New twist in brain obesity riddle

The discovery of another way in which the body appears to control how much it eats could shed fresh light on obesity. US researchers said poor diets may trigger a signalling system which prompts the body to consume even more. When the signals - involving a protein linked to inflammation - were blocked in mice, they maintained normal weight. A UK expert warned that the finding, in the journal Cell, may not lead to an effective anti-obesity drug because it could interfere with the immune system. The complexity of the controls governing the human metabolism, appetite and the laying down of fat has become clear over recent years. Despite some promising experiments in animals, none has yet produced a breakthrough in the battle against obesity. The latest "pathway" under investigation, by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is normally associated with the immune system, and inflammation, one of the body's defence systems.

Mouse diet

The link to obesity was made when scientists investigated "metabolic inflammation", a chronic, low-level condition often seen in obesity-related diseases. In mice, a protein connected to inflammatory reactions appeared to be switched on when the animals were given a high fat, high sugar diet. Not only this, but once the protein was switched on, the mice started eating more, suggesting that it was part of a pathway involving the regulation of food intake. Closer examination of the a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which is known to be involved in energy regulation, revealed the protein present there too. In mice genetically altered to block the pathway, even with a high fat diet available, they were able to maintain a healthy weight. Dr Dongsheng Cai, who led the research, said that that the pathway could possibly be used in anti-obesity drugs. He said: "The ultimate goal will certainly be to identify a selective and effective suppressor of the pathway to target related neurons." However, Professor Fran Ebling, from the University of Nottingham, said that other potential targets might prove more fruitful. He said: "It's certainly interesting, but if we have some drugs that target this pathway, they may well interfere with some other part of the immune system." 3 October 2008 (Source: BBC News; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

City to lead child obesity study

Glasgow will be at the forefront of one of the largest ever Europe-wide studies of childhood obesity. Researchers from Glasgow University hope to recruit 33 young volunteers, aged between four and eight, for the preliminary phase of the trial. The five-year study will look at the diet and lifestyle of more than 17,000 children from 10 countries. It aims to identify factors which lead to childhood obesity and develop new ways of combating the problem. The initial phase of the study is being led by Dr Yannis Pitsiladis, from Glasgow University's faculty of biomedical and life sciences.

'Recommended guidelines'

He said: "Obesity is one of the major healthcare challenges facing the western world today. As we eat more and exercise less, our body fat increases, storing up problems for the future. "To stop the epidemic of diet and lifestyle-induced morbidity in European children, action needs to be taken. "We would encourage parents who want to find out more about their child's health to volunteer for this. "The study will provide a comprehensive measurement of the child's physical activity levels and body composition allowing us to assess and advise personally whether a child meets the government recommended guidelines." A total of 23 organisations will be involved in gathering data for the Europe-wide study. 2 October 2008 (Source: BBC News; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Cartoon food adverts criticised

Advertising cartoon characters are failing to promote healthy eating in children, a consumer group has said. A Which? report accused creations such as Tony the Tiger, Moo the Dairylea cow and Snap, Crackle and Pop of not aiding the fight against childhood obesity. Researchers said that out of 19 characters used by food companies, not one promoted healthier products. The Food and Drink Federation said it was "baffled as to why Which? wants to take all the fun out of food".

'Act responsibly'

Which? said Dairylea Lunchables chicken 'n' cheese wraps contained more than a third of the maximum amount of salt a seven to 10-year old should consume. Tony the Tiger's Frosties contained a third sugar, it said. The organisation also singled out breakfast cereal characters Honey Monster (Sugar Puffs) and Coco the Monkey (Coco Pops). Clare Corbett from Which? said: "Cartoons are great fun for kids. We definitely don't want to see the end of popular characters like Tony the Tiger and the Honey Monster, but we do want to see them promoting healthier products. "Food companies must play their part in the fight against childhood obesity and diet-related disease by acting responsibly." She added: "If the industry fails to act, the government must step in." Julian Hunt, of the Food and Drink Federation, said the industry's codes placed strict restrictions on marketing and were independently policed. "Many of the products mentioned in this report have changed their recipes in recent years to be healthier - something for which they never get any credit," he said.

'No magic bullet'

Cereal maker Kellogg's said many of its characters had been created before the child obesity problem emerged. A spokeswoman said: "Tony the Tiger first appeared on our cereals in the 1950s, Snap, Crackle and Pop appeared in the 30s and Coco the Monkey has been on our packaging for more than 20 years. "These characters pre-date the childhood obesity problem we face. Banning characters such as Tony from advertising is not the magic bullet we all seek. "The fact that Ofcom set no restrictions on the use of these kinds of characters in advertising during its recent review would seem to support our view." The Advertising Standards Authority said the Which? report "is not saying anything new". A spokesman said: "The rules surrounding food and soft drink advertising to children were significantly tightened only last year following a review of all the evidence and extensive public consultation, including input from Which?. "These robust new rules are amongst the toughest in the world - such as a ban on all 'high in fat, sugar and salt' advertising during children's programming - providing a very high level of protection." 2 October 2008 (Source: BBC News; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Should the UK increase tax on junk food?

Health officials in France have called for a tax increase on junk food and tax cuts on fruit and vegetables to help combat rising obesity figures. However it has been claimed by the French health minister that during such difficult economic times this could harm poorer households. Should the UK adopt a similar proposal? 2 October 2008 (Source: guardian.co.uk; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Obese people could get cash to make them see a GP

Unhealthy people could be offered financial incentives to go and see a doctor. Health service managers have said that spending small amounts on getting people to see a GP before the illness escalates could save the NHS thousands in the long run. People in deprived areas are more prone to illness and less likely to seek medical help.e_SClBThe plans are contained in a report which discussed by the board of the North-East Essex primary care trust this week. Studies in Mexico have shown an incentive scheme may encourage people at high risk to see their doctor. Mike Gogarty, director of health at the trust, said they were looking at one-off payments of a small amount of money or vouchers such as "a £20 mobile phone voucher". The chief executive of the trust, Paul Zollinger-Read, said they were also considering ways to ensure people did not get ill in the first place, for example helping with heating bills. He said: "If there is an issue, such as someone living in a cold, damp house, they will get chest infections and suffer respiratory problems." If the idea is successful, it could be rolled out across the country. However Colin Waine, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, attacked the plan. He said: "I don't think the Health Service should be bribing people to live healthily. "There's a lot of demands on the NHS - every day you read about someone who can't get cancer drugs that could prolong survival." A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "We encourage action to tackle health inequalities wherever they occur. "However, it is down to local NHS organisations to decide on how best to use their resources to ensure they provide the most appropriate patient care and services for their patients.' Source: Jessica Salter 02 October 2008 (Source: telegraph.co.uk; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Call to ban use of cartoons to sell unhealthy food to children

Snap, Crackle and Pop, Tony the Tiger, and Moo the Dairylea cow have been recast as cartoon villains in the fight against childhood obesity. A report by Which? warns parents against letting their children be led into unhealthy diets by the characters of marketing schemes. The consumer group calls for characters such as Coco the Monkey and Pom Bear to advertise healthier foods instead. Moo the Dairylea cow was named worst offender in advertisers' promotions of food containing high levels of saturated fat and salt. The Kraft Foods cow was promoting 17 products classed as less healthy by an experts' panel that included researchers from the British Heart Foundation and Oxford University's health group. Products examined by the panel included Dairylea's Chicken'n'Cheese wraps, which contain 1.8g of salt, more than a third of the maximum amount a child aged seven to 10 should consume daily. Kellogg's Tony the Tiger, and his catchphrase "They're grrreat!" was advertising food of which sugar made up a third of the ingredients. The Kellogg's figures Snap, Crackle and Pop also appeared on packets of Multi-Grain Shapes, classed as healthy. But the packaging flagged up less healthy products such as Coco Pops and Mega Munchers. Under industry codes, film and TV cartoons cannot promote unhealthy food but there is nothing to stop firms using their own characters. The Which? report says this anomaly should end. Clare Corbett, food campaigner for the group, said: "Closing the cartoon loophole is a vital stop in tackling this complex issue. If the industry fails to act, the government must step in." The report, which surveyed 19 cartoon characters, criticised the government for failing to do more to tackle these food promotions. "We want to see the government finish the job they have started on restricting the promotion of less healthy foods to children," it said. The report drew industry criticism. Julian Hunt, spokesman for the Food and Drink Federation, said: "We are baffled as to why Which? wants to take all the fun out of food by banning popular brand characters, many of whom have been adding colour to supermarket shelves for more than 80 years. Besides, many of the products mentioned in this report have changed their recipes in recent years to be healthier." A Dairylea spokesman said: "Which? is wrong to suggest children are getting fat because we carry Moo on Dairylea packs." A Kellogg's spokeswoman added: "These characters pre-date the childhood obesity problem we face. Banning characters such as Tony from advertising is not the magic bullet we all seek." Source: Matthew Weaver 2 October 2008 (Source: The Guardian; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Jog To The Beat: Music Increases Exercise Endurance By 15%

Brunel University’s School of Sport and Education has reveals that, according to Dr Costas Karageorghis’s latest research, carefully selected music can significantly increase a person’s physical endurance and make the experience of cardiovascular exercise far more positive. The study, due to be published in the U.S. periodical Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, is the latest from a 20-year programme of work into the motivational qualities of music in sport and exercise. The findings illustrate the considerable benefits associated with exercising in time to music: something that some elite athletes, such as marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie, have been doing for years. Thirty participants exercised on a treadmill while listening to a selection of motivational rock or pop music, including tracks by Queen, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Madonna. They were asked to keep in strict time with the beat. The findings show that when carefully selected according to scientific principles, music can enhance endurance by 15% and improve the ‘feeling states’ of exercisers, helping them to derive much greater pleasure from the task. One significant new finding is that music can help exercisers to feel more positive even when they are working out at a very high intensity – close to physical exhaustion. The scientific principles that guided this piece of research are about to be put into action through an ambitious and exciting sporting event due to take place on 5th October in Greenwich, London. The Sony Ericsson Run To The Beat half-marathon will be the first to provide scientifically-selected live musical accompaniment along the entire length of the course. Dr Karageorghis has selected and coordinated the music that will be played at 17 live music stations to accompany 12,500 runners. Dr Karageorghis’s latest research findings are particularly noteworthy for public health practitioners, given that treadmill-based exercise such as walking and running is often incorporated into the rehabilitation programmes of those in a primary care settings (e.g. cardiac patients and those suffering from obesity). Music has the power to make a considerable impact in the fight against public inactivity. Moreover, the effects of music on mood and emotions open up the possibility that it can be used to improve compliance to exercise and therefore help people achieve their long-term health and fitness goals. Dr Karageorghis, who is a reader in sport psychology at Brunel University, explains: “The synchronous application of music resulted in much higher endurance while the motivational qualities of the music impacted significantly on the interpretation of fatigue symptoms right up to the point of voluntary exhaustion”. 2 October 2008 Adapted from materials provided by Brunel University. (Source: ScienceDaily; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Health board bans sugary drinks

Sugary drinks are to be banned from being sold at all NHS Tayside sites. They will be replaced with healthier options in vending machines, shops and staff dining rooms. Such a ban was introduced at Perth Royal Infirmary in 2005, then Ninewells, Maryfield House and Dundee Dental Hospital followed last year. Health officials said patients, visitors and staff responded so well to those trials that the scheme should be extended to all their facilities. Dr Drew Walker, director of public health, said: "What we're trying to promote is healthier lifestyles and healthier diets and high sugar drinks, certainly when they're taken in large amounts, do not form part of a healthy diet. "The calorie content of drinks with a high sugar content is very high and we know that we're in the middle of an obesity epidemic. "And in relation to oral health, we know that high-sugar drinks contribute to dental disease. So by reducing the sugar content of diets, we can have a positive contribution to better dental health." 1 October 2008 (Source: BBC News; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Britain on a plate

