Appropriate technology for sustainable food security:

CONTENTS: Brief 1. Overview / Per Pinstrup-Andersen Brief 2. Farmer-Based Agro-Ecological Technology / Jules Pretty Brief 3. Conventional Research-Based Technology / Prabhu Pingali Brief 4. Modern Biotechnology / Calestous Juma Brief 5. Modern Technology for African Agriculture / Jennifer Thomson Brief 6. Information and Communcations Technologies / Nuimuddin Chowdhury Brief 7. GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing / Uwe Deichmann and Stanley Wood Brief 8. Alternative Energy Sources / R. K. Pachauri and Pooja Mehrotra Brief 9. Food Irradiation / Morton SatinTechnology., Technological innovations., Food security., Sustainability.,

A compendium of Technologies, Practices, Services and Policies for Scaling Climate Smart Agriculture in Odisha (India)

Stakeholders engaged in agricultural research for development (AR4D) are increasingly tackling risks associated with climate change in smallholder systems. Accordingly, development and scaling of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) are one of the priorities for all the organizations, departments and ministries associated with the farm sector. Having a ‘one-stop-shop’ compiled in the format of a compendium for CSA technologies, practices and services would therefore serve a guide for all the stakeholders for scaling CSA in smallholder systems. Bringing out a Compendium on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) for Odisha, India was therefore thought of during the workshop on ‘Scaling Climate-Smart Agriculture in Odisha’ organized at Bhubaneswar on 18-19 July 2018 by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in collaboration with Department of Agriculture (DoA) & Farmers’ Empowerment, Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Rice Research Institute (ICAR-NRRI), Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) & International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) under the aegis of CGIAR Research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). The main objectives to bring forth this compendium are: to argue the case for agriculture policies and practices that are climate-smart; to raise awareness of what can be done to make agriculture policies and practices climatesmart; and to provide practical guidance and recommendations that are well referenced and, wherever possible, based on lessons learned from practical action. CSA programmes are unlikely to be effective unless their implementation is supported by sound policies and institutions. It is therefore important to enhance institutional capacities in order to implement and replicate CSA strategies. Institutions are vital to agricultural development as well as the realisation of resilient livelihoods.They are not only a tool for farmers and decision-makers, but are also the main conduit through which CSA practices can be scaled up and sustained. The focus in this compendium is on CSA and it’s relevant aspects, i.e., (i) technologies and practices, (ii) services, (iii) technology targeting, (iv) business models, (v) capacity building, and (vi) policies. The approaches and tools available in the compendium span from face-to-face technicianfarmer dialogues to more structured exchanges of online and offline e-learning. In every scenario it is clear that tailoring to local expectations and needs is key. In particular, the voice of farmers is essential to be captured as they are the key actors to promote sustainable agriculture, and their issues need to be prioritized. CSA practices are expected to sustainably increase productivity and resilience (adaptation), reduce Greenhouse Gases (mitigation), and enhance achievement of national food security along with sustainable development goals. CSA is widely expected to contribute towards achieving these objectives and enhance climate change adaptation. CSA practices have to be included in State’s Climate Policy as a priority intervention as the state steps up efforts to tackle climate change. Furthermore, emphasis shoud be laid on CSA training for a sustainable mode to enhance CSA adoption in the state hence the relevance of developing this document. The adaption of climate related knowledge, technologies and practices to local conditions, promoting joint learning by farmers, researchers, rural advisor and widely disseminating CSA practices, is critical. This compendium brings together a collection of experiences from different stakeholders with background of agricultural extension and rural advisory services in supporting CSA. The contributions are not intended to be state-of-the art academic articles but thought and discussion pieces of work in progress. The compendium itself is a ‘living‘ document which is intended to be revised periodically

China's Engagement With African Countries: Key Findings and Recommendations

Summarizes findings on China's engagement with Africa and implications for the latter's social and economic conditions. Makes recommendations for African policy makers to ensure the engagement is mutually beneficial, broadly distributed, and monitored

Technological requirements for solutions in the conservation and protection of historic monuments and archaeological remains

