3-part blog series on gender and breeding
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Photo credit: Michael Axtell and copied from Seeds and Sparks website.
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Launch of Foreign Affairs Online Anthology “African Farmers in the Digital Age”
A special edition anthology, published in partnership with Foreign Affairs, brings together the views of twenty leading thinkers on all aspects of food systems, smallholder farming, and the transformative opportunity presented by digital technology.
Co-curators Kofi Annan, Sir Gordon Conway, and Sam Dryden assert that “The combination of digital technology and human creativity in deploying it will revolutionize life for Africa’s farmers by overcoming isolation, speeding up change, and taking success to scale.”
Sam equates the transformative potential of the digital revolution to the electrification of rural Kentucky in his childhood. He illuminates the role that unique IDs, invisible to most of us, play in making each of us visible to others, and he challenges future leaders to put these in place for every single African farmer. Don't miss the rare personal stories shared by the authors at the end of each essay.
Co-curators Kofi Annan, Sir Gordon Conway, and Sam Dryden assert that “The combination of digital technology and human creativity in deploying it will revolutionize life for Africa’s farmers by overcoming isolation, speeding up change, and taking success to scale.”
Sam equates the transformative potential of the digital revolution to the electrification of rural Kentucky in his childhood. He illuminates the role that unique IDs, invisible to most of us, play in making each of us visible to others, and he challenges future leaders to put these in place for every single African farmer. Don't miss the rare personal stories shared by the authors at the end of each essay.
You can send postcards from Timbuktu! Tourism has all but stopped in Timbuktu since a rebellion and jihadi occupation in January 2012. But you can still send postcards, and employ former tourist guides.
This is what citizens say is needed to end
Mali’s insecurity
by Jaimie Bleck, Abdoulaye Dembele and Guindo Sidiki
An article published in the Washington Post worth reading! From political scientist and professor Jaimie Bleck, who's worked and lived in the region for more than 10 years and spent the last year on sabbatical in Mali.
Education and Empowered Citizenship in Mali
Bleck's new book is also out! It analyzes how different educational experiences, public/private and secular/Islamic, affect citizenship in Mali in the context of expanded access to schooling.
An incredible source for music and culture in Mali!
The CGIAR Gender and Breeding Initiative brings together plant and animal breeders and social scientists to develop a strategy for gender-responsive breeding with supporting methods, tools and practices.
Resources, research profiles, and datasets related to gender and agriculture in the CGIAR.
News site formed by journalists for national and international awareness of events in the region.
The Monkey Cage
Political scientists making sense of the circus that is politics
Joe Penney
Photographer and journalist based in the region.
Team Africa Rising
Rwanda's national bike team
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
Gorilla Doctors
Dr. Stacy Rosenbaum's fascinating new research with mountain gorillas in Rwanda (Gorilla beringei beringei) shows that higher ranking males form stronger bonds with infants. Read on in this summary by Lucy Goodchild van Hilten and get the full article from the journal Animal Behavior.
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New Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources
Dr. Gerardine Mukeshimana, a fellow graduate of Michigan State University, was recently appointed the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources in Rwanda! She is a plant breeder and worked with Dr. Jim Kelly in the Dry Bean Lab. You can read more about her work and accomplishments here. What an incredible opportunity for both Rwanda and Gerardine! I look forward to the foresight and creativity she will bring to the office.
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Crop Raiding in Gishwati Forest
A recent study by Shane Mc Guinness on human-wildlife conflicts in Rwanda and the impact on subsistence farmers has drawn much needed attention to an important issue in many regions of the world. His work received all sorts of popular press, including CBBC and the Irish Times. Way to get an important issue into the spotlight!
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Photo credit: Julian Rushmore
Sustainable Land Reform
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Photo credit: National Geographic
Rwanda coffee
A great story on Dan Clay and the development of the coffee sector in Rwanda. Recently published on the MSU website. Dr. Clay has variably lived and worked in Rwanda over more than 30 years on various projects. |
Portraits of Reconciliation
In commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Genocide, this is a powerful visual piece
from the NY Times Magazine.
from the NY Times Magazine.
Photo credit: Pieter Hugo
“Intero nyirurugo ateye, niyo wikiriza”
"The tune the head of the household begins is
what everyone in the house sings"
what everyone in the house sings"
Photo credit: Krista Isaacs
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Jean-Marie Kamatali writes an interesting article on how a culture of unquestioning deference helped lead to the Genocide. He argues that cultural deference and bowing to authority has allowed the country to advance at an incredible pace - but it is now time to allow voices to be heard and public debate to help shape the next phase of growth in Rwanda.
Kamatali captures two essential elements of Rwandan society and the success story of Rwanda: deference and drive. This drive for advancement has placed Rwanda at the forefront of economic development in Africa, ensured healthcare for all citizens, advanced modern technology in schools, and created an impressive infrastructure. But Kamatali is right that now is the time to allow for the voices of the people to inform the next stages of development. This needs to happen so that everyone, from all sectors and levels of society, feel heard and a part of the fabric of Rwanda. The national concept of, We Are One, means little if all peoples are not a part of progress. The potential impact of "progressive" national agricultural policies on subsistence farmers in Rwanda is a good example of how the exclusion of voices and public debate may negatively impact growth in Rwanda. The agricultural sector has developed policies that aim to improve the cash crop export market and "encourages" farmers to grow only these crops. For example, in parts of Northern Province the policy encourages farmers to grow beans in Season B and maize in Season A. In the past, farmers often grew both crops each season, in addition to 3-5 other edible crops. Deference to authority has resulted in farmers following the crop policy and completely changing their cropping systems. Unfortunately, this means that farmers have less access to diverse food crops and limited income for exchange on the market, thus potentially reducing household dietary diversity and food security. Inclusion of farmers' voices in the formation of agricultural policy could have prevented this step backwards and empowered farmers and policy makers to recreate and advance agriculture in Rwanda, as One. |
Mountain Gorillas
Photo credit: Krista Isaacs
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We can't talk about Rwanda without talking about Mountain Gorillas! Check out the websites and blogs from the Gorilla Doctors and The Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGI) to learn more about conserving endangered mountain gorillas.
The Karisoke Research Center, part of DFGI, does extensive monitoring and protecting of the gorillas every day. You can follow their notes from the field here. |
Painting Rwanda
Painting by Paul McKinley
Team Rwanda
Jock Boyer, together with Kimberly Moszyk Coats, have done an incredible job building up a national biking team from scratch. Check out the Team Rwanda Cycling website. Here's a link to the feature length documentary Rising from the Ashes that tells the story.
Photo credit: From Team Rwanda Website
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