Development Digest – 30/09/11 | What am I doing here?

Development Digest – 30/09/11

Hi everyone,

Here we go again: another catch-up version of the Development Digest. This time we’re catching up on the international development blogosphere! Check out that section for lots of food for thought. Enjoy!

I would also like to highlight a prominent development blogger, Tom Murphy (A View From the Cave), who has started up a daily development news digest. Visit the site for more information and to subscribe: http://dawnsdigest.com/

If there’s anything you’d like to see added or removed from the Development Digest, please let me know!

If you only have time to read 5 articles, read the ones with the *star*!

Global news:

Gone but not forgotten: Anwar al-Awlaki dead – http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/09/30/Anwar_al_Awlaki_dead_but_not_forgotten
Stocks collapse at end of worst quarter since the crisis, led by economically sensitive sectors – http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/09/30/stocks-collapse-at-end-of-worst-quarter-since-the-crisis-led-by-economically-sensitive-sectors/?mod=e2tw
Where do we go from here? Five things that Palestine could do to push forward the quest for statehood – http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/09/30/palestinian_statehood_un_where_do_we_go
Dozens killed in Syria protests – http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/09/20119301527522457.html

Canada news:

Fighting poverty pays off, report says – http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/09/28/poverty-report.html
‘Smart’ aid boosting African economies – http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/global-exchange/globe-correspondents/smart-aid-boosting-african-economies/article2181349/
Ontario NDP’s shift to the middle could leave Liberals feeling squeezed – http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ontario-election/ontario-ndps-shift-to-middle-could-leave-liberals-feeling-squeezed/article2185809/

Africa news:

*Small factories take root in Africa – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904060604576570541250028496.html?mod=ITP_pageone_0
In Zambia, an election reveals skepticism of Chinese involvement – http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/09/in-africa-an-election-reveals-skepticism-of-chinese-involvement/245832/#.ToSNkO-5RkY.twitter
Tough-talking Sata orders probe into deals – http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/Tough+talking+Sata+orders+probe+into+deals/-/1066/1245852/-/tfnt3bz/-/index.html
Boko Haram top commander, five others arrested – http://allafrica.com/stories/201109290004.html
Ivory Coast gets truth and reconciliation commission – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15086829
Wangari Maathai: death of a visionary – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15060167

Ghana news:

Oh, Ghana… – http://www.edwardrcarr.com/opentheechochamber/2011/09/28/oh-ghana-2
Efforts to reduce child labour on cocoa plantations beginning to pay off – http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93805
World Bank has okayed Chinese loan: President Mills – http://allafrica.com/stories/201109300066.html

Agriculture news:

On agricultural productivity and food security – http://www.edwardrcarr.com/opentheechochamber/2011/09/26/on-agricultural-production-and-food-security
Gender differences in agricultural productivity – http://marcfbellemare.com/wordpress/2011/09/gender-differences-in-agricultural-productivity/
New radio documentary shows how FrontlineSMS connects farmers in Kenya – http://www.frontlinesms.com/2011/09/29/new-radio-documentary-shows-how-frontlinesms-connects-farmers-in-kenya/
Thirty years after the original, a new study of organic agriculture – http://www.good.is/post/over-thirty-years-proving-the-benefits-of-modern-organic-agriculture-technology/
*Got cheap milk? Why ditching your fancy, organic, locavore lifestyle is good for the world’s poor – http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/09/12/got_cheap_milk
Cereal prices in 2020: how worried should we be? – http://blogs.odi.org.uk/blogs/main/archive/2011/09/12/food_price_forecasts_world_markets.aspx

Eldis studies and papers:
The rural non-farm economy: prospects for growth and poverty reduction – http://www.eldis.org/go/display&type=Document&id=59032
Rural Africa at the crossroads: livelihoods, practices and policies – http://www.eldis.org/go/display&type=Document&id=59021
Smallholder farmers’ perceptions of climate change and conservation agriculture: evidence from Zambia – http://www.eldis.org/go/display&type=Document&id=58993
Access to land, growth and poverty reduction in Malawi – http://www.eldis.org/go/display&type=Document&id=58466

Events you can’t go to, but might be interested in browsing papers, blogs and articles about:
Sept. 25-Oct.6, e-Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities for Capturing Impact in ICT Initiatives in Agriculture – http://www.e-agriculture.org/
Sept. 26-2, IFAD AgriKnowledge Share Fair – http://www.sharefair.net/share-fair-11-rome/about-the-fair/en/

Development thinking:

*EWB ALERT: CEO George’s post about writing his TED talk – 6 Minutes for a Big Idea: disciplined communication courtesy of TED – http://blogs.ewb.ca/ceo/2011/09/26/6-minutes-for-a-big-idea-disciplined-communication-courtesy-of-ted/
Time and Space – http://bloodandmilk.org/2011/09/28/time-and-space
A hypothetical proposition on governance reform – http://bottomupthinking.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/a-hypothetical-proposition
Sharing is caring: why handing out money is a good practice – http://www.whydev.org/sharing-is-caring-why-handing-out-money-is-a-good-practice/
Form a posse – http://www.owen.org/blog/4921
What should Oxfam be doing on water? – http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=6654
Good news on aid: dependency is falling, and quality (slowly) improving – http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=6890
*What happens when donors fail to meet their commitments? – http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/2011/09/what-happens-when-donors-fail-to-meet-their-commitments.php
USAID FWD: Some promise and some transparency – http://www.aviewfromthecave.com/2011/09/fwd-some-promise-and-some-transparency.html
Working Paper: The impact of economics blogs – http://blogs.worldbank.org/impactevaluations/working-paper-the-impact-of-economics-blogs
Aid “Industry” vs. Humanitarian “Relief” – http://buildingmarkets.org/blogs/blog/2011/09/07/aid-industry-vs-humanitarian-relief/
Learning about Famine – http://blogs.ewb.ca/ceo/2011/09/10/learning-about-famine/
*Have you tested your strategy lately? – https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Strategic_Thinking/Have_you_tested_your_strategy_lately_2711
Of Penn, pigs and cod (really about humility) – http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/2011/09/of-penn-pigs-and-cod.php
If randomized evaluations are so great, why don’t businesses use them? – http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/2011/09/if-randomized-evaluations-are-so-great-why-don%E2%80%99t-businesses-use-them.php
Managing better for results, not just measuring them better: lessons on complexity for the results agenda – http://blogs.odi.org.uk/blogs/main/archive/2011/09/09/aid_effectiveness_measuring_impact_complexity.aspx
Appropriate Technology: could donkey ambulances save lives in poor countries? – http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/sep/08/appropriate-medical-devices-poor-countries
Private cities coming to Africa – http://wrongingrights.blogspot.com/2011/09/private-cities-coming-to-africa.html
Blog survey findings: who reads development blogs? – http://findwhatworks.wordpress.com/blog-survey-findings/
A new kind of overseas charity is born – http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/2011/09/a-new-kind-of-overseas-charity-is-born.php
Making the most of mobiles (not internet) – http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93675

Amusing and interesting things:

Machine Gun Menace – http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/09/22/machine_gun_menace?page=full
New neighbours: The African photographer and the camera – http://nanakofiacquah.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-neighbours-african-photographer-and.html
Presidential candidates: listen to your alma maters on climate change – http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/2011/09/presidential-candidates-listen-to-your-alma-maters-on-climate-change.php

This entry was posted on September 29, 2011 by erinantcliffe. It was filed under Development Digest .

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What am I doing here? Thoughts from an agricultural development gal in Ghana