From The Chicago Council’s Pre-G8 Symposium… And What They Really Mean, ONE Campaign, May 22
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs brought some incredible speakers to Washington last Friday for their Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security<http://one.org/blog/2012/05/16/obama-bono-g8-leaders-and-you/> — including President Obama, African heads of state, G8 leaders and Bono — and you can bet that many powerful words were said.
http://one.org/blog/2012/05/22/10-great-quotes-from-the-chicago-councils-pre-g8-symposium-and-what-they-really-mean/

Country Set To Gain From Diageo’s $3.5m, The Citizen (Tanzania), May 22
Diageo -- leading premium drinks company -- recently announced that it has signed letters of intent to foster partnerships and projects that will aid growth of agriculture in Tanzania and Ethiopia. Diageo plans to develop and implement scalable sorghum value chain in Morogoro, Tanzania and barley farming project in Sebeta, Ethiopia. The cost for implementation has been estimated at $3.5 million -- projects to start in 2012.
http://thecitizen.co.tz/business/-/22545-country-set-to-gain-from-diageos-35m

Advancing Food and Nutrition Security – A Student Perspective, Opinion, Brendan Rice, Universities Fighting World Hunger, May 21
Framing hunger as a solvable problem is central to the work that we do as students. As a human family, we have the tools, resources, and knowledge to end hunger in our world of plenty. This issue is not necessarily about coming up with a solution. Instead, it is about advancing the steps we already know work to end hunger through creating the public and political will to do so.
http://wp.auburn.edu/ufwh/?p=574

G8 Leaders Urged To Focus Talks On Growth, Financial Times, May 18
This weekend, about 45 different private sector companies, about half of them African, are expected to make commitments totaling more than $3bn to help improve food security on the continent. But development charities were cautious, saying private investments into African food security projects would be on too small a scale, and warning against backsliding on the $22bn of public commitments made at L’Aquila.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/13b29f0a-a0fd-11e1-aac1-00144feabdc0.html

SEE ALSO: Obama: New Aid Pledge For Africa, UPI, May 18
Obama said the initiative will combine aid from governments and international organizations with efforts by companies, ranging from "large multinationals to small African cooperatives."
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/05/18/Obama-New-aid-pledge-for-Africa/UPI-87571337335200/
SEE ALSO: G8 Turns to Private Sector for Food Crisis Solutions, IPS, May 18
Aid agencies and watchdog groups worry that the new programme, which includes a significant new role for the private sector, could prove diversionary for donors, resulting in a return to relatively low, unfocused levels of agriculture-focused aid.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107843
SEE ALSO: Private Companies Helping to Front Funds For African Food Development, US News and World Report, May 18
The aid has the potential to ease some of the suffering of continent's poorest people. But the agreement is a small fix for a sizable problem that is increasingly difficult for G8 countries to solve.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/05/18/private-companies-helping-to-front-funds-for-african-food-development

By the Numbers: 1 Billion, Opinion, Megan Slack, The White House Blog, May 18
Approximately 1 billion people worldwide suffer from chronic hunger-- a prolonged, life-threatening lack of food. Hunger threatens the health and well-being of a nation’s citizens, and increases a country’s risk of democratic failure, rioting, violence, and civil conflict. It costs developing countries approximately $450 billion per year in lost GDP.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/18/numbers-1-billion

G8 Summit: Putting Food on the Table Through Investing in Small Farmers, Opinion, Andrea Riccardi and Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze, Huffington Post, May 16
In order for these small farms to thrive -- and to help lead the way to a more successful, profitable agricultural sector -- smallholder farmers need better linkages and access to markets, technology and information. They need mechanisms to manage the inherent risks of farming, particularly at a time of exceptionally volatile weather and prices. They need domestic and international investment in rural areas that is sustainable -- economically, environmentally and socially.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrea-riccardi/g8-summit-small-farms_b_1522601.html


UPCOMING EVENTS

The Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project (ABSPII) and Product-Driven Capacity Building for Emerging Markets
Date: June 5
Location: Washington, D.C.
ABSPII’s management team will share the lessons learned from 10 years of supporting agricultural biotechnology research and product development in India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Indonesia, Uganda and Mali. Presentations will include an overview of the ABSPII philosophy and organization, highlights of banana research in Uganda and eggplant product development in Asia, best practices for communicating about agricultural biotechnology and the benefits of public-private partnerships.
http://agrilinks.kdid.org/events/agricultural-biotechnology-support-project-and-product-driven-capacity-building?

Global Learning Exchange on Best Fit Approaches in Extension and Advisory Services
Date: June 6-8, 2012
Location: Washington, D.C.
This exchange on current issues in extension is designed as a marketplace of ideas, a platform for lively discussion and sharing of good practice. Participants are invited to share their own knowledge resources pertaining to the themes presented. The purpose of the workshop is twofold—to review and confirm current understanding of good practice in public and private extension service delivery and to identify priority areas for further work in defining good practice.
http://www.meas-extension.org/workshops

USAID Frontiers in Development
Date: June 11-13, 2012
Location: Washington, D.C.
This premiere three-day event will serve as a forum for world leaders, government officials and international development experts to address the rapidly changing context for global development and key challenges and opportunities facing developing countries and development organizations. Frontiers in Development is more than just a conference. It represents the fundamental idea that by engaging provocative, forward-looking discussions and debate, individuals and organizations can come together and solve the critical development challenges facing the world today.
http://frontiers.usaid.gov/

2012 US-Africa Forum: Farming is a Business: Strengthening Linkages and Skills to Transform Africa’s Food Systems
Date: June 11-12, 2012
Location: Washington, D.C.
This year’s Forum will review the significant evolution of Africa’s agricultural development and food systems over the past decade, assess the transformations currently underway, and envision the changes that are likely to occur in the next decade and beyond. The Forum will feature a mix of keynote speakers, plenary presentations, and guided breakout group discussions that will drive toward the identification of a practical set of recommendations and actions.
http://partnership-africa.org/content/2012-us-africa-forum

The Road to 2050: The China Factor
Date: June 11-14, 2012
Location: Shanghai, China
The International Food and Agribusiness Management Association’s 22nd Annual World Forum and Symposium will bring together industry, academic, and student leaders from around the world to discuss how the rapidly expanding demand for food and agricultural products in China will impact global markets. The program consists of an industry forum with high-level presentations and break-out sessions covering supply and demand; a two-day academic symposium; a dedicated session on human capital development in agribusiness; and specially designed student-industry interactions.
https://www.ifama.org/events/conferences/2012/Default.aspx

Cracking the Nut 2012: Attracting Private Sector Investment to Rural and Agricultural Markets
Date: June 25-26, 2012
Location: Washington, DC
The Cracking the Nut 2012 Conference will engage all actors along the agricultural supply chain (including large MNCs, financiers, development practitioners, donors and policymakers) to share best practices on leveraging public-private partnerships to develop rural and agricultural markets. Sessions will focus on expanding to new markets, tapping new sources of supply, creating effective partnerships, making finance work and forging positive government support.
http://www.crackingthenutconference.com<http://www.crackingthenutconference.com/>

The Economist's Feeding the World: Asia's Prospect of Plenty
Date: September 27, 2012
Location: Hong Kong
Mounting evidence points towards a coming global crisis in food. The world’s population is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050. To feed this huge number, some say global food production needs to increase by as much as 70%. Asia’s peculiar problems are potentially more pernicious and complex than most. China and India alone comprise one-third of the global population. Besides the burden Asia carries to feed more than half of the world’s population, other challenges loom large. By gathering leaders at the highest levels across industry, agribusiness, politics and advocacy organizations, The Economist is sparking a timely and inclusive dialogue in this the inaugural year of Feeding the World: Asia’s prospect of plenty. For programme and speaker updates and to register go to http://www.economistconferences.asia/event/FeedingAsia

African Green Revolution Forum 2012
Date: September 27-28, 2012
Location: Tanzania
The AGRF 2012 will bring together Heads of State and government ministers, business leaders, grass root organizations, farmers, global thought leaders and numerous other inspiring and leading stakeholders to discuss and debate current international and national efforts to secure food security and drive transformative agricultural change and green growth on the African continent.
http://agrforum.com/


AGRICULTURAL ISSUES

Media Articles:

Clean Technology: US Policy Aids Second Generation Biofuel Push, Financial Times, June 1
Producing petrol substitutes from sources such as sugar cane, corn and wheat has had a bad press. Critics say biofuels production takes up vast tracts of farmland that could better be used for growing food. But a solution is emerging: second-generation biofuels that, unlike ethanol, are not made from food crops but use feedstocks including agricultural waste, energy grasses and algae.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/76e321c8-a4cf-11e1-9a94-00144feabdc0.html

