Aid donors, development advocates, and finance experts increasingly look to the private sector to... more Aid donors, development advocates, and finance experts increasingly look to the private sector to fill the estimated $2.5 trillion annual Sustainable Development Goals financing gap, an amount likely to increase due to effects of COVID-19. Donors use a variety of partnerships with the private sector to realise development objectives. We use the term donor-private partnerships (DPPs) to describe the broad range of arrangements between donors and private-sector actors. Using ODA to leverage private finance, innovation testing, or service delivery, modalities include blended finance, de-risking instruments, publicprivate partnerships, and more. Does the reality match donors' enthusiastic rhetoric? There are success stories but civil society actors and others question whether private sector engagement in development reduces poverty and inequality, advances gender justice, and achieves environmental sustainability. There may be trade-offs between development and profit making. We present our research based on frameworks we developed to categorise and assess DPPs. We applied these to 20 partnerships involving nine donors and found that donors fail to sufficiently integrate development, human rights, and environmental standards. They inconsistently implement due diligence and risk management requirements, and impact assessments are inadequate. Our frameworks offer practitioners and academics valuable tools to examine how DPPs can advance sustainable development.
In addressing COVID-19, African governments should not forget the livelihoods as well as the food... more In addressing COVID-19, African governments should not forget the livelihoods as well as the food and nutrition security of their citizens. With over 70% of the workforce in the informal sector without any social protection and health insurance, the pandemic could have a devastating impact on income and livelihoods as well as food and nutrition security for workers up and down the food chain. There are ten steps African governments can take to ensure that their response to the disease takes food and nutrition security into account:1. Protect food supply chains and consider them essential services;2. Consider fiscal and monetary incentives;3. Prioritize healthy diets;4. Use food reserves wisely;5. Keep food markets open while ensuring safety;6. Use mobile cash transfers for social protection;7. Protect farmers and food workers;8. Prioritize gender equality;9. Instill a sense of solidarity; and10. Avoid export bans.
Although global food production has consistently kept pace with population growth, the gap betwee... more Although global food production has consistently kept pace with population growth, the gap between food production and demand in certain parts of the world is likely to remain. More than 800 million people in developing countries lack access to a minimally adequate diet. Continued productivity gains are essential on the supply side, because global population will increase by 73 million people a year over the next two decades. In this article we assess the current global food situation, look at the prospects through to the year 2020, and outline the policies needed to achieve food security for all. Emphasis is on the role that agricultural biotechnology might play in reaching this goal.
CGE modelling has dominated analysis of the impact of external liberalisation on poverty. This ar... more CGE modelling has dominated analysis of the impact of external liberalisation on poverty. This article provides a structuralist critique of standard neo-classical CGE models. It highlights five sets of gaps and partial achievements in the modelling of issues affecting the poverty impact of macroeconomic policies: duality and structural rigidities; efficiency gains and quota rents; the investment and savings specification; the nature of public expenditures; and the modelling of financial fragility, risk premia and issues of credibility. It outlines a model that makes it possible to analyse more plausible stories about the impact of both current and capital account liberalisation and questions the realism of existing approaches to ex-ante poverty impact assessment.
His current research focuses on policy processes relating to food and nutrition security, with a ... more His current research focuses on policy processes relating to food and nutrition security, with a specific emphasis on the role of legislation and legal systems, global humanitarian aid policy, conflict and food security, post-crisis food security, and the right to adequate food. Cohen received his Ph.D. in political science from the
International humanitarian relief and development operations provide opportunities to build peace... more International humanitarian relief and development operations provide opportunities to build peace and create sustainable food security, especially in situations where operations are carried out with explicit frameworks attending to human rights and sustainable livelihoods. Achieving lasting peace is a complex proposition because there is no single set of causes of conflict or a sure way to remove them. Nevertheless, there are food and agricultural policy actions that can foster peaceful outcomes that promote food security.
