Tackling rural poverty, together

This is the title of new World Bank report to be released soon on this website. The report is widely expected to influence the global policy discussion as it provides ample empirical data on large scale land acquisitions with the aim to confront widespread speculation and inform the debate.

The Platform and IISD will host a moderated online discussion with key stakeholder groups on this website 30 Aug - 24 Sept.

Toronto, 27 Jun.  Concluding meetings in Toronto, the G-20 welcomed recent measures taken in support of agricultural development and food security, and encouraged countries to do more.

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By Alex Evans - Globaldashboard.org, 4 June.  Very interested to see the news today that City of London police have “arrested the director of a Merseyside-based business in connection with an alleged plan to pay Liberian officials $2.5m (£1.7m) in connection with land concessions the company hoped would earn it more than $2bn”.  More...

Bonn, 14 Jun.  The profile of agriculture continued to increase at the the meetings of the UNFCCC Convention bodies held from 31 May to 11 June in Bonn.

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Dakar, 14  June.  An expressed hope for taking collective responsibility lay at the start of the ECOWAP/CAADP Business Meeting on the Financing of National and Regional Investment Plans in the Senegalese capital on Monday.  There was a strong sense that the meeting would take responsibility for acting on food and nutrition security in West Africa.

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Bonn, 14 June.  Monika Midel has joined the secretariat as task leader agriculture and rural development policy.

Monika has recently worked in Khartoum where she was WFP's deputy director for two years. She brings to the secretariat a long career in food security and rural development related projects in Asia and Africa with WFP, GTZ and Welthungerhilfe. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Bonn University. 

Rome, 20 May.  Across the globe, there is a growing movement to re-route development to the local level, with communities taking charge of their own destinies to secure fertile futures in agriculture and land. France is one of the major players in promoting decentralised cooperation, championing a unique brand of cross-cultural exchange within a spirit of North-South solidarity.

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Washington, 30 April.  How can smallholders in developing countries be strengthened to manage land resources? How can these resources be sustainably cultured to feed 9.1 billion people by 2050 while supplying biofuel and carbon markets? Such were the questions raised by 350 representatives the bilateral and multilateral community, academia and private sector stakeholders at a summit this week. 

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Johannesburg, 23 Apr. The Sixth CAADP Partnership Platform meeting concluded with further commitment for action, after three days spent reviewing progress and sharing experiences on CAADP implementation.

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Washington, 22 Apr.  A core group of finance ministers from the United States, Canada, Spain and South Korea as well as the leadership of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced an initial contribution of $880 million for a new fund to tackle global hunger and poverty. The group also met to discuss ways to foster additional contributions from the public and private sectors around the world.

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