LINKS TO SITES WITH USEFUL MATERIAL FOR COURSE PAPERS
(WITH EMPHASIS ON AFRICA ON THIS POSTING)
MPH (Millennium Project Hunger Task Force High-Level Seminar). 2004. Innovative
Approaches to Meeting the Hunger MDG (Millennium Development Goals) in Africa. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5 July
(The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the
Millennium Project Task Force on Hunger, in collaboration with UNDP,FAO,
NEPAD, UNECA and the African Union (AU) and with the support of UNDP, WFP,
CIDA, ILRI, the World Agroforestry Centre, and
The Earth Institute at Columbia University are co convened a Presidential
Level Seminar on "Innovative Approaches to Meeting the Hunger MDG in
Africa" in Addis Ababa on 5 July 2004.).
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/about/director/pubs/AUAgSem070504.pdf
http://www.africa-union.org/home/Welcome.htm
H.E.Joaquim Chissan?
President of the
Republic of Mozambique &
Former Chairperson of the African Union
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International Food Policy Research Institute
http://www.ifpri.org/2020africaconference/index.htm
Assuring Food and Nutrition Security in Africa by 2020.
April 1-3, 2004, Kampala.
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IAC (InterAcademy Council). 2004a. Inventing
the Future. A Strategy For Building Worldwide Capacities in Science and
Technology. Amsterdam, The Netherlands:
InterAcademy Council, IAC Report.
IAC (InterAcademy Council). 2004b. Realizing
the Promise and Potential of African Agriculture. Amsterdam, The
Netherlands: InterAcademy Council, IAC Report
[In May 2000 all of the world's science academies created the IAC to
mobilize the best scientists and engineers worldwide to provide high
quality advice to international bodies such as the United Nations and the
World Bank as well as to other institutions.].
How can science and technology help to realize the promise and potential
of African agriculture?
Study Panel
Co-Chairs
Speciosa Wandira
KAZIBWE
Former Vice-President of the Republic of Uganda
Rudy RABBINGE
Dean, Graduate Schools, Wageningen
Agricultural University, The Netherlands
M.S. SWAMINATHAN
Chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research
Foundation, India
http://www.interacademycouncil.net/
---------------------------------------------
UN Economic Commission for Africa
Harnessing
Technology for Sustainable Development in Africa
Foreword
Overview
Press Release
Backgrounder No. 1 : Reducing Human Vulnerability
Backgrounder No. 2 : Red Biotechnology
Backgrounder No. 3 : Tracking progress towards sustainable development
Backgrounder No. 4 : Green Biotechnology
List of Spokesperson
ECA (Economic Commission for Africa). 2002. Harnessing Technologies
for Sustainable Development (A publication of the Economic and Social
Policy Division). Addis Ababa: United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa,
ECA Policy Research Report, 23 August.
http://www.uneca.org/
Harnessing Technologies for Sustainable Development in Africa
5th Annual Peter Doherty Distinguished Lecture
By K.Y. Amoako
Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa
International Livestock Research Institute
Addis Ababa, 10 April 2003
http://www.africabiotech.com/biotechinfo/reports/amoako.html
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The Institute of Food Science & Technology Supports Genetic
Modification through its Public Affairs and Technical & Legislative
Committees, 27 July 2004.
The Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFT) ?27
July 2004
http://www.ifst.org/hottop10.htm
Genetic modification (GM) has the potential to offer very significant
improvements in the quantity, quality and acceptability of the world's
food supply.
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Agricultural Biotechnology: Meeting the needs of the poor?
THE STATE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
2003-2004
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS, Rome, 2004
http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/Y5160E/Y5160E00.HTM
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ICS (International Council for Science). 2003. New Genetics, Food and
Agriculture: Scientific Discoveries - Societal Dilemmas. Paris, France:
International Council for Science [ICS represents more than 100 science
academies, including the US National Academy of Science and the UK's
Royal Society. Its study draws together evidence from all leading reviews
of GM crops to see where the consensus].
