554 research outputs found
Case Study #3-4 of the Program: ''Food Policy For Developing Countries: The Role Of Government In The Global Food System''
9 pp.©Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. All rights reserved. This case study may be reproduced for educational purposes without express permission but must include acknowledgment to Cornell University. No commercial use is permitted without permission.Deficiencies of micronutrients—particularly iron, iodine, vitamin A, zinc, and folic acid—wreak havoc on survival, health, and productivity around the world. Micronutrient deficiencies are often called “hidden hunger” because they do not manifest themselves in immediate physical signs but are insidious in causing disease. They are particularly problematic in India because of the sheer numbers of people affected: 35 percent of the world’s malnourished children live in India, and 42 percent of children in India are stunted. The Indian government has not met its current goals related to reducing micronutrient deficiencies. In order to increase the profile of programs aimed at eliminating micronutrient deficiencies on the policy agenda, the Micronutrient Initiative (an international nongovernmental organization, or NGO), created an India Micronutrient National Investment Plan (IMNIP), which laid out the rationale and costs for addressing the problems. This plan has been well received and appears to have significantly influenced likely funding allocations to micronutrient programs. Several features of the process by which the IMNIP was conceptualized, written, shared, and used were essential to influencing the national policy process; these features include relevancy, timing, stakeholder involvement, information, publicity, leadership, and saliency. The IMNIP has clearly addressed questions of why and when micronutrient programs should be increased, and it has made plausible suggestions concerning what programs best tackle the problems and how they should be carried out. It is debatable who should be responsible for planning, funding, carrying out, and monitoring micronutrient programs; possible parties include the national government, state governments, NGOs, and the private sector. A take-home message is that policy decisions are often ambiguous and that debate about the best way to administer policy continues even after policies or budgets are passed. As a staff member of an NGO that provides nutrition programming consulting, your assignment is to recommend to the Government of India how to address remaining questions about implementation, funding, monitoring, and enforcement of the micronutrient programs and to try to make sure the government takes note of your recommendations.Cornell University Division of Nutritional Science
Topfpflanzen biologisch düngen
Versuche des FiBL liefern neue Erkenntnisse zur Düngung von biologisch produzierten Topfkulturen
Understanding participation in modern supply chains under a social network perspective: Evidence from blackberry farmers in the Ecuadorian Andes
In this paper, we use semi-structured interviews with firm representatives and original survey data to study the factors influencing farmers' participation in modern supply chains in the Ecuadorian blackberry sector. Previous research has emphasized the important role of farm size and non-farm assets enabling participation in these chains. Going beyond this scope of analysis, we argue that farmers' social networks can be an important avenue to facilitate inclusion. Using different probit model specifications, we find that individual farmers' social networks are important determinants for participation in modern supply chains in an environment characterized by a homogenous farm sector. Further research is needed to explore the specific pathways through which social networks exert their influence
Bioseedling: a chain approach to the production of healthier seeds and seedlings of Lamb’s lettuce Valerianella locusta
The project BIOSEEDLING “Robust planting material from seeds to young plants - an implementation oriented chain approach” aims to find improved production procedures for vegetable seedlings of lamb’s lettuce. First, the production of lamb’s lettuce seeds of a professional seed producer was analyzed and the effect of harvest time and seed size on the germination and disease rate in the seeds was studied.
Then, using seeds naturally infected by Peronospora valerianellae and Acidovorax valerianellae, several seed disinfection methods were compared: aerated steam, hot water, sodium hypochlorite, ethanol, Calcium hydroxide, and compost pellet. After testing methods for the identification of the seed pathogens and the quantification of the infection, an assessment on how the different treatments reduce the pathogens and whether they alter the seeds germination capacity was made. In a third step, substrates suppressive of the soil borne pathogens Rhizoctonia solanii and Pythium ultimum were developed and several plant protection agents were tested against Peronospora valerianellae. Furthermore, the effect of night interruption on the sporulation of lamb’s lettuce downy mildew (Peronospora valerianellae) using periods of lighting in the red and blue regions was tested. The aim is to combine the best methods resulting from all the experiments cited above in a future experiment and compare them to the standard methods in an on-farm experiment
Improving diets with wild and cultivated biodiversity from across the landscape
This paper examines the literature on how biodiversity contributes to improved and diversified diets in developing countries. We assess the current state of evidence on how wild and cultivated biodiversity in all forms is related to healthy diets and nutrition, and examine how economic factors, knowledge and social norms interact with availability of biodiversity to influence both production and consumption choices. The paper identifies areas where evidence is lacking and ways to build synergies between nutrition-sensitive approaches and efforts to ensure sustainability of food systems and the natural environment
Modern supply chains, social networks, and income effects among blackberry farmers in the Ecuadorian Andes
The modernization of agricultural supply chains in developing countries has created new and potentially more profitable marketing opportunities for farmers. At the same time, farmers are increasingly challenged by the stringent and more complex requirements demanded in such chains. Our study of the Ecuadorian blackberry sectors shows that farmer’s integration into social networks is a significant determinant of participation in modern supply chains. Further empirical evidence suggests that participation in such chains is not related to an increase in farm or household income as the majority of prior studies has indicated. Our findings reveal important implications for managers and policy-makers
