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The Asian tsunami that has made such a tragic start to this new year will have impacts beyond the lives lost, the trauma and bereavement of so many, and the extensive damage to infrastructure. The fishing industry of the Bay of Bengal has lost many of its fisher-folk and vessels, while the inundation of coastal areas has polluted wells and made crop-land saline. Once the medical and immediate food needs of the survivors have been met, there will be the daunting task of rebuilding lives and economies, including the capacity for some degree of food production and fish catch. Bold and original initiatives will be required.

New thinking and priorities are required by the international agricultural research institutes of the CGIAR, as they face the challenges of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), as we report in Points of View. And, in Perspective, the Director of the ISNAR Division of IFPRI, himself a dairy farmer and past Minister of Agriculture in Uganda, speaks of the urgent need for agricultural and institutional innovation if the MDGs are to be met.

Improved communication could energise agriculture through the sharing of ideas. In Developments we report on a recent seminar that highlighted the possibilities offered by information and communication technologies (ICTs), but also suggested that it is not technology that holds back better use of ICTs but the attitudes of managers and policymakers. Again, new thinking is needed. New thinking and innovation will also be required in China, according to a new book 'The river runs black: The environmental challenge to China's future', which is reviewed in In Print. And new thinking could save the camel from decline: Focus on examines how an animal that is an important source of livelihood for farmers in 100 countries is being pushed to the margins of development thinking and excluded from policy.

As always, we look forward to receiving your comments on this or recent editions.

Points of view The CGIAR - a bridge to the future? Focus on Camels Camels at a cross-roads: decline or development? Making more of the market for camel milk Kenyan camels thrive where cattle cannot The camels of northern India: keeping the wheels of a rural economy turning Camel milk magic - myth or marvel? Cashing in on camels In Print The river runs black: The environmental challenge to China's future The burning of the rice: A Cambodian success story Mendel in the kitchen: A scientist's view of genetically modified foods The world's greatest fix: A history of nitrogen and agriculture Eat here: Reclaiming homegrown pleasures in a global supermarket The resilient family farm: Supporting agricultural development and rural economic growth A manufactured plague: The history of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain India Banana wars: The price of free trade Indigenous Water-Harvesting Systems in West Asia and North Africa Perspective The need for agricultural and institutional innovation By Wilberforce Kisamba-Mugerwa, Director, ISNAR Division, IFPRI

News Appointment of DFID's Chief Scientific Advisor Chicken joins genome club Launch of Development Gateway for the Asia-Pacific region Turning the tide against Afghan opium production Rare cactus to provide new slimming products The worm turns in Tanzania Global cereal production at record high A new eco-label for organic flowers Further culls for South Africa's ostrich farms Soyabean high in the US but trouble looms ahead Making a connection: telecentres in Peru Iran's prize-winning soil scientist Bio-diesel: green energy for Kenya? Developments Bridging the EurepGAP? Communication to energise agriculture Gene-banks: fund them or lose them Support and security for small farmers in Mozambique Eco-agriculture: producing food while conserving biodiversity Country Profile Laos Picture feature Kenya's informal milk industry

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