Monthly Archives: December 2010

slashing the use of toxic pesticides, increasing yields and incomes, and diversifying farming systems (UN News)

Posted on December 28, 2010 by

UN PROJECT HELPS WEST AFRICAN FARMERS CUT PESTICIDE USE, BOOST INCOMES New York, Dec 20 2010  6:05PM A project executed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in West Africa has succeeded in slashing the use of toxic … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, FAO

New Earthscan Books

Posted on December 28, 2010 by

Read at : http://www.earthscan.co.uk/tabid/102797/Default.aspx 20% DISCOUNT ON ALL EARTHSCAN BOOKS To receive our standard 20% discount for all Earthscan books please use the voucher code EN1210 when you order online. We are also offering a 50% discount on personal journals … Continue reading →

Posted in books/publications

Impact of drought on crop and rangeland conditions in the Greater Horn of Africa (IRIN News)

Posted on December 28, 2010 by

Read at : http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?Reportid=91435 Water shortage hits Somaliland HARGEISA, 22 December 2010 (IRIN) – Residents in parts of Somalia’s northeastern self-declared republic of Somaliland are facing severe water shortages after poor October to December Deyr rains. “In the eastern regions … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, drought

Are bio-fuels an opportunity for small-scale farming? (ILEIA)

Posted on December 28, 2010 by

Read at : http://ileia.leisa.info/phorum-3.4.8a/read.php?f=1&i=4464&t=4464 Can family farmers benefit from bio-fuels? Author:  FM Editorial team (—.kpn.net) Date:   16-Dec-2010 10:42 With the world’s reserves of oil going down, governments and companies have started looking for alternatives. A global market for bio-fuels has been developing during … Continue reading →

Posted in energy/bioenergy/biofuels, small-scale farming

Farming Matters (ILEIA)

Posted on December 28, 2010 by

Partnerships for learning When talking about small-scale family farming, many different people and organisations can be labeled as “stakeholders”. But what do they learn from each other? And how do they learn to work together to make agriculture more sustainable? … Continue reading →

Posted in family farming, small-scale farming

How you can help 140,000 people leave poverty in 2011 (CSD)

Posted on December 28, 2010 by

Center for Sustainable Development http://www.csd-i.org/subscribe/ Give the gift of a training scholarship this December. Here’s why. In 2010 we trained project partners to reduce poverty and relieve suffering for 70,000 people worldwide. Our goal in 2011 is to double that … Continue reading →

Posted in Center for Sustainable Development, sustainable development

Food security and adaptation to climate change (CSDi)

Posted on December 27, 2010 by

Tim Magee started the discussion “Request for project design ideas on food security and adaptation to climate change” in the group Subsistence Farming on CSDi Development Community To view this discussion, go to: http://developmentcommunity.csd-i.org/group/subsistencefarming/forum/topic/show?id=5817263%3ATopic%3A5475&xg_source=msg

Posted in Climate / climate change, food / food security

A new global land rush is gobbling up large expanses of arable land (Food Crisis / NY Times)

Posted on December 24, 2010 by

Read at : http://farmlandgrab.org/17824 African farmers displaced as investors move in New York Times | 22 December 2010 By NEIL MacFARQUHAR SOUMOUNI, Mali — The half-dozen strangers who descended on this remote West African village brought its hand-to-mouth farmers alarming … Continue reading →

Posted in food / food security, land grab

Rushing to grab and convert biomass into fuel, chemicals, and other profitable products (Food Crisis / Food Secure Canada)

Posted on December 24, 2010 by

Read at : http://farmlandgrab.org/17829 Earth grab: No to a biomass economy Food Secure Canada, December 2010 The world’s biggest corporations are rushing to grab and convert living plant matter — called “biomass” — into fuel, chemicals, and other profitable products. … Continue reading →

Posted in energy/bioenergy/biofuels, food / food security, land grab

Microcredit is currently in the news for all the wrong reasons (IIED)

Posted on December 24, 2010 by

Read at : http://www.iied.org/sustainable-markets/blog/misleading-metrics-microcredit?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+duesouth+%28Due+South%3A+IIED+Blog%29 The misleading metrics of microcredit by Adrian Fenton Microcredit, often viewed as vital for low-income groups, is experiencing financial and social sustainability problems.  Is the preference for and dominance of financial metrics over social metrics eroding … Continue reading →

Posted in microfinance - franchising