KENYA: Disease Threat To Vital Maize Crop, IRIN, May 31
Maize lethal necrosis, a disease which has affected at least 300,000 maize farmers mainly in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province, could adversely affect harvests of the staple nationally if it is allowed to spread, warn experts. In the worst-hit Rift Valley Province, at least 70 percent of the maize crop has been affected, say government officials. The province produces about half the country's maize.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95563/KENYA-Disease-threat-to-vital-maize-crop

The World Must Learn From Smallholder Farmers, IPS, May 30
Mohamed Beavogui, head of the IFAD’s Partnership and Resource Mobilization Office, laid out what the world can learn from smallholder farmers to promote sustainable agriculture as a key element of future sustainable development.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107973

How To Feed A Planet, Continued, Economist, May 28
Today’s daily chart, using data provided by Cargill, is the nearest thing to a snapshot of everything you need to know about feeding the world. Food trade is significant and growing. Large parts of the world—notably Asia and the Middle East and Africa—cannot feed themselves, so there have to be compensating surplus regions. The trends in the main regions show that the biggest agricultural stories of the past few decades happened in Brazil and Russia.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/feastandfamine/2012/05/food

Fukushima Farmers Decontaminate Soil, Plant Rice, Praying For Radiation-Free Harvest, Associated Press, May 28
Rice farming is almost sacred in rural Japan, and the government protects farmers with tight restrictions on imports. Many farmers are too close to the nuclear disaster to return to the fields, but others have gotten the go-ahead, even with the risk their harvests may end up being too radiated to ship.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/fukushima-farmers-decontaminate-soil-plant-rice-praying-for-radiation-free-harvest/2012/05/28/gJQAeSX2vU_story.html

Water Shortage Looms Over India’s Farmlands, Wall Street Journal, May 28
A water shortage is looming over many of India’s most productive farmlands, a development that may pose serious challenges to the country’s food security. India’s usable supply of water by 2030 could fall short of projected demand by as much as 50%.
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/05/28/water-shortage-looms-over-indias-farmlands

Food Security Requires National Efforts and International Coordination, International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council, May 21
The International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council partnered with the Inter-American Development Bank to host a seminar on Food Security and Trade in the Asia-Pacific & LAC Region. Participants called for more meaningful rules to provide greater supply assurances in the multilateral trade rule book or in regional efforts. Given the importance of trade to food security, regional trade agreements were also discussed, with special focus on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
http://www.agritrade.org/events/FoodSecurityandTradeinAsiaPacific.html

High Prices Bring Optimism To Farming, Financial Times, May 21
Farmers have endured a tough period over the past two decades, roiled by livestock disease and pressure on prices. However, a combination of commodity price inflation and global concerns over food security have provided a fillip – in turn attracting more investment and encouraging more young people to look to the land for employment.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b1d0c77e-a117-11e1-9fbd-00144feabdc0.html<http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b1d0c77e-a117-11e1-9fbd-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wZi0zd84>

Want World Peace? Try Super-Smart Farming, The Fiscal Times, May 21
There is reason to believe technology and changing agricultural techniques will still play a role in staving off future disaster. But more important will be the stabilization of the globe’s population, which will only occur with more rapid economic development.
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/05/21/Want-World-Peace-Try-Super-Smart-Farming.aspx#page1


FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

Reports:

UN Central Emergency Response Fund, United Nations, May 2012
CERF helped millions of people in 45 countries in 2011. Humanitarian emergencies in Africa received two-thirds of all CERF grants in 2011, totaling $284 million, followed by emergencies in Asia and the Pacific, which received slightly more than one-fifth of CERF funding.
http://www.unocha.org/cerf/ar/2011/yir

SEE ALSO: More Than $427 Million Provided For Humanitarian Relief In 2011, UN News, May 29
The WFP remained CERF's top-funded agency, and was given $127 million – almost 30 percent of all CERF funds – due to its role providing emergency food aid. The UNICEF was the second-highest funded agency in 2011, receiving $109 million in support of 130 projects in 38 countries.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42108&

OECD Strategy on Development, OECD, May 2012
The main goal of the Strategy is to strengthen OECD’s contributions to “higher and more inclusive growth in the widest array of countries”, making full use of the OECD evidence-based approaches to improve policy making and economic reform for developing and developed countries.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/43/55/50452316.pdf

SEE ALSO: OECD Adopts New U.S. Initiated Development Strategy, Opinion, Karen Kornbluh, USAID Impact Blog, May 30
Last week, the OECD adopted a new Development Strategy for partnering with developing countries. After a good deal of heavy lifting, the new strategy advances the Obama Administration’s policy on global development and will increase the efficiency of U.S. aid funding.
http://blog.usaid.gov/2012/05/oecd-adopts-new-u-s-initiated-development-strategy/

