Agriculture, irrigation and poverty reduction in Cambodia: Policy narratives and ground realities compared

This report is a contribution to an assessment of the current status of agriculture in Cambodia, focusing on the linkages between agriculture and water, mainly in the form of irrigation. It seeks to view current government policies on agriculture and irrigation in the context of experiences on the ground, as communicated through the many field studies that cover varied aspects of performance in the agriculture sector and irrigation schemes. In an effort to identify future research areas, this review examines the status quo, and connects or disconnects with stated policy through a broad lens to capture strengths and challenges across crop production, irrigation management and post-harvest contexts. It places irrigation under scrutiny in terms of its value as a major area of government expenditure in recent years, and asks whether it presents the best potential for future gains in productivity, when compared with the prospects offered by investments in other aspects of agriculture. The fieldwork and review of current literature that form the basis of this report were undertaken at the request of, and partly funded by, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). It is also intended to contribute knowledge to the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) led by WorldFish, who co-funded the activities.

Voluntary guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication: summary

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) were adopted by member countries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and were officially approved as an international instrument in June 2014. What is very special about the SSF Guidelines is that it was created as a result of a very long history of the struggles of small-scale fishworkers around the world appealing for greater recognition of their status and their role in the fisheries sector of their countries. These Guidelines have 100 paragraphs which are distributed across 13 sections. This document is only a summation of the contents of the Guidelines. It was produced for ICSF by John Kurien, founder Member of ICSF, who has worked for the last four decades with small-scale fishing communities in many areas around the world, particularly in Kerala, India.

Towards socially just and sustainable fisheries: ICSF workshop on implementing the FAO voluntary guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication (SSF guidelines) report, 21 to 24 July 2014 , Puducherry, India

This publication is a report of the proceedings of the ICSF Pondy Workshop, which focused on the FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). The workshop brought together 71 participants from 20 countries representing civil society organizations, governments, FAO, academia and fishworker organizations from both the marine and inland fisheries sectors. This report will be found useful for fishworker organizations, researchers, policymakers, members of civil society and anyone interested in small-scale fisheries, food security and poverty eradication.

Report of the ICSF-BOBLME India (East Coast) workshop: implementing the FAO voluntary guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication (SSF guidelines), 6-7 March 2015, Chennai, India

The workshop titled, ICSF-BOBLME India (East Coast) Workshop on Implementing the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) was organized by ICSFin collaboration with BOBLME project.The workshop was the third in a series of consultations held in 2015 across the globe to promote the ownership of the SSF Guidelines among different stakeholders. In the run –up to the workshop, ICSF, with support from BOBLME conducted six consultation meetings with fishworkers and fishworker organizations along the east coast of India in January and February 2015. One hundred participants from India’s eastern coastal states of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, including women fishworkers, representatives of fishworker organizations, representatives from Department of Fisheries and other concerned departments at state and central level, Multilateral agencies, Inter-governmental organizations, Research Institutions met at Chennai, 6-7 March, 2015. The workshop was structured to facilitate active interaction and discussion among participants, taking into account linguistic diversity and the contextual differences of the marine and inland sectors. This publication—the proceedings of the Chennai workshop—will be useful for fishworker organizations, researchers, policymakers, members of civil society and anyone interested in fisheries and livelihoods.

Production of freshwater giant prawn using over-wintered juveniles for enhancement of farm income and reduction of rural poverty in Bangladesh

Freshwater giant prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii fry produced during late season can not withstand low temperature thus the prawn culture programme during winter is hampered. To overcome this problem, late season (August-September) prawn juveniles (0.9-6.8 g) were stocked at a density of 1.43 to 3.57/square meter in 350-476 square-meter ponds in Pabna and Mymensingh districts during October 2000 and cultured till May 2001. Monthly average water temperature during the winter months (December-February) varied from 16 to 22 °C and gradually increased to 32 °C in May. The prawn fry showed fast growth rate and attained an average weight of 60-70 g within eight months including three winter months. Growth compensation was observed during summer months. Survival rate was 60-79%. After extrapolation of the present growth rate more than 1,600 kg/ha production can be achieved in better-managed ponds. Extrapolated cost of production was Tk. 268,000 and 200,000 Tk./ha in two best ponds, sale value was Tk. 644,9146 [sic] and 528,466 and gross profit was Tk. 376,000-410,000, suggesting a higher economic feasibility of farming freshwater prawn with over-wintered juveniles.

Policies on poverty and the fisheries sector in Uganda: the current policy trends

There are concerns, at least among the proponents of development, on how to link policy development processes in Uganda and the associated transformation of the poor to high standards of living. In fact some questions have been posed as to whether it's the absence of poverty-targeted policies that a good proportion of individuals or communities are still poor. In the fisheries sector where most of the fish dependent communities live, poverty indications are still prevalent although arguments have been put that current reforms in the sector have transformed the lives of the fish dependent communities. The 1999/2000 household survey report indicates that the poverty levels reduced to 35% of Uganda's total population from 44% in 1997. The question that arose, which still arises anyway, was to define who is actually poor. When measuring poverty one is ultimately interested in the 'standards of living' of individuals especially those, whose standards of living are inadequate. The basic element of measuring this inadequacy/adequacy, at least in Uganda, is to use the household income or consumption per adult equivalent. Studies have demonstrated that household consumption expenditure is a good approximation of household income1. Therefore, for purpose of this report, we define poor households to mean based on that that one adopted by the Ministry of Finance to mean "households whose expenditure per adult equivalent falls below the poverty line 3 ". Many government documents report that the poverty line is one dollar a day. Therefore someone is below the poverty line if he or she lives on less than one dollar a day. In this paper, we analyse the evolution of poverty-driven policies that have been put in place by government and how these policies are shifting or are likely to shift the lives of fish dependent communities. We argue that combinations of poverty-policies are being translated into increased incomes and welfare of most individuals in the fisheries sector. The reasons for this shift, we argue, is as a result of a combination of factors all supported by non other that poverty-led government policies.

Alternative approaches to slum upgrading in Kibera, Nairobi

This paper discusses the sustainability of two different approaches to upgrade water and sanitation infrastructure in Kenya’s largest informal settlement, Kibera. A background to the urbanization of poverty is outlined along with approaches to urban slums. Two case-studies of completed interventions of infrastructure upgrading have been investigated. In one case-study, the upgrading method driven by an NGO uses an integrated livelihoods and partnership technique at community level to create an individual project. in the other case-study, the method is a collaboration between the government and a multi-lateral agency to deliver upgraded services as a part of a country-wide programme. The ‘bottom-up’ (project) and ‘top-down’ (programme) approaches each seek sustainability and aim to achieve this in the same context using different techniques. This paper investigates the sustainability of each approach. The merits and challenges of the approaches are discussed with the projected future of Kibera. The paper highlights the valuable opportunity for the role of appropriate engineering infrastructure for sustainable urban development, as well as the alleviation of poverty in a developing context.

Community-led resettlement: From a flood affected slum to a new society in Pune, India

This paper describes the resettlement process of a community devastated by annual floods, to newly constructed housing in Pune, India. The relocation from Kamgar Putala slum to a housing society at Hadapsar was organized by a community-led NGO partnership in 2004. The housing development was coordinated by the local NGO Shelter Associates with significant community participation. The housing has been revisited in 2010 to evaluate the sustainability of the resettlement project’s delivery model via stakeholder perception. The process of organizing for resettlement after natural disaster is described along with the implementation and evaluation of the new housing nearly six years after initial occupation. The strong partnership approach overcame a series of political and financial hurdles at various stages of the relocation project. The story of resettling Kamgar Putala is detailed alongside an outline of the current political climate for an alternative slum-upgrading policy in India and Pune. The advantages of an empowered community supported by an influential local NGO demonstrate a commendable team effort which has tackled the threat of floods. The paper highlights the merits of a community-led partnership approach to housing development for achieving sustainable urban development as well as the alleviation of poverty in a developing context.

The role for low carbon electrification technologies in poverty reduction and climate change strategies: A focus on renewable energy mini-grids with case studies in Nepal, Peru and Kenya

As a potential poverty reduction and climate change strategy, this paper considers the advantages and disadvantages of using renewable energy technologies for rural electrification in developing countries. Although each case must be considered independently, given a reliable fuel source, renewable energy mini-grids powered by biomass gasifiers or micro-hydro plants appear to be the favoured option due to their lower levelised costs, provision of AC power, potential to provide a 24. h service and ability to host larger capacity systems that can power a wide range of electricity uses. Sustainability indicators are applied to three case studies in order to explore the extent to which sustainable welfare benefits can be created by renewable energy mini-grids. Policy work should focus on raising awareness about renewable energy mini-grids, improving institutional, technical and regulatory frameworks and developing innovative financing mechanisms to encourage private sector investments. Establishing joint technology and community engagement training centres should also be encouraged. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Toward designing with three-dimensional bumps for lift/drag improvement and buffet alleviation

