Simple Story Writing - a sneak peek!!

Well I have a little SNEAK PEEK for all of you today. 

I am being featured by Gladys over at Teaching in High Heels.  So I thought I would let you in on a project I have coming soon..

I have been working for months on the blackline masters for a unit I developed on Story Writing.  I have been using this idea for over 15 years and Ive been trying to redo the pages so that its all nice and pretty!

Drum roll please....

TA DAH!!!!

Ok, this is just a sneak peek. - sorry for the buildup.

    Below are a few of the line masters I will include are great outlines for developing the childrens thoughts into complete stories that make sense.

Please check back soon, or sign up for my email updates to get informed as soon as I post.  I promise to have this unit up on Teachers Pay Teachers very soon.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Announcement: Curriculum Development for postgraduate Organic Agriculture Research and Training in West Africa

The “Institutional Capacity Building for Organic Agriculture in West Africa” project is a West African Network for Organic Research and Training. It is financed by the European Union and Implemented by the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States Secretariat under the EDUKINK programme. The partners in this network share their expertise and resources to enhance the prospects for a successful organic agriculture sector in the wider West African region.

Specifically the network partners train graduates, farmers, extension officers and civil society organisations to develop a viable organic agriculture sector. The project partners also facilitate and undertake research that underpins organic production, embed organic agriculture into the curriculum in West African universities and develop locally appropriate standards, regulations and technologies for West African organic production. The composition of the partnership reflects the different stages of development of organic agriculture in West Africa and deliberately includes both Francophone and Anglophone countries.

DVC (A), Prof. Toyin Arowolo (2nd Right) receiving
Dr. Missiako Kindomihou (Standing), Miss Koura Tatiana
(Left) and the Coordinator (WANOART), Prof. Isaac
Aiyelaagbe in his office.

A workshop and training session on curriculum development will be held in Nigeria 6 -13 March 2012at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB). This will involve partners, participants from other HEIs and other important stakeholders, such as future employers of organic agriculture graduates, government agencies for higher education, and government agencies in the agricultural sector. An outcome of the workshop is expected to be an outline common curriculum for organic agriculture in tertiary institutions in West Africa, which will facilitate further teaching collaboration and exchanges. In addition, teaching materials including posters, slides, DVDs, and monographs will be developed. Access to markets will be a major issue in sustainability of organic agriculture in West Africa.

Defragmenting Africa: Removing Barriers to Trade in Africa

February 7, 2012. Washington. With African leaders now calling for a continental free trade area by 2017 to boost trade within the continent, a new World Bank report shows how African countries are losing out on billions of dollars in potential trade earnings every year because of high trade barriers with neighboring countries, and that it is easier for Africa to trade with the rest of the world than with itself.

According to the new report―De-Fragmenting Africa: Deepening Regional Trade Integration

in Goods and Services―regional fragmentation could become even more costly for the continent with new World Bank forecasts suggesting that economic slowdown in the Eurozone could shave Africa’s growth by up to 1.3 percentage points this year. As the authors write, “while uncertainty surrounds the global economy and stagnation is likely to continue in traditional markets in Europe and North America, enormous opportunities for cross-border trade within Africa in food products, basic manufactures and services remain unexploited.”

The reports says this situation deprives the continent of new sources of economic growth, new jobs, and sharply falling poverty, factors which accompanied significant trade integration in East Asia and other regions. The cross-border production networks that have spurred economic dynamism in other regions, especially East Asia, have yet to materialize in Africa.

Obiageli Ezekwesili

“It is clear that Africa is not reaching its potential for regional trade, despite the fact that its benefits are enormous—they create larger markets, help countries diversify their economies, reduce costs, improve productivity and help reduce poverty.” says Obiageli "Oby" Ezekwesili, The World Bank’s Vice President for Africa, and a former Nigerian Minister of Extractive Industries. “Yet trade and non-trade barriers remain significant and fall most heavily and disproportionately on poor traders, most of whom are women. African leaders must now back aspiration with action and work together to align the policies, institutions and investments needed to unblock these barriers and to create a dynamic regional market on a scale worthy of Africa’s one billion people and its roughly $2 trillion economy."

In one notable example of trade barriers, report co-editors Paul Brenton and Gozde Isik of the World Bank describe how the South African supermarket chain Shoprite spends US$20,000 a week on import permits to distribute meat, milk, and plant-based goods to its stores in Zambia alone. For all countries it operates in, approximately 100 (single entry) import permits are applied for every week; this can rise up to 300 per week in peak periods. As a result of these and other requirements, there can be up to 1,600 documents accompanying each truck Shoprite sends with a load that crosses a border in the region.

Paul Brenton is Lead Economist (Trade and Regional Integration) in the Africa Region of the World Bank.

Gözde Isik is an Economist (consultant) in the Africa Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit and co-editor of the recently released book De-Fragmenting Africa: Deepening Regional Trade Integration in Goods and Services.