Media Articles:

Somalia Famine Has Ended, But Many Still Hungry, Christian Science Monitor, May 31
Good rains and reduced conflict have helped aid groups reach hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Somalia who rely on their aid. The hunger crisis remains a delicate situation, though. Still, 2.5 million Somalis, mostly in the country’s Islamist-held south, are officially classified as in “emergency” or “crisis.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2012/0531/Somalia-famine-has-ended-but-many-still-hungry

Foreign Aid Works – It Saves Lives, Opinion, Jeffrey Sachs, Guardian, May 30
The critics of foreign aid are wrong. A growing flood of data shows that death rates in many poor countries are falling sharply, and that aid-supported programmes for healthcare delivery have played a key role. Aid works; it saves lives.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics-blog/2012/may/30/foreign-aid-works-saves-lives

Doubling Direct Foreign Aid Could Bite U.S. Vendors, Washington Post, May 30
The USAID awarded $2.12 billion, or 15 percent, of its foreign assistance budget to the overseas groups last fiscal year, compared with $1.94 billion, or 12 percent, in fiscal 2010. The agency has set a goal of spending 30 percent of that aid on such entities by 2015. The shift may reduce awards to U.S.-based contractors.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/doubling-direct-foreign-aid-could-bite-us-vendors/2012/05/20/gIQAF1EydU_story.html

VIDEO: West Africa Food Crisis: A Cry For Help, ABC Nightly News, May 29
UN says 18 million people in danger of starvation.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/west-africa-food-crisis-cry-16454221

SEE ALSO: 18 Million In West Africa To Go Hungry In 2012, Huffington Post, May 29
W. David Gressly, the U.N.'s regional humanitarian coordinator for nine countries in the arid Sahel region of Africa, says during 2012 the lives of at least 1 million children under 5 will be threatened and another 2 million under 5 will suffer health problems due to malnutrition.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120529/eu-un-africa-hunger/

Is The UK Hunger Summit Anything More Than An Olympic PR Exercise?, Duncan Green, Guardian, May 31
Early signs suggest that the summit will echo the Obama administration's reliance on private sector solutions. Although some private sector companies are showing a real lead companies can be nasty as well as nice. The state has a crucial role in regulating private sector behavior, as well as a hands-on role in agricultural development. Whatever the fiscal temptations, the summit needs to avoid passing the buck.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/may/31/uk-hunger-summit-olympic-pr

North Korean Farmers Cite Grave Drought; Aid Unlikely, Associated Press, May 29
North Korea is mobilizing workers to irrigate farms and repair wells as officials report a serious drought that could worsen already critical food shortages. Help, however, is unlikely to come from the United States and South Korea following Pyongyang's widely criticized rocket launch.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9V2C37O0.htm

SEE ALSO: Ground Shifts in U.S. Aid Stance to North Korea, Wall Street Journal, May 25
In the two months since North Korea’s announcement of a missile launch scuttled a U.S. plan to offer humanitarian aid, there are signs that Washington may come under pressure to reconsider. The biggest sign that some reconsideration is under way in Washington came this week from Glyn Davies, the U.S. special envoy to North Korea.
http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2012/05/25/ground-shifts-in-u-s-aid-stance-to-nk/?

From One Bowl Of Rice A Day To Nothing: Hunger Spreads, Stalks 1M Children In Africa, Associated Press, May 26
More than 1 million children under 5 in this wide, arid swath of Africa below the Sahara are now at risk of a food shortage so severe that it threatens their lives, UNICEF estimates. Hunger in this region is a lurking predator that never quite leaves, and comes back every year to pick off the weakest. Even in a non-crisis year, some 300,000 children die from lack of food across western and central Africa. All it takes is a drought and a failed harvest, and those who are now barely living on one meal a day will starve.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/from-one-bowl-of-rice-a-day-to-nothing-hunger-spreads-stalks-1m-children-in-africa/2012/05/26/gJQAVDUCsU_story.html

SAHEL: Sharp Price Hikes Cause Alarm, IRIN, May 25
Unexpectedly sharp price rises in April for local cereals like millet, rice and maize in parts of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad mean many vulnerable people in the drought-hit Sahel could find it even harder to get enough to eat. In Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, local millet is 85 percent above the five-year average, and in Mali’s capital, Bamako, it is more than double.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95532/SAHEL-Sharp-price-hikes-cause-alarm

Global Agriculture and Food Security Program Announces New Round of Grants to Fight Hunger and Poverty, World Bank, May 24
Partners in the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program announced that six countries will receive grants totaling $177 million. The grants – to Burundi, the Gambia, Kyrgyz Republic, Malawi, Senegal, and Tanzania – will help each country increase food security, raise rural incomes, and reduce poverty.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:23203753~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html

EU Boosts Aid To Yemen to Combat Worsening Food Crisis, Reuters, May 21
The EU said it would provide an extra five million euros in humanitarian aid to Yemen this year, to help combat a food crisis. The EC said the extra funds would raise the amount donated by the EU in 2012 to 25 million euros, with the sums used to improve access to clean water, support feeding programs and provide cash grants to 200,000 people.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/21/us-eu-yemen-aid-idUSBRE84K0TL20120521

GAMBIA: Small Country With A Big Crisis, IRIN News, May 17
The Gambia was affected by the late, erratic and unevenly distributed rainfall during the 2011-12 growing season. Crop production is expected to drop by more than half compared with 2010, and by 50% compared with the 5-year average, said Sonia Nguyen, a spokesperson for the FAO in the Sahel.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95473/GAMBIA-Small-country-with-a-big-crisis

Urgent UN Appeal For South Sudan Food Aid, VOA News, May 15
The UN is calling for more than $500 million in emergency aid for the people of South Sudan. The highest percentages of people in need of food assistance are located along the Sudan-South Sudan border. The UN said food prices in those areas have doubled, even tripled in some cases.
http://www.voanews.com/content/urgent_un_appeal_for_south_sudan_aid/666598.html


ENVIRONMENT (WATER/CLIMATE)


Reports:

Africa Ecological Footprint Report, African Development Bank and World Wide Fund for Nature, June 2012
Investment in natural capital can help drive the development of a green economy and secure ecosystem services on which we all depend. These services provide food, water and energy, support our livelihoods, and help us stay resilient to the uncertain conditions of a changing climate.
http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/africa_efr_english_high_res.pdf

SEE ALSO: AfDB and WWF to launch Africa Ecological Footprint Report, African Development Bank, June 1
This report is intended to stoke up thinking on greener development in Africa and to rally action by policy-makers and investors in the lead-up to Rio+20.
http://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/article/afdb-and-wwf-to-launch-africa-ecological-footprint-report-9350/

Food and Agriculture: The Future of Sustainability, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, May 2012
Farming has enormous impacts on the world’s most critical resources. Accordingly, farmers will have to produce while also ensuring the provision of various vital ecosystem services. If they do not, we will not only degrade those resources but also exhaust the ability to produce enough food.
http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_sd21st/21_pdf/agriculture_and_food_the_future_of_sustainability_web.pdf

Confronting Scarcity: Managing Water, Energy and Land for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth, European Research for Development Policies, May 2012
Throughout the world, humanity is putting unsustainable pressure on natural resources and this manifests itself in new challenges and opportunities for developing countries. Water, energy and land are intimately connected. For example, producing more food needs more water and more energy, as well as more land, and developing countries are a frequent target for investment in land for agricultural production.
http://www.erd-report.eu/erd/report_2011/report.html

SEE ALSO: Is Environmentally Sustainable Water, Energy And Land For All Possible?, Guardian, May 17
The overriding message of the report is one of urgency – we have to act now to find sustainable ways to meet the increasing demand for resources.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/may/17/environmentally-sustainable-water-energy-land

CGIAR Calls For Action At Rio+20, CGIAR, May 23
Agriculture is the single largest employer in the world, providing livelihoods and jobs for 40 percent of today’s global population. Moreover, as a human enterprise, it reflects the single largest use of land of any sector. In developing countries, smallholder farms provide up to 80 percent of the food supply. it is critical for farm and natural resource management and policies to play a more central role in shaping the broader development and environmental agendas.
http://consortium.cgiar.org/call-to-action-rioplus20/

SEE ALSO: Making Farming Better in Developing Countries, VOA News, May 28
The new head of a major research organization says the key to food security is to farm smarter, not to plow more land. The strains on agriculture are growing as the global population rises and emerging economies demand more types of food.
http://www.voanews.com/content/decapua-food-security-agriculture-28may12/1120415.html
SEE ALSO: Nations Need Food Security Goals, BBC News, May 23
Ahead of the Rio gathering, scientists are calling for an improved commitment to deliver nutrition security and lessen the need to aid.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18160089

