The miracle of Brazilian agriculture
FarmFriday, shares this thought-provoking article from the The Economist about Brazil’s success in developing its vast savannah into one of the world’s great breadbasket. Make sure to read the article comments for some interesting viewpoints. The increase in Brazil’s farm production has been stunning. Between 1996 and 2006 the total value of the country’s crops […]
A Taxonomy of Poverty Tourism
Here’s an interesting graphic outlining a “taxonomy” of the much discussed practice of “poverty tourism”. Update: Aaron Ausland, the author, has recently updated the graphic which i think added some context and made it more meaningful. Read more here…
Examples of mechanical dryers in Southeast Asia
Farm Friday found this bit in the IRRI Knowledgebank about dryers that have gained popularity in usage in SEA. “The dryers featured here are not neccessarily the best technical solution but, because they are accepted by the users, they seem to offer a good compromise between drying cost and benefits in terms of higher quality […]
VietDHRRA staff visit AsiaDHRRA
Mr. Vu Dangquy, VietDHRRA staff, dropped by the secretariat office yesterday for a brief visit before returning to Vietnam. Quy has just finished his year-long stint with the AWCF exchange program “Capacity-Building for Gender and Co-operatives in Asia” Project funded by the “South-South Exchange Programme” of Fredskorpset (FK) Norway. With the AsiaDHRRA Secretariat staff Quy […]
Careers in Food Security
Here’s something to interest you if you’re planning your career path or thinking of embarking on a new line of work. ScienceMag presents a nice overview of career opportunities in the area of food security. The demand for scientists with expertise in the agriculture/food sector is likely to increase in the next decade, says Celia […]
Synthesis of Deliberations of the Third meeting of the Farmers’ Forum
Download the Synthesis of Deliberations of the Third Meeting of the Farmers’ Forum held in Rome on February 15th-16th 2010 Learn more about the Third Farmers’ Forum here… What is the Farmers’ Forum?
Creating the "Ideal Crop"
FarmFriday shares this interesting article by Elizabeth Pennisi in ScienceMag about the scientific community’s efforts in creating “the ideal crop” and “developing new technologies for a better farming future” Substantial improvements are needed in current crops to achieve higher yields and sustainable farming. To achieve those gains, agricultural companies have turned to robotics and other […]
GMO Canolas found growing in the wild in the US
FrankenThursday brings this worrying article from NPR which says that “A survey of North Dakota has turned up hundreds of genetically modified canola plants growing along roads across the state.” Aint that scary? Apart from safety, health and ecological concerns this has legal ramifications as well, as GMO purveyors like Monsanto has been known to […]
SRD launches e-newsletter
The Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD)is proud to announce the launching of their first bi-annual e-newsletter in 2010 containing recent events, news and stories about their projects and activities. Click here to read the newsletter… Or better yet pay their website a visit here…
Improving literacy through cellphones
TechTuesday shares this fascinating story about how mobile phones are being used to increase literacy among teens in South Africa. Why don’t they just call these books “movel” instead of “m-novel”? South African teens were happy to give their thumbs a rest for a while and take a break between MXit chats to read the […]