Jamie's Ministry of Food, the celebrity chef's new TV series, is a powerful portrait of the socially excluded. It also reveals an enduring truth, says Felicity Lawrence: our diet today is as much about class as it always has been - and it will take more than a one-man mission to change that Dr Tim Lobstein calculates the cost of 100 calories of food energy from different types of food. Food blog: what did you make of Jamie's Ministry of Food? There was a moment in the first episode of the new Jamie Oliver TV series last night when the Essex-lad-made-millionaire had an outburst worthy of a revolutionary. Emerging from a mealtime visit to Natasha, a single mother on benefits in Rotherham, he raged in his own inimitable language of protest: "Fucking hell ... it's fucking Great Britain. It's 2008. I've been to Soweto and I've seen Aids orphans eating better than that." Natasha feeds her two children takeaways most nights. Aged five and two, they have never eaten a meal that has been properly cooked at home. Instead, they sit on the floor - no table, no cutlery - and eat shavings of doner kebabs or chips with processed cheese from polystyrene boxes with their fingers. Even instant noodles have to be negotiated without forks. The bottom drawers of Natasha's fridge are stuffed full of sweets and chocolate bars. "This is where all my money goes," she admitted. About £70 out of a weekly benefits cheque of just £80 on fast food and junk. Five-year-old Kiya has already had to go to the dentist twice to have rotten teeth removed. Natasha can see the life of obesity and illness ahead of them; it's not that she doesn't share the middle-class fantasy of sitting down to a cosy communal table each night, but despite her eight-hob gas cooker and the countless cookery shows on her flatscreen TV, she doesn't seem to know what to do. Whenever Oliver leaves her, in this and subsequent episodes of his TV mission to teach the nation to cook, he is stirred to the same outrage, shouted from the barricade of his celebrity jeep. Natasha turns out not only to have a big cooker and TV but debts large enough to make her a pawn-shop regular, and depression deep enough to make her give up trying. When Oliver finds this out he confides to the camera in his car, "I don't blame her ... but I'm fucking angry. I'm fucking angry and I don't know who with or what with." He has just met poverty in all its 21st-century complexity - and it has a profound effect. Miss this Ministry of Food series and you'll be missing some of the most powerful political documentary in years. In it, whether by intention or accident, the naked chef has entered the domestic life of a British town and captured a snapshot of the country's social health. The result is an indictment of the current political system as disturbing as any ideological tract. Food, and real people's experience of it, is still all about class. The subtext is everything. Geoff, the 84-year-old Rotherham man who has never cooked in his life, seems keen and quick enough. Why he should suddenly be facing a crisis is never fully explained. But it turns out that his wife and lifelong helpmeet now has Alzheimer's disease and so everything is falling to him. He asked Citizens Advice where he could learn to cook. They had no answer. Does he have children to help? Yes, several, it turns out, but presumably distance and some of the longest working hours in Europe make it hard for them to give the support he needs. Clare, who is overweight and lives on 10 packs of crisps and a large bar of Galaxy chocolate a day, seems to struggle to read when given a recipe by Oliver. Is she one of those who fell through the net at school so that not only does she not know that liquids bubble when they boil but she stumbles when literacy and numeracy are required? This is a delicate but painful portrait of the socially excluded. Middle-class people in the series eat junk, too. Time, or lack of it, is their problem. Women getting home from work can't find even half an hour to cook from scratch for the family, which Oliver can't understand. There are cultural barriers to eating well too. But what makes Oliver and the viewer angry, what shocks, is the deprivation. Food has always been about class in Britain. "The nature of our diets has been entirely shaped by the class system of the 19th century and the white working-class experience of industrialisation," says Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University in London. "From the first- when cheap white bread was sold to the poor as progress, because previously only the rich could afford it - what class you are from, and how much you have to spend has made a dramatic difference to what you eat, how you eat it and what you aspire to eat. Class imbues everything in food." Which socio-economic class you are born into is still one of the most significant determinants of how healthy you will be. Natasha is simply conforming to the pattern. Her mother was a single parent on benefits too - she didn't pass on cooking skills to Natasha, and Natasha has none to give to her own children. The cycle of deprivation looks set to continue. Sharp inequalities can be clearly mapped, even short distances apart, according to Dr Tim Lobstein, director of the childhood research programme at the International Association for the Study of Obesity. Travel the eight stops on the Jubilee line tube from Central London's Westminster to Canning Town and you find a decrease in life expectancy of nearly one year for each station going east. A child born in one deprived Glasgow suburb can expect a life 28 years shorter than another living only 13km away in a more affluent area, a three-year investigation for the World Health Organisation found in August. Commenting on one of the key factors, the report concluded: "Obesity is caused not by moral failure of individuals but by the excess availability of high-fat, high-sugar foods." The marketplace can generate wealth but it can "also generate negative conditions for health", which will only be resolved by tackling "the inequitable distribution of power, money and resources", it went on. In Rotherham, where areas around the town centre have deprivation levels that put them in the worst 6% of the country, one in 10 reception-age schoolchildren are obese. By year 6, 18% of them are obese, while 60% of adults are either overweight or obese. Right across the country, those on low-incomes suffer higher incidence of a whole range of illnesses relating to poor diet. Lobstein catalogues them: higher rates of anaemia caused by lack of iron, especially in pregnancy. Mothers from low-income groups are also more likely to have children of low birthweight, who, in turn, are likely to suffer poor health and educational prospects as a result. Working-class families have more dental disease and more childhood eczema and asthma. They are more likely to suffer from obesity, both as children and as adults. They have higher rates of raised blood pressure, thanks to excess salt in their processed diets. They are more likely to suffer diabetes, heart disease, vascular disease and strokes. They suffer more cancers of the lung, stomach and oesophagus. They have more cataracts caused by poor nutrition than those in other classes. And the protective role of good diet is missing. A survey of men and women living on benefits found that a third ate no fruit at all during the week their diets were recorded. It's not just diet, of course - alcohol and tobacco consumption are implicated, too, as poverty ties a Gordian knot of health problems. Over half of younger children in low-income groups are inactive almost all day as well, with two- to 10-year-olds getting less than 30 minutes of physical activity daily. Elizabeth Dowler, professor of food and social policy at Warwick University who was recently involved in the government's Low Income Diet and Nutrition survey, says the class differences are stark but complicated. "If you live for more than six months on the minimum wage or on benefits there is growing evidence you cannot afford to buy the food you need for health. It is still to do with class but it's complex to unpick. Food is the flexible area that you cut back on when you are on a low income. Unlike council tax or utility bills, no one fines you if you don't spend on food and no one takes your children away, so that's what you cut, and you have a fag because that takes the hunger away." When you are on a low income you buy the kind of food that fills you up most cheaply. What may seem ignorant choices to others are in fact quite rational. Lobstein has calculated the cost of 100 calories of food energy from different types of food. The cheapest way to get your 100 calories is to buy fats, processed starches and sugars. A hundred calories of broccoli costs 51p, but 100 calories of frozen chips only cost 2p. Good-quality sausages that are high in meat but low in fat cost 22p per 100 calories, but "value" fatty ones are only 4p per 100 calories. Poor quality-fish fingers are 12p per 100 calories compared with 29p for ones made with fish fillet that are higher in nutrients. Fresh orange juice costs 38p per 100 calories, while the same dose of energy from sugary orange squash costs 5p. The FSA pointed out when it published its survey on the effect of low income on diet that middle-class people were eating increasingly high levels of junk, too. However, the same survey found that nearly a quarter of poor households skipped meals because they didn't have enough money. Nearly 40% worried that they would run out of food before more money came in. And yes, the working class smoke more and drink, as Oliver, falling over beer cans and fag ends outside a Rotherham house, notes. It has been unfashionable recently to talk in class terms, but there's nothing here that hasn't been raised for decades, centuries even, as both Lang and Lobstein point out. When George Orwell wrote The Road to Wigan Pier in the middle of the 1930s depression, he set out to record the lives of the English working class in the industrial north. He was appalled by the quality of their diets. "A man dies and is buried and all his actions forgotten but the food he has eaten lives after him in the sound or rotten bones of his children." Orwell wrote down detailed accounts of how unemployed working-class people on welfare spent their money. He doubted it was even theoretically possible to live on their allowance. "The basis of their diet is white bread and margarine, corned beef, sugared tea and potatoes. Would it not be better if they spent more money of wholesome things like oranges and wholemeal bread?" Yes it would he answered, but "no ordinary human being is ever going to do such a thing. The ordinary human being would sooner starve than live on brown bread and raw carrots ... A millionaire may enjoy breakfasting off orange juice and Ryvita, an unemployed man doesn't ... When you are underfed, harassed, bored and miserable, you don't want to eat dull, wholesome food. You want something a little bit tasty. Let's have three pennorth of chips! Put the kettle on and we'll all have a nice cup of tea!" To sit down to table to eat a family meal at leisure was always a luxury, according to food historian and consultant to the National Trust Sara Paston Williams. "In the slums of industrial towns in the 19th century everyone including the children was out working, and if you were poor you didn't have an oven to cook, so you didn't get together for a family meal." The royal family were in part responsible for the creation of the myth of the ordinary family meal, with father Prince Albert, mother Queen Victoria and children sitting down together, although aristocratic children were, in fact, largely fed in the nursery. Mrs Beeton spread the idealised habit to the burgeoning middle classes, who were keen to copy the rich and differentiate themselves in their new wealth from the poor. The pre-industrial and rural experience of food was different. Food might be short in bad years but generally you had better access to a wider variety of foods, including some milk and vegetables in the country. Families working on the land broke off together to eat in the fields. But the Victorian urban poor lived on takeaways, hot pies from the pie man often full of horrible stuff, and adulterated white bread and adulterated marrow jam. To be hungry was deemed a natural state, and a necessary one since it goaded people who might otherwise be idle into working. James Vernon has traced changing attitudes to food and lack of it in Hunger: A Modern History. "Two hundred years ago hunger was considered a spur to effort. Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus debated whether the emerging market economy would eradicate hunger or depended on it, but both agreed that the market should be left to produce plenty or want without intervention from the state. "It was only in the second half of the 19th century that this view was first challenged, when hunger was discovered as a humanitarian issue, that reflected the failure of the state to protect its citizens from economic downtowns over which they had no control." The seminal work that changed attitudes was Friedrich Engels' The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1845. Drawing frequently on contemporary reports he read in the Manchester Guardian, he catalogued the misery of the poor quality, adulterated and inadequate diets of the poor. "The habitual food of the individual working man varies according to his wages ... descending gradually ... until on the lowest round of the ladder potatoes form the sole food. As an accompaniment weak tea with perhaps a little sugar, milk or spirits is universally drunk ... such a way of living unavoidably engenders a multitude of diseases." Yet today the language of class has been almost removed from the political discourse. In Thatcherite and Blairite Britain, it has been framed instead in terms of "choice". There is talk of the need to give people opportunities, but after that, it's down to individual responsibility. It is no accident that the government's white paper on health and obesity was called "Choosing health" rather than the "social determinants of health". Roger Stone, Labour leader of Rotherham metropolitan borough council, is reluctant to put food and poverty in its class context, too. "Jamie's programmes are not about us, it's not about the middle class, he's targeting people who are struggling," he told me. You mean the working class then? "No, goodness, in this day and age, it's not class." You sense that Oliver used to think the same. Give people a chance, then it's up to them, and if, like some of the catering students in his previous programmes, they don't choose to take it, he's got no time for them. But here he's on a journey. The series is set in Rotherham because it was there that a group of mothers helped their children rebel against the new school menus imposed during Oliver's last series. Julie Critchlow took orders for chips and crisps and shoved them through the school railings at lunchtime, earning herself a place in tabloid mythology. "Fat old scrubber" was what Oliver called Critchlow back then. He may speak estuary but he is firmly positioned with the middle classes who almost exclusively buy his books and watch his cooking shows. But Critchlow has her revenge. As phlegmatic as a tricoteuse at the guillotine, she tells him firmly in this series that he "lives in a bubble", he has no idea what it's like for ordinary people on benefits. And she and her elderly mother, who did teach her to cook, want to get a pair of choppers on his head. Oliver symbolically submits: he puts his designer hair mess into the hands of Critchlow's hairdresser daughter. A little while later he is found complaining to his producer: "Fuck. What's happened to my barnet?" But it has done the trick, because now he talks differently. He's learned that you can't parachute in with change and waltz out again; tackling class inequality is a long, hard slog. This time he wants to get the whole town on board, to shift the tribe. He's not interested in training those who won't pass it on, who only want to cook for themselves as individuals. "This is about the home, it's about family, it's about neighbours." With impeccable timing, as the global markets go into meltdown, Oliver discovers social capital and declares: "They've got to own it. It's about ownership". Source: Felicity Lawrence 1 October 2008 (Source: The Guardian; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

California chain restaurants to display calorie counts

Chain restaurants in California will be forced to display the calorie content of their burgers, burritos and Frappucinos under legislation signed by governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday. The move, which follows a similar law in New York City requiring chains to post calorie counts alongside prices, marks the first such state-wide measure in the nation. Proponents say informing consumers about exactly how many calories they are consuming will help combat rising obesity rates. The California Department of Public Health estimates the state's inhabitants have gained 360 million pounds (163 million kgs) over the last decade and obesity costs the state billions of dollars in health care, lost productivity and workers' compensation. The measure will apply to chains with 20 or more outlets in the state and affect more than 17,000 outlets. Restaurant groups and retailers initially criticised the law but dropped their opposition after negotiations led to a series of amendments. "This legislation will help Californians make more informed, healthier choices by making calorie information easily accessible at thousands of restaurants throughout our state," Mr Schwarzenegger said as he announced the bill's signing. The New York law has required, for example, Starbucks to reveal its Frappucinos contain up to 650 calories and McDonalds to list its Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese as having 730 calories. The California law would come into effect next July by requiring restaurants to supply brochures with nutritional information. From January 2011, all menus would have to display calories details for every item. State Senator Alex Padilla, who proposed the measure, said in a statement: "The way Californians order food is about to change... All Californians will soon be empowered with reliable, accessible nutrition information that will help them make more informed, healthier choices." Earlier this year, California became the first state to ban trans fats froms restaurants and locally made baked products. The Los Angeles City Council meanwhile approved a one-year moratorium on new fast food restaurants in an impoverished part of the city with high rates of obesity. Source: Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles 01 October 2008 (Source: telegraph.co.uk; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Obesity linked to poorer asthma treatment response

Lab experiments indicate that people with asthma who are overweight or obese have a reduced response to steroid treatment, compared with their lean counterparts. Inhaled steroids are the mainstay of asthma treatment, because they reduce airway inflammation that can lead to an asthma attack. "This study identifies what could be a significant issue for the 20 million Americans with asthma; specifically, the main controller medication might be less effective if you are overweight or obese," lead author Dr. E. Rand Sutherland, from National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, said in a statement. The study involved 45 non-smoking adults, including 33 with asthma and 12 without. It looked at the response of the participants' blood cells and lung cells to a steroid, dexamethasone, by measuring the production of an enzyme called MKP-1. Steroid-induced expression of MKP-1 in both cell types was significantly lower in overweight/obese asthmatics than in lean asthmatics. For example, MKP-1 production by blood cells increased 5.27-fold in the lean group but only 3.11-fold in the overweight group, the researchers report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. By contrast, weight did not influence the MKP-1 response in subjects without asthma. Further research, the authors conclude, is needed to clarify the mechanisms by which an elevated body mass index blunts the response to steroids in people with asthma. 1 October 2008 (Source: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, October 2008; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

France's stay-slim plan: Higher snack food taxes, lower veggie taxes

French lawmakers want to hike taxes on snack foods and cut taxes on fruits and vegetables to fight growing child obesity. The health minister, however, says she does not like the idea. A parliamentary report released Tuesday has 70 proposals for fighting obesity. One would hike taxes to 19.6 percent from 5.5 percent on chocolate bars, chips and other "snack foods." Taxes would be reduced to 2 percent from 5.5 percent on fruits and vegetables. Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said on Canal-Plus television that obesity-fighting efforts "should not go in that direction" and that such a tax would hit poor households at a time of economic downturn. The report, which is not binding, also suggests banning trans-fats. 01 October 2008 (Source: www.3news.co.nz; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Study links childhood obesity to sleep deprivation

An Australian study has found that sleep deprivation can contribute to obesity in children. Researchers from the University of South Australia studied the sleeping habits of 4,000 children aged between 9 and 18, across the country. They found that being overweight did not have a particular effect on sleep patterns, but it was likely that less sleep triggered appetite-stimulating hormones. The study's leader Professor, Tim Olds, says sleep duration was strongly linked to weight. "There's strong association between this intermittent sleep deprivation, some days there's very low sleep and the risk of overweight and obesity, so generally speaking kids who are overweight get less sleep than kids who are leaner or normal weight," he said. "The other theory that seems much more likely is that it's the low sleep that causes the overweight and obesity and we know that when kids and adults are sleep deprived there's a whole lot of hormonal disruption, in particular there's an increase in hormones that stimulate appetite and a decrease in ones that dampen appetites so that's probably the mechanism involved." 1 October 2008 (source: ABC News; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Footballers target obesity with cookbook

Who would have thought that Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool captain, happily toils away in the kitchen cooking up a sumptuous dish of aromatic sea bream? Or that Scotland's Barry Ferguson plumps for fruit salad? Those are just two recipes recommended by leading footballers in a new cookery book dreamed up by bureaucrats in Brussels hoping to turn children away from fast food. Concerned by the growing obesity epidemic among children, the European Commission and Uefa commissioned the book to encourage obese youngsters to shed pounds. In a bid to win over their young fans' stomachs, the Eat for Goals! picturebook features recipes and cheerful quotes from 13 of Europe's top footballers. A spokesperson for the book said the footballers had been asked to come up with their own healthy suggestions. Recipes include salmon grilled with cloves and served with vegetables by Real Madrid's Ruud van Nistelrooy, and pasta à la siciliana by Fabio Cannavaro. Thierry Henry recommends rice cubana and Miroslav Klose opts for a "power omelette". Gerrard said the recipes would help children learn "how to cook and eat like champions". Androulla Vassiliou, the European Health Commissioner, was more blunt. "We don't want you to be fat when you grow up," she told children at the book's launch in Brussels. At least 22 million children in Europe are thought to be overweight. Source: Jerome Taylor 1 October 2008 (Source: The Independent; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Teachers need to be 'proactive' on obesity

AN OBESITY expert says teachers have a duty to identify obese pupils and inform parents that their children are overweight. Prof Niall Moyna, of DCU's school of health and human performance, said primary school teachers should regularly record pupils' weight, height and body mass index (BMI). He said the parents of children who did not fall within the normal BMI range should be alerted urgently. "I would like to see teachers being more proactive," Prof Moyna said. "I think it's important that primary teachers stand up and be prepared to measure this on a regular basis. It's something that could be incorporated into PE [physical education] or biology lessons and would only take 30 seconds. "If a child smokes we've no problem saying something. We've no problem labelling a child with elevated blood pressure or elevated cholesterol. "Obviously this would have to be broached very sensitively with the child, but obesity is a risk factor for acute problems like type 2 diabetes, reproductive disorders and gallstones. Let's identify the risk." Prof Moyna said there was a "duty of care" when it came to childhood obesity. However, the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) said asking its members to pass on this type of information to parents "could drastically change the rules of engagement between parents and teachers". General secretary John Carr said teachers shared Prof Moyna's concerns about rising obesity levels, but his proposal would involve "serious workload implications". Mr Carr said teachers provided physical education insofar as they could and schools had healthy eating policies to support parents in providing nutritious food. "The tracking of weight and height to calculate BMI should be a function of the health service, in the same way as they check hearing, eyesight and children's teeth. "They follow up with parents if there are issues there. In the same way they should follow up if there are issues with BMI." Meanwhile, another prominent academic disagreed with Prof Moyna's proposal. Prof Mary O'Sullivan, professor of physical education and youth sport at the University of Limerick, said young people's height and weight fluctuated considerably in the pre-pubescent years. "I would be very concerned at the any effort to systematically label young students as overweight and obese as part of a school curriculum. Such labelling has huge potential to stigmatise children at a very vulnerable part of their lives and could stay with them for some time." Prof O'Sullivan said she understood that Prof Moyna's motivation was to intervene with overweight children at an early age to prevent illnesses in adulthood. "You have to look at the cost-benefit analysis of such strategy. I think that labelling all students in such a way at a young age is not helpful." Source: Mary Minihan 1 October 2008 (Source: The Irish Times; Rachel Leach - HOPE network and network Co-Ordinators)

Food and its environmental footprint

Many Finnish restaurants and hotels have been awarded the Swan Nordic ecolabel introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The label indicates a good environmental choice, a value increasingly emphasised in professional kitchens. “I believe that restaurant menus of the future will show information about the environmental footprint of the dishes,” said Mia Tarhanen, lecturer at the Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, speaking at the Gastro 2008 fair for the hotel, restaurant and catering trade held in Helsinki on 12–14th March.

Environmental trends

In Britain, consumers can already buy crisps (potato chips) carrying information about the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from their manufacture, and Ms Tarhanen suggests that something similar will happen in Finland, too. Restaurants should for instance contemplate using disposable menus, and hotels could consider the impact of their appliances that run through the night. The way chemicals are used in kitchens should also be examined and employees encouraged to run dishwashers with a full load.

Sustainable resources

Ms Tarhanen encourages workplaces to use a carrot and stick approach in a competitive spirit and with a touch of humour. Practical issues might include whether it makes sense to have employees stuck in traffic jams on their way to work in separate cars coming from the same direction. The implications of climate change can already be seen in the Food Service sector, where product and service pricing will change as emissions goals are tightened. Entrepreneurs in Finland may suffer direct effects from global warming due, for instance, to shorter periods of winter snows.

Small steps pay significant ecological dividends

“Waste management is a key area where environmental action can be taken in professional kitchens,” stated Rita Pulli, Managing Director of kitchen design specialist Suurkeittiö-Insinööritoimisto Rita Pulli Oy, at the Gastro fair. A lack of space often makes waste management difficult, she acknowledges, so kitchens should be designed ecologically from the outset – it’s harder to remodel and for instance knock down walls afterwards. Eco-efficient appliances that address water and energy use may be more costly than ordinary equipment but can create real savings over time. Water and electricity consumption meters are a useful evaluation tool and for instance energy saving lamps are a small but effective choice. Small steps bring big benefits. Ms Pulli explains that, for example, cold storage room doors with windows don’t need to be opened so often. Modern heat recovery technology can be applied. In terms of efficiency, a rack conveyor dishwasher consumes less water and detergent than its pass-through counterpart. 26.03.2008 (Source: Finfood news)

Collaboration and cultural interaction speed the rise of Nordic food culture

Scandinavian and Nordic cuisine is very much in vogue and fast gaining acolytes in Central Europe, the United States and Asia. Our food is described in terms such as pure, fresh and light to name just a few of its accepted attributes. High quality presentation on the plate is also of course essential and another well-deserved unique value ascribed to Nordic food.

Drawing inspiration from our neighbours

“Sweden and Norway are undoubtedly at the forefront of Scandinavian cuisine but Nordic collaboration has increased dramatically during the last couple of years,” states Jari Hämäläinen, Competitions Director of the Finnish Chef Association. “It’s easy to get advice and help from our neighbouring professionals and cross-border Nordic restaurant staff exchange is popular.” “Nordic ingredients share a certain cultural identity but the combinations differ, most visibly in terms of taste when it comes to extreme delicacies such as dried fish in Iceland, sour herring in Sweden, and presently in Finland cold-smoked reindeer heart.”