This research report was written to share research results, to contribute to public debate and to... more This research report was written to share research results, to contribute to public debate and to invite feedback on development and humanitarian policy and practice. It does not necessarily reflect the policy positions of the organizations jointly publishing it. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the individual organizations.
A rmed conflicts frequently lead to the destruction of food systems. Often, warring parties manip... more A rmed conflicts frequently lead to the destruction of food systems. Often, warring parties manipulate starvation as a deliberate tactic, using their control over access to food to attract and reward friends and humble and punish enemies. Such conflicts are “food wars,” not only because hunger is used as a weapon but also because food insecurity is both an effect and cause of conflict. In February 2004, United Nations agencies calculated that over 45 million people in developing countries experiencing or recovering from conflict were in need of food and other emergency humanitarian assistance (see table). More than 80 percent of those affected lived in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This research report was written to share research results, to contribute to public debate and to... more This research report was written to share research results, to contribute to public debate and to invite feedback on development and humanitarian policy and practice. It does not necessarily reflect the policy positions of the organizations jointly publishing it. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the individual organizations.
Connecting smallholder farmers to markets is a priority of US aid to Ghana. Development Initiativ... more Connecting smallholder farmers to markets is a priority of US aid to Ghana. Development Initiatives and Oxfam used the methodology explained in this paper to assess the traceability of US aid to Ghana during 2013-2015. Photo: A. Kauffield/USAID. FOLLOW THE MONEY Using International Aid Transparency Initiative data to trace development aid flows to their end use This note provides guidance on using International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) data to trace aid flows from donor treasuries to their final end use. Traceability in IATI works by following the money as it flows from organization to organization through the development implementation chain. Provided that all organizations publish their information, it is possible to assess how much of the total funding at the beginning of the implementation chain is spent on goods and services, and where the money is spent.
The international community has adopted and endorsed an ambitious global development agenda for t... more The international community has adopted and endorsed an ambitious global development agenda for the period 2015-2030 in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 2 seeks to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. This reflects a broad international consensus on the unacceptability of hunger articulated previously at the 1996 World Food Summit and reiterated at the 2008 High-Level Conference on World Food Security. In 2009, at their L'Aquila Summit, the G8 heads of state and government pledged a significant expansion of aid to agriculture, in order to address the global food-price spike of the preceding year. However, serious global policy incoherence severely undermines this apparent political will to end hunger and boost developing-country agriculture. In particular, although official development assistance to agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (hunger's center of gravity) doubled between 2003 and 2012, the share of total global aid going to agriculture, at just 5% in 2014, is well below the 20% share of the mid-1980s. In addition, donor-country agricultural trade and security policies often undercut support for agricultural development in the Global South. Furthermore, there is incoherence within donor policies on aid to agriculture, which tend to focus more on promoting commercialization and exports than on boosting smallholder productivity and the economic empowerment of women farmers. For their part, developing-country governments have not fulfilled pledges to increase their own agricultural development budgets (as seen in the African Union Declarations of Maputo and Malabo), and the bulk of those budgets go to recurrent expenditure rather than development investments. In Sub-Saharan Africa, military expenditures account for a greater share of public funds. This paper suggests that while policy makers in both the Global South and North treat food security and agricultural development as priorities, these remain in a relatively low position on policy agendas because other concerns respond to much stronger constituencies.
climate change and sustainable development. 5 The high-level meetings on these topics in New York... more climate change and sustainable development. 5 The high-level meetings on these topics in New York and Paris later this year need to address the eff ects of a changing climate on nutrition and the implications for development.
Both national and international policy responses to the rapid food price increases in 2007 and th... more Both national and international policy responses to the rapid food price increases in 2007 and the first half of 2008 did little to address the very serious impacts on low-income urban dwellers. The speeches, declarations, plans and pledges duly noted the vulnerability of poor urban dwellers to food price rises, as they rely primarily on market purchases for their food (much more so than rural dwellers) and food purchases account for the bulk of their expenditure. Yet most policy prescriptions focused on addressing constraints to rural-based food production. This paper discusses why policy makers should pay greater attention to urban dwellers and describes the multiple pathways through which food price increases have impacts on urban people. It also highlights the evidence on how these impacts have played out during this crisis and discusses how current policy responses could be adjusted and improved to better protect the urban poor in the short and longer term.
