Suchergebnisse

Golden Rice has been genetically engineered to produce beta-carotene in the endosperm of the grain. It could improve the vitamin A status of deficient food consumers, especially women and children in the developing world. This paper analyses the potential impacts in a Philippine context. Since the technology is still at the stage of R&D, benefits are simulated within a scenario approach. The health effects are quantified using the methodology of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Golden Rice will not completely eliminate the problems of vitamin A deficiency, such as blindness or increased mortality rates. So it should be seen as a complement rather than a substitute for alternative interventions. Yet, the technology will reduce related health costs significantly. In monetary terms, annual gains will lie between $23 million and $137 million, depending on the underlying assumptions. A preliminary cost-benefit analysis shows high returns on R&D investments. Micronutrient-enriched crops are an efficient way to reduce deficiency problems among the poor, and related research projects should receive higher political priority.

"For most Sub-Saharan African countries, agriculture is a key to achieving broad-based
(pro-poor) economic growth and attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Approximately 70–80 % of the continent's employment and 40 % of its export earnings stem from agricultural activities. A stronger agricultural sector is considered to be fundamental for Africa's overall economic growth as well as for addressing hunger, poverty, and inequality.
However, the sector is not performing well for various reasons. Therefore, the New
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) – the economic programme of the African Union (AU) – has set itself the task to revitalise the sector. For this purpose, it has initiated the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in order to improve agricultural policies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In addition, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), another NEPAD initiative, seeks to improve African political, economic and business governance in general. Together, CAADP and APRM should be expected to improve substantially the institutional and political conditions for agriculture.
This paper analyses CAADP and APRM policy-making processes in the agricultural sector. The analysis shows that CAADP and APRM have a potential to bring fundamental qualitative changes in the way policies are made in member countries. While the present paper is mainly a desk-based study, it provides a foundation for conducting further research on the topic on the ground." [Autorenreferat]

It is widely acknowledged that a well-performing agricultural sector is fundamental for Africa's overall economic growth, as well for as addressing hunger, poverty, and inequality. However, for the last decades the sector has stagnated, it has been taxed and/or neglected by both governments and donors and has not been able to accomplish its role for development. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) – the economic programme of the African Union (AU) – early on recognised the importance of agriculture and the weaknesses of member countries' agricultural policies. NEPAD developed a special initiative, namely the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), to improve agricultural policies on the continent. Another NEPAD initiative, the African Peer Review Mechanism(APRM), is likewise supposed to have major impacts on agriculture. This study examines how the CAADP and APRM can and do influence agricultural policies and strategies at the country level. It is based on detailed case studies conducted in Ghana and Kenya and a rapid assessment in Uganda. The key issues analysed, which, in keeping with the new aid effectiveness agenda and NEPAD principles, were supposed to improve agricultural policy processes and their impacts, are ownership, participation, use of scientific evidence, including peer review elements, and alignment. The study works out strengths and weaknesses of past agricultural policies as well as NEPAD initiatives, elaborating recommendations on how best to improve these initiatives to make them fully operational for agricultural development in Africa.