AsiaDHRRA Online

FarmFriday, shares this thought-provoking article from the The Economist about Brazil’s success in developing its vast savannah into one of the world’s great breadbasket. Make sure to read the article comments for some interesting viewpoints.
The increase in Brazil’s farm production has been stunning. Between 1996 and 2006 the total value of the country’s crops rose [...]

Here’s an interesting graphic outlining a “taxonomy” of the much discussed practice of “poverty tourism”.  Update: Aaron Ausland, the author, has recently updated the graphic which i think added some context and made it more meaningful.

Read more here…

Here’s something to interest you if you’re planning your career path or thinking of embarking on a new line of work. ScienceMag presents a nice overview of career opportunities in the area of food security.
The demand for scientists with expertise in the agriculture/food sector is likely to increase in the next decade, says Celia Caulcott, [...]

Download the Synthesis of Deliberations of the Third Meeting of the Farmers’ Forum held in Rome on February 15th-16th 2010
Learn more about the Third Farmers’ Forum here…
What is the Farmers’ Forum?

FarmFriday shares this interesting article by Elizabeth Pennisi in ScienceMag about the scientific community’s efforts in creating “the ideal crop” and “developing new technologies for a better farming future”
Substantial improvements are needed in current crops to achieve higher yields and sustainable farming. To achieve those gains, agricultural companies have turned to robotics and other measures [...]

FrankenThursday brings this worrying article from NPR which says that “A survey of North Dakota has turned up hundreds of genetically modified canola plants growing along roads across the state.” Aint that scary? Apart from safety, health and ecological concerns this has legal ramifications as well, as GMO purveyors like Monsanto has  been known to [...]

The Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD)is proud to announce the launching of their first bi-annual e-newsletter in 2010 containing recent events, news and stories about their projects and activities.
Click here to read the newsletter…
Or better yet pay their website a visit here…

TechTuesday shares this fascinating story about how mobile phones are being used to increase literacy among teens in South Africa. Why don’t they just call these books “movel” instead of “m-novel”?
South African teens were happy to give their thumbs a rest for a while and take a break between MXit chats to read the m-novel [...]

Here’s an interesting read from the http://www.soilassociation.org asserting that those saying we need to double global food production by 2050 are basically using the wrong figures and interpretations.
‘Telling porkies: The big fat lie about doubling food production’, reveals that all those claiming we need to double global food production by 2050, or 50% by 2030, [...]

Here’s an interesting news about increasing yield of african rice varieties:
New findings reported by the Africa Rice Center counter the widely held view that African rice, preferred by local consumers for its taste, is inherently lower yielding than Asian rice. They also confirm its remarkable adaptability to harsh growing conditions in Africa and hence its [...]

Here’s an interesting article we picked up over at IPS.

Franz Chávez interviews Bolivian expert in natural resource management WILFREDO QUIROZ
Wilfredo Quiroz / Credit:Franz Chávez/IPS
LA PAZ, Apr 3 , 2010 (IPS) – The gradual loss of traditional farming practices that preserve the land has pushed into extreme poverty small farmers in Bolivia who 20 years [...]

Sad scenes like this are being played out all over China as the demands of modernization and opportunists clash with the lives of poor chinese farmers like brave Yang Youde.
Yang Youde is a farmer who had contracted to rent 25 mu of land.  The lease was set to continue until 2019.  Over the years, [...]

Here’s an interesting article from fastcompany.com about reversing desertification. The project, the winner of the 2010  Buckminster Fuller Challenge evangelizes the approach called  “holistic management” in combating desertification. “The core of Holistic Management is simply grazing local livestock in super dense herds that mimic the grazing patterns of big-game (which have since disappeared). Those livestock [...]

By popular demand we will be posting again farm machines developed by government and research institutions in Southeast Asia. Again here’s PhilRice with their microtiller which is just perfect for small family farms and those starting out on mechanizing their rice farms.  Am not sure if this machine is the one designed also for use [...]

FarmFriday shares this interesting newsbit we picked up from PhilRice about a research they conducted that showed Filipino rice farmers have steadily improved their socio-economic status over the past 10 years or so. Any reactions?
There is a steady improvement in the social and economic status among Filipino rice farmers and their household for the last [...]