A synthesis of more than 50 science based reviews, the report assesses
the risks and benefits of applying new genetic iscoveries
to food and agriculture.
The report was commissioned by ICSU Advisory Committee on Genetic
Experimentation and Biotechnology
http://www.icsu.org/1_icsuinscience/INIT_GMOrep_1.html
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A Fair Globalization. The role of the ILO
The World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization
Co-Chairs
H.E. Ms. Tarja Halonen
President of the Republic of Finland
H.E Mr. Benjamin Mkapa
President of the United Republic of Tanzania
Report of the ILO Director-General on the World Commission on the Social
Dimension of Globalization
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/wcsdg/
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IFPRI Conference: Biotechnology, Agriculture, and Food
Security in Southern Africa
Initial Text: Biotechnology, Agriculture, and Food Security
in Southern Africa, April 25-26, 2003, Johannesburg, South Africa
http://www.ifpri.org/events/conferences/2003/042503.htm
size 8,045 bytes - 6/24/2003 3:24:33 PM GMT
Synthesis Report
full report
http://www.ifpri.org/events/conferences/2003/042503/synthesis.pdf
Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting
http://www.ifpri.org/events/conferences/2003/042503/minutes.pdf
--------------------------------
CONFERENCE
FANRPAN/IFPRI Regional Policy Dialogue on Biotechnology, Agriculture,
and Food Security in Southern Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa
April 25-26, 2003
Introduction | Synthesis Report | Minutes | Program | Background Papers
Background Papers
1. Concepts and Processes
2. Full Text: (PDF 906K)
3. Agricultural Biotechnology in Southern Africa: A Regional Synthesis
4. Full Text: (PDF 269K) | Summary:
(PDF 65K)
5. Agricultural Biotechnology, Politics,
Ethics, and Policy
6. Full Text: (PDF 408K) | Summary:
(PDF 36K)
7. Biosafety
Policy
8. Full Text: (PDF 195K) | Summary:
(PDF 47K)
9. Intellectual Property Rights Policy
10. Full Text: (PDF 182K) | Summary:
(PDF 52K)
11. Food Safety and Consumer Choice Policy
12. Summary: (PDF 77K)
-------------------------------------------
CONFERENCE
FANRPAN/IFPRI Regional Policy Dialogue on Biotechnology, Agriculture,
and Food Security in Southern Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa
April 25-26, 2003
Introduction | Synthesis Report | Minutes | Program | Background Papers
Tobias Takavarasha
Joachim von Braun
Biotechnology, like climate change or the construction of large dams,
falls in the ever-increasing category of policy disputes characterized by
multidimensionality and complexity. By their very nature, these disputes
are centered around politically charged issues
of allocation of rights to resources and distribution of the benefits and
costs of changes in technological change. They typically involve a high
degree of scientific uncertainty, long time horizons and decision-making
at multiple jurisdictional levels. Such disputes are therefore apt to
pose exacting challenges. They involve a wide range of political,
economic, social and scientific considerations. Their satisfactory resolution
therefore requires multi-stakeholder participation in a process of
finding and maintaining a dynamic balance between political and technical
priorities. In this process, civil society can provide much of the
expertise and creative thinking that is required to identify needs,
generate innovative policy options and implement agreements, while
governments retain their preeminent functions of ultimate
decision-making.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Food,
Agriculture, and Natural Resource Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
recently embarked on a multiple stakeholder initiative aimed at raising
awareness, promoting dialogue, and catalyzing consensus-building
mechanisms toward improved institutions and policies governing biotechnology
in agriculture and its implications for food security in Southern Africa.
John Mugabe
The primary motivation for the initiative is the food emergency currently
facing Southern Africa. Inadequate,
poorly timed, or inappropriate policy responses to low domestic food
supplies have combined with and low human, infrastructural, and
organizational capacity in domestic markets to leave millions of people
at risk of starvation in the region. Twelve years ago, in 1991, similar
interactions among poor weather, policy failures, and market failures
left millions of Southern Africans similarly exposed. But the food
emergency of 2002-03 is different from that of 1991-92 in one crucial
respect. Thousands of tons of food available to help cover shortages in Southern Africa contain unspecified amounts of
genetically modified (GM) grain (specifically, Bt maize) and are thus
considered suspect-or even poisonous-by some governments unsure of the
implications of GM food for human health and the environment. Efforts to
accommodate that uncertainty have pitted erstwhile partners in national
and regional food relief against one another in an increasingly heated
political environment.