From Finland to Japan

It’s a dish that also acts as a good example of the interaction of food cultures. This speciality has become a new ingredient in Japanese sushi, where the cuisine, culture, presentation and combinations of ingredients are quite different to our own. A strong culture is prepared to take external influences on board. “Once there is a sound national food tradition in place, there is real scope for cross-border creativity,” Mr Hämäläinen emphasises. 19.03.2008 (Source: Finfood)

Two more Michelin star restaurants in Helsinki

Two restaurants in Helsinki have been awarded their first Michelin star. Postres, recently named restaurant of the year, and Carma have been recognised in the new Michelin Guide Main Cities of Europe. Chez Dominique retains its two stars while G.W. Sundmans loses its star. “It’s important to note that the Michelin Guide contains much more than just top restaurants and luxury hotels. It also features a selection in different price categories of good places to eat and stay,” said Meri Simula, Communications Manager of Michelin Nordic. The Michelin Guide Main Cities of Europe 2008 was published on 11th March 2008. 19.03.2008 (Source: Finfood News Service)

Preparing Finnish broilers for a new welfare directive

The Finnish broiler industry and production chain is readying itself for the welfare directive entering into force in 2010 which sets out formal requirements for the welfare of broiler chickens in Europe. “Broiler welfare is well attended to in Finland and we already largely meet the requirements set out in the new directive,” stated Lea Lastikka, Executive Manager of Finland’s Poultry Association, at a press conference held on 4th March 2008 and dubbed “A feather in the cap for poultry”. The new standards cover stocking density, air quality, overall conditions, bird mortality rates, training for breeders and producers, and information distribution. Good production practice guidelines were established for the Finnish broiler quality chain in 2005 and will now be updated to comply with the directive.

A welfare index to pioneer animal health and well-being in Finland

Finland’s Poultry Association, Agrifood Research Finland (MTT), the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK), and broiler slaughterhouses, are launching a research project this spring in preparation for implementation of the directive in Finland. The project will collect a vast amount of welfare data in order to create a welfare index that will for instance define stocking density. Similar indexes have been studied to some extent elsewhere in e.g. the UK. “A national welfare index would make the poultry industry an animal welfare pioneer in Finland,” Ms Lastikka said. The index is intended to outline clear and measurable parameters for poultry breeding and enable comparison between different countries.

Peat litter is best and must be changed between flocks

Finland is one of the few European countries where all broiler breeders apply the all in all out principle, so Finnish flocks are not thinned out. Peat litter improves broilers’ foot and leg health and is changed in full between flocks, rather than just adding new peat on top of the old as is done in many countries. While in e.g. Central Europe, broiler litter often consists of chips or straw. Measures such as prohibiting the entry of unauthorised persons to the broiler house help secure bio-safety and as a result salmonella is extremely rare in Finnish broilers.

Criteria to foster animal well-being and maximise production

The broiler welfare directive sets the basic level of stocking density at 33 kilos per square metre, which can be increased up to 39–42 kilos if conditions and retrospectively applied results permit. “Finnish producers naturally want to achieve the best possible density and this means satisfying requirements that account for animal well-being, too,” says Riitta Stirkkinen, Information Manager at Finfood Meat Information. 19.03.2008 (Source: Finfood News Service)

Investing in Finnish food culture

A seminar on the theme of food culture as part of Finnish culture concluded that the national cuisine has become stronger and the time is right to establish a professorship in the subject. Silvio Berlusconi’s infamous remarks about the supposedly poor quality of Finnish cooking have in fact promoted open, positive and public discussion about the country’s true tradition of tasty healthy, foods.

Rising interest in Finnish food

Finns increasingly feel that our food culture is growing stronger, said Tiina Lampisjärvi, Executive Director of Finfood – Finnish Food Information, referring to a consumer survey indicating a 39% response to that effect in 2007 as against 25 per cent in 2005. Merja Merasto, Executive Director of the Martha Organization, also reported that the organisation’s advisers have observed that people of different ages are taking an increasing interest in the national cuisine.

Defining food culture is complicated

Jaakko Nuutila, appointed Expert on Food Culture for the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) in August 2007, explained that the very term culture originated in part from agriculture, and the cultivation of ingredients still has a special influence. 85 per cent of the food eaten in Finland is produced in Finland. Food culture is not a static phenomenon but is transformed over time, said Ulla Rauramo, Executive Director of Ruokakulttuurikeskus Ruukku. What is now considered traditional was once a novelty and even Finnish eating habits, for example, are a cultural loan from the courts of Europe. While the increasing popularity of ready-made food in Finland may be a threat to domestic cooking skills, the food industry is producing traditional items that few of us has the time to prepare from scratch anymore, said Anni-Mari Syväniemi, Executive Director of the Federation of Home Economics Teachers.

Building of food culture begins at early childhood

“Food culture begins at home and powerful, lifelong memories linked to taste influence how and what we choose to eat as adults,” Ms Syväniemi continued. Education also plays a key role and home economics teaching and good school lunches provide excellent opportunities to improve our appreciation of food. Finnish education measured for instance by the OECD’s PISA assessment is the best in the world, and the time is right to establish a professorship in food culture and learn to respect what we have, said Jouni Ahonen, Education Unit Director at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences. 12.03.2008 (Source: Finfood)

Pork and broiler production hit record levels

More meat was produced in Finland last year than ever before. Statistics from the Information Centre of the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry measure production at 393 million kilos in 2007, up nearly 4 per cent on the previous year. Nominal prices of meat were also higher than in 2006, but real prices remained 14–26 per cent below the highs of the past decade. Pork and broiler production hit record levels by volume. Beef production was also up for the second year in a row, although at 88 million kilos this is no higher than the 1960s and some way off the mid-1980s peak of around 125 million kilos annually. Producer prices increased for the third year in a row.

Robust and reliable progress

Pork production hit its new high after increasing for the fifth year in a row to 213 million kilos up by more than 2 per cent on 2006. Production has risen steadily this decade by over two per cent a year on average, amounting to nearly a quarter more in 2007 than at the beginning of the millennium. The producer price also rose slightly last year.

Poultry boosted by broilers

Poultry production volumes were up by more than 8 per cent on the previous year to 95 million kilos. Broiler production made a particularly significant contribution increasing by over 10 per cent to 82 million kilos while prices rose after four years in decline. Turkey production however fell 7 per cent to 11 million kilos. Poultry production has increased by almost 50 per cent during this decade. 12.03.2008 (Source: Finfood)

Saarioinen’s reports growth in profit

Saarioinen Group turnover increased by more than 6 per cent to € 326.9 million in 2007. Profit after financing items totalled € 24.1 million, again a clear gain on the previous year. Saarioinen strengthened its position as market leader in fresh ready-to-eat foods, still the company’s most successful product group with a 45 per cent market share in 2007.

Investing to meet rising long-term demand

Investments totalling € 18 million exceeded the average over recent years and a significant share was directed to the production of ready-to-eat foods at the company’s Sahalahti plant. Major investments will also be made in the coming years to secure production capacity. The Group’s solvency ratio, standing at 58 per cent at the end of the financial year, was up on 2006. Personnel numbers totalled an average 2,229 as opposed to 2,240 in 2006; 95 per cent were employed in Finland.

World food prices still rising

The prices of many raw materials rose during 2007 and that trend seems set to continue this year, putting pressure on consumer prices and creating uncertainty for profit development in 2008. These figures comprise preliminary data that have not been audited and the Group financial statements will be finalised in April. Further information: 3F Trade Directory / Saarioinen Company presentation 12.03.2008 (Source: Finfood)

Finns offering fast-food ingredients in St. Petersburg

Food from Finland gathered together a compact team of Finnish firms making buns, burgers, dressings, fresh products and packages to present their products in St. Petersburg on 26th–27th February 2008. Individual Finnish companies have tried to enter the Russian fast-food market with complete concepts but this new approach could pay dividends.

Substantial demand and significant risk

Our neighbouring city has caught Finnish fast-food providers out in the past. The leading Finnish business daily Kauppalehti recently reported that Cafe Picnic withdrew its pilot operation and rapid expansion proved hard for the Kotipizza chain, too. Both companies found unpredictable risks attached to location and construction plans. The precision strike being executed by five Finnish companies aims to make contacts in and get a picture of the St. Petersburg market. An attractive product presentation drew many representatives of large wholesalers and other potential partners by invitation. Finnish companies Salico, Baco, Korv-Göran’s Kebab, Suomen Kerta Oy and Ole’s Fastfood were given a real opportunity to make business contacts.

Connecting with customers

“I’ve met the Food Service players I needed to see. We got just the right people here and quality is as they say more important than quantity,” Ole Snellman of Ole’s Fastfood commented afterwards. Mr Snellman had attended fairs in Russia before, but this was the first time he’d had his own products on display. “There was real interest in frozen raw meat products and it’s been well worthwhile.” In addition to meeting the buyers, Ole valued the opportunity offered by the trip to learn something new. Following this positive feedback, Carita Vastinesluoma, Marketing Coordinator at Food from Finland, is even more convinced that Finnish origin and high quality will sell in St. Petersburg. Meetings with Russian partners have also made it clear that there is an excess of demand over supply in the country.

A land of great opportunity

The restaurant business is a rapidly expanding sector in Russia. In a report dated February 2007, Euromonitor estimated that eating out is a key engine of growth in the Russian economy as consumer consumption rises. There is nevertheless a far smaller supply of restaurants than is common in the West: one per 126 inhabitants in Paris as opposed to one every 3,200 inhabitants in Moscow, where the country’s supply is at its most dense. Russian businesses suddenly found just a few years ago that they had a new middle-class to cater for. Entrepreneurs who had previously opened high-end restaurants understood the pull of mid-priced outlets and now restaurant chains provide a larger share of food services. Euromonitor suggested that the previously unstable restaurant business got on its feet with the help of foreign investors. In 2005, the food business attracted the second highest amount of foreign investment after industry, and today it’s even possible to get a bank loan to back a good restaurant concept. Euromonitor forecasts that the Russian market will attract more global companies to satisfy niches whose needs have not yet been saturated, and in a massive country those niches may be sizeable. Local operators currently have to compete with foreign companies mainly in the fast-food sector, but Euromonitor’s research indicates that new Latin American, Middle Eastern and Chinese mid-priced outlets would best respond to consumers’ needs. Elsewhere on the Internet: http://www.euromonitor.com/Consumer_Foodservice_in_Russia 05.03.2008 (Source: Finfood news service)

Finnish organic export group makes its mark at BioFach

The increasing interest in Finnish organic products so clearly demonstrated at BioFach 2008 is creating more demand than producers can currently satisfy. BioFach is the major industry event and gathers together organic trade businesses worldwide. Finland must be there to present its unique organic products. BioFach was held this year in Nuremberg from 21st–24th February, and attracted 2,740 exhibitors from 78 countries along with nearly 50,000 visitors. BioFach’s “Country of the Year 2009” will be Denmark, which provides Finnish organic producers with an enticing opportunity, too.

Organic Food Finland and its members

“The volume of traffic at our stand highlights the rapid growth of the organics market, and the stream of potential customers kept us busy throughout the fair,” says Erkki Pöytäniemi, Export Manager of Organic Food Finland, an organisation founded in part at his initiative for which Finpro, another Finnish export support body, runs project management. Helsinki Mills Ltd, Kankaisten Öljykasvit Ltd, Kiantama Ltd and Maustaja Ltd presented their products at the Organic Food Finland stand and Bioferme Ltd was also represented. “Stand-out Finnish organic ingredients and products include for example grains, especially oat, as well as berries, rapeseed, and potato products. Finnish industry is steeped in product development expertise and the Northern climate produces aromatic and clean ingredients,” states Mr Pöytäniemi.

Napapiiri Organics joint brand initiative

The Napapiiri Organics product family launched at the fair includes Maustaja’s sugar free berry preserves, Helsinki Mills berry oatmeal and Kiantama’s sweetened but sugar free dried berries. The Napapiiri Organics brand builds on the strengths of Finnish and Nordic nature, organic farming and highly advanced food industry know-how. Voted organic product of the year in Finland, cloudberry preserve was a favourite in product tasting and Kankaisten Öljykasvit’s Virgino high quality organic rapeseed oil also received the recognition it deserved. Customer contacts were made with companies from all around the world, including Saudi Arabia and the Far East.

A global shortage of raw materials

The downside of the strong growth in the organic products market is the worldwide shortage of organic raw materials. Organic oats, a key ingredient for producers, will run low again this year. Unlike last year, the price of organic oats in North America has exceeded even that of Europe, so Canadian oats can no longer be used to make up the European shortfall. The farming of organic oats and other grains must be increased in Finland. Raw material prices are going to remain high for some considerable time and organic grains are needed for the expanding domestic market as well as for export applications. The Organic Food Finland export group is run together with Finpro and supported by the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy. Further information: Erkki Pöytäniemi, Export Manager, Organic Food Finland, Tel. +358 9 5714 3320, e-mail: erkki@organic-finland.com Silva Paananen, Project Manager, Finpro, Tel. +358 403 433 305, e-mail: silva.paananen@finpro.fi www.organic-finland.com www.napapiiri-organics.com 05.03.2008 (Source: Finfood)

Snellman starting its Russian export drive

Famous for its cold cuts, kitchen-ready meat products and convenience foods, Snellman recently announced two major distribution agreements in Moscow ahead of its fresh export drive. Snellman is a trustworthy and dynamic co-operation partner for producers, customers and consumers. And starting this month its Russian marketing operation OOO SNELLMAN is working with Fresh Line and Cantree to get Finnish products onto the shelves of the leading retail chains in St. Petersburg, Moscow and other regions.

Well prepared and well equipped

Martti Vähäkangas, Managing Director, points out that it’s no further from Snellman’s home in Pietarsaari to St. Petersburg than to Helsinki – crossing the border is simply a psychological threshold. Snellman has prepared itself well. The company has collected market research data in Russia over a period of one-and-a-half years and gathered information from 15 years of co-operation with Stockmann, an international retail operator. Snellman will monitor its brand development for a year or two as the company begins to export cold cuts and starts working with the retail chains. Ready-to-eat foods will follow during the spring. Premium is the key concept as Snellman targets the growing Russian middle classes.

A key marketing channel

Finnish companies continue to invest in Russia’s import market and were well represented by some of the most active players at Prodexpo 2008, a major food industry fair held in Moscow from 11th–15th February. Igor Buzin, Export Manager for Snellman Russia, ran the show at Prodexpo and emphasises the importance of the fair for market entrants. Thousands of visitors see the company logo and remember the products when they encounter them in the shops. Snellman’s products were well received by Russian customers stressing taste and quality as the key features.

Quality cuts sharpen the competitive edge

Mr Buzin and his colleagues in Finland are confident that Snellman’s range is an ideal fit for the Russian market. Both liver pâté and salami suit traditional Russian tastes and, critically, Snellman’s lean cold cuts will appeal to the increasing consumer demand for lighter products. Snellman uses Finnish ingredients providing the premium quality that the market is looking for and many competitors struggle to offer. Snellman’s products are attractively priced in comparison with other imported foods. Finland’s clean Northern nature and environment is well-known to Russians, as is the quality of Finnish food. Mr Buzin feels sure this will give Mr Snellman a head start. 05.03.2008 (Source: Finfood news service)

Finns are healthier than ever

Speaking at the “Steps towards a balanced diet” seminar arranged by the Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation in Helsinki on 7th February 2008, Pekka Puska, Director General of the National Public Health Institute, said that Finns today are healthier than ever before. This public health success story stems from initiatives taken both in prevention and health promotion. Finns are looking at health as a lifestyle value that includes a balanced, nutritious diet.

Nutrition and lifestyle

“Our good health can nevertheless be hampered by weight gain, alcohol consumption and bio-threats such as a bird flu pandemic. Lifestyle plays a major role and while the responsibility for health lies ultimately with the individual, the authorities must provide support and play their part. From the public health perspective, nutrition is key. The challenge of the food industry is to combine healthiness with attractive cuisine,” said Professor Puska.

Working for a balanced diet

Heikki Juutinen, Director General of the Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation (FFDIF), said that the food industry has a responsibility to engender well-being for Finns by producing a wide range of safe basic foods, functional foods, and products for people with special dietary needs. “The Federation polled its members and found that 60 per cent of the companies involved have undertaken product development to provide healthier foods in recent years, and 80 per cent are taking healthiness into account in future development initiatives. Information on nutritional content has been made easier to understand through the introduction of the Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) label. The food industry offers package sizes to suit the needs of different types of consumer, markets in a responsible fashion, distributes research-based information, promotes nutritional education, and co-operates closely with the authorities and other actors,” Mr Juutinen explained in detail.

Dairy offers more and healthier choices

A great deal has been achieved in many different food industry sectors to help consumers manage a balanced diet. Ulla-Marja Urho, Executive Director of the Dairy Nutrition Council, said that consumers’ intake of fat from dairy products has decreased from 40 per cent to 25 per cent in 15 years. A broader product range has increased the consumption of milk, which is an important source of calcium and nowadays also vitamin D.

Bread is still the staff of life

Teija Keso, Co-ordinator at the Leipätiedotus association (Finnish Bread Information), said that the trend in grain product development favours wholegrain bread and the addition of nutritional fibre, vitamins, trace elements and other bioactive components to bread. These innovations are based on significant research and technological development. The amount of salt in bread has at the same time been reduced without compromising on taste.

Leaner meat for healthier foods

The meat and ready-to-eat foods industry has responded to consumers’ increased interest in good health by paying more attention to nutritional quality. Merja Leino, Group Vice President, Quality & Product Safety at Atria, said that the industry uses significantly less salt and Finland compares favourably with European countries on salt content. Fat content has also been reduced – pork is leaner nowadays and there’s a wide range of low fat meat products available, while sandwich toppings are a great deal lighter and ready-to-eat foods include ultra light and fat free alternatives.

Less sugar in our drinks and sweets, more responsibility in marketing

Timo Jaatinen, Managing Director, representing the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry and the Chocolate, Sugar Confectionery and Biscuit Industries’ Association, said that sugar-free soft drinks continue to grow in popularity and currently account for one third of soft drink consumption. Marketing guidelines now mean that soft drinks are not actively marketed to consumers under the age of fifteen, and the supply and use of soft drink machines in schools is constrained. Habits are tending towards more natural and healthy choices in the confectionery sector, where product groups showing growth include dark chocolate, new healthier pastilles, and chewing gums. Smaller package options are also proving popular. The industry has improved the traditional content of biscuit products, too, as the use of saturated fats has fallen, wholegrain ingredients increased and sugar decreased. The food industry has also developed healthier snack products.

