CROP DIVERSITY AS THE DERIVED OUTCOME OF FARMERS' 'SURVIVAL FIRST' MOTIVES IN ETHIOPIA: WHAT ROLE FOR ON-FARM CONSERVATION OF SORGHUM GENETIC RESOURCES?

Crop genetic resources are the building blocks of sustainable agricultural development due to their relevance not only as inputs for variety development but also as indigenous crop insurance mechanisms through traditional variety portfolio management. Their continuous survival is, however, threatened by natural and human driven factors. This threat has induced the need for designing conservation measures. Among the in situ and ex situ conservation options available to conserve crop genetic resources, on-farm conservation has recently attracted enormous attention. To make this option operational, placing incentives (that link conservation with utilization) and removal of perverse incentives are believed to be crucial so that landraces of no immediate interest to farmers can be conserved. However, before designing sound incentives and/or removing perverse incentives, we have to understand farmers' motives for managing a portfolio of traditional varieties. To address our objective, we have adopted a utility based model that considers on-farm diversity as a positive externality of farmers' livelihood decisions. Accordingly, on-farm diversity is considered as the derived outcome of farmers' revealed preferences subject to their concerns and constraints. To empirically test the relationships, a Poisson regression model is estimated using rural household survey data collected from 198 sorghum growing farmers in East Ethiopia. The results have shown the most important diversity promoting factors and those factors detaching the link between farmers' 'survival first' motives and their spillover effects on sorghum diversity. Based on the results, the paper concludes outlining the policy implications of the findings.On-farm conservation, sorghum genetic resources, incentives, Poisson regression, Ethiopia, Crop Production/Industries,

A rights-based food security principle for biomass sustainability standards and certification systems

With the shift from petroleum-based to biomass-based economies, global biomass demand and trade is growing. This trend could become a threat to food security. Though rising concerns about sustainability aspects have led to the development of voluntary certification standards to ensure that biomass is sustainably produced, food security aspects are hardly addressed as practical criteria and indicators lack. The research objective of this working paper is to identify how the Human Right to adequate Food (RtaF), which is applicable in over 100 countries, can be ensured in local biomass production and in certification systems in food insecure regions. We aim to first develop a suitable conceptual framework to integrate the RtaF in biomass production, processing and trade and derive guidance for the choice of the criteria. Second, we identify appropriate criteria to ensure that the RtaF is not violated by certified biomass operators based on a comprehensive literature review, stakeholder workshops and expert interviews with certification bodies, standard initiatives, NGOs, ministries, scientists and enterprises. The conceptual framework is based on the UN “Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the RtaF in the Context of National Food Security” and the four dimensions of food security. Based on this framework, we developed the rights-based food security principle. To ensure that the RtaF is not adversely affected by certified biomass production and trade, we propose 45 criteria, classified in 17 themes which are derived from the voluntary guidelines. The suggested criteria are applicable to all biomass types and uses and serve as a best-practice set to complement existing sustainability standards for biomass

Tapping Potentials of Innovation for African Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural Growth : an Africa-wide Perspective

While in the past, increased use of inputs and expansion of agricultural land accounted for a good part of agricultural growth in Africa, improvements in productivity will need to be a major driver of growth in the future. Thus, agricultural innovations are needed to sustainably increase productivity, i.e. output per unit of all inputs, while maintaining environmental quality and resources. Such innovations require enhanced investments in research and development. This study identifies potentials in agriculture and food systems in Africa for enhanced food security. Investment opportunities differ across Africa. In view of the above mentioned goals, it is suggested here that development investments by Germany target countries which reveal potentials indicated by (1) having a track record of political commitment to foster sustainable agricultural growth (2) showing actual progress in sustainable agricultural productivity and (3) prioritizing actions for hunger and malnutrition reduction and showing progress. The records and potentials of 42 African countries are identified accordingly, using comprehensive assessments of agronomic, economic and governance criteria that can be transparently tracke

Potentials of Innovation for Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa : Strategic Directions for Development Collaboration

Since the majority of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population highly depends on agriculture, returns on investments in terms of poverty reduction effects are often highest in this sector. Furthermore, food insecurity is both a driver and a consequence of conflicts and related refugee flows. Improvements in productivity will need to be a major driver of agricultural growth in the region. Agricultural innovations are key to sustainably increase productivity and ensure food security while maintaining environmental quality and resources. This policy brief proposes a number of measures at a strategic level to inform the “One World, No Hunger” (SEWOH) Initiative by the German government and other investors in their efforts to eradicate hunger and malnutrition and to facilitate sustainable agricultural development

Bioenergy, food security and poverty reduction: Mitigating tradeoffs and promoting synergies along the Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus

Modern bioenergy is a core ingredient of sustainable economic development as it plays an important role in poverty reduction and green growth. This makes bioenergy innovations critical, especially in developing countries where many households and rural communities rely on traditional bioenergy. Managing the multiple tradeoffs among bioenergy use, agricultural productivity, and ecosystem functions is a major development challenge. Addressing this challenge requires the identification of the drivers, tradeoffs and impacts of bioenergy production, trade and use in the Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus. The key objective of this paper is to provide an analytical framework and assess the track record of policy actions to stimulate modern bioenergy innovation in order to achieve multiple-win outcomes in terms of poverty alleviation, improved health and gender empowerment and environmental sustainability. We begin by describing the global trends and drivers in bioenergy production, trade and use. Secondly, we review the state of the art on impacts and links of bioenergy with the other Nexus components. Thirdly, we suggest a conceptual framework for evaluating the synergies and tradeoffs of bioenergy with other bioeconomic and economic activities along the Nexus. Follow-up empirical research at household and community levels in several developing countries will be based on this framework. Finally, a discussion on the conceptual framework is enriched by insights on the relevant actors, the tools and mechanisms specific to these actors for catalyzing innovations in the bioenergy for development

Potentiels d'Innovation pour la Sécurité Alimentaire et la Croissance Agricole Durable en Afrique Subsaharienne : Orientations stratégiques pour la collaboration en matière de développement

Étant donné que la majorité de la population de l’Afrique subsaharienne dépend fortement de l’agriculture, le rendement des investissements en termes d’effets de réduction de la pauvreté est souvent le plus élevé dans ce secteur. En outre, l’insécurité alimentaire est à la fois un moteur et une conséquence des conflits et des flux de réfugiés qui y sont liés. Les améliorations de la productivité devront être un des principaux moteurs de la croissance agricole dans la région. Les innovations agricoles sont essentielles pour accroître durablement la productivité et assurer la sécurité alimentaire, tout en maintenant la qualité et les ressources environnementales. Ce document propose un certain nombre de mesures au niveau stratégique pour aviser l’initiative «Un Monde sans faim» (SEWOH) du gouvernement allemand ainsi que d’autres investisseurs, dans leurs efforts pour éradiquer la faim et la malnutrition et faciliter le développement agricole durable

Social Safety Nets for Food and Nutritional Security in India

This paper brings together existing literature on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNRGEA) and the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India, offering a narrative review of the evidence on impacts on food security, health and nutrition of beneficiaries. Both programs operate on a large scale and have the capacity to impact the factors leading to undernutrition. It is evident that despite the deficiencies in implementation, both the MGNREGA and the PDS are inclusive and reach the poor and the marginalized who are likely to also experience greater undernutrition and poor health. Data challenges have however prevented researchers from conducting studies that assess the ultimate impact of these two large-scale programs on health and nutrition. The evidence that exists suggests largely positive impacts indicating a clear potential to make these programs more nutrition sensitive not just by incorporating elements that would explicitly address nutritional concerns but also by directing specific attention to innovations that strengthen critical complementarities and synergies that exist between the two programs