ABSTRACT Hunger has been on the rise since the mid-1990s, due to a variety of factors, including ... more ABSTRACT Hunger has been on the rise since the mid-1990s, due to a variety of factors, including a lack of policy attention and a sense of complacency generated by long-term real declines in food prices. Food prices rose sharply after 2006, and there is considerable controversy over the reasons why. Analysts have pointed to a number of factors as possible causes, including rising fuel prices, diversion of food crops into biofuels, speculation, increased meat consumption in Asia, climate change, and environmental degradation, among others. There is disagreement about both the role played by some of these factors in driving up prices, and also the weight to assign to each specific factor. Discussion of the consequences of higher food prices has been based primarily on modelling; this special issue of Development in Practice presents some new modelling results, as well as results from field research on the actual consequences for poor farmers and consumers in developing, transition, and developed countries. The price increases led to sometimes violent protests in scores of countries in 2007–08, thereby putting hunger back on the front policy burner. Food prices spiked in mid-2008 and remained well above the levels of the early 2000s, globally, throughout 2009–10. By December 2010, prices had risen again, surpassing the peaks of 2008. There is consensus concerning policy prescriptions on what to do about higher food prices; this is embodied, for example, in the UN's Comprehensive Framework for Action of 2008. However, the authors of a number of the articles in this special issue find limitations to that consensus and offer additional policy prescriptions. Chocs mondiaux des prix des produits alimentaires et personnes pauvres: un aperçu La faim augmente depuis le milieu des années 1990, à cause d'une variété de facteurs, dont l'indifférence des décideurs et une certaine complaisance générée par de véritables baisses sur le long terme des prix des produits alimentaires. Les prix des produits alimentaires ont fortement augmenté après 2006, et les raisons de cette augmentation font l'objet d'une importante controverse. Les analystes ont signalé un certain nombre de facteurs comme causes possibles, y compris l'augmentation des prix des carburants, le détournement des cultures alimentaires la production de biocarburants, la spéculation, la consommation accrue de viande en Asie, les changements climatiques et la dégradation de l'environnement, entre autres. Il y a un certain désaccord sur le rôle joué par certains de ces facteurs dans la montée de prix, ainsi que sur le poids à assigner à chaque facteur particulier. La discussion des conséquences de la hausse des prix des produits alimentaires s'est principalement basée sur des exercices de modélisation; ce numéro spécial de Development in Practice présente quelques nouveaux résultats de modélisations, ainsi que les résultats de recherches menées sur le terrain sur les véritables conséquences pour les agriculteurs et consommateurs pauvres dans les pays en développement, en transition et développés. Les augmentations des prix ont abouti à des manifestations parfois violentes dans des dizaines de pays en 2007-08, ce qui a eu pour effet de remettre la faim en bonne place à l'ordre du jour des décideurs. Les prix des produits alimentaires ont atteint leur maximum vers le milieu de 2008 et sont restés bien au-dessus des niveaux du début des années 2000, ce dans le monde entier, tout au long de 2009-2010. En décembre 2010, les prix ont à nouveau augmenté, dépassant les maximums de 2008. Il y a un certain consensus sur les prescriptions de politique générale concernant la marche à suivre pour faire face à des prix des produits alimentaires élevés; ceci est représenté par exemple par le Cadre global d'action de l'ONU de 2008. Cependant, les auteurs d'un certain nombre d'articles figurant dans ce numéro spécial constatent des limites à ce consensus et proposent des prescriptions supplémentaires en matière de politique générale. Choques dos preços dos alimentos globais e as pessoas pobres – uma visão geral O problema da fome tem aumentado desde meados da década de 1990 devido a vários fatores, incluindo a falta de atenção das políticas e um senso de complacência gerado por reduções reais nos preços dos alimentos no longo prazo. O preço dos alimentos subiram drasticamente após 2006 e há uma considerável controvérsia sobre seus motivos. Analistas têm indicado vários fatores como as causas possíveis, incluindo o aumento nos preços de combustível, desvio da produção de alimentos para biocombustíveis, especulação, aumento do consumo de carne na Ásia, mudanças climáticas e destruição ambiental, entre outros. Existe divergência sobre o papel desempenhado por alguns destes fatores no aumento dos preços e também sobre o peso a ser dado para cada fator específico. As discussões sobre as consequências dos preços de alimentos mais altos…