Studies Show Land Rights Reform Key To Saving Forests, Fighting Climate Change, Associated Press, May 30
China has made significant progress in restoring its forest cover while also allowing residents to make a living from plantations, forest products and tourism.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/studies-show-land-rights-reform-key-to-saving-forests-fighting-climate-change/2012/05/30/gJQAlKZ50U_story.html

SEE ALSO: Full Report: Respecting Rights, Delivering Development, Rights and Resources, May 2012
http://www.rightsandresources.org/documents/files/doc_4935.pdf
SEE ALSO: This Forest Is Our Forest, Opinion, Luis Ubiñas, New York Times, May 31
Rio+20 must build on the success of its predecessor and serve as a new impetus to expand and strengthen community rights to the world’s forests.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/opinion/this-forest-is-our-forest.html

Recommendations Of Farmers And Traditional Fishers Organizations To Be Put Before The G-20, Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development, April 2012
The core goal of the current G20 is to increase food production and productivity in a sustainable basis to promote food security and foster economic growth. In accordance with the priorities outlined for the G-20 Agenda in Mexico, the organizations consulted respectfully ask the Governments of the G20 to bear in mind the following recommendations.
http://brussels.cta.int/media/K2/item_attachments/Main_recommendations.pdf

Media Articles:

4 Ways To Save Rio+20 Summit On Sustainable Development, Opinion, Gro Harlem Brundtland and Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Christian Science Monitor, May 31
It is all our responsibility – as businesses, members of civic society, and as individuals – to help grow our economies in a way that benefits all and safeguards our planet for future generations. But only governments together can create the conditions in which these other efforts can succeed. It is why Rio+20 is a time for courage and vision.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0531/4-ways-to-save-Rio-20-summit-on-sustainable-development

Let the Oceans Help Solve Hunger Crisis, Opinion, Andrew Sharpless and Ted Danson, Huffington Post, May 29
With a growing population and an onslaught of new planetary pressures expected to limit terrestrial food production, the conversation about how we're going to feed a hungry planet should include the oceans. We need to produce 70 percent more food to meet the coming hunger needs. The oceans will provide us an opportunity to meet that demand in a way that's eternally renewable, but only if we start taking the appropriate steps right now.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-sharpless/let-the-oceans-help-solve_b_1553985.html

Brazil: President Vetoes Major Parts of Bill to Open Up Forests, New York Times, May 25
President Dilma Rousseff vetoed portions of Brazil’s new Forest Code, a bill drafted to open big areas of protected forests to large-scale agriculture. The decision by Ms. Rousseff, which removes 12 articles from the bill, alters legislation sought by powerful agricultural groups.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/26/world/americas/brazil-president-vetoes-parts-of-bill-to-open-forests.html

Rio+20 Should Prioritize Sustainable Agriculture, Says Caroline Spelman, Guardian, May 24
Sustainable agriculture should be the UK's key objective for Rio+20, according to the UK secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, Caroline Spelman. Spelman gave her support to the creation of a set of sustainable development goals, which have been suggested both as an aim for Rio+20 and to inform the debate on objectives for development post-2015.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/may/24/rio-20-sustainable-agriculture-caroline-spelman

African Leaders Discuss Roadmap for Sustainable Development, VOA News, May 24
African leaders are meeting in Botswana's capital to produce a declaration on sustainable development in Africa. Botswana President Seretse Khama Ian Khama says that Africa’s natural resources are being depleted at an ever-increasing rate.
http://www.voanews.com/content/african-leaders-discuss-roadmap-to-sustainable-development/940457.html


WOMEN & GIRLS

Reports:

Release Of The 2012 Communiqué Of The G(Irls)20 Summit, Girls20Summit, May 2012
We assert that strategically engaging women in agriculture is an economic imperative. Food security is a high-stakes issue globally. While women comprise nearly half of the agricultural labor force, their potential remains unleveraged. It has been shown that secure land rights can increase agricultural production by 60 percent and income by 150 percent.
http://www.girls20summit.com/wp-content/uploads/2012-MEXICO-COMMUNIQUE_FINAL.pdf

Media Articles:

Empowering Women in East Asia Requires Cultural Changes, not just Economic Development, Exchange Magazine, June 1
Improving the situation for women throughout the region involves building on past successes. But these efforts cannot come at the exclusion of men. Numerous studies have shown that empowering women can have a multiplier effect on communities – improving health, raising literacy rates and reducing extreme poverty to a greater extent that conventional development initiatives.
http://www.exchangemagazine.com/morningpost/2012/week22/Friday/12060112.htm

