1. PRGA Program Annual Report and Annual Report Summary 2008

The PRGA Program remained in a state of transition throughout 2008. It was not until November, that we welcomed a new Program Coordinator (Patricia Biermayr-Jenzano) on board. Consequently, a number of activities planned for the year simply didn’t happen, as we were short on staff, and the Program structure remains in draft form for want of those who will guide it forward.

Read more:
http://www.prgaprogram.org/index.php/component/content/article/201-news/
298-prga-program-annual-report-and-annual-report-summary-2008
To download:
PRGA Program Annual Report 2008
PRGA Program Annual Report Summary 2008

2. Sharing knowledge on Agrodiversity for Conservation and Livelihood Improvement

Supporters of small-scale farming claim that it provides livelihoods, and it can also conserve agrodiversity. In an attempt to show this, an international network of scientists joined hands with farmer communities to document agrodiversity. By sharing this knowledge with other farming communities, they showed how it is possible to achieve the twin goals of biodiversity conservation and improving local livelihoods.

3. Call for Papers: Special Issue on Global Food Price Shocks and Poor People: Themes and Case Studies

Development in Practice publishes practice-based analysis and research concerning the social dimensions of development and humanitarianism, providing a worldwide forum for debate and the exchange of ideas among practitioners, academics, and policy shapers, including activists and NGOs. By challenging current assumptions, the journal seeks to stimulate new thinking and ways of working. Contributors represent a wide range of cultural and professional backgrounds and experience. Development in Practice is a peer-reviewed journal. All articles are independently refereed prior to acceptance.

4. New BRIDGE Cutting Edge Pack: 'Gender and Governance'

Governance processes – with their emphasis on principles of accountability, transparency, responsiveness and inclusiveness – should be a means to social transformation. But despite this potential, they are failing to deliver on gender equality, and women are having to struggle to get their voices heard and needs met. This Cutting Edge Pack maps out persistent obstacles to gender equality in governance and offers possible ways forward - including promoting gender balance in positions of authority, making rights central to governance institutions and processes at all levels, and building political will for change.

5. Livelihoods perspectives and rural development: A review of the core challenges to livelihoods approaches

This paper offers an historical review of key moments in debates about rural livelihoods, identifying the tensions, ambiguities and challenges of such approaches. A number of core challenges are identified, centered on the need to inject a more thorough-going political analysis into the centre of livelihoods perspectives. This will enhance the capacity of livelihoods perspectives to address key gaps in recent discussions, including questions of knowledge, politics, scale and dynamics.

6. Transforming the Rural Nonfarm Economy Opportunities and Threats in the Developing World

Rural residents across the developing world earn a large share of their income—35–50 percent—from nonfarm activities. Agricultural households count on nonfarm earnings to diversify risk, moderate seasonal income swings, and finance agricultural input purchases, whereas landless and near-landless households everywhere depend heavily on nonfarm income for their survival. Over time, the rural nonfarm economy has grown rapidly, contributing significantly to both employment and rural income growth.