In Geneva this week, Akinwumi Adesina, the head of AGRA, the Rockefellar and Gates backed organization with a mission to bring a new "green revolution" to Africa was speaking. He described how the green revolution that had success in India did not get a foothold in Africa because of it was unsuitable for rainfed farming and diverse agro ecosystems.
He went on to describe how agriculture failed in Africa due to structural adjustment programmes combined with a downturn in assistance. SAPs removed some of the distortions and biases against agriculture (e.g. overvalued exchange rate) but they also led to an abandonment of support. The private sector was too weak to fill gaps. Farmers were abandoned.
This echoes similar finding of work by Andrew Dorward at SOAS who says that missing markets and high transaction costs characterize rural economies in Africa due for example to the removal of state marketing boards and withdrawal of extension services.
Friday, 3 July 2009
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Links
1. Failed states photo gallery via Foreign Policy
2. Why reporting giving the complete picture on climate related phenomena is important
3. Classical music from the Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra
2. Why reporting giving the complete picture on climate related phenomena is important
3. Classical music from the Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Travelling business in the aid business
How do you get a public organization to reduce its carbon footprint when 90% of its emissions come from travel. Options include:
1. Changes staff rules and make staff travel economy (less emission per km flown).
- productivity argument: staff will argue that productivity will suffer. Have to compute whether the higher cost of business is compensated by higher productivity on arrival from travelling in greater comfort. Example
Staff salary of USD700. Plus subsistence for day to recover: Lost productivity 1 day each way = 2000 USD. Extra cost of ticket in region of USD 1500 to 3000.
Therefore worth it in some cases.
- consider: travel east -west most lost productivity in subsequent days from jet lag. doesnt matter if business or economy.
- how do you measure lost productivity (minutes slept during meeting with a ministry official?)
problem: private incentives of business great (comforts, personal air miles accrued). considerable staff resistance to overcome.
- moral argument: we are paid to spend money helping the poorest of the poor. Therefore we must demonstrate we are taking all steps to ensure as much $ arrives with them as possible and not making bureaucrats lives easier.
1. Changes staff rules and make staff travel economy (less emission per km flown).
- productivity argument: staff will argue that productivity will suffer. Have to compute whether the higher cost of business is compensated by higher productivity on arrival from travelling in greater comfort. Example
Staff salary of USD700. Plus subsistence for day to recover: Lost productivity 1 day each way = 2000 USD. Extra cost of ticket in region of USD 1500 to 3000.
Therefore worth it in some cases.
- consider: travel east -west most lost productivity in subsequent days from jet lag. doesnt matter if business or economy.
- how do you measure lost productivity (minutes slept during meeting with a ministry official?)
problem: private incentives of business great (comforts, personal air miles accrued). considerable staff resistance to overcome.
- moral argument: we are paid to spend money helping the poorest of the poor. Therefore we must demonstrate we are taking all steps to ensure as much $ arrives with them as possible and not making bureaucrats lives easier.
Monday, 15 June 2009
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
CC and development
Amartya Sen on how climate change changes the development debate (in French)
via Le Monde
via Le Monde
Friday, 5 June 2009
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
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