Agriculture

By Dave Rollo

As the setting for Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, Sauk County, Wisconsin, holds a special place within the pantheon of environmental literature. Leopold’s writings on ecology and forestry brought an understanding of land repair and remediation to academic and general audiences. It is difficult to imagine the fields of wildlife biology, soil conservation, or restoration ecology without Leopold’s contribution.

Likewise, the moral basis for the environmental movement in later decades owes its origins in part to Leopold’s land ethic.

The post Steady-State Origins in Sauk County appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Alix Underwood

Like the economy of nature, the human economy has a “trophic” structure. In nature, nutrition and energy flow from plants to herbivores to carnivores, with each of these comprising a trophic level of the ecosystem. In the human economy, materials and energy flow from agriculture and other extractive activities to heavy manufacturing to light manufacturing. Both economies include service providers, such as pollinators in nature and the transportation sector in the human economy.

The post A Trophic Perspective on Fossil Fuels appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Brian Czech

When the name “Putin” is uttered—from now until the end of human utterance—the first thing that should come to mind is hundreds of thousands (and counting) of dead and wounded. Putin has turned a verdant, peace-seeking country into a hell-scape of suffering, including starvation. Let’s not overlook the Ukrainian casualties, now or ever.

Now, Putin is taking an even deeper stride into the annals of infamy by orchestrating one of the most despicable episodes of wanton waste in history: his attack on Ukrainian grain stocks and infrastructure.

by Gary Gardner

Global food production today is cornucopian: More food, of greater diversity, is available to more people in more places than at any time in human history. At the same time, this food abundance has a dark underbelly.  Some 828 million people—nearly ten percent of the human family—are chronically hungry, and two billion people lack critical micronutrients such as Vitamin A and iron. This juxtaposition of increasing abundance and chronic scarcity might suggest that ending hunger simply requires extending 20th century agricultural success to the entire human family.

The post Food: Abundant for How Long? appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

Besides the crucial COVID-19 vaccine patent waiver, far more is at stake at this ministerial than is generally known.

After many postponements, the 12^th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will take place June 12–15, 2022, in Geneva.

What are the long-term problems that need to be addressed and what solutions are out there?

Professor Kako Nubukpo is Commissioner for Agriculture, Water and Environment at the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU, also known by its French acronym UEMOA) and a former Minister of Prospective and Evaluation of public policy in Togo. He recently authored, Une solution pour l'Afrique. Du néoprotectionnisme aux biens communs, published by Odile Jacob Press. In this interview, he considers the economic and social impacts of the Ukraine conflict on food security in Africa.

African economies are facing high levels of inflation due to big price increases for many basic goods, following the invasion of Ukraine. How far might this crisis represent an opportunity to rethink agricultural policies in Africa?

Quels sont les problèmes à long terme qui doivent être résolus et quelles sont les solutions disponibles?

Pr Kako Nubukpo, Commissaire à l’Agriculture, aux Ressources en eau et à l’Environnement de l’Uemoa, et ancien Ministre de la Prospective et de l’Evaluation des politiques publiques du Togo est l’auteur du récent ouvrage « Une solution pour l'Afrique. Du néoprotectionnisme aux biens communs » publié aux éditions Odile Jacob. Dans le cadre de cet entretien, il revient sur l’impact économique et social de la guerre en Ukraine sur la sécurité alimentaire en Afrique.

Les économies africaines font face à une inflation suite à une hausse des prix des matières premières induite par la guerre en Ukraine. En quoi pensez vous que cette crise présente une opportunité pour repenser les politiques agricoles en Afrique ?

"We risk a global decoupling in which East and West face off in a cold war, and Africans are caught in the middle," says Professor Carlos Lopes in an interview with Folashadé Soulé and Camilla Toulmin

Professor Carlos Lopes is Honorary Professor at Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town, Associate Professor at Sciences Po, Paris, Associate Fellow at Chatham House, London, and 2022 Fellow at Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford. His new book on Africa-Europe relations will be coming out in mid-2023.

Thank you for talking to us. It’s been nearly two years since our last discussion. Welcome back from COP27. You were there particularly for the African Climate Foundation?

An interview with Gilles Yabi, executive director of the West African Think Tank WATHI, on food security in Africa

In this interview for the “Food security and inflation in Africa” series, Folashadé Soulé and Camilla Toulmin interview Gilles Yabi, founder and executive director of the West African Think Tank - WATHI. He guides and supervises the activities of the think tank, whose permanent team is based in Dakar, Senegal. WATHI is an open platform for the production and dissemination of knowledge and proposals on all issues crucial to the present and future of West Africa and other regions of the continent. Gilles Yabi is regularly invited to share his thoughts on political, economic, educational, and security issues with various African and international organizations. He also has long experience interacting with the media and has been publishing columns on African political and economic issues for the past fifteen years. He hosts the weekly column "Ça fait débat avec WATHI" on Radio France Internationale (RFI).

Entretien avec Gilles Yabi, directeur exécutif du Think Tank ouest-africain WATHI, sur la sécurité alimentaire en Afrique

Gilles Yabi est le fondateur et directeur exécutif de WATHI. Il oriente et supervise les activités du think tank dont l'équipe permanente est basée à Dakar (Sénégal). WATHI est une plateforme ouverte de production et de dissémination de connaissances et de propositions sur toutes les questions cruciales pour le présent et le futur de l’Afrique de l’Ouest et des autres régions du continent. Gilles Yabi est régulièrement invité à partager ses réflexions sur les questions politiques, économiques, d'éducation et de sécurité avec diverses organisations africaines et internationales. Il a également une longue expérience de l’interaction avec les médias, publie depuis une quinzaine d’années des tribunes sur les questions politiques et économiques africaines. Il anime la chronique hebdomadaire « Ça fait débat avec WATHI » diffusée sur Radio France Internationale (RFI).