In print

Fair trade for all: How trade can promote development

By Joseph E. Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton
Published by Oxford University Press
Website: www.oup.com
2005, 342pp, ISBN 0 19 929090 3, (Hb), £15.99/US$30

The Doha Declaration, which set the agenda for the Doha Round of international trade talks, promised much. The unfairness of previous trade rounds, which for example, allowed developed countries to impose higher tariffs on developing country products than on those from other developed countries, would be tackled. Development would be put at the heart of trade. But despite the noble ambitions, few issues of concern to developing countries have been added to the agenda of current negotiations. In response to the failure of trade talks at Cancun, the Commonwealth countries commissioned the Institute for Policy Dialogue to suggest what a true 'development round' would look like. The report that followed forms the basis for much in this book.

One key proposal is that the process of negotiating needs to change. The current system works on the basis of self-interested bargaining; a fairer system would develop trade agreements based on a set of collectively agreed principles. Yet while most nations might accept this would be more equitable, there has to date been little discussion of what such principles might be, say the authors. Actually defining what fairness means, in the context of nations, is open to debate. For example, a trade policy applied uniformly across all countries will have radically different results in different places. Assessing the likely impact of proposed trade rules in all the different countries is therefore essential to judging their fairness, and should, according to Stiglitz and Charlton, be the responsibility of the WTO Secretariat. How this process of assessment might work opens up many more questions, which they go on to explore.

As well as reviewing and drawing lessons from the impacts of previous trade agreements, and setting out priorities for a new trade round, there is also a focus on the type of assistance that will be needed if developing countries are to benefit from trade liberalisation. Trade negotiations are notoriously complex, and while the authors have laboured hard to make their analysis as accessible as possible, Fair trade for all is still, in parts at least, a challenging read for the non-economist. The authors are hopeful that it can mobilize public opinion and guide reform in the WTO, in order to enhance transparency in negotiations and bring fairer outcomes. Noble ambitions, like those of the Doha Declaration, but hopefully ones that can be fulfilled.

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Mozambique's experience in building a national extension system

By Helder Gemo, Carl K Eicher and Solomon Teclemariam
Published by Michigan State University Press
Website: www.msupress.msu.edu
Available from Eurospan
Website: www.eurospangroup.com/bookstore
2005, 145pp, ISBN 0 87013 763 8(Pb), £9.95

The last 15 years have seen a sharp decline in agricultural extension services in the developing world. While structural adjustment policies of the 1990s were certainly a major factor, donor disillusionment with extension also stemmed from poor performance. In many cases, this owed much to the mistaken attempt to transfer systems developed in wealthy countries to the ministries, offices and fields of Africa and Asia. The need to craft an extension system that is financially sustainable and practically useful in the particular context of Mozambique, and its 3.3 million small farms, is a central message of this book.

Mozambique has a short history of extension; following the civil war, a national programme has only been effectively implemented since 1992. The authors, two of whom come from the National Directorate of Rural Extension, examine the three dominant systems that provide extension advice in the country: public, private and NGO. Drawing lessons from the experience of each, they conclude, perhaps not surprisingly, that investment is needed in the three core agricultural institutions: agricultural research, extension, and faculties of agriculture. They also make a series of policy recommendations, including a thorough revision of the roles of senior managers, and decentralisation of implementation decision-making to district level. For those involved in managing and developing extension services, this is a valuable analysis, particularly for countries that, like Mozambique, are faced with the challenge of building an extension system after experiencing a period of conflict.

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In_Focus. Growing better cities: Urban agriculture for sustainable development

By Luc J.A. Mougeot
Published by IDRC
Website: www.idrc.ca
2006, 118pp, ISBN 1 55250 226 0 (Pb), US$13.95 (free download from IDRC website)

IDRC often sets the standard for clear, effective communication products, and this publication is no exception. Summarising and synthesising 20 years of research experience in urban agriculture, the text is both clearly written and cleanly presented so that the reader can quickly and easily grasp the main points. One or two-sentence summaries of each chapter within the contents list are an ingenious if simple addition, again enhancing the usefulness of the book. And for those who wish to go beyond these main points, there is an accompanying website - www.idrc.ca/in_focus_cities - that explores the issues in greater depth.

Other subjects in IDRC's in_focus series include seeds, water, conflict over natural resources and ecohealth (the link between environment and health). All follow the book + website model, which others might consider adopting as an effective way of making different levels of information available.

Eating and healing: Traditional food as medicine

Edited by Andrea Pieroni and Lisa Leimar Price
Published by Food Products Press
Website: www.HaworthPress.com
Email: orders@haworthpress.com
2006, 426pp, ISBN 978 1 56022 983 4(Pb), US$39.95

Despite having a diet rich in saturated fats, Tibetan highlanders rarely suffer from heart disease. The same is true for the Maasai of East Africa. In both cultures, the diet of meat and fat is complemented by wild plants, protecting the body from risks that other people with more a 'modern' diet might face. The consumption of antioxidant plants in Tibet is just one example of the role of foods as medicines in traditional cultures. But drawing a line between what is food and what is medicine is seldom easy.

As the case studies in this volume show, some 'foods' are taken as specific remedies for particular diseases, nutrient deficiencies or complaints. Others are simply perceived to be 'healthy', and are often targeted at children and the sick. But with both traditional knowledge and biodiversity under threat, this collection of research from around the world is clearly very timely, as are its suggestions of areas for further research. Case studies include herbs gathered in western Kenya, mushrooms in Cameroon, seaweed in British Colombia and medicinal fish in the Amazon basin.

