>>How can we reduce hunger and poverty, improve rural livelihoods, and facilitate equitable, environmentally, socially and economically sustainable development through the generation, access to, and use of agricultural knowledge, science and technology? <<
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May 23, Huffington Post: The Global Struggle Over Who Will End Hunger
May 22, IPS: Seeds of Hope Take Root in Kenya
May 14, All Africa.com, Op Ed by Hans Herren: Africa - Supporting a True Agricultural Revolution
May 9, Ethioppian Journal: Protecting Investors, but What About the People? - Dissecting the Contradictions of Agricultural Investment
May 8, Huffington Post, Devinder Sharma: Michelle Obama Can Lead a Global Movement for Organic Food
April 29, Foreing Policy, Anna Lappé: Don't Panic, Go Organic
April 21 2010, IPS: Green Agriculture Growing in Leaps and Bounds
April 19 2010, The Faster Times: F ood Politics Anna Lappé: Sustainable Farming Can Feed the World
April 14 2010, IPS: Farmers on Fringe of Intl Agriculture Policy? a report from CGIARs recent GCARD meeting in Montpellier
April, 12 2010, Various NGS: An Open Letter to Oxfam America on its Stance on Biotechnology
April 12 2010, The Huffington Post: Agri-preneurship, A Solution to Africa's Food Crisis
31 March 2010, Biodiversidad en América Latina y El Caribe: Bolivia: comienza el ciclo nacional de ferias agroecológicas
10 March 2010, PAN Briefing: Scientists Support Farmers Regaining Control of Agriculture, Findings from the UN-led International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development
1 March 2010, Resurgence 259, Benny Haerlin: The next food revolution, The future of food, agriculture, development and sustainability depends on small-scale farmers
February 26 2010, PAN North America: Monsanto, Pioneer & Gates seed industrial ag in Africa
February 26 2010, Futura Environment: Sous les tropiques, les fermes familiales font du développement durable
February 15 2010, Rajni Bakshi on rediff: Bt brinjal and the politics of knowledge
February 3, The Ecologist: UK overseas aid ignoring small scale agriculture
December 17 2009, Times of India: No climate mitigation with expanding agriculture trade
December 7 2009, Ecologist: Agriculture: Copenhagen's blind spot
November 23 2009, Jules Pretty in Monthly Review: Can Ecological Agriculture Feed Nine Billion People?
November 21 2009, Le Courrier: L'agriculture mondialisée: un péril vert?
November 5th 2009, UBC report: Save the seeds, save ourselves
October 21st 2009, Farming UK: Royal Society report on science and agriculture: GM not the only answer
October 19th 2009, BBC: UK urged to lead on future food
October 19th 2009, Bulatlat: Change in Control of Food Production Key to Solving World Hunger
September 9th 2009, ZNet Ending Akfrica's Hunger, by Raj Patel, Eric Holt-Gimenez and Annie Shattuck
August 11th, Smallholder: Soil Association response to the UK Food Security Assessment
August 10th, Alternet: Is Obama's Plan for Tackling Hunger Just Another Chance for Big Ag and Biotech to Cash In?
July 8th 2009, Foreing Policy in Focus: G8 Summit: Feed the Hungry or Fuel Hunger?
30th June 2009, IPS: Rechercher la diversité, la maîtrise de la résistance et des fermiers
26th June 2009, all Africa: The Global Food Price Crisis - A Critique of Orthodox Perspectives by Walden Bello
24th June 2009, Institute for Development Studies: Transforming Agriculture through Farmer-Centred Innovation
17th June 2009, The Huffington Post: All That Glitters Is Not Gold: Biotechnology Has Failed Us, So Why Promote It Abroad?
13th June 2009, Mainstream India: Reflections on the Election Results and Tasks Ahead
9th June 2009, The Phillipine News today: Agriculture at a Crossroads
4th June 2009, The Huffington Post: Biotech FAIL: Bad Science, Worse Faith and Superweeds
19th May 2009, La Via Campesina & Friends of the Earth: Food Sovereignty: A New Model for a Human Right
14th May 2009, Nnimmo Basseyon CSD in AllAfrica.com: Africa: Full Speed in the Wrong Direction
13 May Earth Negotiations Bulletin: CSD, May 14th Ministerial Roundtable with Robert T. Watson
UN Commission for Sustainable Development, 17th Session, New York
4-15 May
Roundtable on Realizing a Sustainable Green Revolution in Africa: CSD Chair
Gerda Verburg, Vivain Pliner, Secretariat, and Robert Watson, Director, International
Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development
(IAASTD).
