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DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: "Political Will" Needed To Address Food Crisis By Kwamboka Oyaro NAIROBI - The need to give agriculture top billing on governmental "to do" lists has been highlighted at a telephone briefing to discuss the current food crisis as it affects Africa. MORE >>
ENERGY-AFRICA: From Kerosene to the LED, O-HUB and O-BOX By Stephen Leahy ACCRA - In many of Africa's towns and villages, smoky kerosene lamps are all that keeps the darkness at bay after sunset. However, kerosene is a dangerous and increasingly expensive source of light for Africans who do not have access to electricity -- about three-quarters of those living on the continent, according to the World Bank. MORE >>
HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Where Have the Piglets Gone? By Kathryn Strachan JOHANNESBURG - Each psychiatric patient leaving Tower Hospital in the Eastern Cape Province under a new project to integrate patients into the community is sent home with two piglets. While at the hospital, patients are trained to raise pigs, the hope being that they will use the piglets for breeding to develop a sustainable source of income once discharged. MORE >>
AFRICA: Agricultural Extension Work Both Important and Under-valued By Kwamboka Oyaro NAIROBI - At a time of international concern about the future of the world's food supply, it's a comment that gives pause for thought: "I teach university students agriculture and extension but many of them opt for other professions, especially in ICTs, because agriculture is 'for those who haven't gone to school'." MORE >>
Q&A: "Between Implementation and Planning, There Is a Disconnect" By Interview with Washington Ochola NAIROBI - Accounting for about a third of the gross domestic product in sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture clearly plays a significant role on the continent. But, figures only tell part of the story. A review of Africa produced under the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) notes that agriculture is also "woven into the fabric of most societies and cultures in the region." MORE >>
POLITICS: Democracy Unfinished By Miriam Mannak CAPE TOWN - A new report by the Geneva-based Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) has shown that women are changing the priorities and sometimes the tone of legislatures around the world. But, it also highlights the slow pace at which the number of parliamentary seats held by women is increasing. MORE >>
DEVELOPMENT: Reinventing Agriculture By Stephen Leahy JOHANNESBURG - The results of a painstaking examination of global agriculture are being formally presented Tuesday with the release of the final report for the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). MORE >>
Q&A: "Increase Agricultural Productivity While Reducing the Environmental Footprint" By Interview with Robert Watson JOHANNESBURG - Over the past few years, Robert Watson has had what must qualify as one of the world's tougher assignments: heading an initiative to help agriculture cope with the substantial challenges it faces presently, and the even bigger hurdles ahead. MORE >>
Q&A: "A Collective Ignorance About How Agriculture Interacts With Natural Systems" By Interview with Achim Steiner JOHANNESBURG - Representatives from countries, civil society and the private sector are meeting this week in Johannesburg, South Africa, to review the findings of the three-year International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). MORE >>
DEVELOPMENT: Towards a New and Improved Green Revolution By Stephen Leahy JOHANNESBURG - As food prices soar and hundreds of millions go hungry, experts from around the world will this week present a new approach for ensuring food security, at the intergovernmental plenary for the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). The Apr. 7-12 conference is taking place in South Africa's commercial hub, Johannesburg, and will be attended by representatives of an estimated 60 governments. MORE >>
Q&A: "A World 'Unfit' for 2.2 Billion Children" By Interview with Agneta Ucko, director of Arigatou International UNITED NATIONS - As the United Nations plans to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its landmark Convention on the Rights of the Child next year, the world's 2.2 billion children continue to suffer the consequences of growing poverty, rising illiteracy, increasing sexual abuse and widespread military conscription in conflicts worldwide. MORE >>
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