Food is also a pleasure

“Food nourishes the soul as well as the body,” Helena Saine-Laitinen, Managing Editor of Maku, a lifestyle magazine for food lovers, reminded the audience at the seminar. Food is used to express love and caring. It forms strong connections in our childhood memories and creates many memorable moments throughout life. The rewarding world of food is enriched by traditional ingredients and seasonal tastes. Cooking and eating is also a popular pastime that brings people together for enjoyment and pleasure! Notes from a seminar: “Askelia kohti tasapainoista ruokavaliota” (Steps towards a balanced diet) Further information: Sirpa Rinne, Communications Director, tel. +358 9 1488 7238 The Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation represents and promotes the interests of the Finnish food and drink industry. The Federation has some 300 member companies and two member associations, who together cover more than 90% of food industry production in Finland. The food industry is the biggest industry sector in Europe, and in Finland the biggest manufacturer of consumer goods and fourth largest industry employing 36,300 people. The whole grocery chain employs 12% of the Finnish labour force. 26.02.2008 (Source: Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation / News section)

Valio Gefilus® MAX provides a strong dose of immunity

Valio Gefilus® MAX is a versatile daily dose drink that strengthens natural immunity and calms a stressed stomach. It has been available in Finland since January and was launched in Sweden in February.

The science behind new Valio Gefilus® MAX

The proven health effects are based on Valio’s unique patented combination of four probiotic bacteria: Lactobacillus GG (LGG®), Lactobacillus rhamnosus Lc705 (Lc705), Bifidobacterium Bb12 (Bb12®) and Propionibacterium freudenreichii (PJS). The symptoms of a stressed stomach are partly caused by a hectic lifestyle and can be alleviated using Gefilus® MAX. Two separate studies (Kajander et al. 2005 and 2008) have shown that a daily dose of Valio Gefilus® MAX drink significantly relieves stressed stomach symptoms in people diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

LGG® is the world’s most researched probiotic bacterium

Like all Valio Gefilus® products, the new drink contains Lactobacillus GG (LGG®) which research shows strengthens our natural immunity by functioning as a natural part of the digestive tract and preventing the growth and functioning of harmful microbes. LGG® increases the development of antibodies against various bacteria, reduces the frequency of respiratory infections such as flu or of ear infections, and diminishes the prevalence and duration of diarrhoea. Further information: Kajsa Kajander, Concept Manager, Innovative Concepts and Technologies, Valio Ltd, tel. +358 10 382 2087 26.02.2008 (Source: Finfood)

More food fairs for Asia and Eastern Europe

New food fairs are easing access to the growing markets of Asia and Eastern Europe. Pioneers are looking even farther east to China where the country’s first food fair, Central China Food Expo held in Zhengzhou in November 2008, will act as a shop window for the world’s fastest growing market. Other events of note include InterFood St. Petersburg in April, and InterFood Azerbaijan in Baku in May, while the autumn calendar will feature World Food Ukraine in Kiev, and World Food Kazakhstan in Almaty.

Food from Finland to China

The Food from Finland promotion service is fielding an increasing number of inquiries from Chinese food industry customers and media, while Entre Marketing Ltd will arrange a joint Finnish initiative at the World Food Moscow fair in September if companies show sufficient interest.

Russia attracting new Finnish exporters

Finnish food industry SMEs are working together to grow exports to Russia and smooth the path for other entrants. Fintorus Oy was founded in summer 2007 with the support of the Food and Nutrition Programme ERA financed by Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund. Fintorus presented at Prodexpo 2008 in Moscow on 11th–15th February.

Maintaining visibility at Prodexpo

Finnish companies also ran their own stands at Prodexpo and Mr Panu Kimmo, who heads up Myllyn Paras Russian operations, commented that a presence at Prodexpo is a must to make it in Russia. “It’s important to be seen and project the right image.” Mr Kimmo pointed out that Myllyn Paras was able to meet all its customers from Russia and the CIS countries at the fair, as well as buyers from the retail chains, making new contacts in an unforced manner. Panu also considers Prodexpo a good platform from which to launch new products directly to customers and get valuable feedback on operating methods. Finland is justifiably recognised for its production of untarnished foods and Russians value Finnish products, Panu concludes. Myllyn Paras Oy manufactures, sells and markets flour, flakes, grits and pasta as well as deep-frozen dough and pastry. 26.02.2008 (Source: Finfood news)

GDA label for nutritional content gaining ground

The Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation (ETL) estimates that GDA (Guideline Daily Amount) labels will be added to 600–1000 food products. By the end of the year, the labels will be found on for example ready-to-eat foods, bakery products, dairy products, cold cuts, sausages, spreads, non-alcoholic drinks, sweets, and breakfast and snack products. ETL data have revealed that to date 40 companies operating in Finland have applied the GDA label to their products or have decided to do so this year. The label makes it easy for consumers to understand how much a single portion or other typically consumed amount of the product contains in terms of energy and key nutrients, such as sugars, fat, saturated fat and sodium. Information can also be included about protein, carbohydrates and fibre, and indicate the portion’s contribution of energy and nutrients to the recommended daily intake.

Cost-effective implementation

The GDA label is voluntary and based on the recommendations of the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries in the EU (CIAA). Companies may add the label to some or all of their products gradually as they see fit, linked for instance to package re-design or product launches. Some companies only provide GDA product information on their website. The EU Commission issued a proposition in late January for compulsory and uniform labelling to display nutritional content, largely in accordance with the GDA label system. Sointu Lassila, Special Advisor at ETL, estimates that compulsory labels will be in use within 3–4 years. Variations between the GDA label and the Commission’s proposal include for instance that content should be marked per 100 grams or 100 millilitres. The GDA label shows information per portion. 20.02.2008 (Source: Finfood news)

The potato is a cornerstone of Finnish food culture

The potato has for centuries been a popular part of the Finnish culinary identity. “It’s a cornerstone of Finnish food culture,” said Chef Jaakko Nuutila at the inaugural meeting of the Pro Peruna association.

Strong demand, weak supply

“Demand is strong both at home and abroad for high quality Finnish potatoes for consumer and industrial use,” reports a representative of Luonnosta Oy, part of Kantaperuna Group, which supplies potatoes for both sectors to Norway, Sweden, Estonia and Russia as well as the domestic market. High-quality first-class fresh potatoes are yet again scarce on international markets this year, and Finnish farmers are getting a slightly better price abroad than in Finland. New, easy-to-use potato products have become popular and companies have invested in product development resulting in e.g. ready-to-eat and flavoured potato products.

Potato and boletus powder make a tasty combination

The humble potato can be so much more than just a boiled or mashed accompaniment. Chef Ilari Kesti from Profood explained to the audience that he had recently been flavouring potatoes with boletus powder. Selecting the appropriate variety of potato is an important part of the cooking process, so that mashed potato doesn’t become uneven and boiled potatoes end up mashed. Colour-coded consumer retail bags help us make the right choice. “A key criterion in professional cooking today is that the variety doesn’t discolour after peeling,” says Jussi Karjula, Managing Director of seed potato producer Pohjoisen Kantaperuna Oy (Northern Seed Potato). The company introduced its new Annabelle, Saline, Opera and Cecile varieties at the event. 20.02.2008 (Source: Finfood)

ICRISAT earns its second ‘Outstanding’ rating

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been rated “Outstanding” based on the performance-linked measurements of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), for the second year in a row. The ‘Outstanding’ rating recognizes ICRISAT’s good science, great impacts, institutional health and financial health. It places ICRISAT’s performance on top of the 15 international agricultural research institutes that are members of the CGIAR. According to the Director General of ICRISAT, Dr William D Dar, the second consecutive ‘Outstanding’ rating is a manifestation that ICRISAT is in tune with the changing institutional context and task environment in pursuing its mission of helping bring about pro-poor growth and sustainable development in the semi-arid tropics of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Dr Dar dedicated this success to the poor farmers and poor people in the dry tropics of the world. “Our commitment to delivering results that are profound and superior led to this reward,” he said. The CGIAR Performance Measurement (PM) System is a regular annual feature in the CGIAR monitoring and evaluation system. Performance is measured along three dimensions – results, potential to perform and stakeholder perceptions. The PM system provides Centers with a method to better understand their own performance and demonstrate accountability. The significant indicators that contributed to ICRISAT’s outstanding rating are:

1. Results– outputs, outcomes and impact:

- Output targets achieved 98% (49 out of 50)

- Outcomes assessment 7.80 (scale 1-10)

- Center commitment to document impacts 7.30 (scale 1-10)

- Overall impact assessment performance 8.55 (scale 1-10)

2. Potential to perform – quality and relevance of research:

- Peer-reviewed publications 3.10 per scientist

- Publications with developed country partners 49%

3. Institutional health – governance, culture of learning and change, diversity: Financial health – short-term solvency, long-term financial stability and efficiency of operations:

- Short-term solvency (liquidity) in days 206 (range 90-120)

- Long-term financial stability in days 148 (range 75-90)

- Efficiency of operations (indirect cost ratio) 23 (out of 30)

The CGIAR Performance Measurement System is also used as an input in CGIAR member fund allocation decisions. The present assessment of ICRISAT results in an additional $1.10 million annual allocation from the World Bank over their base allocation of $0.98 million for ICRISAT, bringing the total to $2.08 million. The World Bank is one of the donors to ICRISAT. Since 2000, ICRISAT has been able to steadily strengthen its ability to increase donor funding for the Institute. In the last five years the Institute has consistently registered a budgetary surplus. ICRISAT’s gross revenue grew from US$24.2 million in 2003 to US$ 42.1 million in 2007. 25 July 2008 (Source: CGIAR,icrisat)

World's first CMS pigeonpea hybrid commercialized

Red gram or pigeonpea is an important pulse crop of India where it is grown on about 3.5 million ha. It is a favorite dal (tuar or arhar) of Indian cuisine. It is a very suitable crop for rainfed agriculture because it is drought tolerant, needs minimum inputs and produces reasonable yields under unfavorable agro-ecological conditions. Over the past 50 years, pigeonpea productivity has not increased in spite of several new varieties being released. To achieve a breakthrough in yield, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) developed an innovative breeding technology to develop commercial hybrids in this crop, the first such attempt in any food legume. ICRISAT is working with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, State Agricultural Universities, Seed Corporations, and private seed companies in this effort. After 25 years of intense research, the world's first cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) based pigeonpea hybrid ICPH 2671 was developed by ICRISAT in 2005, and has been named as "Pushkal" by Pravardhan Seeds. This hybrid is suitable for cultivation in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Pushkal was launched today by the Director General of ICRISAT, Dr William D Dar. Also present were Mr Murahari Rao, Managing Director of Pravardhan Seeds and senior officials from ICRISAT and Pravardhan Seeds. Launching the hybrid for cultivation, Dr William Dar said that the world is witnessing marked volatility in food and energy prices. Reduced global stocks, climate change, rising human population, natural calamities such as droughts, coupled with speculative response to the market signals are a few reasons for spiraling prices of food and other essential commodities. Expressing his concern, Dr Dar said that nearly every agricultural commodity is fueling the rising price trend. Stressing the need for urgent attention, Dr Dar said that the bulk of food proteins in India are derived from pulse crops that are generally grown under low-input and risk-prone marginal environments with low and unstable yields. The Green Revolution of the 1970s ignored legumes that are a major source of protein in the developing world. At present the protein availability in India is less than one-third of the recommended dietary allowance. Since the food production balance in India will always remain in favor of cereals, the issue of protein availability assumes greater significance. Options such as increasing the pulses growing area, intensive cropping, and enhanced inputs have limited scope in India. Therefore, to harvest additional protein the cultivation of hybrid legumes is the most prudent alternative, Dr Dar opined. Dr CLL Gowda, Global Theme Leader, Crop Improvement, ICRISAT, said that the CMS based hybrid seed technology is ready for take off with all its major components in place. The major responsibility, now, is to take this research product to the clients - the farmers of rainfed agriculture.Considering the high yield potential of the technology, it is expected that farmers with both small and large holdings will adopt the hybrids. Since small scale and resource poor farmers predominantly cultivate pigeonpea, it will be important to keep the seed cost within the reach of the farmers, he said. Dr KB Saxena, the scientist behind this breakthrough, said that the new technology promises to break the yield barrier, which has been plaguing Indian agriculture for the past five decades. In achieving this milestone, Dr. Saxena and his team struggled for 35 years to overcome various scientific hurdles. He was very optimistic about the adoption of the hybrid technology. He further mentioned that in achieving this goal the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) provided full support in the research and development of this technology. At ICRISAT the experimental hybrids have recorded 20% to150% yield advantage over the best checks, ideal for bringing the next quantum jump in yield. Eminent agricultural scientist Dr MS Swaminathan had mentioned that, "hybrid pigeonpea technology is like dwarfing genes in wheat and rice and this will create a second green revolution" in India. This breakthrough is the result of ICRISAT's strong public-private partnership. On the basis of results from three years and 21 test locations, ICRISAT scientists believe that hybrid technology in pigeonpea has become a profound success. One of the important outcomes of the research program is Pushkal (ICPH 2671). This high yielding, disease (wilt and sterility mosaic) resistant hybrid was bred at ICRISAT and gives about 30-40% yield advantage over the popular variety Maruti. The seed production of the parental lines of Pushkal has been tried successfully. Mr Murahari Rao, M.D. Pravardhan Seeds, said that hybrid pigeonpea technology has a great potential for enhancing yield and farmers will surely accept this hybrid and other hybrids. He also thanked ICRISAT for providing the genetic material for development of Pushkal. 16 July 2008 (Source: CGIAR,icrisat)

Forest Day 2

UNFCCC COP 14 Parallel Event Shaping the Global Agenda for Forests and Climate Change Poznan, 6 December 2008. Forests are now at the very center of the climate change debate.

What is Forest Day?

Forest Day will bring together the world’s pre-eminent forest stakeholders, agenda setters and policy makers to address the key forest and climate issues of our time: - Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) - Climate Change Adaptation - Sustainable Forest Management - Poverty, Livelihoods, Equity and Justice - Data Collection, Baselines and Methodologies - Rights, Compliance, Law and Enforcement - Forest Investment and Environmental Service Payments.

What is happening on Forest Day?

Diverse and dynamic fora for community, corporate and government participants to present findings, engage in dialogue and develop solutions. - Plenary (Opening and Closing) - Cross-Cutting Sessions - Side Events - Posters Session and Exhibitions - Field Trip (Sunday, 7 December, organized by the Polish State Forests NFH) Co-hosted by: CIFOR, the Government of Poland & the Polish State Forests NFH, and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF):• CIFOR • CBD Secretariat • FAO • GEF • ICRAF • ITTO • IUCN • IUFRO Secretariat • UNCCD Secretariat • UNDP • UNEP • UNFCCC Secretariat • UNFF Secretariat • World Bank 11 July 2008 (Source: CGIAR, cifor)

Buffalo rides and career strides

Young scientists from across the world come together to learn about rice and help fight poverty A unique course designed to inspire young scientists will develop the research leaders who can help prevent food crises such as that seen around the world in 2008, and which is a key topic being discussed by world leaders at the G8 summit in Japan this week. The “Rice: research to production” course, held for the second time on 19 May–6 June at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), brought together 29 participants from 13 countries across the developed and developing world. The participants included undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from developed countries such as Canada, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and scientists from developing countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mozambique, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation in the United States, the Gatsby Foundation in the United Kingdom, and IRRI, the course also seeks to reverse the one-way traffic of recent decades that has seen thousands of young scientists from the developing world studying and then taking jobs in the developed world. Students from the developed countries, many of whom had never set foot in a rice field before, began to understand the challenges rice farmers face in simply trying to grow enough food to feed themselves and their families. “It’s a long way from analyzing rice genes in a high-tech laboratory in a U.S. university to steering a water buffalo around a muddy rice field in provincial Philippines,” said Noel Magor, head of IRRI’s Training Center and one of the course organizers. “It’s this sort of experience that can profoundly influence a young scientist’s career.” “Many developed-country researchers are unaware of the impact their work can have in helping people from poorer countries overcome problems that farmers in richer areas could hardly imagine,” said Susan McCouch, who devised the course with IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler and plant pathologist Hei Leung. “By not only experiencing the challenges themselves, but also meeting and spending time with people from Africa and Asia who have to deal with these challenges, the students gain insights and inspiration that is nearly impossible from the comfort of their home,” said Dr. McCouch, a professor in the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cornell University in the United States. “One of last year’s students, for example, has completely revised his career course and is about to head to Ghana for one year.” For participant Stacey Simon, a postdoctoral researcher from the University of Delaware in the United States, the course offered her first experience in a real rice field. Dr. Simon, who works on the molecular biology of rice, said she was for the first time thinking about the applications of her research. “I’m now considering international work, and that’s something I’ve never thought about before. I also understand the importance of connections with people outside my own field, especially those who work directly with farmers.” Melanie Sanborn, a graduate student in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education at Penn State University, Pennsylvania, agreed that the knowledge and connections developed over the 3 weeks would shape her career. “I’d like to create lessons about international agriculture for high school students—I want to help inspire and train a future generation of rice scientists,” she said. Lorena Pedro Francisco, a private-sector agronomist from Mozambique, learned far more than she expected. “Now I feel more able to make a difference in my own country,” she said. Building research capacity in Africa, where rice is an increasingly important food, is very important if the continent is to shake its reliance on imports from Asia. Another participant, Abubakary Kijoji, a plant physiologist from Tanzania, said that his country of 38 million has a mere five rice breeders for what is now the nation’s second largest crop. Countries worldwide are struggling to attract people into careers in agricultural research. This is especially troubling because one of the major reasons for the recent food price increase is stagnating productivity growth due to a decline in technological advances produced by public agricultural research such as that performed at IRRI. Prolonged periods of low food prices through the 1980s and early 1990s—spurred by technology-driven improvements in productivity—led many governments and funding agencies to believe that cheap food was here to stay. A consequent disinvestment in public agricultural research and infrastructure has stemmed the flow of new technologies and the world is now paying the price. Recent calls from organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization for countries to reinvest in agriculture are welcome, but without the personnel to make use of new funding—if it does come—improvements will be limited. Some African countries, for example, rely on a single rice breeder to develop locally adapted improved varieties. Many countries in Asia and Latin America, too, suffer a dearth of qualified researchers and plant breeders. The course aims to create a new generation of plant scientists who are well networked into the international community and understand the importance of integrating plant science and community-based knowledge in addressing global problems. It provided the participants with an understanding of the basics of rice production; familiarity with the germplasm (seeds and the genetic material they contain) collection at IRRI and current issues related to germplasm exchange and property rights; an appreciation of the research objectives of IRRI and its development partners; hands-on skills relating to rice breeding; an understanding of how to structure effective international collaborations; and the knowledge and personal contacts to work effectively as part of international research teams in the future. The organizers, who will run the course again in 2009, hope to secure additional funding to extend this unique opportunity for young scientists to make a real-world difference. 7 July 2008 (Source: CGIAR)

