first food

Food First collaborated with other organizations to bring more than 150 participants from 25 African countries and 10 non-African countries. Attendees including farmers, pastoralists, environmentalists, women, youth and development organizations, gathered at the Nyéléni Center in Selingue, Mali from November 26th to December 2nd. Field trips to area farms helped to inform the discussion on:
-- Climate change and agriculture, fisheries and pastoralism in Africa
-- The fight against hunger
-- Development aid for agriculture and rural development in Africa
-- African Agroecological Alternatives to the Green Revolution.

Documents from the meetings are available at www.moreandbetter.org

The two-day conference organized by Food First focused on African Agroecological Alternatives to the Green Revolution. A number of initiatives from multinational companies, foundations and politicians are pushing a “new green revolution” in Africa. One of them is Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). In 2006, The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a joint $150 million Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to save Africa from hunger. AGRA is actually breaking ground for a larger network of chemical, seed, fertilizer companies and Green Revolution institutions seeking to industrialize African agriculture as they have already done in the U.S. and in large parts of Latin America and Asia. AGRA’s high-profile campaign for a new Green Revolution, headed by Kofi Annan, is designed to attract private investment, enroll African governments, and convince African farmers to buy hybrid seeds and chemical fertilizers. AGRA is laying the foundation for researchers, institutions, and African farmers to introduce GMO crops—not only for rice, wheat and maize, but also for cassava, plantain and other African food crops.

The first Green Revolution introduced by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations in 1960-1990 deepened the divide between rich and poor farmers and degraded tropical agro-ecosystems, exposing already vulnerable farmers to increased environmental risk. It led to loss of seed/plant varieties and agro-biodiversity, which is the basis for smallholder livelihood, security and regional environmental sustainability. While production per capita increased in Asia and Latin America, the percentage of hungry people increased even more. Because the Green Revolution responds to corporate interests, rather than the needs of African farmers, the new green revolution, based on an industrial model, is likely to worsen—not improve—the condition of Africa’s small farmers and to increase the number of hungry Africans.
The AGRA-led Green Revolution not only threatens the richness of African traditional agriculture, it ignores (and is attempting to co-opt) the many successful African agricultural alternatives including sustainable agriculture, agro-forestry, pastoralism, integrated pest management, farmer-led plant breeding, sustainable watershed management and many other agroecological approaches. Because AGRA is but one—highly visible component of a wider industrial push, attendees realized that they need to decide where to put their energies, and be prepared for the divisive nature of involvement with AGRA.

At its core, the Green Revolution undermines Africa’s food systems and food sovereignty: people’s right to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.

There is an urgent need for information and public debate at local and national levels on the push for a “new Green Revolution.” We also have the right to transparency and accountability from AGRA and all Green Revolution institutions, including our own government and Green Revolution researchers. We need to work at the national level to mobilize, building on existing struggles against GMOs, agrofuels, and for food sovereignty. Sustainable agricultural alternatives are linked to socio-economic and political reforms.


Håndværker - colic-help - skate - obese - rfp

pizza

Midt i al denne snak om hungersnød er det måske upassende at nævne at man kan vinde et pizza gavekort til en værdi af 5000 danske kroner, men det er ikke desto mindre hvad man kan på Oddsets nye site, som ellers omhandler fodbold og sport. Hvis drengerøven har en kæreste, som har udtalt noget tilstrækkeligt dumt vedrørende sport, ligesom janni fra reklamerne kunne have gjort det, kan man ydermere få en pizza opkaldt efter sig.
www.derersaamegetkvinderikkeforstaar.dk

Currently, there is enough food

Currently, there is enough food grown on the planet to provide every single man, woman and child with approximately 3500 calories of nutrition per day (a normal healthy diet takes in between 2000- 2500 calories per day). Feeding the world is attainable if given the will and the priority of the peoples and nations to make it so. An evolving/advanced world civilization will REQUIRE that feeding its people become a high priority goal to be met and attained.

Håndværker - colic-help - skate - taliban - nine eleven

hunger program

Håndværker - colic-help - skate - egypt - kina