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Worldwatch Institute’s State of the World 2011 Shows Agriculture Innovation Is Key to Reducing Poverty, Stabilizing Climate
 
When:  Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 10 AM EST (SHARP)

Briefing 10–10:45 AM; Interviews and Reception 10:45–11:45 AM
 
Who:  Christopher Flavin, President, Worldwatch Institute
Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg, Senior Researchers, Worldwatch Institute, and co-Project Directors, Nourishing the Planet (www.NourishingthePlanet.org)
                                                           
Where:  WNYC Radio’s The Greene Space
44 Charlton Street (on the corner of Charlton & Varick)
New York, NY 10014, USA
 
RSVP:  Amanda Stone, (+1) 202-452-1992 x514, astone@worldwatch.org

At a time when 925 million people worldwide are hungry and investments in agricultural development are at historic lows, governments, policymakers, nongovernmental organizations, and the donor community need to commit to longstanding support for the world’s farmers. In Africa, farmers make up 80 percent of the population and hold the key to unlocking the continent’s untapped agricultural potential to feed the future.

Worldwatch Institute’s State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet draws from the world’s leading agricultural experts and from the hundreds of innovations that are already working on the ground to outline 20 proven, environmentally sustainable prescriptions for alleviating hunger and poverty. On January 12, three of the book’s 60 international contributors will present key findings from the report, including a roadmap for agricultural investments in successful projects that can prevent food waste, build resilience to climate change, and strengthen farming in cities. 
 
State of the World 2011 is being released at a time when many global hunger and food security initiatives—such as the Obama administration’s Feed the Future program, the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)—need critical guidance to scale up agricultural investments. 

In 2010, governments, foundations, and individuals provided less than $4 billion dollars to support agricultural projects in Africa. Although pledges for agricultural development are expected to grow in 2011, much of this money has yet to be raised. With a large share of the human family still chronically hungry nearly a half-century after the Green Revolution, it is clear that much of the existing funding is not being targeted effectively. Guidance is needed to direct investments toward projects that are already working and that could be replicated or scaled up in regions around the world.  

The findings of Worldwatch’s Nourishing the Planet project were gathered over the course of a year spent researching on the ground in 25 sub-Saharan African countries. These findings will be disseminated to a wide range of agricultural stakeholders, including government ministries, agricultural policymakers, farmer and community networks, and the increasingly influential nongovernmental environmental and development communities.
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Posted By Courtney Wallace at 4:37pm on 06 January 2011