Agricultural biotechnology presents opportunities for reducing poverty, food insecurity, child ma... more Agricultural biotechnology presents opportunities for reducing poverty, food insecurity, child malnutrition, and natural resource degradation. Small farmers in developing countries are faced with many problems and constraints which biotechnology may assist. About 1.2 billion people, or one of every five humans, live in a state of absolute poverty, on the equivalent of US$1 a day or less. Modern biotechnology is not a silver bullet for achieving food security, but, used in conjunction with traditional knowledge and conventional agricultural research methods, it may be a powerful tool. Policies must expand and guide research and technology development to solve problems of importance to poor people. Research should focus on crops relevant to small farmers and poor consumers in developing countries, such as bananas, cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, rice, maize, wheat, and millet, along with livestock. Labelling may also be needed to identify content for cultural and religious reasons or simply because consumers want to know about the contents of their food and the processes used to produce it. It is also urgent that global biosafety standards and local regulatory capacity be strengthened within developing countries.
The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 2009
The article provides a conceptual framework and discusses research methods for analyzing pluralis... more The article provides a conceptual framework and discusses research methods for analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services. The framework can also assist policy-makers in identifying reform options. It addresses the following question: Which forms of providing and financing agricultural advisory services work best in which situation?The framework ‘disentangles’ agricultural advisory services by distinguishing between (1) governance structures, (2) capacity, (3) management,
Aid donors, development advocates, and finance experts increasingly look to the private sector to... more Aid donors, development advocates, and finance experts increasingly look to the private sector to fill the estimated $2.5 trillion annual Sustainable Development Goals financing gap, an amount likely to increase due to effects of COVID-19. Donors use a variety of partnerships with the private sector to realise development objectives. We use the term donor-private partnerships (DPPs) to describe the broad range of arrangements between donors and private-sector actors. Using ODA to leverage private finance, innovation testing, or service delivery, modalities include blended finance, de-risking instruments, publicprivate partnerships, and more. Does the reality match donors' enthusiastic rhetoric? There are success stories but civil society actors and others question whether private sector engagement in development reduces poverty and inequality, advances gender justice, and achieves environmental sustainability. There may be trade-offs between development and profit making. We present our research based on frameworks we developed to categorise and assess DPPs. We applied these to 20 partnerships involving nine donors and found that donors fail to sufficiently integrate development, human rights, and environmental standards. They inconsistently implement due diligence and risk management requirements, and impact assessments are inadequate. Our frameworks offer practitioners and academics valuable tools to examine how DPPs can advance sustainable development.
In addressing COVID-19, African governments should not forget the livelihoods as well as the food... more In addressing COVID-19, African governments should not forget the livelihoods as well as the food and nutrition security of their citizens. With over 70% of the workforce in the informal sector without any social protection and health insurance, the pandemic could have a devastating impact on income and livelihoods as well as food and nutrition security for workers up and down the food chain. There are ten steps African governments can take to ensure that their response to the disease takes food and nutrition security into account:1. Protect food supply chains and consider them essential services;2. Consider fiscal and monetary incentives;3. Prioritize healthy diets;4. Use food reserves wisely;5. Keep food markets open while ensuring safety;6. Use mobile cash transfers for social protection;7. Protect farmers and food workers;8. Prioritize gender equality;9. Instill a sense of solidarity; and10. Avoid export bans.
