Reading between the lines. Is EU aid in trouble?
The EU Council meeting on 19 and 20 June represents an important marker in this year of the Call to Action on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There are some serious issues to consider, including the failure of European donors to meet their commitments on aid, both in terms of the levels of funding and in delivering harmonisation and alignment. Most importantly, however, the future of the MDG project itself will be debated...
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627 Views,
Rome exceeded expectations; will the G8 do the same?
The Food Summit in Rome turned out better than expected. It was not derailed by Robert Mugabe. It survived the unedifying wrangling over a final communiqué. It gave the topic a good hearing. It confirmed some practical actions. And it passed the torch successfully to the G8 in Japan in July...
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1214 Views,
The food price crisis: another 'lost decade' for development?
The Food and Agriculture Organisation summit is a vital step in a process that will develop through a series of events in 2008, including the G8 in Hokkaido in July, and the UN Call to Action on the Millennium Development Goals, in New York in September. At this stage, the Rome summit must deliver four things...
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2004 Views,
Tackling the food price crisis: five steps
The word "crisis" is much abused. But the current food price crisis constitutes a genuine emergency. Urgency in tackling it is essential...
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2665 Views,
Will rising food prices derail development efforts?
Rising food prices are very much in the news. Farmers may gain, but poor consumers are hard hit – and don’t hesitate to let the politicians know. Governments and aid agencies are under pressure to provide more robust safety nets, while simultaneously..
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4259 Views,
The view from Davos - Part two: Hunger and malnutrition – the forgotten MDG?
Last week, I attended the World Economic Forum in Davos. This is
the second of four blogs with my reflections and predictions on how the
debates will be taken forward in 2008. (for the other blogs, visit 'ODI on... Davos 2008')Substantively, my enduring..
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4729 Views,
A warm welcome to ‘Agriculture for Development’
Agriculture has been in and out of fashion over the last half century. Since the turn of the Century, however, its stock has once again been rising. This is reflected most notably in the publishing of the World Development Report 2008, entitled ‘Agriculture for Development’, which confirms the importance of agriculture to development and the policy agenda ODI, and many others, have been developing for the past decade...
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6799 Views,
Show me the money – when is cash more appropriate than food aid?
As floods continue to displace thousands of people in central Mozambique, Save the Children UK has urged that cash grants should be considered rather than food aid for long term recovery.* A new report from the Humanitarian Policy Group addresses the..
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3381 Views,