Egypt joins Africa Rice Center as member country

The member countries of the Africa Rice Center (WARDA) have approved Egypt’s application to join the Center. In his request, His Excellency Mr Amin Abaza, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of Egypt wrote, “I am sure this will lead to excellent work and the achievement of our common objectives. We wish to commend the Africa Rice Center as a continental organization serving all African countries.” Egypt is the first country from North Africa to join the Africa Rice Center which is an association of African member countries and one of the 15 international institutes supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Warmly congratulating Egypt, Africa Rice Center Director General Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck remarked, “Africa Rice Center has now a much wider coverage of the continent and our membership has doubled from 11 countries in 1970 when it was established to 22 at present. It now includes countries from West, East, Central and North Africa.” The Director General took the opportunity to thank the Council of Ministers, the Board, former Directors General, the personnel as well as donors and partners. “There is no doubt that without their strong support, the Center would not have reached this level,” he stated. 24 June 2008 (Source: CGIAR)

Research required urgently to control planthopper pests

23-25 June conference to address major threat to Asian rice production A small insect that has devastated millions of hectares of rice in southern China and Vietnam over the past few years—causing the loss of thousands of tons of the grain at a crucial time for global production—is the focus of a critical and timely conference this week in the Philippines. Problems caused by planthoppers, a major type of rice pest that can destroy one-fifth of a harvest, have intensified across Asia in recent years. Major outbreaks in Vietnam in 2007 contributed to recent dramatic rises in the cost of rice, which have threatened to push millions of people deeper into poverty. If not effectively controlled, these pests could hamper rice production and help keep prices high. Sustained increases in productivity are needed to ensure affordable, plentiful rice for the 3 billion people who depend on it. However, a steady dwindling of funding for public rice research over the past 15 years has stifled research to develop sustainable management practices that help farmers control pests. A report on the front page of the 18 May New York Times revealed that scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have the know-how to develop rice that can withstand several strains of the devastating pest and integrate resistant varieties with ecological control methods. But, with resources drying up, the research efforts are on hold. Planthoppers are normally kept in check by naturally occurring biological phenomena, such as other animals that prey on the pest. In the 1970s and 1980s, planthoppers threatened rice intensification programs in Indonesia, Thailand, India, the Solomon Islands, and the Philippines. IRRI organized the first brown planthopper (BPH) international conference in 1977, bringing together scientists from all rice-producing countries. Activities triggered by this meeting—including integrated pest management (IPM), reducing unnecessary insecticide use, and breeding BPH-resistant rice varieties—helped keep BPH under control for the next 20 years. However, in the last 5 years, planthopper problems have worsened in several countries, including China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Increasing insecticide resistance is also a concern. “One of the key problems is overuse of pesticide,” said IRRI entomologist and conference organizer K.L. Heong. “As well as destroying the natural predators of planthopper, this also allows the pests to become resistant to pesticides.” Since the first BPH conference, genetics, ecology, and pest management have advanced considerably. Planthoppers are now known to be secondary pests induced by ecological disturbances such as pesticide overuse. To ensure sustainable rice production, research must be directed toward not only pest-resistant rice varieties but also healthy rice-farming ecosystems that provide the natural biological services that control planthoppers. In the last 30 years, scientific advances have coincided with the development of ecosystem-services frameworks and lessons from breeding resistance, understanding farmer decisions, implementing IPM, and improving communication campaigns. The new knowledge can allow novel approaches and research for more sustainable management. The conference at IRRI, which will bring together leading regional experts—including representatives from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia, China, Japan, India, and Bangladesh—and policymakers, will be an important starting point. 23 June 2008 (Source: CGIAR)

IFAD and Spain sign partnership agreement to strengthen collaborative work in rural development

IFAD and Spain today signed a partnership agreement to strengthen their ability to combat rural poverty in developing countries. The move underscores IFAD and Spain’s shared understanding that the best way to eliminate poverty is to empower poor people by expanding their rights, opportunities and abilities so that they can lead their own development. The agreement was signed in Rome by Lennart Båge, President of IFAD, and Luis Calvo Merino, Spain’s Ambassador to Rome. Spain is a supporter of integrated rural development, a valued member of IFAD and an important member of the international development community. “IFAD shares many development priorities with Spain,” said Båge. “By strengthening our relationship, we will be able to work even more effectively together to empower poor rural people to overcome poverty.” The new agreement has a six-year term. IFAD and Spain will meet every two years to ensure their work remains focused on their shared development goals, as outlined in IFAD’s Strategic Framework and Spain’s Master Plan for Development Cooperation. The partners are both committed to:

- good governance, public participation and strengthening local community and small farmers’ organizations

- developing and promoting rural finance systems and small rural enterprises

- combating desertification and land degradation

- gender equity and the rights of indigenous peoples

Spain, which has long been a leader in development efforts in Latin America, has recently expanded its geographic focus to include Northern and Western Africa, where IFAD also funds programmes and projects. Release number IFAD/51/07, Rome – 27 November 2007 (Source IFAD)

IFAD supports US$46 million programme to boost microfinance in Pakistan

A US$46 million programme will boost commercialization of the microfinance sector in Pakistan and make microfinance services available to about 160,000 new clients – at least half of them women. The Programme for Increasing Sustainable Microfinance will be funded partly by a loan of US$35 million from IFAD. “It is a pivotal time for microfinance in Pakistan,” says Nigel Brett, IFAD’s country programme manager for Pakistan. “Future growth in this sector will depend partly on microfinance institutions and commercial banks forging successful financing partnerships. This programme will work to build such partnerships.” The loan agreement was signed at IFAD headquarters today by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s Minister and Charge d’affaires, a.i. in Rome, Jamil Ahmad, and IFAD’s President, Lennart Båge. Banks and commercial financial institutions in Pakistan will contribute US$10.3 million to the programme. The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) will also provide US$700,000 and its partner organizations a further US$600,000. Access to microfinance in Pakistan is still very limited and unmet demand is enormous. To date, the sector has relied largely on donor funds. “These existing funds are already failing to meet demand and only limited donor funding can be expected for microfinance in the future,” says Brett. “Unless commercial funding sources can be tapped, the growth of the sector will be constrained.” Pakistan’s government recognizes microfinance as an important tool for reducing poverty in the country and supports the principles of market competition, commercialization and innovation. It wants to reach a target of three million borrowers within the next three years. The country’s banks and microfinance institutions have said they are willing to work together to expand outreach in services such as loans, savings, insurance and credit. The IFAD-supported programme will work with three groups: small farmers, livestock owners, traders and microentrepreneurs; women and households headed solely by women; and vulnerable rural households living below the poverty line. “When the programme closes, a number of high-performing microfinance institutions reaching out to these groups will have developed partnerships with commercial banks,” says Brett. “Through programme-supported mechanisms such as cash collateral, guarantees, letters of credit and equity contributions, commercial banks will increase their lending to microfinance institutions and this will lead to the overall growth of the microfinance sector.” With this programme, IFAD loans and grants totalling more than US$422 million have helped finance 22 programmes and projects in Pakistan. Release number IFAD/50/07, Rome, 22 November 2007 (Source IFAD)

IFAD-supported project will help Bolivia’s camelid producers boost their incomes through new microenterprises

A project to realize the market potential of Bolivia’s millions of llamas, alpacas and undomesticated vicuñas will present poor rural families with the opportunity to start small businesses for products like meat, hides and wool-based handicrafts, as well as eco-tourism. The US$14.38 million Enhancement of the Peasant Camelid Economy Support Project will be partially funded by an IFAD loan of US$7.2 million. The loan was signed in Rome by IFAD’s President Lennart Båge and Bolivia’s Ambassador to Italy, Esteban Elmer Catarina Mamani. The European Commission-financed Food Security Support Programme will contribute US$1.54 million to the project and the Government of Bolivia will provide US$2.76 million. The balance of the funding will come from other public entities ($US220,000) and from the project participants (US$2.62 million). The goal of the project is to boost the incomes and improve the living conditions of poor camelid producers and microentrepreneurs, especially women and young people. About 14,000 families will benefit. “The project will give poor rural people better access to financial services and provide them with technical assistance, knowledge and information, so that they can start small businesses,” said Roberto Haudry de Soucy, IFAD’s country programme manager for Bolivia. “There are about three million animals belonging to 53,000 peasant families in Bolivia,” he said. “This translates into real market opportunities for fibre, meat, hides, handicrafts and eco-tourism. This project will tap the potential of the sector to create new markets and more jobs for poor rural people in the country.” Dried camelid meat, known in Bolivia as charque, is in high demand in urban markets and nearly 6000 rural women are already producing it. But with technical assistance to improve the processing, packaging, marketing, and market access, the production could easily be doubled, said Haudry de Soucy, as could production of the handmade textiles of the region. The project participants will be chosen from poor and food-insecure households with unmet basic needs. They include poor camelid producers, those who manage undomesticated vicuñas, and artisans and small-scale traders. In the remote and fragile high plains of the Andes, natural resources are scarce and of poor quality. Poor communication technologies in the area further exacerbate the group’s vulnerability. Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. Although GDP per capita grew during the 1990s, it was insufficient to reduce poverty, inequality and social exclusion, particularly in the rural sector. Poverty in rural areas is almost double the rate it is in capital cities, and extreme poverty is nearly triple. In nearly 24 years of operations in Bolivia, IFAD has carried out a significant portfolio of projects to reduce rural poverty. It has funded 10 projects for a total of about $US152 million. Release number IFAD/49/07, Rome, 22 November 2007 (Source IFAD)

IFAD and CPLP sign cooperation agreement to fight rural poverty in Portuguese-speaking developing countries

IFAD and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) have today signed a cooperation agreement. This will consolidate their partnership and enable them to more effectively tap available resources to fight rural poverty, especially in CPLP Member States. The agreement was signed during the European Development Days in Lisbon by Lennart Båge, President of IFAD, and Ambassador Luís de Matos Monteiro da Fonseca, Executive Secretary of CPLP. The agreement will enable IFAD and CPLP to use their own resources and the resources of their development partners more effectively in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste. IFAD has invested about US$336 million in support of 27 progammes and projects worth a total of US$758 million in these countries. The organization is increasing its global programme of work by 10 per cent per year over the period 2007-2009, which will also boost its work in Portuguese-speaking countries. The cooperation agreement will increase both parties’ impact at the country level and ensure stronger participation by poor rural people in development activities under national poverty reduction strategies. Release number IFAD/48/07, Lisbon, 8 November 2007 (Source IFAD)

IFAD to provide US$8.7 million to Lesotho for programme to give poor rural Basotho better access to financial services

A US$8.7 million IFAD-supported programme will help about 37,000 poor rural people in Lesotho have better access to a broad range of financial services. The aim of the programme is to make it possible for poor rural people to invest in on-farm or off-farm microenterprises and build their financial and household assets. The US$10.7 million Rural Financial Intermediation Programme is supported by a US$4.35 million loan and US$4.35 million grant from IFAD. The agreement was signed in Rome on 8 October 2007 by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Lesotho to Italy, Jonas Sponkie Malewa, and the IFAD President, Lennart Båge. “This new programme will help poor rural people access financial services that respond to their specific needs,” said Fumiko Nakai, IFAD’s country programme manager for Lesotho. “Poor people who are capable of engaging in income-generating activities will have better access to capital for investment,” she said. “And very poor people with meagre incomes will also benefit because they, too, will be able to gradually accumulate savings and have places in which to safely deposit those savings.” “The programme will help formal and informal financial institutions develop a range of financial services, including money transfer and insurance services.” The programme will also establish a regulatory framework for non-bank financial institutions and enhance the supervision capacity of the Central Bank of Lesotho. The programme was developed in close collaboration with the government and key stakeholders, including the Central Bank of Lesotho and the Lesotho PostBank. Most of the Basotho have neither reliable nor regular access to financial services. Formal financial institutions are located mainly in the capital and a few major towns, and there is no microfinance institution in the country. When people need to borrow money, many depend on relatives or friends or on the services of informal local groups and moneylenders who charge exorbitant interest rates. As a result, they tend to borrow only in emergency situations and are unlikely to seek loans to develop businesses or invest in their farms. In addition, the physical distances separating rural people from financial institutions, and unfavourable terms and conditions such as minimum balance requirements and fees for depositing money, also make it difficult for poor rural people to access reliable and safe saving facilities. As a formal financial institution, the Lesotho PostBank is expected to be a key player. The PostBank, currently owned by the government, started operations in 2005 with the aim of providing financial services to people who do not have access to formal banks. “The programme will help transform PostBank into a professionally managed institution that operates on business principles while at the same time maintains its social mandate,” said Nakai. “It will also help the government develop regulations and policies that encourage efficient and sustainable financial services.” IFAD works with the government and other partners to develop and support long-term initiatives to strengthen the livelihoods of poor rural people in a sustainable manner. IFAD has supported agricultural and rural development in Lesotho since 1980 by investing in seven programmes and projects to reduce poverty in the country’s rural areas. With this signing agreement, IFAD’s support to Lesotho now totals over US$50 million. Release number IFAD/47/07, Rome, 05 November 2007 (Source IFAD)

IFAD steps up financial backing for tsunami-affected communities in India’s Tamil Nadu

IFAD has loaned a further US$15 million to the government of India to boost efforts to help coastal fishing communities in Tamil Nadu affected by the 2004 tsunami rebuild their livelihoods. The US$68.5 million Post-Tsunami Sustainable Livelihoods Programme for the Coastal Communities of Tamil Nadu was partly financed with an initial IFAD loan of US$15 million in 2005. The agreement for a further loan of US$15 million was signed at IFAD’s headquarters today by the Republic of India’s Ambassador to Italy, Rajiv Dogra, and IFAD President Lennart Båge. Commercial banks and insurance companies in India are providing US$24.9 million for the programme. The communities in the programme area are providing US$10.4 million and India’s government is contributing US$3.4 million. The tsunami destroyed the livelihoods of more than 174,000 people in Tamil Nadu. The disaster affected entire communities. But some groups of people, such as scheduled castes and tribes, fishers, women fish processors and sellers, and poor farmers were hit particularly hard. The programme will ensure that fishing communities have access to insurance against the risks of fishing and disasters like the tsunami. It is also introducing rural financial services such as life insurance and social security that will pay for lost assets. “Fishing is one of the most dangerous ways to earn money and in Tamil Nadu an estimated 1,000 fishers die each year,” says Mattia Prayer-Galletti, IFAD’s country programme manager for India. “Insurance for the fishers themselves and their equipment makes them less vulnerable to disaster and increases their capacity to cope.” The programme is also improving the management of fish resources in Tamil Nadu controlling pollution and phasing out destructive fishing gear and practices. Over the past 50 years, the number of fishing villages in the region has soared from 230,000 to more than 650,000. Population increases have not only put great pressure on coastal resources, they have also had a serious impact on living conditions. The programme is helping to set up about 50 village fish marketing associations to control the first point of sale and get better fish prices. It is also working to improve basic infrastructure by creating fish auction halls, sheds, drying platforms and waste disposal facilities. And it will introduce new technologies for packing, processing and selling fish. Training is being provided in skills like house and boat building, especially for young people. This will help create employment opportunities in areas other than fishing. Rural finance services promoted by the programme will encourage the growth of small businesses. To date, IFAD has supported 21 projects and programmes in India for a total investment of US$564.4 million. Release number IFAD/46/07, Rome, 1 November 2007 (Source IFAD)

New project will boost incomes for poor rural people in Gabon

A new IFAD-supported project will help small farmers and their organizations in the Woleu-Ntem province of Gabon diversify their incomes by developing and marketing new products from staple crops such as banana, cassava and peanut. The agreement for the US$5.7 million loan and US$0.3 million grant was signed in Rome today by Noël Baïot, Gabon’s Ambassador to Italy, and Kanayo F. Nwanze, IFAD’s Vice President. The project will receive co-financing from the OPEC Fund for International Development. “The Gabon economy has been heavily dependent on the oil and timber sectors for some time,” said Abdoul Barry, IFAD’s country programme manager for Gabon. Following the country’s economic crisis in the 1990s and early 2000s, policy-makers started to look for ways to help people diversify their incomes. “This project will offer concrete opportunities to do that by helping small farmers and their organizations get better access to value chains for products with significant market potential,” said Barry. A value chain is the full range of activities that are needed to bring a product from its conception to its end use. This includes buying inputs such as seeds and fertilizer, production, processing, marketing and distribution. Developing value chains is often about improving access to existing and new markets and ensuring that all actors in that chain benefit equally. Through training, farmer exchange visits and a new market information system, the project will also help farmers’ organizations better defend the economic interests of their members and market their goods more efficiently. The project will directly benefit 28,000 small farmers, half of whom are women and a third young people. Another 70,000 people will benefit indirectly through awareness-raising activities in the province. “Knowledge management is another key component,” said Barry. “Besides providing value chain information directly to participants, the project will write reports for the Ministry of Agriculture’s website and for publication on IFAD’s Rural Poverty Portal. Exchange visits between Gabonese farmers’ organizations and their counterparts in other countries will also be an important means of sharing know-how.” IFAD will encourage collaboration between the new project in Gabon and other projects being implemented in other countries, particularly in Cameroon where a market-driven roots and tubers project has demonstrated that on-farm yields can be more than tripled. This may translate into increased income for Gabonese cassava producers if they learn to market their commodity more effectively. Release number IFAD/45/07, Rome, 26 October 2007 (Source IFAD)

Migrant workers worldwide sent home more than US$300 billion in 2006, new study finds

IFAD, IDB present first global map of remittances flows to developing nations Migrants working in industrialized countries sent more than US$300 billion to developing nations in 2006, according to a study released today in Washington, DC by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). “This figure, which is a conservative estimate, shows that the seemingly small sums sent home by migrant workers when added together dwarf official development assistance” said Kevin Cleaver, IFAD’s Assistant President. Donor nations provided almost $US104 billion in aid to developing countries last year, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Remittances are generated by some 150 million migrants who send money home regularly, typically between US$100 and US$300 at a time. Donald F. Terry, general manager of the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund, pointed out that migrant remittances also surpassed foreign direct investment in developing countries, which last year totaled around $167 billion, according to the Institute of International Finance. “Generating information about the scale of remittances is the first step towards lowering their costs and improving our ability to leverage these flows to achieve a greater development impact,” said Terry, whose fund has been analyzing remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean since 2000. Cleaver and Terry presented the study, Sending money home: Worldwide remittances to developing countries, and a map produced by IFAD, the first one to show remittances on a worldwide basis, highlighting the rural share of these flows. According to the study, in 2006 Asia was the top destination of remittances, receiving more than US$114 billion, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (US$68 billion), Eastern Europe (US$51 billion), Africa (US$39 billion) and the Near East (US$29 billion). Taking nations individually, India received the most (US$24.5 billion), followed by Mexico (US$24.2 billion), China (US$21 billion), the Philippines (US$14.6 billion), and Russia (US$13.7 billion). The IFAD study, which was carried out in collaboration with the IDB, based its figures on official data from governments, banks, and money transfer operators as well as on estimates of informal flows, such as money carried home. IFAD, a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to fighting poverty and hunger in rural areas in developing countries, underscored the finding that more than one third of these remittances flow to families in rural areas, where poverty tends to be worse than in cities. “For IFAD the most important thing to look at is how to channel this money so that it contributes to prosperity in rural areas,” said Cleaver. “One of our priorities is to improve poor people’s options by finding ways to cut transaction costs and link remittances to other financial services such as savings, investments and loans.” While remittances are mostly used for basic necessities such as food, clothing and medicines, between 10% and 20% is saved. However, too often these savings are hidden in homes, in cooking pots or under mattresses, rather than put to work in financial institutions, constituting a major missed opportunity for local economic development. Over the past few years the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund has encouraged microfinance institutions, credit unions and banks that cater to lower-income clients to provide remittances services in Latin America and the Caribbean. As a result of increased competition, transaction cost have fallen sharply for money transfers to major urban areas in this region. "It's always been harder to expand financial services beyond cities. Operating costs are higher, communications more difficult, clients poorer, few and far between. But remittances can be a key for credit unions or microfinance institutions to offer more services to rural clients. This is the kind of solution the IDB-IFAD partnership seeks to promote," added Terry. The study and the map were released on the eve of the International Forum on Remittances 2007, which will take place on October 18-19 at the IDB’s conference center (1330 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC). The event, co-hosted by IFAD and the IDB, will bring together migrant associations, financial institutions and non-government organizations to discuss the impact of these flows on development and rural economies, as well as to explore the links between remittances and banking, technology and microfinance. Release number IFAD/44/07, Rome, 17 October (Source IFAD)

Increased investment in agriculture is the key to ending poverty

IFAD President Lennart Båge to speak at high-level food policy conference in Beijing

The power of agricultural development to transform societies is clearly seen in China, where a concerted push to combat rural poverty has helped the country become an economic powerhouse, says Lennart Båge, President of IFAD. Båge is in Beijing to speak at a high-level international conference on poverty and hunger hosted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), in collaboration with the Chinese State Leading Group Office on Poverty Alleviation and Development, and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Poverty is primarily a rural issue. Nearly one billion people in the world live on less than $1-a-day. About 75 per cent of them live in the rural areas of developing countries. Many depend on ecologically fragile lands and vulnerable sectors – agriculture, fisheries and forestry – for survival. The impact of climate change is potentially devastating for them because they lack the institutional and financial capacity to protect themselves. Investment in agriculture has a high economic pay-off: it is, on average, four times more effective in increasing the income of poor people than investment in non-agriculture sectors. If we are to reach the targets of the first Millennium Development Goal to halve the proportion of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015, we must enable poor rural people to increase their incomes and use natural resources in a sustainable way.

IFAD and China

China is a valued member of IFAD and a global leader in poverty reduction. China’s poverty reduction drive has led to a dramatic drop in rural poverty. In 1978, 30.7 per cent of the rural population in China lived in absolute poverty. In 2005, this had dropped to 2.5 per cent, and it is continuing to decline. IFAD and China have worked together to fight poverty for decades. In 1981, IFAD became one of the first international donors to operate in China. Since then, IFAD has provided 20 loans worth almost US$500 million to finance rural development projects. Most IFAD-supported projects in China are in remote and mountainous regions with high populations of poor people, including ethnic minorities. Projects supported by IFAD, in partnership with WFP, have reduced poverty in China. In some cases, they have virtually eliminated it. For example, a project in north-east Sichuan saw poverty rates drop from 90 per cent above China’s poverty line to one per cent. “This is an important example of how effective projects can be when they are well implemented and when they dovetail with government policy,” says Thomas Rath, IFAD’s country programme manager for China. Despite China’s strong and sustained economic growth, poverty is still widespread, especially in remote rural areas. Urban incomes are now more than three times higher than rural incomes. The government is acting to correct the trend by increasing investments in economic and social development in rural area.

Responding to the challenges of climate change

IFAD and China need to explore more ways of collaborating to meet the challenges posed by climate change. For example, we recently approved a grant to assist China in developing innovative weather index insurance for agriculture. Projects in China have already introduced measures to mitigate the impact of climate change through such efforts as household-based biogas devices, tree planting, fixing soil and reducing wind erosion. Biogas technology has been used in China for many years but only recently, with assistance from IFAD, this technology has been made available to poor farmers in remote parts of the country. At the end of 2006, an IFAD-funded project in West Guangxi had provided nearly 23,000 biogas tanks and helped nearly 30,000 poor households. As a result of the project, an estimated 56,600 tons of firewood are saved in the project area each year, equivalent to the recovery of 7,470 hectares of forest. China is dedicated to addressing internal poverty issues and is also gradually increasing its development assistance to poor countries. China’s poverty reduction drive is an important part of global anti-poverty efforts. As China’s poverty reduction activities increase, the cooperation between China and IFAD will grow. Release number IFAD/43/07, Rome, 16 October 2007 (Source IFAD)

Microenterprise loans will help entrepreneurs create new jobs in Bangladesh

A new US$57.8 million development project will help provide credit to nearly 117,000 microentrepreneurs in Bangladesh enabling them to expand existing small enterprises and develop new ones. Nearly 90 per cent of the borrowers will be women. The Finance for Enterprise Development and Employment Creation Project will also create thousands of jobs for extremely poor rural people. The project will be largely funded by a US$35 million loan from IFAD. It is cofinanced by the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and its partner non-governmental organizations, who will contribute US$22 million and US$700,000 respectively. Participants in the projects will also contribute US$60,000. The loan agreement was signed in Rome by M. Fazlul Karim, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to Italy, and Lennart Båge, President of IFAD. The project will train microentrepreneurs to manage their businesses more effectively. It will also show them how to add value to on-farm and off-farm products during the various stages of the market chain, from the purchase of raw materials to the sale of finished products. “Besides those who receive loans to expand or start businesses, about 200,000 extremely poor people who lack basic assets such as land will also benefit as more jobs are created by microentrepreneurs,” said Nigel Brett, IFAD’s country programme manager for Bangladesh. “There are many possible rural businesses that could be financed. These could be anything from livestock and fruit and vegetable enterprises to tailoring, leather work and furniture production.” The project will be national in scope but with a focus on rural areas. It will extend loans to PKSF partner organizations, which are non-governmental organizations operating in all 64 districts of Bangladesh. It will also support the training of partner organization staff in microenterprise lending and the appraisal of small business ventures. The main participants will be existing, successful microcredit and microenterprise borrowers. Their businesses are vital for the growth of the rural economy. “The microenterprises create vital jobs for much poorer people who live well below the poverty line and often don’t have adequate housing or enough to eat,” said Brett. “They often lack the confidence and ability to risk taking a microcredit loan to start an enterprise and would rather find employment in small local businesses. Without these jobs, they are often forced to leave home in search of work, which creates further hardship for the migrants and their families left behind.” IFAD supports the efforts of the Government of Bangladesh to reduce poverty and increase the productivity of poor rural people in ways that are both sustainable and environmentally friendly. IFAD-supported operations in Bangladesh work to improve rural small entrepreneurs’ access to markets and financial services. They also focus on increasing women’s access to economic opportunities, continuing the progress already made towards the empowerment of women in the country. To date, IFAD has supported 24 programmes and projects in Bangladesh with loans of US$424 million that have benefited 8 million households. Release number IFAD/42/07, Rome, 10 October 2007 (Source IFAD)

US$10 million for rural communities in Guinea for better services and governance

Poor rural families in Guinea will get better access to schooling, healthcare and drinking water under a development project supported by a US$10 million grant from IFAD. The project will also improve rural producers’ access to markets and strengthen local government institutions to enable communities to plan and manage their own services. The grant agreement for the Village Communities Support Project – Phase II was signed at IFAD’s headquarters in Rome today by IFAD President Lennart Båge and the Republic of Guinea’s Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning, Ousmane Doré. Guinea’s Ambassador to Italy, Thierno M. Cellou Diallo, and the co-ordinator for the project, Alhassane Touré, were also present during the signing. IFAD will work with several partners on the US$56 million project. The Government of Guinea will contribute US$1.5 million and communities in the project area will provide US$5.5 million. The International Development Association will contribute US$17 million, the Agence Française de Développment will provide US$12 million and the Global Environment Facility will contribute US$10 million. Guinea is classified as a highly vulnerable, indebted country and is eligible for 100 per cent grant assistance under IFAD’s newly-approved debt sustainability framework. This project will build on the success of IFAD’s Village Communities Support Project – Phase I, which led to a significant change in the relationship between communities’ government-appointed officials and locally-elected officials. This strengthened locally elected officials’ involvement in rural and local development, including the construction of community schools, roads, clinics and other basic socio-economic services. The project will support the government’s National Programme for Decentralized Rural Development to promote economic and social empowerment in rural areas. It will focus on the 303 communities supported by the programme, especially on women, young people and marginalized groups. The project will continue to strengthen local governance in rural areas by providing training and assistance to community leaders and locally-elected officials. It will enable local government officials to contract community artisans and service providers to plan and build more schools and clinics, and drill boreholes. The National Programme for Decentralized Rural Development uses various approaches to decentralizing rural development, including local development plans drawn up with communities and local financial services. Representatives of IFAD’s Village Communities Support Project – Phase II will take part in discussions at national level with the government, people’s representatives and other donors to exchange ideas and experiences gained from these different approaches. “The project’s long-term goal is for communities and their local governments to be able to identify, plan, prioritize, build and manage their own infrastructure and service needs,” said IFAD’s country programme manager for Guinea, Luyaku Nsimpasi. “With better access to schools and health facilities and the increased capacity of local government leaders, Guinea’s rural people will be able to increase their incomes and to support development in their communities.” IFAD loans and grants totalling US$141 million have helped finance 12 programmes and projects in Guinea. Release number IFAD/41/07, Rome, 4 October 2007 (Source IFAD)

Ugandan farmers will get better access to markets through new infrastructure improvement programme

A new IFAD-funded programme in Uganda will help increase incomes, boost economic growth and reduce poverty by improving farmers’ access to markets with better infrastructure. The programme will be funded partially by a US$15 million IFAD loan to the Government of Uganda.The Community Agricultural Infrastructure Improvement Programme, cofinanced by the African Development Bank, will cover 26 districts in central and eastern Uganda, representing about 27 per cent of the country’s land area. The loan agreement was signed at IFAD headquarters in Rome by Deo K. Rwabita, Ambassador of the Republic of Uganda to Italy, and Kanayo F. Nwanze, Vice-President of IFAD. Margaret Kyogire, Uganda’s Minister Counsellor, accompanied the ambassador to the signing. Uganda lacks road access to many rural communities and has few processing facilities, which makes it extremely difficult for farmers to market their produce. “This programme will improve roads so that transit time and unpredictability is reduced,” said Marian Bradley, IFAD’s country programme manager for Uganda. “It will also invest in agroprocessing to reduce post-harvest losses and improve produce quality. With better roads and markets, transaction costs will be lower and productivity and competitiveness will increase. Prices for farm produce will also rise, and that will mean higher household incomes and improved standards of living.” To promote a sense of ownership, the programme will ensure that small farmers and their communities participate in the selection of infrastructure projects and in rehabilitation and construction work. Community mobilization projects will be sensitive to gender issues. The population in the programme area is about 8.8 million people, representing some 1.8 million households, or about 35 per cent of the national population. These districts are poorer than the national average as measured by the United Nations Human Poverty Index. “IFAD has responded to the government’s Plan for Modernization of Agriculture by recently revising our strategy for working with Uganda,” said Bradley. “Our approach now includes promoting strong civil society organizations and community-based development, and improving the capacity of households and communities to increase their integration into markets.” Throughout more than 22 years of partnership, IFAD and Uganda have been strongly committed to reducing rural poverty. Loans from IFAD, totalling about US$178 million, have helped finance 11 projects, five of them ongoing. More than 2.2 million people have directly benefited. Release number IFAD/40/07, Rome, 21 September 2007 (Source IFAD)

IFAD’s Executive Board approves more than US$197 million in loans and grants to combat rural poverty in 14 countries

The Executive Board of IFAD approved almost US$164 million in loans and close to US$25 million in grants to support development programmes and projects that will improve the lives of poor rural people in 14 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Near East. The Board also approved close to US$9 million in grants to six international centres that conduct agricultural research and development activities in rural regions of poor countries. The 91st session of the Board took place at IFAD headquarters in Rome from 11 to 12 September.

Western and Central Africa to receive a US$5.7 million loan and US$15.0 million in grants

A loan of US$5.7 million and a grant of US$0.3 million will allow small-scale farmers in the Woleu-Ntem province of Gabon to diversify their incomes by developing and marketing new products from staple crops such as banana, cassava and peanut. Through training courses, farmer exchange visits and a new market information system, the project will also help farmers’ organizations better defend the economic interests of their members and market their goods more efficiently. The project will directly benefit 28,000 small farmers, half of whom are women and a third young people. The project is expected to indirectly benefit 70,000 more through awareness-raising activities in the province. In Guinea, a US$10.0 million grant will help finance the second phase of a project to strengthen local governance in rural areas and promote the social and economic empowerment of people in those areas. Women, youth and other marginalized groups in about 300 communities will benefit from the project. The project will support ‘learning by doing’ and promote strong accountability measures to foster an environment of transparent and equitable governance. The long-term goal is for local communities and their governments to identify, plan, implement and manage their own infrastructure and service needs. One of the world’s poorest countries, Guinea-Bissau, will receive a US$4.7 million grant to help about 100,000 rural people take part in building and sustaining their communities. The project focuses on rehabilitating infrastructure, including 65 kilometres of essential rural roads, improving basic social services and strengthening grassroots organizations. The project will also strengthen the role of the most vulnerable groups – women and youth – in project implementation and community decision-making and management.

Eastern and Southern Africa to receive US$19.35 million in loans and a US$4.35 million grant

A US$4.35 million loan and a US$4.35 million grant will develop member-based rural financial services and formal financial institutions for rural outreach in Lesotho, where the majority of people have neither reliable nor regular access to financial services. About 37,000 people will benefit from their association with member-based financial institutions. Formal financial institutions will improve outreach to a wider range of clientele, including poor rural people who may not belong to such grassroots institutions supported by the programme. The programme will also establish a regulatory framework for non-bank financial institutions and enhance the supervision capacity of the Central Bank of Lesotho. Uganda will receive a loan of US$15.0 million for infrastructure improvements that will strengthen farmers’ access to markets in a country where lack of road access to many rural communities and limited processing facilities make it extremely difficult for farmers to market their produce. To promote a sense of ownership, the programme will ensure that small farmers and their communities participate in the selection of infrastructure projects and in rehabilitation and construction work. The programme will cover 26 districts in central and eastern Uganda, representing about 27 per cent of the country’s land area and about 8.8 million people.

Asia and the Pacific to receive US$73.5 million in loans

A loan of US$35.0 million will increase employment and reduce poverty in Bangladesh by expanding existing microenterprises and establishing new ones. The project will directly benefit 117,700 borrowers selected from existing microcredit groups, nearly 90 per cent of whom will be women. In addition, about 200,000 extremely poor people, who lack basic assets such as land, will benefit as more jobs are created by microentrepreneurs. In the Maldives, a US$3.5 million loan will support producers and processors in the agriculture and fisheries sectors by helping them improve the quality of their products and access new niche markets in which to sell them. The programme will focus on fresh farm products, processed farm products and Maldive fish, a traditionally processed tuna fish that is a speciality of the region. It will develop commercial agreements with supermarkets, tourist resorts and export markets, and provide credit to producers and processors for inputs and marketing. About 8,400 islanders, including producers and processors, will benefit. A loan of US$35.0 million is set to give poor rural people in Pakistan greater access to financial services by promoting the microfinance sector. With increased access to credit, programme participants will be able to invest more in their businesses, resulting in higher production from farm and non-farm enterprises, improved livelihoods in rural households and greater economic growth. The programme will work with three groups: small farmers, livestock owners, traders and microentrepreneurs; women and households headed by women; and vulnerable rural households living below the poverty line. About 160,000 households will benefit from increased access to financial services.