• Full Book English | French
• Introduction
• Part 1. Facilitating Cross-border Trade in Goods and Services
• Part 2. Removing Non-tariff Barriers to Trade
• Part 3. Integrating Services Markets

Related: 14/02 Interview with Marcelo Giugale World Bank’s Director of Economic Policy and Poverty Reduction Programs for Africa
“Imagine the benefits of allowing African doctors, nurses, teacher, engineers and lawyers to practice anywhere in the continent, but responsibility for making this happen lies with countries first and foremost,” says Marcelo Giugale, the World Bank’s Africa Director for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management. “The final prize is clear: helping Africans trade goods and services with each other. Few contributions carry more development power than that.” 

In a superb special World Bank video produced for the new report, women traders on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighboring countries in the Great Lakes region describe how they routinely encounter violence, threats, demands for bribes, and sexual harassment, at the hands of the large numbers of customs and other government officials at the border. As one egg and sugar trader from Goma says on the video: “I buy my eggs in Rwanda; as soon as I cross to Congo I give one egg to every official who asks me. Some days I give away more than 30 eggs!”

Congo Film w/ English Subtitles Original 

Bill Gates and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame attended IFAD’s annual meeting

Microsoft Corp. chairman and philanthropist Bill Gates
gestures during the  (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

23 February 2012. ROME. IFAD, International Fund For Agricultural Development Annual Governing Council at Rome's IFAD headquarters.

Bill Gates announced nearly $200 million in grants from his foundation to agriculture including the $21 million Tropical Legumes II project and the $33 million Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa project. The Tropical Legumes project is part of a ten-year plan to improve the livelihoods of farmers in 15 countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, and is expected to bring $1.3 billion of added value to productivity of target crops including, chickpea, bean, cowpea, groundnut, pigeonpea and soybean. The introduction of new, improved seed is expected to address challenges such as drought, and pests and disease. This grant will assist the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The second phase of this Legumes project will build on the introduction of over 60 new legume varieties introduced during the first phase, by focusing on gender-specific interventions, monitoring and evaluation, and strengthening capacity of national agricultural research systems.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center's (CIMMYT) Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Project will support the third phase to develop drought-tolerant maize that reduces the risk of crop failure and will directly impact up to seven million farmers.

Additional grants were made to: the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Agriculture for the Program for Africa's Seed System (PASS) - Phase 2 ($56 million); CARE for the Pathway to Secure Livelihoods Project ($15 million); Conservation International for an Integrated Monitoring System for Ecosystem Services in African Agricultural Landscapes ($10 million); the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines for the Protecting Livestock, Saving Human Live Project - Phase 2 ($41 million); and the Meridian Institute for the Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa Project (PACA) ($20 million).

Gates has embraced high-tech — and to some critics controversial — solutions for boosting agriculture, including supporting genetic modification in plant breeding as a way to fight starvation and malnutrition. In separate remarks to reporters, he suggested critics should ask farmers in poor countries who have adopted such techniques in plant breeding, "do you mind that it was created in a laboratory?"

• Video elease date

  Mar 1, 2012

• Runtime

  01:12:31

Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, said his country is striving to rebuild its economy with coffee and tea production, which are significant sources of foreign exchange. Nearly two-thirds of the population live below the poverty line. But in the past five years progress has been made, Kagame said, noting that the country’s gross domestic product has grown at an average of 8 per cent.

Kagame urged the international community to “be bold and try what has not been done before. We must learn from what has worked and adapt these models to suit smallholder farmers. The reality in most developing countries is that smallholder agriculture remains the source of livelihood and food supply. Every farmer counts.”

The IFAD Farmers' Forum

20 - 21 February. Rome. About 95 delegates from farmers' and fishers' networks, and an equal number of observers, attended the Farmers' Forum. The forum discussed a.o. the importance to invest in strengthening the technical, managerial and organizational capacity of FOs, as well as their governance mechanisms and leadership skills. IFAD and other development organizations are playing a role in this area.

Various concrete solutions have been proposed as a way forward for FOs, in many cases by drawing on successful experiences that have potential for replication. It was suggested that IFAD and other development institutions provide a combination of loans and grants to financially support FOs. This could build their capacity while making FOs more responsible as owners of their own path towards sustainability.

Djibo Bagna of the West African producers' network ROPPA listed a series of specific policy questions that must be answered as a prerequisite for rural transformation. For example, how will smallholders gain access to credit and markets? And how can we empower rural women and youth, and build the capacities of producers' organizations? "The road ahead is still very long," said Bagna.

Background:

The Farmers' Forum is an emerging, bottom-up process of consultation and dialogue between small farmers and rural producers' organizations, IFAD and governments, focused on rural development and poverty reduction. Fully aligned with IFAD's strategic objectives, the Forum is rooted in concrete partnership and collaboration at the country and regional level. Engagement with rural organizations at the field level and dialogue at the international level are articulated as mutually reinforcing processes. Following consultations at the national and regional level, the Farmers' Forum meets every two years for a global consultation, in conjunction with the Governing Council of IFAD.

