The phrase ‘fragile states’ has gradually become part of the vocabulary of international donors in recent years. The concept of fragile states seeks to marry development and security issues. But it has led to a variety of fragile state agendas of international donors, and a lack of consensus on priorities and strategies. Fragile states are countries where there is overt or latent insecurity and/or bad governance, and low levels of social and economic development. It is a typical ‘donor label’ that is not always appreciated by the countries to which it is applied.   read more >>

Sanoussi Bilal is head of Economic and Trade Cooperation Programme, at the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), Maastricht and Brussels The financial crisis, though having its origin in developed countries, has generated a global recession that has severe consequences for developing countries, including in Africa, in terms of their prospects for economic growth and development, notably through a decline of trade and investment flows, lower remittances, some lower co...   read more >>

Extreme weather events, partly caused by climate change, are already wreaking havoc, especially in the South. Both floods and droughts are expected to become more frequent and more severe and more people will be forced to live in vulnerable areas. But who will pay for the measures needed to respond to the impacts of climate change?   read more >>

Following the civil war in Lebanon (1975–1989) various multilateral donors initiated an ambitious programme of administrative reform. But they made a mess of it, concludes Nisrine El Ghaziri.   read more >>

Among the issues picked up on by civil society in the run-up to the FIFA™ World Cup – make sure you don’t forget the trademark sign! – is human trafficking linked to the sex industry. Apparently, Germany faced problems of increased human trafficking when they played host to the previous FIFA™ World Cup. Now South Africa (or especially civil society in South Africa) is determined to learn from their experience. Debates started a year or so back, when a typical heated discussion would rev...   read more >>

It is a well known anecdote that NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was inaugurated back in 1949 with a small ceremony in the Department of State, during which the house orchestra played George Gershwin’s I Got Plenty of Nothing. Champagne glasses were raised and diplomats congratulated each other with promises, not guarantees.   read more >>

Ineke Malsch is director of Malsch TechnoValuation and a consultant in technology and society. Earlier this month, Beijing hosted the second annual ICPC NanoNet workshop dedicated to international cooperation between European nanoscientists and their colleagues in emerging economies and developing countries. The event was hosted by the Chinese Society of Micro-Nano Technology at Tsinghua University. Participants from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe presented the state of the art o...   read more >>

I must apologise for not posting more often. I am surprised at how difficult it is to find a scanner while away from home. Mobiles, on the other hand, are everywhere and we are becoming more dependent on them by the second. At a recent research communications workshop at the Biannual AERC meeting in Nairobi we asked a groupd of researchers about their internet access. Most (out of 30) said that they had limited internet access: no more than 1 or 2 hours a day. But mobiles... this man wa...   read more >>

The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) is working toward achieving consensus on ways to ensure global food security. In April, in Johannesburg, some of the world’s governments will decide whether to approve the IAASTD report.   read more >>

In China, illegal evictions disenfranchise farmers and threaten agricultural development. The government claims to have introduced the world’s strictest measures to protect farmland and improve farmers’ lives, but with minimal results. As rural land remains in the hands of the state, is land privatization the solution?   read more >>

Recently, I was asked to say a few words on Dutch national radio about the global skyrocketing of food prices. Expecting that it would be an ego-boosting experience, I eagerly accepted. However, things did not quite work out as planned. I shocked the interviewer by pointing out the benefits associated with the current food price crisis. Benefits? He gasped for air and cried out, ‘Riots in Haiti and elsewhere; widespread hunger among the urban poor in developing countries; UK prime minister Brown saying the food crisis is worse than the financial crisis hitting the globe; runaway inflation in the far East and now the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that the food crisis can trigger civil wars – are you sure we are talking about the same issue?’   read more >>

The Science Forum 2009 is now well and truly under way. After opening remarks by the chair of the CGIAR Science Council, Rudy Rabbinge, among others, the conference is kicked off by several agenda-setting keynote speeches. First up is Professor Martin Kropff, Rector of the host institution, Wageningen University. Kropff takes full advantage of his platform to advertise his university, speaking with practised fluency about its capabilities, mission and current reorganisation into a unive...   read more >>

It has been a lively afternoon at the Science Forum. The conference broke up into six parallel workshops, which discussed issues from gene sequencing to resilience, ICTs to eco-efficiencies and biofuels to biofortification. It would be impossible to summarise all that was discussed in just a few words. For one thing, I could only be physically present in two of the workshops, switching rooms either side of the tea break. Fortunately, a final report-back at the end of the day provided an eff...   read more >>

During the second afternoon of the Science Forum, we plunge into a session that ought to have been scheduled on the first morning – a scene-setting plenary that delves into the key themes that are supposed to be framing the conference: forging partnerships and mobilising linkages. It’s great pity that the four useful presentations have come so late in the agenda, particularly since they take place after the parallel workshops are already over. Nevertheless, the four speakers provide us...   read more >>

Many of the speakers and participants in Science Forum 2009 invoked the spectre of hunger in the context of population growth and climate change. The prognosis is of increasing pressure on scarce agricultural land and water as we try to produce enough food. It is said that we must exert ourselves to the utmost to make farming more productive over its existing surface area, since we cannot afford to expand the available agricultural land. And the need is urgent. At the same time, the con...   read more >>

The opinion article of the December issue of The Broker notes that approximately 1.5 billion family farmers in the world live by producing food for themselves and for cities. In some regions, a policy emphasis on global markets and high-input agriculture undermines farmers' capacity to keep rural landscapes productive. AgriCultures Network partners argue that policy needs to create space for family farmers to realize their possible contribution to a resilient world without hunger: 'Any future needs family farming'.

In December 2009, ILEIA and the AgriCultures Network will run a conference on 'The Future of Family Farming'. This blog will consider the issues raised before, during and after the event. Please feel free to read and comment.

‘Humanitarian aid has moved to the heart of the political debate’, according to Thea Hilhorst, professor of humanitarian aid and reconstruction at Wageningen University. ‘Discussions on humanitarian aid are always centred on the latest crisis. I want to address more fundamental issues’.   read more >>

ANP How are societies ‘developed’? For years, international aid has failed to provide a convincing answer. This article offers a potential path to improving both aid performance and development in a broader sense. This article presents an alternative way of appreciating and analyzing purposeful change in societies. Despite its long history of attaining shifts in rhetoric, thinking and practice, international aid has fallen short of achieving sustainable improvements. Why doesn’t aid seem to work?   read more >>

In his article ‘Connecting the dots’ (The Broker 7), Alan Fowler presented complexity theory as a potential approach to development thinking.The article called for more reflection on the practical relevance and applications of complexity for the development field. The Broker asked a number of development experts to respond to Fowler’s piece. Did the complexity perspective resonate with their views and experiences? What would be its implications for their work? This article summarizes the responses The Broker has received and aims to encourage further discussion.   read more >>