Report of workshop on "Poverty alleviation and livelihood security among the coastal fishing communities - market and credit access issues"

This report synthesises information from the literature and key informants on agricultural production and soil fertility in Malawi and proposes options for investment in this area. The main points, highlighted below, were presented to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation's Soil Fertility Round Table in Lilongwe in June 1998. Malawi's situation is far from secure with its high population density and growth rate, land shortages, malnutrition, decreasing life expectancy and deteriorating infrastructure. The country has recently experienced some extreme shocks and changes - repeated droughts, democratisation, devaluation and liberalisation. These have impacted on the agricultural sector both positively and negatively. On the positive side, there is increasing crop diversification and production at national level. Negatively, increases in the price of fertiliser and declining access to credit have adversely affected many smallholders, particularly in the south. The population is increasing at a steady rate and maize production, while varying with rainfall, appears not to be increasing at the same rate. The situation at household level in many areas is worsening. The soils, on which the country is so dependent, are no longer able to provide sufficient nitrogen to achieve acceptable yields of maize

Livelihoods in coastal fishing communities, and the marine fish marketing system of Bangladesh. Synthesis of participatory rural appraisals in six villages, and assessment of the marketing system (NRI report no. 2712)

This report is an output ofthe DFID funded research project "Fish Distribution from Coastal Communities- Credit and Market Access Issues". The field research was carried out between July 2001 and April2002. In addition to the inception workshop in Chittagong in March 2001 consultation workshops were held in July 2002 in Dhaka and Chittagong, where project findings were presented to stakeholders from the fishing communities, the trading sector, the Government of Bangladesh, NGOs, and members of the donor community

Capitalist Development and Technological Innovation in Open-water Fisheries: Impacts on Traditional 'Water-Slave' Fishing Communities of Southeastern Bangladesh

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH