Development & Aid

Diversifying Crops to Help Overcome Drought in Brazil

By Mario Osava
Dozens of trucks used to leave São Gonçalo every day, carrying the local agricultural production, mainly coconuts, to markets throughout Brazil, including the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, more than 2,000 kilometers away.

Only Acting Together Can We Stop the Rise in Malnutrition

By Julio Berdergué, Carissa F. Etienne, Marita Perceval, and Miguel Barreto
The number of undernourished people increased for the third consecutive year in Latin America and the Caribbean. It has exceeded 39 million people. In addition, almost one in four adults is obese, while overweight affects 250 million; more than the entire population of Brazil.

Making Agriculture Cool

By Busani Bafana
At every conference she has attended on the youth, Nawsheen Hosenally has been frustrated to hear that agriculture is not ‘cool’. The 29-year-old graduate in agricultural extension and information systems knew she wanted to do something to redeem the image of agriculture among young people.

Empowering Women in Post-Conflict Africa

By Amber Rouleau
While its conflict ended in 2007, Northern Uganda struggles with its legacy as one of the most aid-dependent regions in the world.

Alert! Hunger and Obesity on the Rise in Latin America for Third Year in a Row

By Orlando Milesi
"For the third consecutive year there is bad news" for Latin America and the Caribbean, where the numbers of hungry people have increased to "39.3 million people," or 6.1 percent of the population, Julio Berdegué, FAO's regional representative, said Wednesday.

Is Excessive Sovereign Debt a Threat to Peace?

By Boudewijn Mohr
Some 30 years ago, the international banks were afloat with petrodollars, deposited by the oil exporting countries. The banks in turn stepped up lending to Latin America, in a big way. The new branch of Société Générale in New York where I was working at the time followed suit rapidly building up its portfolio, as the bank needed to make loans to get its branch off the ground.

Rainwater Harvesting Eases Daily Struggle in Argentina’s Chaco Region

By Daniel Gutman
"I've been used to hauling water since I was eight years old. Today, at 63, I still do it," says Antolín Soraire, a tall peasant farmer with a face ravaged by the sun who lives in Los Blancos, a town of a few dozen houses and wide dirt roads in the province of Salta, in northern Argentina.

Will the Iran sanctions work?

By Syed Mansur Hashim
Last month, a flotilla of ships carrying more than 20 million barrels of Iranian oil headed off to China's north-eastern Dalian port in a bid to stave off the impending US sanctions that just came into effect on November 4. According to Russian media, the Iranians were quite confident that the country would be able to sell its oil bypassing the latest round of sanctions. Obviously, a deal has been reached with China because the port of Dalian typically saw shipments of oil between 3 and 4 million barrels a day. So, a jump of this magnitude can only mean one thing.

Access and quality

By FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO
THAT the State must make available a complete, adequate and integrated system of education is not debated.That everyone who desires to should be admitted to universities or colleges of their choice is not only debatable, it is false! More perverse yet is the proposition that when the State grants students the benefits of free tertiary education, the beneficiaries owe the State no service at all!

Africa’s Giant Blue Economy Potential

By Siddharth Chatterjee and Toshitsugu Uesawa
With good reason, Africa is excited over the prospects of sharing in the multi-trillion maritime industry, with the continent’s Agenda 2063 envisioning the blue economy as a foremost contributor to transformation and growth.

The Caribbean Island of Mayreau Could be Split in Two Thanks to Erosion

By Kenton X. Chance
As a child growing up in Mayreau four decades ago, Filius “Philman” Ollivierre remembers a 70-foot-wide span of land, with the sea on either side that made the rest of the 1.5-square mile island one with Mount Carbuit. 

Lessons for the ‘Rest’ from ersatz miracles

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Of the ten fastest growing economies since 1960, eight are in East Asia. Two main competing explanations claimed to explain this regional concentration of catch up growth since the late 20th century, often referred to as the East Asian miracle.

Ambitious Agenda, Ambitious Financing? UNGA Shows a Long Way Still to Go for SDGs

By John Garrett and Kathryn Tobin
There was a much-needed focus on financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the September 2018 opening of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Caribbean Looks to Protect its Seafood From Mercury

By Jewel Fraser
Four Caribbean countries have done an inventory of the major sources of mercury contamination in their islands, but a great deal of work still needs to be done to determine where and what impact this mercury is having on the region's seafood chain.

Central American Farmers Face Climate Change Without Insurance

By Edgardo Ayala
Disconsolate, Alberto Flores piles up on the edge of a road the few bunches of plantains that he managed to save from a crop spoiled by heavy rains that completely flooded his farm in central El Salvador.

Cholera Threatens a Comeback Worldwide

By Anna Kucirkova
Cholera outbreaks across history regularly killed a hundred thousand or more. It isn’t well known today because it was essentially eliminated in the Western world.

Gay & Lesbian Rights Prove Divisive at Parliamentarians’ Conference

By Thalif Deen
When the International Parliamentarians’ Conference (ICPI) on population and development concluded its two-day forum in the Canadian capital last week, more than 150 legislators from around the world approved a seven page Declaration reaffirming their opposition to some of the culturally sensitive issues, including female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriages.

South Korea Looks at How to Accelerate its Transition to Renewable Energy

By Ahn Mi Young
While major countries have pledged to be powered entirely by renewable energies in order to stop greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, there are a number of states that are investigating ways to implement this transition quickly in order to achieve their goals ahead of this deadline.

“Governments are Starting to See that Organic Food Policy Works”

By Maged Srour
Many countries and farmers around the world are not readily making the switch to organic farming. But the small Himalayan mountain state of Sikkim, which borders Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan, is the first 100 percent organic farming state in the world. 

Is the United Nations in Kenya Fit For Purpose?

By Yusuf Hassan
The United Nations globally is witnessing some of the most ambitious reforms led by the UN Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres. Most relevant to us in Kenya is the entire reform of the development system and how the UN will adapt to a fast-changing development environment.

Q&A: Ready to Help India Access Climate Finance for a Greener Economy

By Stella Paul
Even in remote and faraway places such as Andamans and Nicobar and Lakshadweep, islands off the coast of India, the government is keen to provide electricity across the entire country.
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