6 May 2009, Africa Science News: Call for agricultural research to serve people, not corporate interests
28 April 2009, Fresh Plaza: Agroecological Farming key to Africa’s future
25 April 2009: The Record: food crisis - A new deal will be needed to avert a global disaster in agriculture
23 April 2009, All-Africa.com: Olivier de Schutter: Africa Realising the Right to Food
22 April 2009, Diario:
One step forward, two steps back in addressing the food crisis
G8 Ministers have failed to present proposals that
will effectively tackle the global food crisis
19 April 2009, All Gov, USA: New
Bill Supporting Patented Seeds Divides Aid Groups
Foreign policy in focus:
Global Food Security Act
Food First:
Why the Global Food Security Act Will Fail to Curb Hunger
18 April, The Independent: Strange fruit: Could genetically modified foods offer a solution to the world's food crisis?
17. April 2009, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippine News : Chemically-driven agri will not solve poverty— study
16 April 2009, Common Dreams:
G8 Urged to Reject Another 'Green Revolution'
U.S. working group on the food crisis urges G8 to reject failed green revolution
policies for Africa
16 April 2009, Greenpeace:
Agriculture at a crossroads
9 April 2009, One World: Global Climate Talks Must Address Agriculture
6 April 2009, Xhinhua: UN
General Assembly president calls for "new politics of food" to fight
against food crisis
6 April 2009, UN: General
Assembly President calls for new type of bottom-up ‘food democracy’
2 April 2009, IPS: CLIMATE CHANGE: Farming Could Be Friend or Foe
March 2009, Rural 21: German Development Ministry endorses global agricultural report
12 March 2009, Euractive: Europe and global food security
10 March 2009, Public Service, UNESCO: G20 nations must address the 'most pressing issue of our time
1 March 2009, The Guardian: 93 months and counting
26 February 2009, IPS: Climaste Change - New Thinking to Tackle Old Problems
26 February, All Africa: Africa: Global Food Crisis - Ecological Agriculture is Productive
26 January 2009, OneWorld.net: Bold steps urged for Madrid food summit
22 January 2009, All-Africa: Subsidies That Work and Africa: Agricultural Knowledge
20 January 2009, Chicago Tribune: Agriculture does not need 'business as usual'
15. January 2009, Brazzil-Magazin:There's
No Place for Brazil's Ethanol and Biofuels in a Real Green World
An open letter by various US organisations opposing the expansion of agrofuels
13. January 2009 European Parliament: Resolution
on the Common Agricultural Policy and Global Food Security
" having regard to the recommendations of the International Assessment
of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)"
12. January 2009, Citizen-Time: Family
Farmers demand real change
By Ben Burkett, president of the National Family Farm Coalition, NFFC, USA
2 January 2009, Lancaster Farming: Rodale Calls for ‘Organic Green Revolution’
31 December 2009, PAN: Hope for the New Year - 2008 Highlights
27. November, Nature, Ediotrial:
A fruitless campaign
on "Freedom
to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa's Development"
5. November, Truth About Trade & Technology: Why the IAASTD failed
31. October, Foreign Policy in Focus: The Food Crisis and Gender
9. October, The Jordan Times, Traditional Agricultural Methods No Longer Useful
7. October, UNCTAD, Statements by Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD
23. September, Guardian, When the going gets tough
3. September, Science Alert, Australia: Tackling the global food challenge
1. September 2008, Organic Market: Organic agriculture for food security in Africa, IFOAM on the African Green Revolution Conference
28 August, New UK Food Group report: More
Aid for African Agriculture: policy implications for small-scale farmers
A comprehensive analysis of the situation, including an overview on all major
players and a great stock of evidence and background materials
28 August, New Statesman, Both Sides are probably wrong by John Vidal
13 August 2008, New Scientist: Why Prince Charles is right – and wrong on GM comment by Andrew Coghlan
8 August, Asia Times: Food crisis sows seed for change by Alexandra Spieldoch
July 2008, INRA magazine:
Penser la recherche agronomique au niveau mondial
L’IAASTD relève un bilan contrasté de l’évolution
de l’agriculture au cours des 50 dernières années : la production
alimentaire a plus que doublé, mais l’écart de rendement
entre les régions s’est accru et l’agriculture intensive
en intrants chimiques et énergie est aujourd’hui jugée peu
durable.