Latin America and the Caribbean to receive US$18.46 in loans and a US$3.9 million grant

In El Salvador a US$14.56 million loan will fund a project in the central and surrounding regions with the aim of transforming subsistence agricultural and non-agricultural activities into profitable, rural businesses and microenterprises for local and external markets. The project will support land management in selected microwatersheds and involve organized communities and groups in rehabilitating environmentally deteriorated areas. Participants will have access to financial services and receive specialized technical and business-related assistance and resources. The project will directly benefit about 33,000 people. A loan of US$3.9 million and a grant of US$3.9 million will enable poor rural people in Nicaragua to take part in local and national social and economic processes to improve their income and employment opportunities. The project will directly benefit the households of 8,000 small-scale coffee, dairy and grain producers. It will create 8,400 jobs and contribute to a more dynamic local economy by renovating rural roads, indirectly benefitting about 45,000 rural people who live near the roads. It will also benefit 2,500 vulnerable rural households by establishing links with other programmes that work to reduce poverty and hunger.

Near East and North Africa to receive US$46.8 million in loans and US$1.0 million in grants

In Armenia a loan of US$11.9 million and a grant of US$0.5 million will provide innovative financing for poor rural and peri-urban people. People who are already economically active, or could become so, but do not have access to conventional forms of credit will benefit. The programme will develop a venture capital fund through the Fund for Rural Economic Development in Armenia (FREDA). Applicants for FREDA support who engage women as suppliers and employees will be given preference. In the mountain zones of Errachidia province of Morocco a US$18.3 million loan and a US$0.5 million grant will help tackle the root causes of rural poverty. These include inadequate social and economic services, poor infrastructure, mismanagement of land and water resources, and high illiteracy rates. About 140,000 poor rural people will benefit from improved vocational skills and training designed to help them start on-farm and off-farm microenterprises or boost agricultural production. The project will also promote soil and water conservation and encourage income diversification by providing sustainable access to local financial and business counselling services. A US$16.6 million loan will address the growing stress on available natural resources in Yemen, which is caused by a rapidly increasing population with greater demands and expectations. The aim of the project is to halt and reverse the accelerating trend of resource degradation through participatory natural resource management initiatives. It will upgrade and diversify rainfed agricultural and livestock production. It will also promote microfinance and microenterprise development, marketing and partnerships with the private sector. The project will benefit about 185,000 households, about one third of them headed by women.

The Executive Board approved four grants to international centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR):

- Two grants, one for US$1.4 million and one for US$1.5 million to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

- US$1.2 million to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

- US$1.5 million to the Africa Rice Centre (WARDA)

The Board approved three additional grants to non-CGIAR-supported international centres:

- US$1.1 million to the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA)

- US$1.0 million to the International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC)

- US$948,000 to the Microfinance Information Exchange, Inc. (MIX)

A grant of US$500,000 was awarded to Papua New Guinea’s Ministry of Finance to promote local governance and community participation in oil palm-growing provinces. Release number IFAD/38/07, Rome, 13 September 2007 (Source IFAD)

Farmers and fishers in Comoros will benefit from new IFAD-supported programme that will curb environmental damage

A new US$7.2 million National Programme for Sustainable Human Development in the Comoros will assist farmers and fishers to raise their incomes and food security. Much-needed natural resource management practices will be introduced by the programme to improve productivity for the 20,000 families living in poor, environmentally fragile areas of the islands of Anjouan, Grande Comore and Mohéli. The National Programme for Sustainable Human Development will be funded largely by a grant of US$4.6 million from IFAD. The programme is cofinanced by the Global Environment Facility and the Comoros diaspora, which will contribute US$1.0 million and US$1.2 million, respectively. The grant agreement was signed by Lennart Båge, President of IFAD and Mohamed Ali Soilihi, Minister of Finance representing the Comoros Union. As a country with a high risk of debt distress, the Comoros is eligible for IFAD grant assistance, which replaces loans with grants for those countries considered unsuitable to sustain debt. The debt sustainability framework is part of a unified effort on the part of the world's biggest multilateral financial institutions to ensure that essential financial assistance does not cause financial hardship to those countries that are most in need. In a country that has a high poverty rate and is heavily dependent on agriculture, the programme’s measures to rehabilitate degraded lands and coastal areas and introduce sustainable practices are expected to have far-reaching impact. Land erosion and silting of fragile lagoons have already reached alarming rates in some parts, and threaten the islands’ unique biodiversity as well as agricultural and fisheries productivity. The programme will introduce a system of terraces and ‘live fences’ in water catchment areas to help preserve soil fertility and prevent silting. Over time these measures will also allow the marine resources to regenerate. Land rehabilitation interventions will be underpinned by the introduction of sustainable local land management practices and environmental conservation. The programme will also help revitalize agricultural training centres under a new more efficient and participatory type of management. Farmers and fishers will receive training in new technologies for improved yields and product diversification. The Comorian diaspora and their organizations will contribute funds to the programme, in partnership with the Mutuelles d'épargne et de credit ya komor (MECKs), which was set up by a previous IFAD project 10 years ago and is now the second largest bank in the country. Benoît Thierry, IFAD’s country programme manager for the Comoros says, "There is an innovative aspect in this programme. Migrants and their organizations will raise funds for local development and become involved in community as well as economic projects. About one third of all Comorians are currently working abroad. In 2003 remittances sent back to the country amounted to a staggering US$36.4 million, not including the transfer of goods. We will support the channelling of some of that economic wealth into local development initiatives.” The programme will initially be implemented in selected pilot areas, and then replicated and extended to other areas through a knowledge management and communication system. IFAD has previously financed four loan operations in Comoros for a total commitment of US$11.8 million. All four programmes and projects are now completed. Release number IFAD/37/07, Rome, 27 August 2007 (Source IFAD)

New IFAD-supported programme will improve livelihoods and living standards in rural Uganda

A new US$38.9 million programme in Uganda will improve livelihoods, living conditions and food security for about 100,000 households in four regions of the country. In addition to boosting productivity for a range of small rural enterprises, it will help secure equitable land rights for poor farmers. The District Livelihoods Support Programme will be funded in part by a loan of US$27.4 million and a grant of US$400,000 from IFAD, together with a grant of US$4.8 from the Belgian Survival Fund. The loan agreement was signed today by IFAD's Vice-President, Kanayo F. Nwanze, and the Ambassador of the Republic of Uganda to Italy, Deo Rwabita. "Farmers and small rural enterprises will all benefit from this programme," said Nwanze. "Our long-term aim is to empower local people and provide broad socio-economic support to these rural districts as they move forward in the decentralization process." IFAD has supported the decentralization process in Uganda since 1987. Through direct support and empowerment local governments are able to identify and respond to the needs of poor rural people. Over two decades IFAD has gained valuable experience in decentralized development. “We have found that working with local governments and communities is extremely effective in the fight against chronic poverty in Uganda,” says Marian Bradley, IFAD’s country programme manager for Uganda. The programme builds on the achievements of the successful District Development Support Programme which recently closed in Uganda. Under the new programme, 13 districts will be added to the original five. Immediate benefits for the target population will range from improved basic infrastructure to better access to financial services. The programme will contribute to improvements in rural roads and clean water supplies. It will also address a more equitable approach to land rights and land management. Nutrition and health are expected to improve as a result of the programme. The programme underscores IFAD’s commitment to support local governments as they become more autonomous, by helping them to nurture community development, reinforce the institutions that provide financial services, as well as stimulating local economies. One of the programme's main goals is to empower rural people to become self-reliant. Local people, including the poorest and most socially marginalized groups, will be encouraged to form grass-roots organizations and to take active roles in community planning, savings and farmers' groups. With this programme, IFAD has financed 12 programmes and projects in Uganda - six of which are ongoing - for a total commitment of US$197.4 million. Release number IFAD/36/07, Rome, 2 August 2007 (Source IFAD)

Tackling Rural Poverty – learning the lessons together African Development Bank starts joint review of agriculture and rural development with IFAD

The African Development Bank (AfDB) signed an agreement with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to conduct a joint review of their work in supporting agriculture and rural development in Africa over the last ten years. The independent evaluation, which will deliver its interim and final reports in 2008, is being implemented as a joint operation between the two institutions’ evaluation departments and is an example of the agencies’ commitments under the Paris Declaration to increase the levels of coordination and joint implementation of aid programmes between donor agencies. IFAD President Lennart Bage said that the review will help both institutions to improve their understanding about what works and what does not work in fighting rural poverty. AfDB President Donald Kaberuka said that the study could make an important addition to knowledge in the two agencies as well as in other institutions working in rural development in Africa. The evaluation will assess the effectiveness of the two institution’s policies, programmes and projects in stimulating rural development and reducing poverty. It will also examine the relevance of their work to the development strategies of the beneficiary countries and to the situation and needs of poor rural people. The performance of the agriculture sector has been markedly poor in Africa compared to other regions with little improvement in crop yields or rural incomes, and declining levels of food security and agricultural trade balances. The review will guide the Bank and IFAD on how to strengthen their work together in the future and in finding the most appropriate roles within the increasingly complex development assistance landscape in Africa. Since the late 1970s, the two institutions have invested more than $10 bn in agriculture and rural development work in Africa. Release number IFAD/35/07, Rome 18 July 2007 (Source IFAD)

New IFAD-supported horticulture programme will raise incomes and bring jobs to rural Kenya

A new US$26.6 million horticultural marketing programme in Kenya will boost incomes and improve health and quality of life for poor rural people in Kenya. “Kenya has significant, untapped potential for horticultural production and sales,” said IFAD’s President, Lennart Båge. “This programme will help poor rural people realize that potential. It is an important step in efforts to reduce poverty and improve welfare in one of the world’s poorest countries.” The Smallholder Horticulture Marketing Programme will be financed partly by a loan of US$23.4 million and a grant of $500,000 by IFAD. The loan agreement was signed today by Båge and Kenya’s Ambassador to Italy Anne Belinda Nyikuli. About 12,000 households, or 60,000 people, will benefit directly from the programme. Another 85,000 households will benefit indirectly. Horticultural production is the most widely practised economic activity in Kenya. A wide variety of crops are grown in the country. The programme will focus on potatoes, bananas, cabbage, kale, tomatoes and other crops grown mainly by the poor. It will concentrate on produce sold in the domestic market rather than the export market. The domestic market is dominated by low-income, smallholder farmers and has good potential for growth. By improving the availability of lower-priced, higher-quality fruits and vegetables, not only will farmers be able to earn more but the health of the Kenyan population overall is expected to improve. The programme will help farmers to improve crop quality and yields, and to find the most cost-effective ways to get produce to market. It will also encourage growers to add value to crops by transforming them into a range of products such as purées, dried fruits and conserves. “If we can identify the inefficiencies in the marketing chain between the time a crop is grown and the time it reaches the consumer, we can address them,” said Båge. “This should translate into more dollars in farmers’ pockets.” Most of Kenya’s population of 35 million live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. More than half the population lives below the poverty line. Although Kenya has relatively advanced agricultural and industrial sectors, the country is one of the world’s poorest, ranking 152nd among 177 countries in the United Nations Development Programme’s human development index. The index measures a country’s development in terms of life expectancy, educational attainment and standard of living. Economic growth in the country has not kept pace with population growth, and wealth is distributed unequally among households. The programme will cover eight districts: Kisii, Gucha, Bungoma, Embu, Buret, Meru Central, Nyandarua and Nandi South. The exact needs of each district will be addressed. If, for example, transportation costs are found to be too high in one district, the programme will look at ways to reduce those costs. With this programme, IFAD has financed 14 projects in Kenya for a total commitment of US$178.7 million. Release number IFAD/34/07, Rome, 10 July 2007 (Source IFAD)

Poor farmers in Burundi will get livestock and training from new US$17.8 million IFAD-supported project

Poor farmers in Burundi will receive animals, veterinary medicines and training through a new US$17.8 million development project supported by IFAD. The project will help them feed their families and earn much-needed cash by marketing meat, milk and other products. It will reach about 560,000 poor rural people in seven provinces. “Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world,” said Claus Reiner, IFAD’s country programme manager for Burundi. “Twelve years of civil war have left about 70 per cent of the rural people living in poverty.” “Animals such as sheep, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, poultry and bees can play a key role in feeding families and increasing their incomes,” he said. The Livestock Sector Rehabilitation Support Project will be funded largely by a grant of US$14 million from IFAD. As a country with a high risk of debt distress, Burundi is eligible for 100 per cent grant assistance under IFAD’s newly approved debt sustainability framework, which replaces loans with grants for those countries deemed unable to sustain debt. The debt sustainability framework is part of a unified effort by the world’s biggest multilateral financial institutions to ensure that essential financial assistance does not cause undue financial hardship for those countries most in need. The grant agreement was signed last month by Jean de Dieu Mutabazi, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Burundi and IFAD Vice-President Kanayo Nwanze. The Government of Burundi will provide US$2.2 million and participants in the project will contribute US$1.6 million. Small farmers will receive animals and basic veterinary medicines. After one breeding cycle, the farmers will pass on some offspring to other poor rural families. Farmers will become the owners of the animals only when they have passed on the offspring. “This distribution system is known as a solidarity chain,” said Reiner. “Another IFAD-supported programme in Burundi is already using solidarity chains to distribute livestock and we have seen that they work well.” Elected community committees will manage the solidarity chains. The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), a nongovernmental organization, will work with the committees to ensure that the chains are run fairly. In particular, they will check that the offspring are of a similar quality and age when they are passed on, so everyone benefits equally. The project will train and support community para-veterinary workers to improve the general health and productivity of livestock. And it will ensure that processing facilities are accessible so that farmers can bring products such as milk and honey to market. The project will give priority to the most vulnerable groups – unemployed young people, households headed solely by women and returning refugees who do not have land or livestock. It will operate in the provinces of Cibitoke, Kayanza, Karuzi, Ruyigi, Gitega, Bururi and Bujumbura. The project will introduce farmers’ field schools, a hands-on training method that enables smallholders to improve their livestock management skills. With this project, IFAD will have financed seven programmes and projects in Burundi – three of which are ongoing – for a total commitment of US$87.8 million. Release number IFAD/33/07, Rome 26 June 2007 (Source IFAD)

US$10.9 million IFAD-supported programme will bring small loans and jobs to young people in rural Sierra Leone

A new US$10.9 million programme supported by IFAD will bring small loans and jobs to poor rural people in Sierra Leone. About 34,000 rural households will take part. The programme will focus on the four remote eastern districts of Koinadugu, Kono, Kailahun and Kenema. This is the second development programme supported by IFAD in the war-torn country since the end of the civil strife and the installation of an elected government in 2002. “To consolidate peace, the programme’s primary target is young people, including ex-combatants, sexually abused young women and single mothers,” said IFAD’s country programme manager for Sierra Leone, Mohamed Tounessi. “IFAD is the only donor working in Koinadugu, the largest district covered by the programme and the most remote in the country.” The Rural Finance and Community Improvement Programme will be funded largely by a grant of US$9.9 million from IFAD. As a highly vulnerable indebted country, Sierra Leone is eligible for 100 per cent grant assistance under IFAD’s newly approved debt sustainability framework. The grant agreement was signed today by Foday Duramani Mohamed Seisay, Ambassador of the Republic of Sierra Leone to IFAD, and Lennart Båge, President of IFAD. The Government will provide additional financing of US$500,000, and programme participants will contribute another US$500,000. The programme will establish rural financial services, using a model that IFAD has developed and applied successfully in Benin for 10 years. Villagers will learn how to set up and operate their own financial services associations, which will build equity and make microcredit available to their shareholders - ideally a few months after they are established. The programme will also create jobs for young people and rebuild key infrastructure like roads, water supplies, schools and health centres. All community members, and women in particular, will be involved in deciding on their priority needs. Villagers will select the activities they want to pursue. The programme will also conduct awareness-building campaigns, particularly about HIV/AIDS and nutrition. With this programme, IFAD will have financed six programmes and projects in Sierra Leone for a total commitment of US$57 million. Release number IFAD/32/07, Rome 25 June 2007 (Source IFAD)

Nigerian Tribune: Farmers can make more profit from cassava sticks despite glut

...three tonnes of cassava tubers (i.e. a pick-up vehicle load of cassava) when peeled, grinded and processed will only give one tonne of garri) going by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) estimate. 10 September 2008 (source IITA)

Daily Triumph: Agric ministry distributes 72% assorted fertiliser

...IITA/KNARDA cowpea farmers got a total of 100 tons, MANR irrigation schemes farmers were allocated 735.5 tons, government multiplication programmes were provided with over 5000 tons of assorted seeds, 66000 tree crops seedlings and 339.7 tons of fertiliser in order to improve the programme; and BUK, KUST and African Groundnut Council farmers and individuals allocated 5748.95 tons. 07 September 2008 (source IITA)

The Guardian: Abia pays N72.2m cassava project counterpart fund

The Abia State Government has called on the Cassava Enterprises Development Project (CEDP) to establish more cassava blending plants in the state. CEDP is an affiliate of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). 05 September 2008 (source IITA)

Daily Triumph: KNSG commissions seed storage facilities

...The projects, which are joint programmes with the Kano and Kaduna state governments in partnership with the United States Mission Nigeria and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), was commissioned by the state acting governor, Engr. Abdullahi Tijjani Muhammad Gwarzo. 05 September 2008 (source IITA)

The Irish Times: Irish experts to help tackle world hunger

IRELAND CAN play an important role in tackling the issue of food insecurity by helping develop crops which can survive in some of the world’s poorest regions, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin declared yesterday. He was speaking at University College Cork where he launched a research programme between UCC’s College of Science, Engineering and Food Science and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture which has its headquarters in Nigeria. 03 September 2008 (source IITA)