Martha Kandawa-Schultz
A two-day meeting was convened in Johannesburg
on April 25-26 2003. The meeting participants (PDF 71K) included high-level policy makers, senior
representatives of a range of stakeholder agencies, and respected
scientific leaders. As outlined in the concept note (PDF 132K), this was the first in an integrated
series of multiple stakeholder roundtable discussions on biotechnology,
agriculture, and food security in Southern Africa.
A carefully managed but highly participatory process is envisioned.
Several background papers were presented and discussed. A Steering
Committee (PDF 65K) was appointed from among the participants.
The Committee will determine format, content, and participation at future
meetings. Strategic links were established with the Biotechnology
Advisory Committee recently created by the SADC Council of Ministers for
food, agriculture, and natural resources (SADC-FANR), and with the
proposed NEPAD African Panel on Biotechnology (APB).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONFERENCE
FANRPAN/IFPRI Regional Policy Dialogue on Biotechnology, Agriculture,
and Food Security in Southern Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa
April 25-26, 2003
Introduction | Synthesis Report | Minutes | Program | Background Papers
Program
(PDF 94K)
Meeting Moderator: Dr. John Mugabe, NEPAD Science and Technology Forum
Day 1
0830 - 0900 Welcome and Introductions
Presentation : Dr. Tobias Takavarasha,
FANRPAN
Introductions: Participants
0900 - 1000 Objectives, Expectations, and Ground Rules
Presentation: Prof. Joachim von Braun, IFPRI
Open Plenary Discussion: Moderated by Dr. Mugabe
1000 - 1030 Tea/coffee break
1030 - 1230 Agricultural Biotechnology and GMOs
in Southern Africa: A Regional Synthesis
Presentation: Dr. Doreen Mnyulwa/Julius Mugwagwa, Biotechnology Trust of Zimbabwe
Open Plenary Discussion: Moderated by Dr. Mugabe
1230 - 1400 Lunch Break
1400 - 1600 Dealing with Complex Public Disputes: Multiple Stakeholder
Approaches, Negotiation, and the Practice of Consensus Building
Presentation: Ms. Michele Ferenz, Consensus
Building Institute
Open Plenary Discussion: Moderated by Dr. Mugabe
1600 - 1630 Tea/coffee break
1630-1800 The Road Ahead: Where We Might Go From Here
Open Plenary Discussion: Moderated by Dr. Mugabe
1800 End of Day 1
Day 2
0830 - 0930 Overview of Day 1 and Preparation for Day 2 Activities
Presentation: Dr. Mugabe
Open Plenary Discussion: Moderated by Dr. Mugabe
0930 - 1800 Day 2 Activities
To include:
Plenary and group-based discussions of selected topics Group-based
negotiation simulation exercises Selection of Steering Committee members
Day 3
Meeting of Steering Committee
----------------------------------------------
1. AFRICA'S FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY
SITUATION: WHERE ARE WE
AND HOW DID WE GET HERE?
New
2020 Discussion Paper by Todd Benson
Available
at:
http://www.ifpri.org/2020/dp/dp37.htm
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2. FOOD
AND NUTRITION SECURITY IN AFRICA: RECENT BRIEFS
Assessing
Africa's Food and Nutrition Security Situation -
Todd Benson
Available
in PDF format at:
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/ib/ib17.pdf
Vision 2020 is Chaired by President Museveni
of Uganda
Improving
Child Nutrition for Sustainable Poverty Reduction
in Africa - Harold Alderman, Jere Behrman, and
John Hoddinott
Available
in PDF format at:
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/ib/ib18.pdf
Assuring
Food and Nutrition Security in the Time of AIDS -
Stuart Gillespie, Wilberforce Kisamba-Mugerwa,
and Michael Loevinsohn
Available
in PDF format at:
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/ib/ib19.pdf
Increasing
the Effective Participation of Women in Food and
Nutrition Security in Africa - Agnes R. Quisumbing,
Ruth S. Meinzen-Dick,
and Lisa C. Smith
Available
in PDF format at:
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/ib/ib20.pdf
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MORE news
at http://www.ifpri.org
IFPRI
publications online catalog
http://catalog.cgiar.org/ifpri/pubsearch.htm
IFPRI
articles in external sources
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/articles/articles.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<http://www.agbioworld.org/biotech_info/articles/religious.html>
Playing God or Improving Human Lives?
