NEWSLETTER N. 3
20th May 2008

From the FSN Forum team

It has been already two months since our second newsletter in March 2008 and the FSN Forum has kept growing. Today, it has brought together 780 members, discussed 12 topics, pooled over 350 resource papers, 40 useful web-links and shared 91 news and events.

In response to the world’s dramatic increase in food prices, the FSN Forum has opened a new space called Soaring Food Prices Forum (SFP Forum) for related information and exchanges. Let’s visit this space and contribute to its contents: http://km.fao.org/fsn/soaring_food_prices_space.html

The Forum has also produced its first Forum brief based on the contributors to the discussion “Nutrition Education – Important but often neglected”. The web-version and printable- version of the brief can be found on the “Newsletters & Briefs” page of the Forum site at http://km.fao.org/fsn/fsn_newsletter0.html

Many thanks for your continuous participation and support!

Warmest regards,

The FSN Forum Team

Kostas Stamoulis, coordinator
Huyen Tran, moderator
Dominica Navarro-Ros, assistant moderator
Ilaria Proietti, consultant


In this issue:

Forum activities | Featured news and events | New Resources Contributed


Forum Activities

During the last two months, the FSN Forum has hosted the following discussions:

On-going Discussion

E-Discussion on Impact of SOARING FOOD PRICES (SFP) and Policy Measures. This discussion was raised by Materne Maetz, Senior Officer, from the FAO’s Initiative on Soaring Food Price
Topic Introduction

Closed Discussions

Genetically Modified Organisms and Food Security
. The discussion was raised by. Kathryn James, PhD student at Lancaster University (UK). Please click below to access the discussion documents:
Topic Introduction

Discussion Proceedings
Discussion Summary

Food Price Rise as a Motive for Action Against Hunger and Malnutrition. This discussion was raised and facilitated by International Alliance Against Hunger (IAAH) Secretariat. Please click below to access the discussion documents:
Topic Introduction
Discussion Proceedings

Discussion Summary


Community Forestry and Food Security. The discussion was raised by Denis Mahonghol, forestry engineer, Associate Professional Officer, FAO DR Congo. Please click below to access the discussion documents:
Topic Introduction
Discussion Proceedings
Discussion Summary

Measuring the Food Security of Households containing Adults Malnourished with HIV/AIDS? The discussion was raised by Filippo di Bari, Public Health Nutritionist at Valid International, UK, and facilitated by Amelie Solal-Celigny, Nutrition Consultant at FAO, Rome. Please click below to access the discussion documents:
Topic Introduction
Discussion Proceedings
Discussion Summary

Note: French and Spanish versions of the summaries will be available soon on the FSN Forum website: http://km.fao.org/fsn/resources/discussion_proceedingssummaries.html


Featured news and events

41 News and Events have been shared in the FSN Forum since the last newsletter on 6th March 2008 and are available at:
http://km.fao.org/fsn/news_events0/news.html

Featured News include:

Bad policy, not biofuel, drive food prices


Soaring food prices swell political unrest

Urgent measures required to reduce impact of high food prices on the poor

Poorest countries’ cereal bill continues to soar, governments try to limit impact

Soaring food costs threaten world's political stability: UN official


Africa: High Food Prices Renew Interest in African Farming

2008 BEHAVIOR, ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE ("BECC") CONFERENCE
Call for Proposals until May 27, 2008


New Resources Contributed by Topic

All contributed resources can be found online at:
http://km.fao.org/fsn/resources/resources_by_topic.html?no_cache=1l

Soaring Food Prices

Rising food prices in developing countries: causes, consequences and solutions

High Food Prices: The What, Who and How of Proposed Policy Actions
IFPRI Policy Brief May 2008


Rising Food Prices - What Should Be Done? IFPRI Policy Brief, April 2008

Country policies and programs to address rising food prices

The rice crisis: What needs to be done?

Rising Food Prices - What should be done?

Rising Food Prices: Policy Options and World Bank response

Food Prices and Inflation in Developing Asia: Is Poverty Reduction Coming to an End?

Food Price Measures undertaken in El Salvador

Agriculture

International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology
for Development (IAASTD), Paper Summary


The Political Economy of Pro-Poor Growth

Sudan Food Assistance Transition Study

Success Story of Organic Farming at Farmers' Fields

Bio-intensive Farming System: Economic Transformation Achieved by the Farmers

HIV/AIDS and FSN

The impact of HIV/AIDS and drought on local knowledge systems for agrobiodiversity
and food security


HIV/AIDS, Food Security and Nutrition

NUTRITION FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS - FAO

HIV, Nutrition and Food: A Practical Guide for Technical Staff and Clinicians

Nutrition management in comprehensive care centres in Kenya: a trainer's manual

Household Food Security

Methodological Concerns in the Measurement of Undernourishment, Dietary Diversity
and Household Food Insecurity

Forestry

Farmer Field School in Community Forest Management in Nepal:
an approach to group learning and experimentation by Forest User Groups

The business side of sustainable forest management:
Small and medium forest enterprise development for poverty reduction

Community forestry in the Amazon: The unsolved challenge of forests and the poor

Empowering Communities Through Forestry: Community-based enterprise development
in Gambia

Community-based forest enterprise development for improved livelihoods
and biodiversity conservation: a case study from Bwindi World Heritage site, Uganda

Simpler Forest Management Plans for Participatory Forestry

KENYA - Intensified Social Forestry Project in Semi-Arid Areas

Biotechnologies

Putting GM technologies to work: public research pipelines in selected African countries

Let the World Learn from North American Farmers' Experience with GMOs

Third generation GM crops: an opportunity for Africa

Will Agbiotech Applications Reach Marginalized Farmers? Evidence from Developing Countries

East African Farming Genetically Transformed

Medium Grains, High Stakes: Economics of Genetically Modified Rice in California

Applied economics literature about the impact of Genetically Enginereed Crop Varieties
in Developing Economies

Genetically Modified Food and International Trade:
The Case of India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines


GMOs and NGOs: Biotechnology, the policy process, and the presentation of evidence

Monsanto and smallholder farmers: a case-study on corporate accountability

An Analysis of Trade Related International Regulations of Genetically Modified Food
and their Effects on Developing Countries

Let the World Learn from North American Farmers' Experience with GMOs

If you have items to feature in this Newsletters, please send them to the FSN Forum team at fsn-moderator@fao.org

Disclaimer: In posting messages or incorporating this information, the FSN Forum accepts no responsibility for its veracity or authenticity. Members intending to use or transmit the information contained in these messages should be aware that they are relying on their own judgment.

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