Fair and Sustainable Trade
How are NGOs and the private sector seeking to incorporate the progressive and justice-focused principles from Fair Trade into more mainstream commercial activities? How can this be done in ways that are environmentally sustainable, but also profitable? CRS joined Sustainable Food Laboratory, World Wildlife Fund, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters at an Earth Day event [...]
Using cell phones to monitor food security threats – a food security and M&E pilot in Malawi
Using cell phones only for calling people is *so* 2009. Over the past year leading into this new decade we’ve seen new uses for cell phones in humanitarian work and through CRS programs. In Niger, people learn literacy skills through cell phone programs. In Ghana, farmers can gain valuable market information via text messages. People [...]
Copenhagen, “ClimateGate,” and commitment
The road to Copenhagen has been filled with potholes. Feelings seem to be mixed as to whether we can hope for a politically-binding agreement at Copenhagen. At a meeting in Barcelona in early November, developing countries expressed frustration at developed countries’ hesitancy to commit to emissions reductions. In Mid-November, at a hastily convened meeting with [...]
LACRO – coffee and climate change
This summer, CRS will start work on two innovative projects in LACRO funded by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR). Both projects grew out of ongoing conversations with GMCR that began in mid-2007, and both reflect the company’s growing engagement with issues that lie beyond the coffee chain, including food security, migration and climate change. Beginning [...]
ASIA – CRS/Afganistan’s Village Based Watershed Restoration Program
Afghanistan is the most water insecure country in the world and the people of Ghor province are among the most affected in Afghanistan. Insufficient water for agricultural production severely limits licit livelihood options for farmers and livestock keepers in Ghor province. As a result, a resilient crop like poppy, which provides relatively high returns from [...]
EARO/ CARO – Sweet potatoes in Tanzania and Rwanda
On October 15th, at the World Food Prize Symposium in Iowa, Bill Gates announced funding for the $21,250,000 Sweet potato Action for Security and Health in Africa (SASHA) project, led by the International Potato Center (CIP). SASHA was launched officially a few days later as part of the broader Sweetpotato for Profit and Health Initiative [...]
Market Watch (Oct. 09)
Dow Jones Industrial Average – 16 oct 2009 UP – 9,995.91. Hitting yearly highs: back over 10,000! Maize – 16 oct 2009 UP – 384.0 (¢/56lb bushel – CBOT futures Dec 09). Up from 339.00 last AgUpdate. Reports of upcoming freezes in U.S. has raised prices a bit. Soya Oil UP – Like maize, reports [...]