Although global food production has consistently kept pace with population growth, the gap betwee... more Although global food production has consistently kept pace with population growth, the gap between food production and demand in certain parts of the world is likely to remain. More than 800 million people in developing countries lack access to a minimally adequate diet. Continued productivity gains are essential on the supply side, because global population will increase by 73 million people a year over the next two decades. In this article we assess the current global food situation, look at the prospects through to the year 2020, and outline the policies needed to achieve food security for all. Emphasis is on the role that agricultural biotechnology might play in reaching this goal.
CGE modelling has dominated analysis of the impact of external liberalisation on poverty. This ar... more CGE modelling has dominated analysis of the impact of external liberalisation on poverty. This article provides a structuralist critique of standard neo-classical CGE models. It highlights five sets of gaps and partial achievements in the modelling of issues affecting the poverty impact of macroeconomic policies: duality and structural rigidities; efficiency gains and quota rents; the investment and savings specification; the nature of public expenditures; and the modelling of financial fragility, risk premia and issues of credibility. It outlines a model that makes it possible to analyse more plausible stories about the impact of both current and capital account liberalisation and questions the realism of existing approaches to ex-ante poverty impact assessment.
His current research focuses on policy processes relating to food and nutrition security, with a ... more His current research focuses on policy processes relating to food and nutrition security, with a specific emphasis on the role of legislation and legal systems, global humanitarian aid policy, conflict and food security, post-crisis food security, and the right to adequate food. Cohen received his Ph.D. in political science from the
International humanitarian relief and development operations provide opportunities to build peace... more International humanitarian relief and development operations provide opportunities to build peace and create sustainable food security, especially in situations where operations are carried out with explicit frameworks attending to human rights and sustainable livelihoods. Achieving lasting peace is a complex proposition because there is no single set of causes of conflict or a sure way to remove them. Nevertheless, there are food and agricultural policy actions that can foster peaceful outcomes that promote food security.
This research report was written to share research results, to contribute to public debate and to... more This research report was written to share research results, to contribute to public debate and to invite feedback on development and humanitarian policy and practice. It does not necessarily reflect the policy positions of the organizations jointly publishing it. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the individual organizations.
A rmed conflicts frequently lead to the destruction of food systems. Often, warring parties manip... more A rmed conflicts frequently lead to the destruction of food systems. Often, warring parties manipulate starvation as a deliberate tactic, using their control over access to food to attract and reward friends and humble and punish enemies. Such conflicts are “food wars,” not only because hunger is used as a weapon but also because food insecurity is both an effect and cause of conflict. In February 2004, United Nations agencies calculated that over 45 million people in developing countries experiencing or recovering from conflict were in need of food and other emergency humanitarian assistance (see table). More than 80 percent of those affected lived in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This research report was written to share research results, to contribute to public debate and to... more This research report was written to share research results, to contribute to public debate and to invite feedback on development and humanitarian policy and practice. It does not necessarily reflect the policy positions of the organizations jointly publishing it. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the individual organizations.
Connecting smallholder farmers to markets is a priority of US aid to Ghana. Development Initiativ... more Connecting smallholder farmers to markets is a priority of US aid to Ghana. Development Initiatives and Oxfam used the methodology explained in this paper to assess the traceability of US aid to Ghana during 2013-2015. Photo: A. Kauffield/USAID. FOLLOW THE MONEY Using International Aid Transparency Initiative data to trace development aid flows to their end use This note provides guidance on using International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) data to trace aid flows from donor treasuries to their final end use. Traceability in IATI works by following the money as it flows from organization to organization through the development implementation chain. Provided that all organizations publish their information, it is possible to assess how much of the total funding at the beginning of the implementation chain is spent on goods and services, and where the money is spent.