Concepts and critical perspectives for food environment research: A global framework with implications for action in low- and middle-income countries
Malnutrition in all its forms currently affects one in three people globally and is considered one of the greatest public health challenges of our time. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly facing a double burden of malnutrition that includes undernutrition, as well as increasing overweight, obesity and diet related non-communicable diseases. The role of food environments in shaping transitioning diets and the double burden of malnutrition in LMICs is increasingly gaining policy attention. However, food environment research to date has predominantly been undertaken in response to obesity and associated diet-related non-communicable diseases in high-income countries (HICs). Empirical research in LMICs is in its infancy. There is a need to create a cohesive research agenda to facilitate food environment research and inform action across the globe, particularly with regard to LMICs. In this paper, we address three fundamental questions: First, how can the food environment be defined and conceptualised in a way that captures the key dimensions that shape food acquisition and consumption globally? Second, how can existing knowledge and evidence from HICs be leveraged to accelerate food environment research in LMICs? Third, what are the main challenges and opportunities in doing so? We conduct a brief synthesis of the food environment literature in order to frame our critical perspectives, and introduce a new definition and conceptual framework that includes external and personal domains and dimensions within the wider food environment construct. We conclude with a discussion on the implications for future research in LMICs
Value chains to improve diets: Diagnostics to support intervention design in Malawi
Governments and development partners looking to accelerate progress in addressing malnutrition have been examining how to use interventions in value-chains to improve diets. However, the links between interventions in value chains and diets involve a range of direct and indirect effects that are not yet well understood. We apply a mixed-method multisectoral diagnostic to examine potential interventions in food systems to improve diets of smallholder farmers in Malawi. We examine entry points for interventions involving public and private-sectors, and explore the methodological requirements for undertaking this type of multisectoral analysis. We find that although food consumption is dominated by maize, a range of nutritious foods are also being consumed; including leafy greens, fruits, chicken, dried fish, dried beans and peas, and groundnuts. Yet important deficits in nutrient intake remain prevalent in low-income households due to inadequate quantity of consumption. While increasing consumption through own-production is one potentially important channel to increase quantity of nutritious foods available (particularly fruits and leafy green vegetables), markets also play a potentially important role. Nutritious foods are available on markets year-round, although strong seasonality impacts the availability and price of perishable products. For beans, peas and groundnuts, supply appears to be available throughout the year, with price fluctuations relatively controlled due to storage capacity and imports. The capacity of markets to supply safe and nutritious food is limited by a number of issues, including poor hygiene; lack of infrastructure for storage and selling; limited information on nutrition, and weak coordination among sellers and producers. Other bottlenecks include: on-farm constraints for expanded production, consumers with limited purchasing capacity, intense competition among sellers and few services for sellers to increase volume of product sold during peak demand. The diagnostics identify the role of information-related interventions to optimize decisions related to food choices, involving a range of different foods and value-chains, that could potentially lead to short- and medium-term improvements in diets. Longer-term and more resource-intensive interventions are also identified, such as improving capacity for product differentiation, processing, storage, and market infrastructure across a different range of food chains, so as to maximise coherence between short- and long-term planning. The findings highlight the benefits of applying a strategic, food systems-based approach of identifying specific and complementary actions for both the public and private sectors that can improve the diets of low-income populations
Policy brief on the organic approach to inputs – Plant protection products, fertilisers, veterinary drugs and feed additives explained
The plant and animal health care strategy in organic farming strengthensagro-biodiversity, protects the environment as well as animal and human health. In addition to fully exploiting preventive options, the use of external inputs such as plant protection products, fertilisers or veterinarymedicinal productsis allowed to prevent inacceptable losses in productivity or animal suffering. However, external inputs need to comply with organic standardsas well as European legislationand aretherefore carefully evaluated before any decision on acceptance is taken.Organic farming systems should aim at reducing dependency on off-farm fertilisers to the lowest feasable level to ensure closed nutrient cycles and avoid nutrient leakage and contamination.
This policy brief explains the underlying principles and the procedures for evaluation of inputs, focusing on plant protection products, fertilisers, feed additives and veterinary medicinal products used in organic farming under European legislation. The case study in Annex I on plant protection products provides a full picture on the processes and criteria for authorisation, the assessment of new inputs accordingtothe suitability in organic farming, the history of utilised substances and possible trade-offs and concerns
Meta-evaluation on the Quality of (Project)Evaluations in German Development Cooperation
The cross-organisational meta-evaluation examines project evaluations of eleven governmental and non-governmental organisations in Germany that were (co-)funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). This meta-evaluation analyses their understanding of quality in evaluations and their application of internationally recognised quality standards, especially the OECD-DAC and DeGEval standards. It also analyses factors linked to the application of the quality standards
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