The desire to design more efficient transport aircraft has led to many different attempts to minimize drag. One approach is the use of three-dimensional shock control bumps, which have gained popularity in the research community as simple, efficient and robust devices capable of reducing the wave drag of transonic wings. This paper presents a computational study of the performance of three-dimensional bumps, relating key bump design variables to the overall wing aerodynamic performance. An efficient parameterization scheme allows three-dimensional bumps to be directly compared to two-dimensional designs, indicating that two-dimensional bumps are capable of greater design point aerodynamic performance in the transonic regime. An advantage of three-dimensional bumps lies in the production of streamwise vortices, such that, while two-dimensional bumps are capable of superior performance near the design point, three-dimensional bumps are capable of breakingup regions of separated flow at high Mach numbers, suggesting improvement in terms of buffet margin. A range of bump designs are developed that exhibit a tradeoff between design point aerodynamic efficiency and improvementinbuffet margin, indicating the potential for bespoke designs to be generated for different sections of a wing based on its flow characteristics. Copyright © 2012 by Jeremy Eastwood and Jerome Jarrett.

Community-led resettlement: From a flood-affected slum to a new society in Pune, India

This paper describes the resettlement process of a community devastated by annual floods, to newly constructed housing in Pune, India. The relocation from Kamgar Putala slum to a housing society at Hadapsar was organized by a community-led NGO partnership in 2004. The housing development was coordinated by the local NGO Shelter Associates with significant community participation. The housing has been revisited in 2010 to evaluate the sustainability of the resettlement project's delivery model via stakeholder perception. The process of organizing for resettlement after natural disaster is described along with the implementation and evaluation of the new housing nearly six years after initial occupation. The strong partnership approach overcame a series of political and financial hurdles at various stages of the relocation project. The story of resettling Kamgar Putala is detailed alongside an outline of the current political climate for an alternative slum-upgrading policy in India and Pune. The advantages of an empowered community supported by an influential local NGO demonstrate a commendable team effort which has tackled the threat of floods. The paper highlights the merits of a community-led partnership approach to housing development for achieving sustainable urban development as well as the alleviation of poverty in a developing context. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Alternative approaches to slum upgrading in Kibera, Nairobi

This paper discusses the sustainability of two different approaches to upgrade water and sanitation infrastructure in Kenya's largest informal settlement, Kibera. A background to the urbanisation of poverty is outlined along with approaches to urban slums. Two case studies of completed interventions of infrastructure upgrading have been investigated. In one case study, the upgrading method driven by a non-government organisation uses an integrated livelihoods and partnership technique at community level to create an individual project. In the other case study, the method is a collaboration between the government and a multi-lateral agency to deliver upgraded services as part of a country-wide programme. The 'bottom-up' (project) and 'top-down' (programme) approaches both seek sustainability and aim to achieve this in the same context using different techniques. This paper investigates the sustainability of each approach. The merits and challenges of the approaches are discussed with the projected future of Kibera. The paper highlights the valuable opportunity for the role of appropriate engineering infrastructure for sustainable urban development, as well as the alleviation of poverty in a developing context.

Alleviation of pre-exposure of mouse brain with low-dose C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray on male reproductive endocrine damages induced by subsequent high-dose irradiation

Irradiation has been widely reported to damage organisms by attacking on proteins, nucleic acid and lipids in cells. However, radiation hormesis after low-dose irradiation has become the focus of research in radiobiology in recent years. To investigate the effects of pre-exposure of mouse brain with low-dose C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma (gamma)-ray on male reproductive endocrine capacity induced by subsequent high-dose irradiation, the brains of the B6C3F(1) hybrid strain male mice were irradiated with 0.05 Gy of C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray as the pre-exposure dose, and were then irradiated with 2 Gy as challenging irradiation dose at 4 h after pre-exposure. Serum pituitary gonadotropin hormones, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, testis weight, sperm count and shape were measured on the 35th day after irradiation. The results showed that there was a significant reduction in the levels of serum FSH, LH, testosterone, testis weight and sperm count, and a significant increase in sperm abnormalities by irradiation of the mouse brain with 2 Gy of C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray. Moreover, the effects were more obvious in the group irradiated by C-12(6+) ion than in that irradiated by Co-60 gamma-ray. Pre-exposure with low-dose C-12(6+) ion or Co-60 gamma-ray significantly alleviated the harmful effects induced by a subsequent high-dose irradiation.