Nourishing the Planet Worldwatch Institute Project on Hunger and Poverty Alleviation

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Nourishing the PlanetWorldwatch Institute
Project on Hunger and Poverty Alleviation

• Danielle Nierenberg
• Senior Researcher, Worldwatch Institute
• dnierenberg_at_worldwatch.org
• http//blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/
• www.worldwatch.org

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Nourishing the Planet Part VSharing
Innovations, Where Worldwatch Comes In
Source World Bank
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Nourishing the Planet Project Goals

• Collect the research and analysis that suggests
  how to
• strengthen the agricultural sector in poor
  countries
• improve the surrounding landscape
• By working with groups on the ground (NGOs, aid
  agencies, and research centers), we will
  objectively access recent experiences and suggest
  strategies to pursue in the futurefor the Gates
  Foundation and other international funders

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State of the World 2011 Nourishing the Planet
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Partnering with Groups On the Ground

• We will combine forces with various stakeholders
  who have a strong interest and expertise in
  hunger and the environment, including
• Cornell Institute for Food, Agriculture, and
  Development (CIIFAD)
• Consultative Group on International Agriculture
  Research Centers (CGIARs)
• EcoAgriculture Partners
• Heifer International
• International Fund for Agricultural Development
  (IFAD)
• National Agriculture Research Centers (NARs)
• Rodale Institute
• World Neighbors

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Lessons Learned from Asia and Latin America
Although our project will focus specifically on
sub-Saharan Africa, well draw on innovations and
success stories from other parts of the world

• Example
• Sustainable Rice Intensification (SRI) in the
  Philippines and Thailand
• Increased yields
• Uses water more efficiently
• But, its labor requirements are sometimes
  prohibitive
• Research on how to reduce those requirements
  could boost the number of rice farmers and
  communities benefiting from the system

Source World Bank
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Africans Learning from Africans to Grow Food that
NourishesPeople and the Planet
Source FAO
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A Roadmap for Funders, Donors, and Policymakers
Source World Bank
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Stories of Hope and Success in African
Agriculture

• We will tell the stories that arent being told.
  Often, the only news we hear from Africa is about
  famine, war, and HIV/AIDS
• This project will highlight successful and
  emerging agricultural innovations for alleviating
  hunger and poverty in Eastern, Western, and
  Southern Africa

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Research and Data Collection

• Agricultural Innovations Survey 
• We are distributing a survey to our partners in
  the field to get both quantitative and
  qualitative data regarding different agricultural
  innovations
• Research Trips 
• Over the next year, well be traveling throughout
  sub-Saharan Africa to collect stories, data, and
  other research for our video blogs, Eye on Earth
  news stories, magazine, outside publications, and
  State of the World 2011 Nourishing the Planet

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Opportunities and Growing Interest in Agriculture

• The same high food prices that handicap food-aid
  organizations and threaten hundreds of millions
  of people with hunger are also pushing
  governments to commit to long-term, agricultural
  investment
• They are also responsible for establishing food
  security as a global priority

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The Single Best Way to Alleviate Poverty

• A recent United Nations analysis of Asia and the
  Pacific found that 218 million people could be
  lifted out of poverty by raising agricultural
  productivity
• Growth originating from agriculture is known to
  be twice as effective in reducing poverty as GDP
  growth originating from outside of agriculture
  (World Bank, WDR 2008)

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www.worldwatch.org