Religious, Moral and Ethical Perspectives on Food Biotechnology
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CIMMYT's Guiding Principles for
Developing and Deploying Genetically
Engineered Maize and Wheat Varieties
(also see CIMMYT - <http://www.cimmyt.org/>
- for other postings)
<http://www.cimmyt.org/english/wps/transg/gmo_stmt.htm>
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Weighing Pros and Cons of Genetically Modified Crops in Africa
- CIMMYT Newsletter, October 1, 2004
http://www.cimmyt.org/english/wps/news/gmo_africa.htm
Should Africa embrace genetically modified crops to help feed its
hungry
people?
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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T5T-4BT1823-1&_coverDate=08%2F31%2F2004&_alid=197254698&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_qd=1&_cdi=5011&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=3e5426772e19d25ab3d4c5244d6ae6d9
Gressel, Jonathan
Major heretofore intractable biotic constraints to African food
security that may be amenable to novel biotechnological solutions
Jonathan Gressel, Abdelhaq
Hanafi, Graham Head, Wally Marasas,
A. Babatunde Obilana,
James Ochanda, Thouraya
Souissi and George Tzotzos
Crop Protection
Volume 23, Issue 8 , August 2004, Pages 661-689
Abstract
The input costs of pesticides to control biotic
constraints are often prohibitive to the subsistence farmers of Africa and seed based solutions to biotic stresses
are more appropriate. Plant breeding has been highly successful in
dealing with many pest problems in Africa,
especially diseases, but is limited to the genes available within the
crop genome. Years of breeding and studying cultural practices have not
always been successful in alleviating many problems that biotechnology
may be able to solve. We pinpoint the major intractable regional problems
as: (1) weeds: parasitic weeds (Striga
and Orobanche spp.)
throughout Africa; grass weeds of wheat (Bromus
and Lolium) intractable to herbicides in
North Africa; (2) insect and diseases: stem borers and post-harvest grain
weevils in sub-Saharan Africa; Bemesia
tabaci (white fly) as the vector of the
tomato leaf curl virus complex on vegetable crops in North Africa; and
(3) the mycotoxins: fumonisins
and aflatoxins in stored grains. Abiotic stresses may exacerbate many of these
problems, and biotechnological alleviations of abiotic
stress could partially allay some predicaments. Some of these constraints
are already under study using biotechnological procedures, but others may
require longer-term research and development to alleviate the problems.
Despite the huge impacts of post-harvest weevils and of mycotoxins in grains, these issues had not been given
high priority in national biotechnological programs, possibly due to a
lack of knowledge of their immensity. The need for public sector
involvement is accentuated for cases where immediate profits are not
perceived (e.g. lowering mycotoxin levels in
farmer utilized grain, which does not increase yield) but where the
public weal will gain, and will be invaluable, especially where the
private sector supplies genes already isolated.
Author Keywords: Aflatoxin; Africa; Bemesia; Biotechnology; Broomrape; Bromus spp.; Chilo partellus;
Constraints; Eldana saccharina; Food security; Fumonisin;
Grain weevils; Grass weeds; Leaf curl virus; Lolium
rigidum; Mycotoxins;
Orobanche spp.;
Parasitic weeds; Prostephanus
truncates; Sesamia calamistis; Sitopholus
spp.; Stem borers; Striga
spp.; Witchweed;
Whitefly