Funding

November 17, 2008November 15, 2008

Input fairs: the view from the ground

One of the FAO’s preferred responses to food emergencies is the Input Trade Fair. Farmers receive a voucher, which they can exchange for seeds and other inputs that they need for a better harvest. In 2007, for example, 20,000 government-selected families in central and eastern Swaziland received vouchers that they could spend at one of 25 Input Trade Fairs. Earlier this year, FAO described these fairs as “winners”. But as the 2008 planting season gets under way, the news from Mbabane is not good.

A report carried by IPS says that Swazi Input Fairs [are] Falling Short. Far fewer farmers have received vouchers this season. In the wake of rising prices the vouchers are not enough to purchase all the inputs needed. More vendors have entered the market, cutting down on sales for existing vendors. But most worrying of all, according to the report most of the subsistence farmers who have benefited from the scheme are no nearer being able to stand on their own feet than they were before the scheme started. Some, it is said, have no real interest in farming. They are just hungry, and wash the pesticidal dressings off the seeds before cooking and eating them. Many farmers refuse to switch away from maize, which needs far more water than crops such as sorghum.

While an on-the-spot report such as this one offers some insights, it does not indicate how Swaziland’s drought-stricken farmers could best tackle their problems. Maybe they need more extension help, to show them how to make better use of their inputs. Maybe they need radical changes in their methods. I was at a meeting in London on Wednesday where I saw a very short video called Greening the Desert. Geoff Lawton, of the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, explained in tantalizing snippets how he had transformed a barren patch of Jordan into a flourishing orchard. No, I have not seen peer-reviewed results. But it seems worth trying elsewhere, and Swaziland could be a good place to do so.

November 14, 2008

Big cheer for the terraces

Is this old news or not? The Global Environment Facility (GEF) in concert with FAO’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems, is funding the restoration and maintenance of the Ifugao rice terraces in the Philippines. My confusion arises because when I last nibbled Ifugao, ((And of course I never did do that longer post, mea culpa.)) I don’t recall seeing anything about FAO’s involvement, and yet it seems to have been going since 2002. The “news” is announcing a second phase, which I think started in 2007. So perhaps my confusion is justified. In any case, it does seem important that these astonishing human impacts on the environment are used, rather than pickled, and that seems to be the goal of the project.

I’m rather hoping that someone in the Philippines, or who knows more about the project, will be along soon to enlighten me further.

October 22, 2008October 22, 2008

Nibbles: Funding, Cow Gods, Ãœber Bee, Rice, Bushmeat, Oaks

$50 million for climate change. Must be some for agricultural biodiversity. Via, which has the application forms.
How the Egyptians came to venerate cattle.
Building a better bee.
Official US rice harvest forecasts 20% too high. Chinese comment: “Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook.”
How about without bushmeat?
IUCN lists endangered oaks. Know any ex situ collections? Tell IUCN!

October 10, 2008

Calling Colorado State University locals

Rebecca Nelson, who researches improving disease resistance in crops, will be the speaker at the ninth annual Thornton-Massa Lecture at Colorado State University at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13, in the Lory Student Center Theatre. Her topic is “Science vs. Hunger: The Challenges of Funding Research in International Agriculture,” and it would be great to get a report here.

September 30, 2008September 30, 2008

World Bank supports cacao diversity project

Good news from our friend Hannes Dempewolf, of the University of British Columbia. Congratulations to all involved!

Last Friday was the day of the big decision on whether we had made the cut and would be pronounced a winner at this year’s Development Marketplace competition of the World Bank. An event geared towards innovative approaches to agricultural development, the competition was very tough. Nevertheless, the jury seemed to like our idea of establishing a DNA-fingerprinting based system of traceability for ancient cacao varieties and declared this Bioversity International-led project a winner, together with 21 others, including another on cacao that dealt more specifically with organoleptic assessments of Ecuadorian cacao diversity. Generally, agricultural biodiversity featured big time at the competition, with several project proposals on neglected and underutilized species as well as diversity driven value chain development approaches for coffee, or in our case cocoa.

After the excitement of the award ceremony had settled, some World Bank staffers approached me and told me that one representative of our project, as well as of two other projects, had been selected to meet the president of the World Bank, Robert B. Zoellick, for lunch. ((Photo from the World Bank Development Marketplace Blog.)) This certainly came as a big surprise and all three of us were somewhat unsure what to expect, since the World Bank staffers had made clear to us that this would be a meeting of utmost rarity since the president usually never does lunchtime meetings and he only this morning had arrived from the UN’s annual general assembly meeting in New York City. After such a build-up, I was quite nervous and had eaten way too many cocoa nibs from my display stall before the president eventually arrived at my booth to learn from me about our proposal. He seemed very keen to hear about our project idea and to my surprise was particularly interested in the more technical details, which I had not expected from an economist of his stature. He asked me how we came up with our idea and what had lead us to submit the proposal, which I had no problem explaining with my enthusiasm on agricultural biodiversity and my belief in a “conservation through use” philosophy. We were then guided upstairs to his office facilities where we were offered lunch with the president as well as a few other World Bank staffers and past winners. He seemed very keen in the Development Marketplace competition per se, since it is one of the rare occasions that the World Bank offers direct assistance to more grassroots organizations rather than big government ones.

The table conversation was largely focussed on our proposed projects and he asked everyone in turn quite detailed questions on the wider framework and relevancy of the problem, which they were trying to solve with their proposals. At the end of the lunch he asked us whether anyone had any final remarks, at which point I mentioned that I was very impressed by the diversity and high quality of the project ideas that had been presented by the 100 finalists of the competition and whether there wouldn’t be a way to increase the funding pool in future years to give more finalists the chance to implement their great ideas. He seemed to think it might be possible with the help of additional donors, which everyone was happy to learn. We then all returned from the executive level high up in one of the wings of the World Bank building down to the inner courtyard of the bank and proceeded to join the other finalists at a special policy dialogue on “Cultivating Innovation: A Response to the Food Price Crisis” that had been offered as final event of these exciting four days.