Sustainable smallholder agriculture: Feeding the world, protecting the planet

Centre-stage events

Wednesday 22 February

What promise will Rio herald for agriculture?” A conversation with Dr Lindiwe Majele Sibanda (FANRPAN)

Side events of the Farmers’ Forum

Thursday, 23 February 2012 (IFAD HQ)

14:00 - 16:00	“Organic farmers organizations: empowering farmers and promoting sustainable rural development” organised by IFOAM. – Oval Room A English | French | Spanish
14:00 - 16:00	“Linking research to advocacy in farmer organizations: building on country experiences”. organised by AgriNatura and the ESFIM project. – Oval Room B English | French | Spanish
14:00 - 16:00	“The role of livestock for farmers coping with environmental and social challenges of the future”. organised by Vétérinaires Sans Frontières  – Europa. - Room C 500 5th floor wing C English | French | Spanish
16:30 - 18:30	“Strengthening farmers' organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa– the Farmer Organization Support Centre in Africa” (FOSCA). organised by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). – Oval Room A English | French | Spanish
16:30 - 18:30	“World Agricultures Watch”: FAO/CIRAD – organised by WAW secretariat at FAO. – Oval Room B English | French | Spanish
16:30 - 18:30	“International Year of Cooperatives”: jointly organised by IFAD, WFP and FAO. – Room C 500 5th floor wing C English | French | Spanish

Entretien avec Moussa Para Diallo, Président de la Confédération Nationale des Organisations des Paysans de Guinée (CNOPG), dans le cadre du Forum Paysan 2012, FIDA, Rome


4th global meeting of the Farmers' Forum . Opening session, part I

Main challenges affecting the pastoralists in the ACP countries

22 February. Brussels. CTA Brussels Development Briefing: Pastoralism. The Briefing provided an overview of the main challenges affecting the pastoralists, especially in the ACP countries, and the opportunities provided by existing continental and regional policy frameworks and processes.

It shared good practices and experiences from the field across regions and identified what urgent and concrete policy actions need to be in place to increase support pastoralism.

The Briefing was organised with the African Union Commission and in collaboration with the Coalition of European Lobbies for Eastern Africa Pastoralism

Field stories illustrated innovative practices in various areas of importance for rural development in different regions:

• Options for enhancing resilience in pastoral systems: Shirley Tarawali,Director of Institutional Planning, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
• Improving market access and the opportunities in the regional market: the case of dairy products: Maryam Abeiderrahmane,CEO,Tiviski Dairy, Mauritania
• Adaptation and mitigation to Climate change and coping mechanisms from pastoralists:
• Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Coordinator of Bororo nomadic peoples association, Chad
• Pastoral field schools and proximity learning in a climate change perspective: Joep Van Mierlo, Director, Vétérinaires sans Frontières, Belgium

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, coordinator of the Chadian Association of Indigenous Mbororo women and peoples (AFPAT), and the Sahel region representative at the Indigenous Peoples of African Coordinating Committee (IPACC). She explains the situation of Indigenous people amid the food crisis and shared some of the preliminary findings of the RIO+20 preparation, in which she takes part.

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Sahel Region representative at IPACC from CTA on Vimeo.

Maryam Abeiderrahmane, CEO at Tiviski Dairy, in Mauritania, explains that the beginning of Tiviski was difficult as a result of several factors, including traditional prejudices against selling milk, as well as consumer preferences for imported goods. Notably, she underlines that Mauritania has faced trade barriers when dealing with the EU.

Maryam Abeiderrahmane, CEO, Tiviski from CTA on Vimeo.

Joep Van Mierlo, Director of Veterinarians Without Borders-Belgium, speaks about the main goals of the VSF in Africa.

Joep Van Mierlo, VSF-Belgium from CTA on Vimeo.

Making Agricultural Research for Development more pro-poor; improving the accessibility and relevance of ARD results to the poorest

Two policy briefs have recently been commissioned by EIARD to Agrinatura, with the support of the Food Security Thematic Programme (FSTP) of the EU. These policy briefs are based on detailed studies available on the EIARD website, together with other studies and policy briefs.

The policy brief (November 2011, 10 pages) on "Making Agricultural Research for Development more pro-poor; improving the accessibility and relevance of ARD results to the poorest" highlights that:

• European ARD policies and supports could increase their contribution to the alleviation of poverty and hunger in the developing world by identifying more explicitly its direct and indirect target groups (the "poor"), by involving them in the research process (in priority setting, design, implementation and monitoring), and by making research results accessible to them through a more conducive uptake environment and through dissemination mechanisms catering for the specific needs of the poor. 
• It also established that a number of promising programmes targeting the poor, promoting gender equality and involving the poor during the different stages of the research process, exist among EIARD members and that experiences from these initiatives need to be shared more widely between ARD decision makers, in Europe and more globally. 
• The policy brief is based on the full report (August 2011, 65 pages)

The second policy brief (January 2012, 11 pages), on "capacity development for agricultural research for development (ARD)", is based on a review of the policies, programmes and projects in capacity strengthening for ARD of fourteen European countries. It recommends increasing support to capacity development for ARD, with a stronger focus on organizational and institutional strengthening as opposed to individual training, encouraging more multi-stakeholder initiatives and participatory methods, improving the planning, monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment of current capacity strengthening initiatives, and giving more attention to encouraging young people, especially women, to enter agriculture as a profession.