Girls Gear Up for G(irls)20 Shadow Summit , The Globe and Mail, May 27
The summit gathers young female delegates from around the world to focus on how empowering girls and women can lead to significant public good. But the private sector is paying attention, too. Since the first G(irls)20 summit was held in Toronto, the list of big-name business sponsors has doubled: from seven in 2010 to 14 this year. Businesses have good reason to pay attention.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/girls-gear-up-for-girls20-shadow-summit/article2444772/

G(irls)20 Summit: Closing the Gender Gap in Agriculture, Opinion, Eve Crowley, Huffington Post, May 23
According to the UN FAO’s most recent State of Food and Agriculture report, just giving women the same access as men to seeds, fertilizer and tools could increase production on women's farms in developing countries by 20 to 30 percent. That's enough to lift up to 150 million of the world's hungry people -- more than the entire population of France and the United Kingdom combined -- out of hunger.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eve-crowley/gender-equality-and-agriculture_b_1540751.html

G(irls) 20 Summit: Catching Up With Women Farmers, Opinion, Dr. Rekha Mehra, Huffington Post, May 20
There is growing support for women farmers like those I met in Tanzania. It comes from the highest levels in global agreements like the G8 L'Aquila Food Security Initiative -- which committed $20 billion over three years for sustainable agriculture development -- and policies such as the USAID’s Feed the Future initiative. Developing country governments are also on board. And on-the-ground organizations are responding with innovative ways to reach out to women.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-rekha-mehra/girls-20-summit-women-farmers_b_1525514.html

The Power to Create Change: The G(irls)20 Summit in Mexico, Opinion, Elisabeth Jessop, Huffington Post, May 27
On May 28, the much-anticipated G(irls)20 Summit will commence at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). Along with the 21 delegates of the G(irls)20 Summit, there will be many important officials, community leaders, and organizations in attendance.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elisabeth-jessop/the-power-to-create-chang_b_1549381.html

SEE ALSO: Empowering Girls and Women Is Key to Economic Growth, Opinion, Claire Charness, May 2
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/claire-charness/girls20-summitempowering-_b_1472374.html
SEE ALSO: Russian Perspective on the Gender Issues, Opinion, Kseniya Sukhotina, June 1
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kseniya-sukhotina/girls20-summit_b_1562725.html
SEE ALSO: The Next Steps Forward, Opinion, Megumi Yamamoto, May 31
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/megumi-yamamoto/the-girls20-summit-the-ne_b_1559451.html
SEE ALSO: The Voice From Girls and Women, Opinion, Kefei Wu, May 21
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kefei-wu/girls20-summit-the-voice-_b_1527655.html
SEE ALSO: A Take on Indonesian Girls and Women, Opinion, Disty Winata, May 18
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/disty-winata/girls20-summit-2012_b_1527118.html

Why Female Farmers Need Support, Letter to the Editor, Karen Sherman, Washington Post, May 27
Investments in women’s knowledge and access to resources lead to increased food production and income opportunities for women. If female farmers could access the same resources as men, women’s food production would grow nearly 30 percent in developing countries.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-female-farmers-need-support/2012/05/27/gJQA030zuU_story.html


MARKET ACCESS AND TRADE ISSUES

Reports:

Private Sector Perspectives For Strengthening Agribusiness Value Chains In Africa, Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, May 2012
The findings suggest that African governments have significant opportunities to take actions that would directly stimulate private investments in agriculture. The private investors interviewed believed that, with greater government support in creating an enabling environment and less direct government intervention in value chains, critical barriers to their businesses would be reduced or eliminated.
http://www.partnership-africa.org/sites/default/files/Agribusiness%20Perspectives%20-%20Summary%20of%20Findings%20-%20May%202012.pdf

SEE ALSO: FULL REPORT, May 2012
http://www.partnership-africa.org/sites/default/files/Agribusiness%20Perspectives%20-%20Case%20Studies%20and%20Annexes%20-%20May%202012.pdf

Africa Capacity Indicators Report 2012: Capacity Development for Agricultural Transformation and Food Security, The African Capacity Building Foundation, May 30
A core message is that improving the productivity and the economic returns of agriculture has immediate effects on poverty and hunger in at least three important ways: a) it increases the productivity and incomes of the majority of Africa’s poor, who work primarily in agriculture; b) it reduces food prices, which affect real incomes and poverty in urban areas; and, c) it generates important spillovers to the rest of the economy.
http://elibrary.acbfpact.org/

