CPP

RNRRS Research Showcase in Uganda
On 10th February CPP will be one of eight RNRRS programmes represented at a research showcase event in Kampala, Uganda, organised by the DFID East Africa natural resources co-ordinator. Approximately 100 delegates from a wide range of backgrounds have been invited. At this event research users will be able both to access dissemination outputs from programmes and to utilise the institutional memory of programme managers and staff of the projects that they have funded. In the afternoon session there will be an opportunity to reflect upon the success of promotional strategies. It is hoped that the day will draw together valuable lessons on making information available which will be of use to governments, donors, researchers and research users. For further details please contact our East Africa regional coordinator Dan Kisauzi dankisauzi@nida.or.ug

Biological control in Ghana and West Africa
Project R8430 has been tackling some of enabling environment issues identified when the role of public private partnerships for the development and implementation of bioinsecticides was researched in project R7960 (completed in 2004). Biological control agents (BCAs), particularly microbial and biochemical agents, need to be registered and, traditionally, this has required using procedures developed for synthetic pesticides which are largely inappropriate for BCAs. A previous initiative in Kenya led to a landmark change in the legislation for the registration of BCAs. Key stakeholders in the project have used this legislation to modify the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency’s product registration guidelines which will be immediately adopted. This will greatly facilitate the registration of biopesticides in Ghana which will be good for farmers, local businesses and the environment. Representatives from Benin, Togo, Guinea and Ivory Coast have also been involved in this process and it is hoped that the project will encourage them to adopt such guidelines.

‘Research for results’
Over the past year, CPP management has been working closely with the NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) agriculture advisors to discuss ways in which we could contribute to the implementation of CAADP (Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme). The most recent collaboration was at the Pathways out of Poverty conference, held in Cambridgein September (see below), where Dr Faustin Mwape, Agricultural Adviser of the NEPAD Secretariat, gave the keynote address. An interview with Dr Mwape is featured in New Agriculturist. NEPAD is a vision and strategic framework for Africa’s renewal, designed to address the current challenges facing the African continent. Issues such as the escalating poverty levels, underdevelopment and the continued marginalisation of Africaneeded a new radical intervention, spearheaded by African leaders, to develop a new Vision that would guarantee Africa’s Renewal. One of the NEPAD priority areas is facilitating implementation of a food security and agricultural development programme in all sub-regions. CAADP has four main pillars: Extending the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems; Improving rural infrastructure and trade-related capacities for market access; Increasing food supply and reducing hunger; Agricultural research, technology dissemination and adoption – as well as several other cross-cutting areas. Further information about NEPAD and CAADP can be found at www.nepad.org.

Report on Pathways out of Poverty
A report by Dr Andy Ward, Deputy Programme Manager, Crop Protection Progamme, on the recent Pathways out of Poverty conference, held at Homerton College, Cambridge (see below), has been published in the Tropical Agriculture Association Newsletter Vol 25 (4) pp. 32–33, December 2005. A pdf of the submitted report can be downloaded here.

‘Bugs Money’ on BBC World TV
CPP has in the recent past funded projects on the commercial development of biological control for diamondback moth and root knot nematode (R8217 and R8218). One such biological control company in Kenya, theReal IPM Company, set up by ex-CPP project leader, has made it to the finals of ‘The World Challenge’, a BBC and Newsweek competition, sponsored by Shell. Entrepreneurs from around the world were invited to submit information about their project – how it is helping make a difference to communities or helping theenvironment. Bugs Money was selected as one of the 12 finalists and a 10 minute film about the project will be screened on 24 September (the last in the series of six) on BBC World TV (viewable through satellite or digital etc). The winners will be decided by the viewers (and readers as there will be a write-up in Newsweek as well) who can vote ‘on line’. A brief description of thecompetition and each project is described and instructions on how to vote can be found on (www.theworldchallenge.co.uk).

TVE's Earth Reports 'Turning the worm' and 'Back to their roots'
A novel biological control method has been developed by CPP project leader, from Natural Resources Institute, to combat the plagues of armyworm that erupt each rainy season in Tanzania. These voracious caterpillars devastate cereal crops such as maize and multiply rapidly . Read more in TVE's (Television Trust for the Environment) feature 'Turning the worm' Series 6 and website (click on Archives and then Green Beginnings and scroll to last item). Also featured is the work of the INNOVA project in Bolivia. Potatoes are a staple for vast numbers of rural communities, but local varieties are constantly under pressure from mass-produced commercial varieties that are increasingly being produced. INNOVA works across crop protection, crop post-harvest and livestock production, responding to demands for technology innovation by poor farmers. Importantly, agricultural research and development organisations have worked together to help rural people to reintroduce local varieties, which are not only good to eat but also provide economic benefits.Read more in TVE's feature 'Back to their roots' which can be accessed from above linkages.

Science, but not as you know it!
Did You Know…? is a new publication produced by NR International with several contributions from CPP Project Leaders. It provides a view of a world rarely seen by most people and offers you a chance to immerse yourself in some incredible stories of lives changing for the better. It combines straightforward coverage of research and development projects with a striking visual record in pictures – through the eyes of those who live and work there. The book also includes a selection of videos on CD. Local Kent school children were asked to select their favourite entry and chose CPP Project Leader, Dr Steven Belmain, and his project on Ecologically based rodent management for small-scale farming systems. The prize was a donation of £250 to a charity of his choice – he chose the NGO FARM-Africa (which has been working with poor rural African farmers and herders since 1985). Click on press release to read more. To download the book as a PDF click Did You Know ...?

Radio interviews (AGFAX)
CPP project leaders have been interviewed on a range of topics which have been broadcast worldwide on Wren Media’s AGFAX – communicating science for sustainable development, including:

Interviews can be heard by clicking on 'View radio' and then on specified month at (http://www.agfax.net) (earlier topics listed in side menu Publicity 2004–05, 2003–04).

'Pathways out of Poverty' Conference
The conference to be held at Homerton College, Cambridge, on 22–23 September is being organised by the Association of Applied Biologists working together with three programmes of the Department for International Development – Crop Protection Programme, Plant Sciences Research Programme and Livestock Production Programme – through their Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy. In a refreshingly practical approach, ‘Pathways out of Poverty’ will focus on how researchers are working with the poor. The conference will show how change has successfully been introduced and promoted, to improve the livelihoods of the poor through using robust scientific approaches and working in collaborative partnerships including with farmers and the rural and/or urban poor. Click pdf for Provisional Programme and Booking Form or Word (booking form).

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