1. Participatory Plant Breeding and the PRGA Program

PPB has been a central focus of the PRGA Program since it was launched in 1997. In the Program's third phase, PPB is at the top of an agenda focused on achieving four key outcomes:
1. Widespread application of PPB in national programs and in the CGIAR Centers.
2. An increased number of varieties of crops developed through PPB and grown by poor women and men farmers.
3. An increased diversity of livelihood options among poor farmers, especially women, through greater use of agro-biodiversity.
4. Concrete advances in country-level implementation of farmers' rights to ensure that farmer breeders are
able to benefit from their investments of time and resources in varietal development.

Read more:
http://www.prgaprogram.org/
To download PPB and PRGA Program:
http://www.prgaprogram.org/descargas/participatory_plant_breeding/reports/PPB
%20brief(1).pdf

2. Factors shaping on-farm genetic resources of sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] in the centre ofdiversity, Ethiopia

This new study based on Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) Techniques, delves into on-farm genetic resources of Sorghum in Ethiopia. The farmers’ underlying principles for conserving genetic diversity is described along with the development of three models: Bioecogeographic genetic diversity model, Farmer induced genetic diversity model and Farmer-cum-bioecogeographic genetic diversity model. Varietal mixture is one of the strategies used by the farmers in this region for improved on-farm genetic diversity management.

Read more:
http://www.prgaprogram.org/Newsletter/Newsletter%202009/July/images/Mekbib
%20et%20al%20%20printed%20copy%20.pdf

3. FANRPAN launches project to strengthen the capacity of women farmers' influence in agricultural policy and development programmes in Southern Africa

The Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) announced today a three-year pilot project to help rural women farmers influence agricultural policy development in Southern Africa. Funding for the programme is provided by a $900,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The project, Women Accessing Realigned Markets (WARM), seeks to strengthen women farmers' ability to advocate for appropriate agricultural policies and programmes. The goal is for women farmers to have access to the tools that help them farm more successfully, such as access to credit and better seeds, by ensuring that local and national policies and services address their needs.

4. African Women in Agricultural R & D (AWARD)

African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) announced today its selection of 61 women scientists who will receive the innovative AWARD Fellowship – a fellowship designed to boost the female talent pool for African agriculture. Chosen from nearly 500 applicants from 10 sub-Saharan African countries, these extraordinary women bring with them scientific and development expertise that has great potential to tackle the food crisis and climate change while improving the daily lives of small-scale farmers.

5. 18th Annual Conference 2009 Women, Gender and Political Spaces: Historical Perspectives

September 11–13, United Kingdom – St. Hilda’s College, Oxford.

Within recent feminist scholarship considerable attention has been paid to the role of gender in constructing social space. This conference will engage with this ‘spatial turn’ by considering the possibilities and constraints upon female agency in a broad range of contexts.

6. Gender and the MDGs: A Gender Lens is Vital for Pro-poor Results

Greater gender equality can help to reduce the root causes of poverty and vulnerability and contribute to sustainable pro-poor growth. However, The Millennium Development Goals (MDG), fail to integrate gender dimensions into all the goals. The goal of gender equality is only explicitly addressed in MDGs 3 and 5, which point to the need for equality in education, employment and political participation; and for better sexual and reproductive health, including maternal mortality. This Briefing paper discusses how gender relations underpin MDGs on poverty and sustainable development; service access; care and care-giving; and voice and agency.

Read more:
http://www.siyanda.org/static/odi_mdgs.htm?em=0907&tag=QG