SeedQuest: Controlling crop pests with nematodes

A joint biological control study conducted by International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the University of Ghent - Belgium has found that certain species of nematodes could be used against crop pests in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study, carried out in the humid forest zone of South Cameroon, identified and isolated native species of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) that could be effectively deployed as biological control agents against a wide range of insect pests of crops in the region. 02 September 2008 (source IITA)

AllAfrica.Com: 'Nigeria Needs Ideological Leadership'

... We have equally introduced innovation in multiplication and increase to cassava. We target 10 million tonnes this year. We have introduced the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Umudike special variety of stems in the entire state. 02 September 2008 (source IITA)

CGIAR: Making the Most of Musa

As consumers throughout the world face higher food prices, CGIAR scientists and their partners are moving on many fronts to strengthen food security, including unprecedented efforts to enhance the production and marketing of banana and plantain (Musa spp.) in sub-Saharan Africa. 01 September 2008 (source IITA)

Vanguard Online: Nigeria now world’s highest producer of cassava

...this institute, in collaboration with IITA Ibadan, has developed and released a total of seven hybrid yams that are resistant to major pests and diseases and have potential of doubling the yields of most existing landscapes. 28 August 2008 (source IITA)

This Day Online: Accord Party Integral to Imo Govt

...we have equally embarked on massive cassava growth in the local governments. The idea is to make it possible for the high yield cassava specie brought in by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, to get to all the rural areas of the state. With that, we can quadruple cassava production in the area. 26 August 2008 (source IITA)

This Day Nigeria: Child Labour in Cocoa Industry

... a 2002 joint study published by ILO and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) still found that an estimated 284,000 children on cocoa farms in West Africa were involved in hazardous work, unprotected or have been trafficked,mostly in farms in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria. 20 August 2008 (source IITA)

ElieSmith: Science team boosts nutritional value of vital cassava

...the Global Cassava Partnership, a consortium formed under the FAO-facilitated Global Cassava Development Strategy by international organizations. These included FAO, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, national research institutions, nongovernmental organizations and private partners. 20 August 2008 (source IITA)

AllAfrica.Com: Helping the Continent's Food Production Efforts

... the Bank Group and the Nigeria-based International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) recently met in Tunis to explore possibilities of addressing the current global food crisis that has hurt many people across the continent. 18 August 2008 (source IITA)

ReliefWeb: Helping the continent's food production efforts

As part of its efforts to help the continent deal with the issue of escalating food crisis, the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is helping Mali with its food production efforts. The institution has helped the West African country with the design of an irrigation development project which seeks to improve food security and contribute to reducing poverty in the country. The project provides for an increase in the use of irrigated land through efficient water management. The project will be carried out in three areas - Maninkoura, Moyen Bani and Djenné – with the first two areas being completed projects consolidation areas. The five-year project comprises four components – agricultural and water infrastructure, rural development, accompanying actions and programme management. 13 August 2008 (source IITA)

IrishTimes.Com: Agricultural research centres get €4m in funds

Eight international agricultural research centres are to receive over €4 million in funding, the government announced today. The research centres receiving Irish Aid support form part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an alliance of fifteen agricultural research centres, partners and members, which are working to achieve sustainable food security, improve nutrition and reduce poverty in developing countries. 12 August 2008 (source IITA)

WorldChanging.Com: Can Cattle Save Us From Global Warming?

A small band of activists and scientists believe that farming done the right way can remove carbon from the atmosphere. 08 August 2008 (source IITA)

Matangi Tonga: Manioke for food and energy security

THE tropical root crop cassava (manioke) could help protect the food and energy security of poor countries now threatened by soaring food and oil prices, FAO said today. At a global conference held in Ghent, Belgium, cassava scientists called for a significant increase in investment in research and development needed to boost farmers? yields and explore promising industrial uses of cassava, including production of biofuels. 06 August 2008 (source IITA)

AllAfrica.Com: Africa Producing Just 28 Percent of Its Seed Needs

...The meeting was organised by the International Maize and Wheat Research Centre, the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Project, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and public and private-sector institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. 02 August 2008 (source IITA)

AllAfrica.Com: Science Team Boosts Nutritional Value of Vital Cassava

Field trials have begun in a bold effort to make cassava, the primary source of calories for 800 million people worldwide, a better provider of nutrition and increase its revenue-producing potential, especially for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. 31 July 2008 (source IITA)

Extreme cold hits farmers in Afghanistan

Extreme cold has devastated the Afghan livestock sector, seriously affecting livelihoods, while high prices for fuel, vegetable oil and cereals are compounding the vulnerability of poor households. 29/02/2008 (source FAO)

First global forum on agro-industries

India will host the first global conference on agro-industries, to be held in New Delhi. 27/02/2008 (source FAO)

Bird flu could strike again in India, FAO warns

India is to be commended for its successful efforts to control the recent worst-ever outbreak of avian influenza. 27/02/2008 (source FAO)

Global fertilizer supply expected to outstrip demand

World fertilizer production is expected to outstrip demand over the next five years. 26/02/2008 (source FAO)

FAO applauds the opening of seed vault in Norway

The creation of the Global Seed Vault, which will house duplicates of unique varieties of the world’s most important crops, is “one of the most innovative and impressive acts in the service of humanity,” FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said. 25/02/2008 (source FAO)

FAO and industry reps discuss emerging issues affecting seafood business

FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department recently met with representatives of some of the leading companies in the seafood industry during a roundtable forum in Bremen, Germany aimed at improving information exchange and dialogue between the UN agency and the private sector. 25/02/2008 (source FAO)

Despite constraints, FAO helping Gaza farmers

Despite restrictions which make it hard to import essential inputs, FAO is helping restore agricultural production and improve farmers’ livelihoods in the Gaza Strip. 21/02/2008 (source FAO)

Heavy rains continue in southern Africa

Heavy rains are expected to continue in the Zambezi River basin through the end of March 2008, posing an imminent risk to the lives and livelihoods of at least 1 million people in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 21/02/2008 (source FAO)

Beastly bugs or edible delicacies

With over 1 400 insect species eaten by humans worldwide, the insect world offers promising possibilities both commercially and nutritionally. A workshop organized by FAO this week will discuss the potential for developing insects in the Asia and Pacific region. 19/02/2008 (source FAO)

African forestry sector critical to climate change debate

“Forests play a critical role in climate change,” FAO said today during the opening day of the first-ever joint meetings between the Near East Forestry Commission and the Africa Forestry and Wildlife Commission. 18/02/2008 (source FAO)

“Biodiversity is vital for human survival and livelihoods,” FAO Deputy Director-General says

“Biodiversity is vital for human survival and livelihoods; we need to conserve it for future generations,” FAO Deputy Director-General James G. Butler said today. 18/02/2008 (source FAO)

Improved management of fishing's "last frontier" needed

A large group of countries have begun discussions on how to better protect fragile deep sea fish species and habitats from irresponsible fishing practices. 15/02/2008 (source FAO)

Tea prices to maintain upward trend in 2008

In 2008, world tea prices are expected to maintain their upward trend as a result of a tight supply on the world market exacerbated by a projected 10 percent decrease in Kenyan production. 14/02/2008 (source FAO)

Significant increase in world cereal production forecast for 2008, but prices remain high

Early prospects point to the possibility of a significant increase in world cereal production in 2008, but international prices of most cereals remain at record high levels and some are still on the increase, FAO said today. 13/02/2008 (source FAO)

FAO unveils new bioenergy assessment tool

A decision-support tool developed by FAO will help ensure that countries can enter the rapidly growing field of bioenergy industry to produce benefits for the poor without jeopardizing their food security. 08/02/2008 (source FAO)

Loss of mangroves alarming

Environmental and economic damages caused by the alarming loss of mangroves in many countries should be urgently addressed. 31/01/2008 (source FAO)

New avian influenza flare-ups

Recent avian influenza outbreaks in 15 countries demonstrate that the H5N1 virus remains a global threat. 24/01/2008 (source FAO)

Diversification and new markets for better food security in West Africa

Five new projects financed by a $10 million contribution from the Italian Government will help farmers increase output and improve efficiency. 21/01/2008 (source FAO)

Fisheries and aquaculture recovery three years after the Asian tsunami

As the immediate impact of 2004 Asian tsunami is fading, FAO remains continues to work in affected countries, helping fishing communities and national authorities' transition from disaster recovery to looking at issues like safety at sea and sustainable development over the long term.. 20/12/2007 (source FAO)

Arsenic threat in rice

High levels of arsenic in rice could be reduced by applying improved irrigation management practices in Asia, FAO said in a new report. 19/12/2007 (source FAO)

FAO calls for urgent steps to protect the poor from soaring food prices

FAO is urging governments and the international community to implement immediate measures in support of poor countries hit hard by dramatic food price increases. 17/12/2007 (source FAO)

Rome UN Agencies urge immediate climate action to avert hunger

Expressing their “deepest concern”, the three Rome-based UN Agencies – FAO, the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development – warned today that climate change is a major challenge to world food security. 12/12/2007 (source FAO)

Climate change causing species disappearance in mountain areas

Higher temperatures are affecting mountain ecosystems and their populations FAO warned today during the commemoration of the International Day of Mountains. 11/12/2007 (source FAO)

Organic agriculture can contribute to fighting hunger

FAO has no reason to believe that organic agriculture can substitute for conventional farming systems in ensuring the world’s food security, Dr. Jacques Diouf, FAO Director-General, said today. 10/12/2007 (source FAO)

Climate change: focussing on how the vulnerable can cope

Strategies to prepare for escalating impacts of climate variability that do not take into account the cultural and socio-economic differences among men and women will simply fall short of addressing the needs of those likely to be damaged. 07/12/2007 (source FAO)

Despite record 2007 production cereal prices remain high

FAO’s latest forecast puts world cereal production in 2007 at 2 101 million tonnes, with most of the increase in coarse grains, especially maize in the United States. 06/12/2007 (source FAO)

Education for rural people: 11 African countries join forces to meet the challenge

Eleven African countries have agreed to join forces to meet the challenge of education for rural people. They also decided to identify synergies and establish international technical cooperation to enhance education in rural areas. 05/12/2007 (source FAO)

Bird flu continues to threaten humans, FAO Director-General warns

Avian influenza could still cause a global pandemic and requires continued vigilance and control efforts particularly in animals. 04/12/2007 (source FAO)

Germany commits over US$7.5 million for food security, livelihoods projects

The Government of Germany has committed more than US$7.5 million to support food security, nutrition and sustainable livelihoods in Afghanistan, Kenya and Tanzania. 03/12/2007 (source FAO)

Helping farmers export "forgotten" crops

Over ver 300 crop safety and pesticide management officials and other experts are meeting this week at FAO to discuss challenges associated with pesticide use on "speciality crops" like garlic, ginger and chilies. 03/12/2007 (source FAO)

Farm schools for vulnerable rural youth on the rise in Africa

Farm schools for vulnerable children affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic are becoming increasingly important in sub-Saharan Africa. 28/11/2007 (source FAO)

FAO conference approves biennium budget of FAO

The 34th FAO Conference has approved a budget that allows the Organization to continue its work and prepare a plan of action to implement far-reaching reforms in a new world environment, where agriculture has taken centre stage. 26/11/2007 (source FAO)

Bangladesh: agricultural sector devastated in cyclone-hit areas

The agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors in southern Bangladesh have suffered enormous losses and large-scale assistance is urgently needed to address the damage caused by Cyclone Sidr, FAO said today. 23/11/2007 (source FAO)

Rift Valley Fever situation in Sudan could escalate

The spread of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in Sudan could escalate in the coming weeks as millions of animals are moved around the country and the region. 23/11/2007 (source FAO)

FAO outlines priority areas in Aid for Trade Initiative

The Aid for Trade initiative should focus on five priority areas in agriculture to help poor countries benefit from the changing global trade regime in agricultural products, according to a document prepared for a high level FAO event today. 21/11/2007 (source FAO)

Opportunities and risks of wood energy production

The use of wood energy can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to poverty reduction. But the use of wood for fuel can also result in deforestation or forest degradation if forests are not managed sustainably. 20/11/2007 (source FAO)

Aquaculture only way to fill the coming "fish gap"

FAO told high level group of fisheries ministers meeting in Rome today that aquaculture represents the only way of meeting future need for fish and needs to be more widely promoted, especially in the developing world. 19/11/2007 (source FAO)

“New agriculture” needs new FAO

Agriculture will play a crucial role in the key issues facing humanity this century, FAO Director-General Diouf said. 19/11/2007 (source FAO)

Andorra and Montenegro join FAO

The FAO Conference today welcomed Andorra and the Republic of Montenegro as new members and the Faroe Islands as an associate member, bringing the total number of FAO members to 192. 17/11/2007 (source FAO)

Paying farmers to protect the environment?

Carefully targeted payments to farmers could serve as an approach to protect the environment and to address growing concerns about climate change, biodiversity loss and water supply. 15/11/2007 (source FAO)

Bioenergy growth must be carefully managed

Capturing the full potential of biofuels means overcoming environmental and social constraints and removing trade barriers, according to a new report released by the Global Bioenergy Parnership (GBEP). 13/11/2007 (source FAO)

FAO assists Sudan in controlling Rift Valley Fever

In response to Rift Valley Fever outbreaks in Sudan FAO has sent a senior animal health expert to advise the Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries on prevention and control measures. 13/11/2007 (source FAO)

Working together to improve rural lives and livelihoods

FAO and the US Peace Corps today signed an agreement to continue their collaboration to help improve the conditions of the rural poor around the world. 12/11/2007 (source FAO)

FAO warns: dangerous desert locust situation forecast along the red sea this winter

A Desert Locust outbreak has developed during October in northern Sudan, which could give rise to a potentially dangerous situation in the region, according to the latest bulletin issued this month by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 12/11/2007 (source FAO)

FAO forecasts continued high cereal prices

Global cereal prices to remain high for the coming year warns the latest Food Outlook issued today by FAO. 07/11/2007 (source FAO)

Changing Nuclear World Testing Safeguards System

Panelists from Brazil, Finland, Japan and the United States joined the Netherlands´ Ruud Lubbers at the IAEA Scientific Forum 1 October to sound a trumpet call for change in the way countries verify the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. 3 October 2008 (Source: iaea)

Dr R.S. Malhotra Honored

Dr R. S. Malhotra, Consultant Chickpea Breeder, has been recognized as a Fellow by two prestigious US-based organizations. He has been elected as a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and also by the Crop Science Society of America. The Fellow award is the highest professional recognition given by the Society, signifying elite status among his peers globally. It is based on the Dr Malhotra's lifetime contributions to his field as adjudged by a panel of experts in the respective fields and is extremely competitive. 22 May 2008 (Source ICARDA)

Farmers' Conference on Participatory Plant Breeding

Some 53 farmers from six countries exchanged experiences and knowledge through story telling during the Farmers' Conference held at ICARDA Headquarters in Aleppo, 4-8 May. The conference was supported by CGIAR’s Knowledge Sharing Project of ICT-KM. Farmers from Syria, Algeria, Iran, Jordan, Egypt and Eritrea attended the first Farmer's Conference organized by the Barley Research Program of the BIGM. At the inaugural ceremony of the conference, Dr Salvatore Ceccarelli, a Consultant with the Barley Research Program, welcomed the participants. He said that the Farmer's Conference, the first of its kind to be held, has been organized as a joint activity among different partners. The objective of the conference is to bring farmers from different countries together to share their experiences and learn from each other. It is also an opportunity for the farmers to visit a research center like ICARDA, he said. Dr Kamel Shideed, Director SEPR, welcomed the participants on behalf of the Director General. He described the conference as a great opportunity for the farmers as well as the researchers. The conference will help farmers and scientists exchange knowledge and experiences. Apart from these benefits, this meeting will expand regional integration and he hoped that the bilateral interaction will continue beyond the conference. Ms Mariam Rahmanian from CENESTA, a non governmental organization based in Iran, said that it is a ground breaking conference. "The conference establishes that ICARDA takes farmers seriously and gives them importance in its research activities. Some of the farmers would not have seen a research center and the conference gives them an opportunity to visit an international center and interact with scientists," she said. Dr Adnan Al Yassin, Director of the Dry Land Research Program of National Centre for Agricultural Research and Extension (NCARE), Jordan thanked ICARDA for organizing the conference. He said that Jordanian farmers involved in the participatory plant breeding program and attending the conference would benefit from sharing their experiences with farmers from other countries in the dry areas. Dr Mahmoud Solh, Director General, met the participants during one of the sessions and heard their experiences about participatory plant breeding. During the next four days the participants visited ICARDA facilities and farmers' fields in Souran, about 100 km South of ICARDA where they interacted with local farmers. Each day the farmers had sessions devoted to story telling, which gave them an opportunity to narrate their own experiences and learn from other farmers. Dr Stefania Grando, Principal Barley Breeder, said the conference achieved its objectives of collecting and consolidating farmers' knowledge, which will help scientists in better targeting their research to address farmers' needs. Also, the conference was successful in establishing linkages between national level networks of barley farmers in these six countries. The participatory barley breeding program was first implemented in Syria in 1997 and the model and concepts were gradually applied in other countries. 15 May 2008 (Source ICARDA)

International Recognition for John Ryan

Dr John Ryan, Soil Scientist, has been invited by the American Society of Agronomy to be part of a Taskforce whose mandate is to foster interest and activities of the Society in international agriculture. In addition to officers at the ASA headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, the Committee is composed of internationally recognized agricultural scientists, including current (Roland Buresh, IRRI; J K Ladha, IRRI; John Ryan, ICARDA) and former staff members of the CGIAR system. The Committee is chaired by Dr Ladha, who is based in Delhi, India. In addition, Dr Ryan has also had the honor of being nominated by the Irish Soil Science Society as Honorary Member of the International Union of Soil Scientists. Dr Ryan is current Chairman of the IUSS Commission on Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition. 15 May 2008 (Source ICARDA)

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