Jun/Jul 2008, ECOS: Redefining our agricultural future by Wendy Pyper
3-5 June: FAO High-Level Conference on World Food Security, website final
declaration
5 June 2008: Olivier De Schutter (UN
envoy on the right to food) at the FAO food conference: The
Right to Food
22 May 2008, GRIST: Farm and function Agriculture produces more than just crops -- and it's time for policy to reflect that, by IAASTD author, Prof.Thomas L. Dobbs
20 May 2008, Rodale Institute: Groundbreaking report offers holistic remedies for famine relief and environmental protection in developing countries
12 May 2008: Change in agriculture can meet food needs: IAASTD
8 May 2008, AP: Overlooked in the global food crisis: A problem with dirt
7 May 2008, Interpress: Southern Africa: Small Can Be Beautiful
30 April 2008, Robert Watson in the Guardian: Growth factors
Global Knowledge No 1 2008: Rethinking Agriculture
25. April, The Australian: Global crisis on our plate
18. April, Science: Agriculture
at a Crossroads
by IAASTD authors E. Toby Kiers, Roger R. B. Leakey, Anne-Marie Izac, Jack A.
Heinemann, Erika Rosenthal, Dev Nathan, Janice Jiggins
16 April 2008, New York Times:
U.N. Panel Urges Changes to Feed Poor While Saving Environment
16 April 2008, Germany: Deutsches
Umweltministerium begrüßt Bericht des Weltagrarrates
15. April:
Reuters: Free
food trade threatens environment, poor: report
Al Jazeera, Video: Rethinking
food crisis solutions
Guardian: UN
body urges agriculture reforms to stave off food crisis
Inter Press Service: Reinventing
Agriculture
The EastAfrican:
UN scientists say industrial agriculture has failed
Agence France Press: Farm
practices must change to counter high food prices
Inquirer Philippines: World
must reform agriculture now or face dire crisis
Le Monde:
Des experts appellent à repenser l'agriculture de demain
Der Spiegel:
Experten fordern radikale Umkehr der Agrarpolitik
BBC: Global
food system 'must change'
African Energy News Review, 13. April 2008: UN biofuel warning, call for return to traditional farming
Farmers Guardian UK, 11. April 2008: Report into global food production may draw flak from both sides of GM debate
Inter Press Service, 9 April: "A Collective Ignorance About How Agriculture Interacts With Natural Systems" Interview with UNEP Director Achim Steiner
The Hindu, 9 April 2008: Agri-practices failed to alleviate food situation: UN report
Trading Markets: 8 April 2008: Agri-Practices Failed To Alleviate Food Situation: Un Report
UN News Centre, 7 April 2008: Agriculture must revert to more natural, local production – UN-backed report
The Bioscience Resource Project, 7. April: How the Science Media Failed the IAASTD
Inter Press Service, 6 april 2008: Towards a New and Improved Green Revolution
Op ed by Hans Herren, co-chair: Investing in Sustenance
Op ed by Jan van Aken, Greenpeace: Defining the Future of Agriculture
New Scientist, 5 April 2008:
Andy Coghlan (editor):
How to kickstart an agricultural revolution
Comment by Deborah Keith (Syngenta):
Why I had to walk out
Comment by Janice Jiggins:
Bridging gulfs to feed the world
Science, 14 March 2008: Duelling
visions for a hungry world
AAAS 16. Feburary 2008:
Bob Watson gets AAAS award
German: Die Zeit 04. April 2008:Das Weltsättigungsprojekt
Third World Network: IAASTD draft proposes significant changes to status quo
January 2008: Monsanto, Syngenta withdraw from IAASTD
Claiming that the final report of the IAASTD was "unbalanced"
and not sufficiently supportive of the use of genetic engineering in agriculture
two major Agro-chemical and biotech companies Monsanto and Syngenta have withdrawn
from the process. It appears that they did not like the results and findings
of the about 4000 scientsts involved and prefer to ignore the advice of the
lead scientists, which they have jointly selected with governments and non governmental
organisations three years ago.
Guardian, 22 January:
Biotech companies desert international agriculture project
Nature 17 January 2008, Editorial: Deserting
the hungry? Monsanto and Syngenta are wrong to withdraw from an international
assessment on agriculture.
December 2007: Watson interviews on key issues of IAASTD on you tube
19 October 2007: The
World Bank's World Development Report 2008 - Focus on agriculture
On October 19th the World Bank officially released the final
version of its "World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development"
with a focus on agriculture. In clear contrast to the present drafts of the
IAASTD this report promotes top-down approaches, increased world trade in agricultural
goods and "modernisiation" of agriculture at the expense of small
and subsistence farmers. The present draft contains a highly ideological praise
of genetic engineering (Chapter 7 Innovating through science and technology).
At this point the World Bank seems deeply concerned about a quite different
view to be presented in a report, which has higher credibility and is based
upon more inclusiveness and scientific evidence. The final text of the WDR and
some background is available on the World
Banks website