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Online Learning Resources for Agriculture
02 10 2008 The CGIAR have developed a new web repository of learning resources for Agriculture  
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The role of environment in increasing growth and reducing poverty in Uganda. Technical report: Final draft.
26 09 2008 Miscellaneous Yaron, G.; Moyini, Y.; Wasike, D.; Kabi, M.; Barungi, M. 2004 GY Associates, UK, 120 pp. This report has been prepared for the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) sub-committee and the Environment and Natural Resource (ENR) Sector Working Group. It explores the linkage between the environment and natural resources, and poverty-reducing growth. The primary purpose of this document is to support the policy conclusions and recommendations given in the summary report.  
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The role of environment in increasing growth and reducing poverty in Uganda. Summary Report: Final
26 09 2008 Miscellaneous Yaron, G.; Moyini, Y.; Wasike, D.; Kabi, M.; Barungi, M. 2004 GY Associates, Harpenden, UK, 17 pp. The Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) revision provides an opportunity to consider the linkage of environmentand natural resources (ENR) and poverty-reducing growth. This link with poverty reductionrests on the vital role of ENR in GDP, the ability of GDP growth to reach the poor, and the need for sustainable growth. DFID funded a short study to produce summary and technical papers for the PEAP sub-committee and the ENR sector working group. The study aimed to contribute to the PEAP revision process by highlighting how a fullerconsideration of how improved ENR management can maintain, enhance and minimise risksassociated with the delivery of core PEAP objectives, especially economic growth.Conversely it shows how failure to consider these issues significantly diminishes the likelihood of achieving PEAP targets in the medium to long term. The primary purpose of this document is to provide concise policy conclusions andrecommendations with a summary of supporting evidence which is discussed in depth inthe Technical Report. References to reports and research mentioned in this summary canalso be found in the Technical Report. In this document priority areas forfuture research beyond the current PEAP revision timeframe are identified. The structure of this report is as follows. It begins by setting out the evidence for theeconomic importance of the ENR sector and continues with a summary of key policyrecommendations. The subsequent sections explain the context to these recommendationsand unpack them in terms of the four pillars of the PEAP. Many of the proposed actions will have benefits across pillars and achieving them will require a coordinated response rather than a narrow focus on a sole PEAP pillar.  
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Innovative techniques in rural road access open up areas for more food production
26 09 2008 DFIDs research programme SEACAP in South East Asia produces solutions for regional planning and local participation  
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A Review of Agriculture and Health Policies in Uganda with Implications for the Dissemination of Biofortified Crops.
26 09 2008 Miscellaneous M. J. Potts and S. Nagujja 2007 HarvestPlus Working Paper 1, 92 pp. This paper reviews Government policies and strategies in Uganda from the aspect of their abilityto address malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency, and considers means by whichbiofortification of staple food crops can support this policy. The rationale for focusingon policies and strategies in these sectors is based on the UNICEF conceptualization ofthe causation of nutritional outcomes. The conceptual framework presents a generalized understanding of how malnutrition isthe outcome of specific development problems related directly to the level of dietaryintake and the health status of a given individual. It theorizes that inadequate dietaryintake (in energy, protein, vitamins and minerals) and disease are the immediate causesof malnutrition. To ensure adequate dietary intake and absence of disease, threeunderlying conditions need to be fulfilled simultaneously, namely: (i) household foodsecurity; (ii) adequate care of children and women; and (iii) access to health services anda healthy environment.
In the chapters that follow, the major aspects of Ugandan poverty, health, agriculture,and nutrition are summarized in detail; then progress towards attending the MilleniumDevelopment Goals is reviewed. The review of the existing policy context forms thefoundation for developing a set of recommendations for how to successfully integratethe introduction of biofortified crops into the current policy environment of Uganda tomaximize its contribution to reducing micronutrient malnutrition.  
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DFID agrees further support to CGIAR Centres
26 09 2008 DFID has now determined its allocations for the CGIAR Centres and Challenge Programmes for this financial year  
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Southern Africa: A selection of news and information from DFIDs Central Research Department
26 09 2008 Miscellaneous CIMRC 2008 A selection of news, projects, and other stories about DFID-funded research in Southern Africa from the R4D portal www.research4development.info  
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What does Gender Mainstreaming really mean?
26 09 2008 The DFID-funded Siyanda website highlights resources on gender mainstreaming in research  
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Measuring the carbon footprint of South African fruit and wine
26 09 2008 Research into the carbon footprint of South African fruit and wine exports could challenge the idea that exported products from the developing world have a bigger environmental cost  
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Agriculture: the real nexus for enhancing bioavailable micronutrients in food crops.
