Global Food Security Governance: Capita Selecta course Period 1 (2015-2016)

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There are just a few spots left in the new RSO Capita Selecta course on Global Food Security Governance: Linking Theory and Practice.

This Capita Selecta course will examine global food security governance from theory to practice. Making use of the key themes for research on food security as identified by the Expo 2015 EU Scientific Steering Committee, this course will give students the opportunity to:

  1. Explore the complexity of global food security governance;
  2. Focus on a key challenge that threatens global food security;
  3. Attend two international events (i.e., the 42nd Session of the Committee on World Food Security (Rome) and Expo 2015 (Milan)) to see, first hand, how global food security governance plays out.

More information about the course can be found here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/FoodGovernance/

If you want to follow what we are doing but do not what to attend the course, you are most welcome to join the Facebook Group as well.

If you do not have facebook and want more details, email the logistics coordinator Wouter van den Hengel: wouter.vandenhengel@wur.nl Global Food Security Governance

Best practices in nutrition-sensitive landscapes, Zambia – MSc-thesis Minke Stadler

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By Minke Stadler, MSc Organic Agriculture

Below a summary of my MSc-thesis Productivity in Nutrition-Sensitive Landscapes; 
Evaluating agricultural best practices, mindset and social values systems in Barotse floodplain, Zambia.

Best agricultural practices in Kapanda, Zambia

Best agricultural practices in Kapanda, Zambia

Nutrition-sensitive landscapes address the relationship between agriculture, nutrition and environment. Increasing farm productivity and diversification of nutritious food crops are key issues in agricultural development, as improved productivity and diversification provide opportunities to reduce poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. Adoption of new practices is one, out of many, key issues to help improving food and nutrition security. Farmers’ mindsets and social values systems are therefore important, as people interact with their environment and decide what and how to farm.

Can development be taught?…  No. It can only be learnt. (Clapham, 1996)

The study was part of the CGIAR Research Programs on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) and Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). The aim was to develop a better understanding of the mindset and socio-cultural aspects that influence the relations between nutritious food production and landscape, while studying successes. The underlying hypothesis is that: “Geographical location and position in the landscape results in different mindsets and values systems, which in turn influence agricultural practices and adoption strategies.” Continue reading →

Summer School Development Studies at Kyoto University, Japan

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In September the Kyoto University (Faculty of Economics) will organize a summer school on East Asia Sustainable Development Studies. The summer school will be composed of lectures and field trips. Professors from various units ofIMG_2253 - Copy Kyoto University will give lectures on themes like: culture and history, corporate governance, political economy, and development and sustainability issues. The focus will be on Japan and the ASEAN region. The schedule of the lectures and field trips are synchronized in order to allow students to examine both theory and practise. Kyoto University has funds for covering the travel expenses of 1-2 students who are interested in participating. Students must have an interest in development studies. Want to know more? Contact Joost Jongerden at joost.jongerden@wur.nl

 

Urban Food Forum at ICLEI Resilient Cities Conference

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Resilient Cities 2015 At the upcoming Resilient Cities conference of ICLEI (the international network of local governments for sustainability) a special Urban Food Forum will be organized by ICLEI and RUAF in collaboration with the SUPURBFOOD program. The Resilient Cities conference will take place from 8 – 10 June in Bonn (Germany): for more information about the program, click on this link. The Urban Food Forum will take place on Wednesday 10 June 2015.

The Forum will feature a Panel with city leaders on good practices for managing resilient city-region food systems. Participants will include representatives from cities such as Cape Town, Nairobi, Ghent, Amman, Medellin, and Walvis Bay. A SUPURBFOOD supported policy brief and the Urban Agriculture Magazine special issue on city region food systems will be presented.

Following the opening session, two technical sessions will be held.  The first, organized in cooperation with GIZ, will focus on Planning resilient food systems at an urban and metropolitan scale with speakers from UNEP, GIZ, and START with a discussion on how to  operationalize the water-urban-food energy nexus. The second will examine the role of small and medium enterprises in urban food system development and will feature innovative SMEs working in the field of city region food systems from the cities of Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Riga (Latvia), Vigo (Spain) and Bristol (UK).

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Globalization and Europe’s Rural Regions – Ashgate

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Globalization and Europe’s Rural Regions is edited by John McDonagh, Birte Nienaber and Michael Woods. Read their Introduction: Globalization and Europe’s Rural Regions – Challenge and Opportunity. Check the Contents or have a Preview.

This book examines the multiple ways in which rural regions in Europe are being restructured through globalization and the regional development responses that they have adopted. It provides an understanding of the key challenges and opportunities for rural regions arising from the major economic, social, political and cultural changes associated with globalization, including trade liberalization and economic deregulation, increased international migration, and the rise of global consciousness about environmental issues. Drawing on examples and findings from a major European research project, DERREG, the book presents detailed case studies of ten regions in different parts of Europe, exploring the factors that lead to different experiences of globalization in each of the regions, and highlighting examples of good practice in regional development responses. The book concludes by proposing a typology of regional responses to globalization and considering the policy implications of the research findings. As such, ‘Globalization and Europe’s Rural Regions’ is important reading for geographers, sociologists, planners and economists interested in understanding the impact of globalization in rural regions, and for rural development professionals seeking to mobilize effective responses.

Chapter 3 Raising Self-efficacy and Resilience in the Westerkwartier: The
Spin-off from Collaborative Leadership by Dirk Roep, Wiebke Wellbrock and Lummina  (Ina) Horlings is a contribution of the Rural Sociology Group. Continue reading →