The international community has adopted and endorsed an ambitious global development agenda for t... more The international community has adopted and endorsed an ambitious global development agenda for the period 2015-2030 in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 2 seeks to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. This reflects a broad international consensus on the unacceptability of hunger articulated previously at the 1996 World Food Summit and reiterated at the 2008 High-Level Conference on World Food Security. In 2009, at their L'Aquila Summit, the G8 heads of state and government pledged a significant expansion of aid to agriculture, in order to address the global food-price spike of the preceding year. However, serious global policy incoherence severely undermines this apparent political will to end hunger and boost developing-country agriculture. In particular, although official development assistance to agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (hunger's center of gravity) doubled between 2003 and 2012, the share of total global aid going to agriculture, at just 5% in 2014, is well below the 20% share of the mid-1980s. In addition, donor-country agricultural trade and security policies often undercut support for agricultural development in the Global South. Furthermore, there is incoherence within donor policies on aid to agriculture, which tend to focus more on promoting commercialization and exports than on boosting smallholder productivity and the economic empowerment of women farmers. For their part, developing-country governments have not fulfilled pledges to increase their own agricultural development budgets (as seen in the African Union Declarations of Maputo and Malabo), and the bulk of those budgets go to recurrent expenditure rather than development investments. In Sub-Saharan Africa, military expenditures account for a greater share of public funds. This paper suggests that while policy makers in both the Global South and North treat food security and agricultural development as priorities, these remain in a relatively low position on policy agendas because other concerns respond to much stronger constituencies.
climate change and sustainable development. 5 The high-level meetings on these topics in New York... more climate change and sustainable development. 5 The high-level meetings on these topics in New York and Paris later this year need to address the eff ects of a changing climate on nutrition and the implications for development.
Both national and international policy responses to the rapid food price increases in 2007 and th... more Both national and international policy responses to the rapid food price increases in 2007 and the first half of 2008 did little to address the very serious impacts on low-income urban dwellers. The speeches, declarations, plans and pledges duly noted the vulnerability of poor urban dwellers to food price rises, as they rely primarily on market purchases for their food (much more so than rural dwellers) and food purchases account for the bulk of their expenditure. Yet most policy prescriptions focused on addressing constraints to rural-based food production. This paper discusses why policy makers should pay greater attention to urban dwellers and describes the multiple pathways through which food price increases have impacts on urban people. It also highlights the evidence on how these impacts have played out during this crisis and discusses how current policy responses could be adjusted and improved to better protect the urban poor in the short and longer term.
ABSTRACT Hunger has been on the rise since the mid-1990s, due to a variety of factors, including ... more ABSTRACT Hunger has been on the rise since the mid-1990s, due to a variety of factors, including a lack of policy attention and a sense of complacency generated by long-term real declines in food prices. Food prices rose sharply after 2006, and there is considerable controversy over the reasons why. Analysts have pointed to a number of factors as possible causes, including rising fuel prices, diversion of food crops into biofuels, speculation, increased meat consumption in Asia, climate change, and environmental degradation, among others. There is disagreement about both the role played by some of these factors in driving up prices, and also the weight to assign to each specific factor. Discussion of the consequences of higher food prices has been based primarily on modelling; this special issue of Development in Practice presents some new modelling results, as well as results from field research on the actual consequences for poor farmers and consumers in developing, transition, and developed countries. The price increases led to sometimes violent protests in scores of countries in 2007–08, thereby putting hunger back on the front policy burner. Food prices spiked in mid-2008 and remained well above the levels of the early 2000s, globally, throughout 2009–10. By December 2010, prices had risen again, surpassing the peaks of 2008. There is consensus concerning policy prescriptions on what to do about higher food prices; this is embodied, for example, in the UN's Comprehensive Framework for Action of 2008. However, the authors of a number of the articles in this special issue find limitations to that consensus and offer additional