IFPRI Launches Unique New Tool That Provides Early Warning of Extreme Price Variability
IFPRI launched the Excessive Food Price Variability Early Warning System today. This new tool measures excessive food price variability and is the only mechanism currently available to identify time spans of increased price variability. It is updated daily and forewarns policymakers and humanitarian agencies of periods of time with excessive food price variability. For more infomration, visit http://www.foodsecurityportal.org/policy-analysis-tools/excessive-food-price-variability-early-warning-system
IFPRI is currently conducting a project entitled "How to achieve food security in a world of growing scarcity: role of technology development strategies”.
As part of this project, we have put together a survey to collect expert information about the potential of agricultural technologies (in the broader sense of the word, including agricultural practices) in the different regions of the world. More specifically, we would like to assess the impact of a range of technologies on crop production and yields; production costs; soil and water quality; on-farm incomes; and the use of water, energy, and other resources.
Among the respondents who complete the survey before August 15 (the initial date of July 31 has been postponed), two lucky winners will also receive an iPad Please do not forget to enter your contact information on the first page of the survey to participate in the draw for the iPads 2’s. Only completed questionnaires will be selected for the draw.
This survey focuses on 3 crops: wheat, maize and rice, and on the following technologies:
- Zero tillage
- Integrated soil fertility management (combinations of chemical fertilizers + residues + manure/compost)
- Irrigation technologies (furrow; drip and sprinkler)
- Water harvesting (channeling water from a macrocatchment, microcatchment systems, earth dams, chaukas and nadis structures, ridges, graded contours etc.)
- Genetically modified crops (heat/drought tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency)
- Conventional breeding (heat/drought tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency)
- Precision agriculture (GPS-assisted delivery of agricultural inputs)
- Laser land leveling (leveling a field within certain degrees of desired slope using a guided laser beam to improve water use efficiency)
- Organic agriculture (use of manufactured fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and GMOs excluded / strictly limited)
We would be extremely grateful if you could fill out this survey and/or share the survey link with knowledgeable colleagues.
Each respondent will also receive a synthesis of the results, and your contribution will be acknowledged in any publication that may result from the use of these data, if you so wish.
The survey can be accessed at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VF98K3P
For questions about this survey, please contact Nicola Cenacchi at n.cenacchi@cgiar.org
Thank you very much for participating in this important activity!
Best regards,
Mark Rosegrant, Director, Environment and Production Technology Division, IFPRI
The Economic Commission for Africa has published its Economic Report on Africa 2011. See below a brief overview and link to the report:
Governing development in Africa - The role of the state in economic transformation
Through the prism of changing development strategies, the Report reviews Africa’s economic growth and social development experience since the 1960s to establish the strengths and weaknesses of these strategies. It also examines the experiences of other developing regions where countries have achieved significant economic transformation and social development, and pays particular attention to the role of the state.
Content of the Report:
• Chap 1. Developments in the World Economy and Implications for Africa
• Chap 2. Economic and Social Conditions in Africa in 2010 and Prospects for 2011
• Chap 3. Selected Current and Emerging Development Issues in Africa in 2010
• Chap 4. The Role of the State in Economic Transformation In Africa
• Chap 5. Africa's Need for a Developmental State: Opportunities and Challenges
• Chap 6. Governing Development in Africa: Needs and Responses.
Link to the report: http://www.uneca.org/era2011
Please follow the link at the bottom of this post for a visual demonstration of the size of food aid all over the world. From the site-owners:
The recent financial and economic crises, as well as volatile food prices, have pushed millions of people into poverty and hunger. Estimates of the number of people suffering from hunger range from about 850 million to 1 billion worldwide. These alarming numbers should call attention not only to the importance of continued and adequate food aid for vulnerable populations, but also to the urgency of food security programs that reduce poverty and hunger in vulnerable countries. This site features the work of InterAction members and their partners to ensure all people have access to enough, safe and nutritious food.
Call for papers – Increasing Agricultural Productivity & Enhancing Food Security in Africa
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in conjunction with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) is organizing a conference on the theme "Increasing Agricultural Productivity & Enhancing Food Security in Africa: New Challenges and Opportunities."
The conference will be held on 1 - 3 November 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Conference sub-themes include:
• Science, technology, and innovation in agriculture
• Rural service provision and access to factors and inputs for production
• Food reserves, markets, trade, and regional integration
• Investments, institutions, and policies for supporting agriculture
• Agriculture, nutrition, and health linkages
• Agriculture and climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Capacity development for agriculture through education and training
• Role of agriculture and the rural nonfarm sector in economic growth and national poverty reduction
• Regional value-chains development as a pathway for increased agricultural productivity
The organizers kindly request that those who intend to present a paper on one of the sub-themes listed submit an abstract (400-word maximum) to the contact below by the submission deadline.
Deadlines:
• Abstract: 30 JUNE 2011
• Full Paper: 31 AUGUST 2011
• Registration: 15 SEPTEMBER 2011
For more information please contact Dr. Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere.
k.asenso-okyere@cgiar.org
P. O. Box: 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
+251-11-6-172325
+251-11-6-172500
The African Journal of Agricultural Research (AJAR) is currently accepting manuscripts for publication. AJAR publishes high-quality solicited and unsolicited articles, in English, in all areas of agriculture including arid soil research and rehabilitation, agricultural genomics, stored products research, tree fruit production, pesticide science, post harvest biology and technology, seed science research, irrigation, agricultural engineering, agricultural extension, agricultural development, agronomy, environmental sciences, medicinal plants, bio-processing, water resources management, marine sciences, agronomy, animal science, physiology and morphology, aquaculture, crop science, dairy science, entomology, fish and fisheries, forestry, freshwater science, horticulture, poultry science, lives stock, soil science, systematic biology, veterinary, virology, viticulture, weed biology, agricultural economics and agribusiness. All articles published in AJAR will be peer-reviewed.
AJAR's objective is to inform authors of the decision on their manuscript within three weeks of submission. Following acceptance, a paper will normally be published in the next available issue.
One key request of researchers across the world is open access to research publications. The African Journal of Agricultural Research is fully committed to providing free access to all articles as soon as they are published.
Instructions for authors and other details are available on AJAR's website at www.academicjournals.org/ajar.
Below is the abstract and link for a discussion paper on CAADP spillovers, written by our IFPRI colleagues John Ulimwengu and Prabuddha Sanyal:
The NEPAD Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) has been endorsed by African Heads of State and Governments as a vision for the restoration of agricultural growth, food security, and rural development in Africa. The program aims at stimulating agriculture-led development to alleviate poverty and hunger, and achieve sustainable food security. The creation of a union is often rationalized on grounds of moving the equilibrium toward the first best solution whenever independent policies generate spillovers. This arises as a common agenda can significantly reduce the scope of free-riding behavior among member countries. In addition, cross-border externalities arising out of higher levels of market integration entails countries to agree on policy coordination. Using a Spatial Durbin Model for panel data, the present study explores the extent and magnitude of agricultural production spillover that might validate the adoption of CAADP agenda among African countries, especially among Sub-Saharan African countries. Overall, our results suggest the presence of positive and significant agricultural production spillover. No evidence of beggar-thy-neighbor or negative spillover policies was found; on average, each country received 2.5 percent growth as a result of spillover. Finally, our results suggest that convergence dynamics is much stronger when spillover is accounted for which provides a rationale for a common agenda such as CAADP.
International Training Program on "Fertilizer Policy and Marketing Strategies in Africa"
Below is a workshop announcement from the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC). Please contact them directly with questions/comments, as this post is only a medium for announcing the workshop, and IFPRI is not affiliated with the event.
The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) is pleased to announce that an international workshop entitled “Fertilizer Policy and Marketing Strategies in Africa” will convene in Nairobi, Kenya, July 4-8, 2011.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
The workshop is designed for policymakers, private sector entrepreneurs, producer organizations, agro-input dealers, financial institutions and development partners supporting agricultural and fertilizer market development in Africa.
For further information, please click here and read the detailed program description.
If you are interested in attending, you are cordially invited to register on-line by clicking on the link above or by filling out the attached registration form and returning via e-mail to training@ifdc.org. Please feel free to share the program information with your colleagues on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you.
Last month, the Google Africa team announced plans to expand the number of African languages supported by Google search and applications. The project is called Google in Your Language and it invites interested universities and community volunteers to contribute to Google's translation tools for African languages. Participants will attend engaging translation workshops where they will expand Google's translation capabilities under the guidance of language moderators. If the program is successful, Google search may soon be available to many new African users in a variety of different languages.
A new guide to Population Action International’s mapping website shows how climate change and population dynamics will change the world over time. High rates of population growth and climate change consequences overlap in many countries. Interactive maps illustrate how climate change impacts, demographic trends, and the need for contraception are likely to affect countries’ abilities to adapt to climate change. The maps identify 33 population and climate change hotspots – countries that are experiencing rapid population growth, low resilience to climate change, and high projected declines in agricultural production. Many hotspots are currently experiencing water stress or scarcity, a condition that will worsen with continued rapid population growth. And in many countries, a high proportion of women lack access to reproductive health services and contraceptives. Investments in family planning programs in these hotspots could improve health and well-being, slow population growth, and reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts.
The newly-updated interactive mapping website can be viewed here and the brief guide to the population and climate change hotspots can be downloaded here.