26 09 2008 Miscellaneous R. M. Welch and R. D. Graham 2005 Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology (2005) 18 (4) 299-307 [doi:10.1016/j.jtemb.2005.03.001] Human existence requires that agriculture provide at least 50 nutrients (e.g., vitamins, minerals, trace elements, amino acids, essential fatty acids) in amounts needed to meet metabolic demands during all seasons. If national food systems do not meet these demands, mortality and morbidity rates increase, worker productivity declines, livelihoods are diminished and societies suffer. Today, many food systems within the developing world cannot meet the nutritional needs of the societies they support mostly due to farming systems that cannot produce enough micronutrients to meet human needs throughout the year. Nutrition transitions are also occurring in many rapidly developing countries that are causing chronic disease (e.g., cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and osteoporosis) rates to increase substantially. These global developments point to the need to explicitly link agricultural technologies to human health. This paper reviews some ways in which agriculture can contribute significantly to reducing micronutrient malnutrition globally. It concludes that it is imperative that close linkages be forged between the agriculture, nutrition and health arenas in order to find sustainable solutions to micronutrient malnutrition with agriculture becoming the primary intervention tool to use in this fight.  
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Strategic opportunism in bridging research and policy in Latin America
26 09 2008 Research from the DFID Trade and Poverty in Latin America programme (COPLA), shows that the agricultural sector of the southern Peruvian Andes, where the poorest people in the country live, is vulnerable to the effects that the imports of goods from the US  
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New project will promote ecologically-based rodent management in Bangladesh
26 09 2008 A new project, funded as part of the Research into Use programme, will build on previous research to develop the use of ecologically-based rodent management techniques in Bangladesh  
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Key lessons for up-scaling and out-scaling research from the Research into Use programme
26 09 2008 The Research into Use programme has produced a series of short syntheses which bring together key lessons for up-scaling and out-scaling research based on 19 key reviews, summaries and reports detailing DFID natural resources research.  
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Sierra Leone takes a leaf out of Global Plant Clinic's book
26 09 2008 Poor farmers across Sierra Leone now have better and more regular access to reliable advice on plant health problems, after the DFID-funded Global Plant Clinic provided the Sierra Leone government with a way forward  
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DFID seeks research fellows to design and execute research programmes
26 09 2008 Notification of forthcoming appointment opportunities at the Department for International Development (DFID) for senior research fellows  
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Encouraging growth in Africas seed industry
26 09 2008 The DFID-supported programme providing business development services to small and medium-sized seed companies is helping to transform Africa's growing seed industry  
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DFID seeks new Head of Research
26 09 2008 The Department for International Development (DFID) is inviting applications for the post of Head of Research to implement its new Research Strategy  
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A commodity-based approach to livestock trade
26 09 2008 New standards proposed for livestock products from Africa could fundamentally change the way in which meat is imported into key markets and help poor livestock producers trade their way out of poverty  
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Latest edition of the New Agriculturist focuses on potato as alternative staple, and global use of water.
26 09 2008 The New Agriculturist edition 2008-05 reports on interesting initiatives to promote potato as an alternative staple in an economic climate where food prices continue to affect the poor, and highlights concerns over global use of water.  
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Small amounts of fertilizer boost crop yields in Africa
26 09 2008 A fertilizer microdosing technique developed by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is helping farmers increase crop productivity in sub-Saharan Africa  
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Sweet success of Bolivias bitter potato
26 09 2008 A regional initiative of the International Potato Center has been helping small farmers in Bolivia access high-value markets for their traditional freeze-dried potato products  
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3rd Call of the FP7 Theme - Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology
26 09 2008 The publication of the 3rd Call of the FP7 Theme - Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology is announced. The deadline is 15 January 2009.  
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Land Rights, Power and Trees in Rural Ethiopia.
26 09 2008 Miscellaneous S. Dercon and D. Ayalew 2007 CSAE WPS/2007-07, 33 pp. This paper provides evidence from one of the poorest countries of the world that theinstitutions of property rights, in particular related to land, are of crucial importancefor investment and growth. In Ethiopia, with all land state-owned, the threat of landredistribution never appears far off the agenda. A constitutional reform in 1996 haspromised long-term user rights, and land rental and leasing have been made legal, butland rights remain restricted and the perception of continuing tenure insecurityremains quite strong. Using a unique panel data set including data on land rightperceptions over time, this study investigates whether land rights affect householdinvestment decisions, focusing on land allocation to coffee trees and other perennialcrops. The period of investigation covers a period of change in land right perceptionsafter a constitutional change, a large scale but unexpected land redistribution episodein one region and a start to land registration in another region, offering exogenousvariation to study the impact of tenure insecurity. Exploiting heterogeneity in theimpact of the policy turmoil, including linked to the local political economy of landredistribution, the panel data estimates suggest a robust, causal negative impact oftransfer rights on long-term investment in Ethiopian agriculture, contributing to thelow returns from land and perpetuating low growth and poverty.  
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Sierra Leone takes a leaf out of Global Plant Clinic's book
29 08 2008 Poor farmers across Sierra Leone now have better and more regular access to reliable advice on plant health problems, after the DFID-funded Global Plant Clinic provided the Sierra Leone government with a way forward
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DFID seeks research fellows to design and execute research programmes
29 08 2008 Notification of forthcoming appointment opportunities at the Department for International Development (DFID) for senior research fellows
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