Both seminars were received support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and the provincial government units of Hubei and Sichuan Provinces.

In both seminars, Florante “Nonoy” Villas, AsiaDHRRA’s LSFM regional program manager shared AsiaDHRRA’s experience in anchoring ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community’s participatory process in drafting the 2011-2015 Framework  Action Plan for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication and AsiaDHRRA’s strategies, models and experiences in implementing the Linking Small Farmers to Markets.

IPRCC is an international anti-poverty organization established jointly by the Chinese Government and the United Nations Development Program and other international organizations in June 2005. IPRCC has committed to make contributions to poverty reduction in the world through the promotion of policy research, experience-sharing, knowledge exchange and South-South Cooperation in the field of poverty reduction and development.

IPRCC was established by the Chinese Government to provide a platform for various professionals and development practitioners from different developing countries to share theoretic studies and policy analysis and explore effective approaches for agricultural growth and rural development. It is one of the 5 new measures to assume China’s international responsibilities announced by China’s president Hu Jintao at the High-Level Meeting on Financing for Development, on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations. On June 22, 2004, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivered a keynote speech titled Promote Asian Cooperation in New Century at the Third Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue held in Qingdao in which he pointed out that strengthening regional cooperation is not only an important part of China’s new-era foreign policy but also the need of its own development.

Farmers can soon cut on fuel expenses as the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) tests the efficiency of its developed biofuel on machines.

The plan is an offshoot of a recent lecture by Dr. Rico O. Cruz, an expert on biofuel from Oregon, USA, who promoted Cruzesterification, a process of producing biodiesel from used vegetable oils. “Producing biodiesel using Cruzesterification makes the production of biodiesel as “easy as making coffee, in which the catalyst is the coffee, alcohol as the sugar and oil as the hot water. Blend the three ingredients and you a have a coffee or a biodiesel in minutes,” Cruz said.

continue reading “PhilRice machines to test biodiesel”over at PhilRice….

The workshop on Agriculture and the Peasantry in ASEAN: Challenges and Way Forward (co-organized by Asiadhrra with API, SPI, SP, BINA DESA, AFA, APNFS, LRAN) will discuss the challenges facing agriculture and peasantry in the ASEAN Region in the context of food sovereignty and land reform.

Download the Agriculture in ASEAN workshop program here…

The guide highlights successes from Brazil, India and Cote d’Ivoire, underscoring the importance of a favorable policy environment that promotes quality control and certification systems, private sector support, flexible legislation and the legal right for farmers to save and exchange seeds. It also stresses the need for available credit to allow these businesses to take root.

Read about the FAO Policy Guide on the Role of Small Seed Enterprises to Secure Food Security…

This research on ATIGA was anchored by AsiaDHRRA for the Trade Advocacy Group (TAG) and was undertaken by Ms. Riza Bernabe.

The research attempts to develop concrete and specifi c recommendations on the Philippines’ regional trade policy including positions in regional trade agreements by generating and consolidating information on the capabilities as well as sensitivities of the various sectors with respect to regional trade.

These recommendations can form part of civil society’s advocacy agenda on ATIGA in particular, and ASEAN in general. The research was designed to capture the effect of ATIGA on national trade policies and more importantly, assess the capability of local sectors to compete within its framework of greater regional trade liberalization.

AsiaDHRRA is a member of Trade Advocacy Group (TAG), a platform for trade campaigning and information exchange in the Philippines.

Download the ebook here…

1. Provide background information on how the ADB operates
2. Analyze the ADB’s operations in two pilot countries (the Philippines and Indonesia) focusing on agriculture-related projects
3. In-depth analysis of two ADB projects on agriculture as case study (one per pilot country)
4. CSO participation in ADB processes

Click the image to download the book or click here

Happy New Year everyone and may we all have a peaceful, just and bountiful year ahead…

Population growth, arable land and fresh water limits, and climate change have profound implications for the ability of agriculture to meet this century’s demands for food, feed, fiber, and fuel while reducing the environmental impact of their production. Success depends on the acceptance and use of contemporary molecular techniques, as well as the increasing development of farming systems that use saline water and integrate nutrient flows.

Continue reading the article at ScienceMag…

Abstract
Food security is a growing concern worldwide. More than 1 billion people are estimated to lack sufficient dietary energy availability, and at least twice that number suffer micronutrient deficiencies. Because indicators inform action, much current research focuses on improving food insecurity measurement. Yet estimated prevalence rates and patterns remain tenuous because measuring food security, an elusive concept, remains difficult.

click here to continue reading about Measuring Food Insecurity…

The One World Trust, with support from the International Development Research Centre, has created an interactive, online database of tools to help organisations conducting policy relevant research become more accountable.

The Trust has built the online accountability database to support researchers, campaigners and research managers to think through the way they use evidence to influence policy in an accountable way. The database takes into account that research organisations are increasingly diverse – they are no longer just universities, but private companies, public institutes and non-profit think-tanks. No single accountability model can encompass this diversity.

Instead, the database provides an inventory of over two hundred tools, standards and processes within a broad, overarching accountability framework. With a dynamic interface and several search functions, it allows users to identify aspects of accountability that interests them, and provides ideas to improve their accountability in this context. Each tool is supported by sources and further reading.

Check out the research accountability tool here…

The Rural Poverty Report 2011 is a comprehensive resource for policymakers and practitioners, especially those in developing countries.  The report looks at who poor rural people are, what they do and how their livelihoods are changing.  It explores the challenges that make it so difficult for rural people to overcome poverty, and identifies the opportunities and pathways that could lead towards greater prosperity for them and their communities.  And it highlights the policies and actions that governments and development practitioners can take to support the efforts of rural people themselves, both today and in the years to come.

Read the IFAD rural Poverty Report 2011…