Report On G-20 Trade Measures, OECD, May 31
Under the WTO's Agreement on Agriculture, the commitments made by Members on government measures affecting agriculture are grouped into three categories: market access; domestic support; and export competition.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/0/5/50492978.pdf

SEE ALSO: G20 Countries Should Rely On Open Markets To Reboot Global Growth, OECD, May 31
The organizations say that the accumulation of new restrictions, combined with governments’ failure to remove existing ones, are clearly adding to downside risks facing the global economy.
http://www.oecd.org/document/55/0,3746,en_21571361_44315115_50494711_1_1_1_1,00.html

2011 Annual Report, African Development Bank, May 2012
Africa’s economic performance over the past year shows GDP growth falling from 5.0 percent in 2010 to 3.4 percent in 2011. However, this was still a significant achievement compared to the GDP growth in OECD and other developed countries. In 2011 the Bank committed UA 5.72 billion toward its operations in all sectors. The largest share of Bank Group interventions was targeted at building infrastructure, which comprises transportation, water supply and sanitation, energy, and information and communication technology.
http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/AfDB%202012%20EN_WEB.pdf

Joint letter of President Van Rompuy and President Barroso to the EU Heads of State or Government on the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, European Union, May 2012
We will welcome the progress made on implementing the G20 Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture agreed last year and the further steps taken on increasing sustainable agriculture productivity and investment. Ensuring food security around the world is an important issue for the EU. The G20 work on development should remain a fundamental part of the G20 agenda so that advanced and emerging economies continue working together in taking responsibility to help the poor and most vulnerable.
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/130458.pdf

Media Articles:

How The Internet Can Improve Supply Chain Efficiency For Farmers In India, Guardian, May 30
ITC's e-Choupal program has set up Internet access kiosks in rural India to enable farmers to retrieve marketing and agricultural information. This in turn helps them make more informed decisions and potentially increase their income by better aligning farm output to market demands. The portal provides farmers with information on farming best practices, market prices, weather forecasts, news and a Q&A section which enables interaction with ITC's agricultural experts.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/itc-efficient-supply-chain-farmers-india?

IMF Says Last Decade Best Ever for Sub-Saharan Africa, VOA News, May 29
The IMF says that economically speaking, the past 10 to 15 years have been the best ever for sub-Saharan Africa. Roger Nord, deputy director of the Africa department of the IMF, says when the world was hit by the global financial crisis in 2008, Africa was resilient. For the poor to benefit, Nord says policies have to focus on the sector where the largest proportion of the poor work in sub-Saharan Africa: agriculture.
http://www.voanews.com/content/imf-says-last-decade-best-ever-for-sub-saharan-africa/1120819.html

Slowing Economy Hits India’s Poorest, Financial Times, May 28
There is a broad consensus that the current slowdown in growth threatens to spread poverty faster in India than wealth trickled down during the boom years. New Delhi estimates that an urban dweller needs only Rs28 a day – 50 US cents – to survive. But the reality on the ground seems to suggest otherwise.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/8d3a4dbc-a889-11e1-a747-00144feabdc0.html

India's Agriculture Boom Fuels 'Rural Urbanization', VOA News, May 28
Inflated food prices have put more money in the pockets of farm workers. Generous government subsidies and lenient credit policies have helped fuel investment in tractors and other heavy equipment. It also has created a consumer market that makes many of India's hundreds of thousands of remote villages look a little more like cities.
http://www.voanews.com/content/india_agriculture_boom_fuels_rural_urbanization/1120525.html

Investors Attracted To Savvy Kenya, Financial Times, May 27
The Nairobi Securities Exchange is “Making investing cool!!” There are no such excitements on the London Stock Exchange or Deutsche Börse, and the challenge neatly illustrates one of Kenya’s chief strengths: the East African hub is often ahead of the game. M-Pesa, a mobile phone-based money transfer service from Safaricom, Vodafone’s Kenyan subsidiary, is another example of Kenyan innovation.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a3b0f024-9f73-11e1-a255-00144feabdc0.html

EU Steps Up Challenge to Argentina's Policies, Wall Street Journal, May 25
The EU filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization challenging Argentina's import regulations. The 27 nations of the EU are Argentina's second-largest export market after Brazil. Argentine soybeans and other agricultural products make up the main component of this trade.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304840904577424