Executive summary: This Study has discovered many achievements associated with European support for scientific and technological research for the protection and conservation of cultural heritage. The achievements to date are: 1. Creation of an active research community 2. A body of research of unparalleled and enviable international quality and character 3. Ongoing effectiveness of research beyond initial funding 4. Substantial rate of publication 5. Imaginative tools of dissemination and publication 6. Clear spin-offs and contribution to European competitiveness often going outside the European cultural heritage area 7. Contribution to emerging European legislation, for example, air quality management. The Study has also uncovered important research gaps associated with this field that have yet to begin to be investigated. It has also discovered the need for continuing fine scale advancement in areas where researchers have been active for a number of years. The overall picture is that European research in the field of cultural heritage protection must be put on a secure footing if it is to maintain its commanding lead over other regions of the world. This Study concludes that: 1. It would be invidious to attempt to separate basic and applied research in this area of research. Like any other scientific endeavour, this field needs to integrate basic and applied research if it is to continue to thrive. 2. Small, flexible, focused interdisciplinary teams responsive to European needs, must be sustained, promoted and celebrated as models of sustainability and that what is proposed under the European Research Area (ERA) for large and complex research projects, could inflict serious damage on this area of research. 3. Resources cannot be delegated to Member States because of the interdisciplinary nature of cultural heritage and the need for a co-ordinated pan-European perspective across this research that helps to define the essential character of European cultural heritage. National programmes only serve local needs, leading to loss of strategic output, lessening of competitiveness and risk of duplication. 4. A mechanism needs to be created to help researchers working in this field to communicate and exchange information with related sectors such as construction, urban regeneration, land reclamation and agriculture. 5. There is overwhelming agreement over the need for sustainable research funding for cultural heritage and for an iterative process of exchange among researchers, decision-makers and end-users in order to maximize benefits from project inception through to dissemination, audit and review. For all the reasons mentioned above, the most significant recommendation in this Report is the identification of the need for a European Panel on the Application of Science for Cultural Heritage (EPASCH)

The state of green technologies in South Africa

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Exploring ‘Gender-ICT-Climate Change’ Nexus in Development: from Digital Divide to Digital Empowerment

How gender influences the effectiveness of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in tackling climate change is under-researched. Gender is social expectations and stereotypes of how men, women, boys and girls, should behave in society. Gender enables some groups of men and women to get access to ICTs, whilst constraining others from doing so. Different control over ICTs, built on unequal power relationships, affects how poor people adapt to the changing climate and respond to climate-related disasters. Conceptually, this paper explains why, and how, women are more constrained than men from using ICTs in tackling climate change. In term of assets, compared to men, women have less access to technology, to information, to finance, and are more deprived of land rights. Women are more institutionally-constrained than men. With regard to social structures, women are excluded from decision-making in policy design and resource allocation. They are less represented in formal decision-making bodies, such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) initiative. In addressing these limitations, this paper makes four digital empowerment proposals in an attempt to make 'ICT-climate change' interventions more gender-sensitive: (1) Contextualise gender mainstreaming: gender mainstreaming helps integrate gender analysis into ICT policies. It acknowledges that men and women perceive and receive information differently, and that this requires diverse approaches to adaptation. However, the attempt to re-position women and girls as 'eco-carers' is problematic because this fails to capture their protective, as well as their destructive, role in relation to natural resources. Without addressing the unequal power relations between women and girls, e-adaptive practices can also help reproduce the inter-generational equalities. (2) Strengthen governance: crafting new and reforming old, institutional arrangements is essential to improve gender inclusion. Women-only interventions are sometimes necessary to empower previously-excluded women to engage in ICT-related decisions. However, poor and powerless men should also have their say in climate change policies. (3) Develop gender-sensitive funding mechanisms: securing adequate funding to support ICT interventions is crucial to gender empowerment. Yet, targeting women by micro-credit projects risk putting an additional financial burden on them, and that needs serious re-consideration. (4) Recognise agency-structure dynamics: women are active agents, but they are socially constrained from engaging in ICT-related decisions. Women's preferences, institutional arrangements and politics need to be taken into account in order to tackle digital exclusion. These four proposals will be useful for development agencies, governments and NGOs seeking to improve the gendered outcomes from use of ICTs in response to climate change

