The UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) has recently launched its new report, entitled “Eliminating World Poverty: Building our Common Future.”
Two implicit dimensions are rreflected in this report’s title. Firstly, the world already has many good solutions for reducing world hunger, but they simply need to be scaled up and funded in order to work
Ahead of the UN Commission for Sustainable Development in May, Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda of Farming First went into the BBC studios to discuss what the priority objectives for agricultural policy should be in sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr. Sibanda discussed the key principle of the Farming First plan as well as highlighting recent work of her own
Africa is the only region in the world where hunger is worsening and per capita food production has stagnated over the last three decades. All research has clearly pointed out the necessity to invest in infrastructure building to unleash Africa’s agricultural potential, as highlighted in Principle 3 of the Farming First plan.
Traditionally, the public sector
MAY 6, 2009 SIDE EVENT – SUMMARY REPORT
CSD 17 SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGICAL MAJOR GROUP
CAPACITY BUILDING: WORDS INTO ACTION: Physical, Social & Economic Infrastructure
At a recent side event of the UN CSD-17, 71 delegates and members of major groups from more than 20 countries came together to define their specific issues and to hear their perspectives
At a recent side event at the UN Commission for Sustainable Development’s Intergovernmental Preparatory Session (IPM), over 85 people gathered together to brainstorm key challenges to achieving the Farming First plan.
Here are some of the top issues, organised according to each of the Farming First principles:
1. Safeguard natural resources
Key challenges:
- Lack of education/awareness – The
Poor infrastructure impedes access to resources and markets.
For example, in Africa, less than 50% of the rural population lives close to a four-seasons road. Transport can cost often constitute 50-60% of marketing costs in these situations.
The World Bank estimates that in India, fruit and vegetable post harvest losses amount to 40% of total production, or
