Antananarivo, Madagascar

May 14, 2010

In this regular series we profile advisors of the Nourishing the Planet project. This week, we feature Norman Uphoff, professor of Government and International Agriculture at Cornell University. Name: Norman Uphoff Affiliation: Cornell University Location: Ithaca, United States Bio: Norman Uphoff is a professor of Government and International Agriculture at Cornell University and former director of the Cornell International Institute for...

Antananarivo, Madagascar

May 13, 2010

Cross posted from Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet. Fridah Mugo and her 13 siblings grew up in a farming family in rural Kenya, where the majority of young girls are not expected to finish primary school. But, in 1999, with a scholarship provided by Winrock International's African Women Leaders in Agriculture and the Environment program (AWLAE), she was able to complete her PhD in Natural Resources Policy and Management. Now, wi...

Antananarivo, Madagascar

May 12, 2010

Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute’s Nourishing the Planet. Madagascar, like many other African nations, “is based on rice,” says Xavier Rakontonjanahary, the Rice Breeding Coordinator at the Centre National de la Recherche Apliquee au Developpement Rural/FOFIFA or the National Center for Rural Development. As a result, FOFIFA works with farmers, developing different rice varieties for different regions and different conditions....

Antananarivo, Madagascar

May 11, 2010

Cross posted from BorderJumpers, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack. Check out Food First's most recent edition of Alternatives to the Green Revolution in Africa newsletter (AAAGRrrr!). In a piece written by Richard Jonasse and Tanya Kerssen, Nourishing the Planet Advisory Group member, Professor Olivier De Schutter, is quoted about the threat of increasing corporate consolidation in the food system and how it puts small farmers at risk...

Antananarivo, Madagascar

May 10, 2010

Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute’s Nourishing the Planet. Madagascar has had more than its share of bad luck in the last year. In 2009, a military coup deposed the government. But the government wasn’t the only thing that collapsed. The island nation’s $400 million per year tourism revenue also disappeared, which has led to increased logging and deforestation of Madagascar’s forests. And many of the NGOs and aid agencies tha...