Tanzania Country Climate Risk Profile Series, Mufindi District

The agricultural sector in Tanzania is facing high climatic risks. Frequent and severe temperature and precipitation, recurrent droughts and increased incidences of pests and diseases are some of the climate effects that have been observed. Catalyzed with rising input prices and price volatility, there has been a decline in food productivity and farmer incomes. The natural resources that support agricultural production—including rivers and forests—are also degrading due to extreme climate events. Projections indicate that these trends are likely to worsen in the coming decades, with temperatures increasing by nearly 2.7°C by and 4.5°C by 2060 and 2090 respectively (Irish Aid , 2018). At the same time, both day and night temperatures will become more extreme, and precipitation will begin to vary more dramatically by geographic area. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change because of their low access to the resources needed to adapt to changing conditions. Among smallholders, women are more vulnerable due to their outsized role in agriculture and the social limitations placed on their decision-making and inclusion. A lack of coordination and information symmetry between stakeholders have prevented the full implementation of policies aimed at mitigating climate change. The government, with the support of development partners, has put in place a number of policies, strategies and guidelines to address climate change. The National Agriculture Policy (2013), National Climate Change Strategy (2012), National Adaptation Programme of Action (2007), and the Climate Smart Agriculture guideline (2007) provide a framework for creating agricultural resiliency in the face of climate change. This Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Profile documents the need for, and adoption of CSA practices at the local level in Mufindi District. This profile is an output of the CSA/SuPER project on Upscaling CSA with Small-Scale Food Producers Organized through Village Savings and Lending Associations (VSLA). The project is implemented by Cooperative Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) International, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) (now part of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT), Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), and Wageningen University and Research (WUR). Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather the information herein, in accordance with the methodology employed by Mwongera et al. (2015). Secondary information was collected through an extensive literature review. Primary information was collected from interviews with agricultural experts, farmer focus group discussions, stakeholder workshops, and farmer interviews in the Mufindi District. This profile is organized into six major sections based on the analytical steps of the study. The first section describes the contextual importance of agriculture to Mufindi livelihoods and households. The second describes historic and future climatic trends. The third section highlights farmers’ priority value chains. The fourth section addresses the challenges and cross-cutting issues in the sector. The fifth section details climate hazards experienced by farmers, as well as the current and proposed adaptation strategies. Finally, the sixth section outlines the policies related to CSA and the institutions that facilitate implementation of climate change initiatives

Workshop Report: Earth and Environmental Science for Sustainable Development (Dar es Salaam, September 2017)

This report describes the outcomes of a two-day interactive workshop in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), conducted in September 2017. We gathered 17 delegates from 12 organisations in Tanzania to determine sustainable development priorities and consider the role of Earth and environmental science in addressing these. Delegates came from diverse disciplines (e.g., geology, agriculture, forestry, water management) and sectors (e.g., academia, civil society, commercial, government). Using the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a reference tool, participants identified primary development challenges and their research and data needs to help address these. Key themes included (i) sustainable land and water management, (ii) clean water and sanitation, and (iii) climate-smart agriculture, food security and nutrition. Participants co-designed a set of draft science-for-development projects relating to these themes. BGS are using this information, together with the results of additional workshop activities, to inform the development of collaborative science-for-development activities in eastern Africa as part of our commitment to Official Development Assistance (ODA) in the region. We will further develop specific project ideas, using information gathered at this workshop, with appropriate regional and international partners. Information from this workshop provides supporting evidence of expressed development need and stakeholder expertise in eastern Africa. This information will guide future project applications to the Global Challenges Research Fund, and other appropriate research and innovation funding sources. Key Results and Conclusions During the workshop, small group discussions and group voting generated a collective ranking of SDG priorities. Participants also reflected on where they believe Earth and environmental science can make the greatest contribution to development impact. These rankings were: Overall SDG ranking (eastern Africa) based on summing of small groups votes: 1. Quality Education (SDG 4) 2. Life on Land (SDG 15) 3. Industry/Innovation/Infrastructure (SDG 9) Role for Earth and environmental science rankings: 1. Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6) 2. Life on Land (SDG 15) 3. Climate Action (SDG 13) 4. Industry/Innovation/Infrastructure (SDG 9) Group discussions suggested that interconnectedness of SDGs and basic (immediate) development needs were likely to influence the prioritisation process. For example, participants noted that good health (SDG 3) was necessary to having decent work and economic growth (SDG 8). We used these rankings to establish three thematic working groups, with each tasked to identify specific challenges, research priorities, information needs and potential projects. Groups were: Sustainable land and water management. This group developed ideas relating to reducing land degradation, implementing and strengthening strategic environmental assessments, ensuring more integrated policy, and enhancing geo-ICT capacity. Clean water and sanitation. This group identified ideas around water pollution and the re-use and safe treatment of water, natural water quality, and data awareness and availability. Climate-smart agriculture, food security and nutrition. This group explored ways to improve post-harvest management of agricultural products, and improve land resource quality. Developing these activities will require effective science-for-development partnerships. Partnership characteristics of greatest importance to participants attending this Dar es Salaam workshop were (i) being treated as an equal by other members of the partnership, (ii) respectful dialogue between members of the partnership, (iii) access to training and capacity building, (iv) sharing of project outputs, and (v) access to funding/financial resources