*PRGA Newsletter issue No. 30 February 2008
Agricultural Systems: Agroecology and Rural Innovation for Development
With the inclusion of research theory and examples using the principles of cropping system design, students will gain a unique understanding of the technical, biological, ecological, economic and sociological aspects of farming systems science for rural livelihoods. Editors Snapp and Pound provide a much-needed synthetic overview of the emerging area of agroecology applications to transforming farming systems and supporting rural innovation.
Cost benefit analysis of PPB - International Development Research Centre (December 2007)
The project has covered the period 31 October 2004 - 31 December 2007 and was a collaboration between the National Center for Agricultural Research and Transfer of Technology (NCARTT), which later became NCARE (National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension) in Jordan, the General Commission for Scientific and Agricultural Research (GCSAR) in Syria and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) also located in Syria.
"Farmers Conference"- Aleppo (Syria) from May 4 to May 8, 2008
The We plan to have delegations of farmers from Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Iran and Eritrea.
The objective of the conference is to encourage farmers to freely share their knowledge with farmers from other countries and with scientists alike. We are interested to hear farmers' stories about various aspects of agriculture including but not limited to: past and present practices, changes in market opportunities, change of varieties, change in living standards over time, loss of varieties or any other similar issues and, also, changes related to their participation in the PPB programme.
Knowledge will be shared by telling stories. The best and most significant stories (selected by a panel of farmers and scientists) as related to knowledge sharing will be recorded on video and published using documentation methods that best reflect the participatory nature of the conference and farmers' knowledge.
We welcome the participation of interested scientists.
While the organizers are covering the participation of the farmers, the scientists who will intend to participate will cover the cost of their travel and accommodation and will be asked to pay a registration fee of US$150 to cover the cost for local transportation.
If you intend to participate please contact at your earliest convenience This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Gender Equality, the New Aid Environment and Civil Society Organisations: A Research Project of the UK Gender and Development Network
This report provides a response to a growing concern among Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) about the fast changing aid structures, such as direct budget support, pooled funding schemes for supporting civil society and other forms of donor alignment.
New Education Initiative to Rescue Girls in Distress
A special Education Initiative for Girls is being conceived in Arusha and is focused at transforming the current learning situation among female pupils and students through addressing gender inequality and dealing with HIV-Aids threats against the vulnerable gender.
GM production 'growing in developing countries'
Ninety per cent of farmers growing genetically modified (GM) crops are from developing countries, according to a report.
The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), a non-profit organisation promoting agricultural biotechnology for the poor, say that GM crops were grown by 11 million small and resource-poor farmers in 2007 — 90 per cent of the total number of GM-growing farmers worldwide.
The South Teaches the North How to Break Poverty Cycle
Development solutions usually travel North to South or South-South. But now one of the most successful ones has gone in a totally new direction from Mexico to the U.S.
In the Asia and Pacific region, poverty has a woman's face.
Two thirds of the world's poor live in the region — most are women. In many societies, women are denied access to basic services and assets such as land, and excluded from decision-making.
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