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Research for development in the dry Arab region. The cactus flower

By Shadi Hamadeh, Mona Haidar and Rami Zurayk
Jointly published by Southbound and IDRC
Websites: www.southbound.com.my or www.idrc.ca
2006, 144pp, ISBN 983 9054 46 5 (Pb), 1 55250 220 (e-book) (free download from IDRC website)

This book relates the experiences of a 10-year action-research project that focused on an isolated community in northeastern Lebanon. As well as the difficulties that might be expected in this marginal and remote environment, the community was experiencing increasing conflict over land use and rights, as fruit tree growing proved successful and expanded into traditional grazing land. The project sought to address both conflict and natural resource management issues through a variety of, at the time, relatively new approaches. For example participatory research and community-based natural resource management. The project "became a real-life laboratory to test innovative approaches"; and it was largely successful.

The authors have a sense of humour, which some may find a little bizarre; the story is in part narrated by a cactus. At the same time, they are refreshingly honest about the roles and presumptions of the different actors in a development project. The Researcher, the University, the Funding Agency, the Funding Officer, the Local Community and the Local NGO are all amusingly parodied in a section titled "A comedy in the making". The Funding Agency, for example, "uses terms such as holistic and synergistic without flinching. Of course, it has stopped using the term sustainable; it is sooo passé."

But there are serious messages behind the light style. Perhaps the most important is the need to integrate development activities with participatory research to have real impact on livelihoods. Embedding research into development proved to be the way forward to respond practically and effectively to the real needs of this community.

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Sterile Insect Technique: Principles and practice in area-wide integrated pest management

Edited by V.A. Dyck, J Hendrichs and A.S. Robinson
Published by Springer
Website: www.springeronline.com
2005, 801pp, ISBN 1 4020 4050 4 (Hb), US$ 367.00

The Sterile Insect Technique, through which insects are mass-reared, sterilised by exposure to radiation and then released, in order to displace fertile, wild pest insects, has had some major successes as a means of pest control. In most of north and central America, for example, the New World Screwworm, a parasitic fly that causes sometimes fatal infections to livestock, wildlife and humans, was eradicated using the technique. SIT has also been used in control of fruit flies, a pest which if left unchecked can cause enormous economic damage for fruit farmers. But the technique also has its critics, not least because of its expense and doubts about the long-term sustainability of control.

Drawing on four decades of research by the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme on Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, this weighty volume is a comprehensive reference on SIT. Drawn from over 50 researchers working in 19 countries, it outlines the principles of the technique, including its biological and genetic basis and the mathematical models behind it, and technical components such as mass rearing, sterilising and monitoring systems. Of more interest to many will be the chapters that discuss cost-benefits of various uses of SIT, environmental impacts and political support. Two final sections offer an appraisal of the impact of the technique within area-wide pest control of four pests - screwworm, fruit flies, moths and tsetse flies - and prospects for the future development and application of SIT.

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Botanic gardens: Using biodiversity to improve human well-being

By Kerry Waylen
Published by Botanic Gardens Conservation International
Email: wellbeing@bgci.org
Can be downloaded from www.bgci.org/wellbeing
2006, 32pp, ISBN 1 905164 08 4 (Pb), free

Often set amongst dense urban sprawl, botanic gardens can be a much-valued sanctuary from the heat, dust and noise of city life. But, as this report amply shows, botanic gardens are not just pretty places of escape. Citing examples from all over the world, the report looks at the wider contribution of botanic gardens in improving human well-being. This includes improving nutrition and healthcare, alleviating financial poverty and generating social and community benefits.

Many of the examples concern education and training, for example projects in Uganda, South Africa and India to train communities in the use, conservation and cultivation of medicinal plants. The Natal National Botanic Garden has enabled local people to grow and use two indigenous plants to treat skin conditions commonly associated with HIV/AIDS. In New York, residents of the Bronx have been given skills and resources to transform derelict land into garden plots, empowering the community to press for other improvements. In Havana, Cuba, the botanic garden has developed numerous fruit varieties which can thrive in the city's climate and soils, and offers advice on the best ones to grow. While the report may be part of a campaign to bid for greater resources, it does not labour that point, allowing the positive and inspiring stories to speak for themselves.

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Setting up and Running a School Garden. A manual for teachers, parents and communities

Published by the Food and Agricultural Organisation
Website: www.fao.org
Rome, 2005, spiralbound, 208pp, ISBN 92 5 105408 8, (pb), $30.00 + shipping

At a time when schools in the West are scrutinized to ensure they provide children with healthy food, this publication from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) tackles the issue on a global scale. The authors argue that childhood habits die hard, and that education about nutrition must begin at an early age. Encouraging learning by doing, the guide explains how to run and set up a garden as a school project. The authors emphasize that the guide is a 'platform for learning'.

The experience of creating a garden will give children between the ages of 9-14 skills about the social and physical wellbeing of the school community, and a better understanding of the natural world. The manual is to assist teachers, parents and communities, drawing on classroom experiences from across the world. Tips include deciding what will be needed, how big the garden will be, how much time it will take, and how to look after 'sick' plants. The guide even tackles more complicated topics like integrated pest management (IPM) and crop rotation, in a detailed section of notes and fact sheets at the back.

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