policy prescriptions. Chocs mondiaux des prix des produits alimentaires et personnes pauvres: un aperçu La faim augmente depuis le milieu des années 1990, à cause d'une variété de facteurs, dont l'indifférence des décideurs et une certaine complaisance générée par de véritables baisses sur le long terme des prix des produits alimentaires. Les prix des produits alimentaires ont fortement augmenté après 2006, et les raisons de cette augmentation font l'objet d'une importante controverse. Les analystes ont signalé un certain nombre de facteurs comme causes possibles, y compris l'augmentation des prix des carburants, le détournement des cultures alimentaires la production de biocarburants, la spéculation, la consommation accrue de viande en Asie, les changements climatiques et la dégradation de l'environnement, entre autres. Il y a un certain désaccord sur le rôle joué par certains de ces facteurs dans la montée de prix, ainsi que sur le poids à assigner à chaque facteur particulier. La discussion des conséquences de la hausse des prix des produits alimentaires s'est principalement basée sur des exercices de modélisation; ce numéro spécial de Development in Practice présente quelques nouveaux résultats de modélisations, ainsi que les résultats de recherches menées sur le terrain sur les véritables conséquences pour les agriculteurs et consommateurs pauvres dans les pays en développement, en transition et développés. Les augmentations des prix ont abouti à des manifestations parfois violentes dans des dizaines de pays en 2007-08, ce qui a eu pour effet de remettre la faim en bonne place à l'ordre du jour des décideurs. Les prix des produits alimentaires ont atteint leur maximum vers le milieu de 2008 et sont restés bien au-dessus des niveaux du début des années 2000, ce dans le monde entier, tout au long de 2009-2010. En décembre 2010, les prix ont à nouveau augmenté, dépassant les maximums de 2008. Il y a un certain consensus sur les prescriptions de politique générale concernant la marche à suivre pour faire face à des prix des produits alimentaires élevés; ceci est représenté par exemple par le Cadre global d'action de l'ONU de 2008. Cependant, les auteurs d'un certain nombre d'articles figurant dans ce numéro spécial constatent des limites à ce consensus et proposent des prescriptions supplémentaires en matière de politique générale. Choques dos preços dos alimentos globais e as pessoas pobres – uma visão geral O problema da fome tem aumentado desde meados da década de 1990 devido a vários fatores, incluindo a falta de atenção das políticas e um senso de complacência gerado por reduções reais nos preços dos alimentos no longo prazo. O preço dos alimentos subiram drasticamente após 2006 e há uma considerável controvérsia sobre seus motivos. Analistas têm indicado vários fatores como as causas possíveis, incluindo o aumento nos preços de combustível, desvio da produção de alimentos para biocombustíveis, especulação, aumento do consumo de carne na Ásia, mudanças climáticas e destruição ambiental, entre outros. Existe divergência sobre o papel desempenhado por alguns destes fatores no aumento dos preços e também sobre o peso a ser dado para cada fator específico. As discussões sobre as consequências dos preços de alimentos mais altos…
Agricultural biotechnology presents opportunities for reducing poverty, food insecurity, child ma... more Agricultural biotechnology presents opportunities for reducing poverty, food insecurity, child malnutrition, and natural resource degradation. Small farmers in developing countries are faced with many problems and constraints which biotechnology may assist. About 1.2 billion people, or one of every five humans, live in a state of absolute poverty, on the equivalent of US$1 a day or less. Modern biotechnology is not a silver bullet for achieving food security, but, used in conjunction with traditional knowledge and conventional agricultural research methods, it may be a powerful tool. Policies must expand and guide research and technology development to solve problems of importance to poor people. Research should focus on crops relevant to small farmers and poor consumers in developing countries, such as bananas, cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, rice, maize, wheat, and millet, along with livestock. Labelling may also be needed to identify content for cultural and religious reasons or simply because consumers want to know about the contents of their food and the processes used to produce it. It is also urgent that global biosafety standards and local regulatory capacity be strengthened within developing countries.
The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 2009
The article provides a conceptual framework and discusses research methods for analyzing pluralis... more The article provides a conceptual framework and discusses research methods for analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services. The framework can also assist policy-makers in identifying reform options. It addresses the following question: Which forms of providing and financing agricultural advisory services work best in which situation?The framework ‘disentangles’ agricultural advisory services by distinguishing between (1) governance structures, (2) capacity, (3) management,
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Papers by Marc Cohen