'Important gaps remain in delivering on the global commitments in the areas of aid, trade, debt relief, and access to new technologies and to affordable essential medicines. A recently released report by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Gap Task Force identifies these gaps in detail and provides recommendations to all major stakeholders on how to address these gaps.'

‘Functional or health-enhancing foods are food-type products that influence specific physiological functions in the body, thereby providing benefits to health, well-being or performance, beyond regular nutrition, and are marketed and consumed for this value added property. This review has indicated some critical success factors in the functional foods sector and suggested some of the common challenges faced by the sector in
developing countries.’(pdf:95pages)

The study will examine international instruments protecting the right to food in general, and the right to food of women in particular. The analysis of these documents will give an idea of what is today’s level of awareness of women’s right to food and related issues, how much is covered by law and how much is missing.(pdf:34)

This book is publishing by International Development Research Center. The part-I of this book begins with a brief overview of the contemporary food system, the basics of IP and its role in the food system. The central core of the book is Part II, which provides the background and a guide to negotiations and the key elements of the agreements. Part III includes discussion on some of the various civil society reactions to these changing global rules and their impact on research and development .

'The current biofuel policies of rich countries are neither a solution to the climate crisis nor the oil crisis, and instead are contributing to a third: the food crisis. In poor countries, biofuels may offer some genuine development opportunities, but the potential economic, social, and environmental costs are severe, and decision makers should proceed with caution.'

'In May 2008, the World Bank approved a new $1.2 billion rapid financing facility to address immediate needs arising from the food crisis. The Global Food Response Program (GFRP) aims to strike a balance between short-term food stabilization and measures to ensure countries are able to cope better in the medium term.
Under the program, countries can select from a menu of actions and investments most relevant to their individual situations, including programs to address price policies, social p more...

'This paper examines the links between the risk of conflict and the production and trade of agricultural and marine commodities. It does so using a series of case studies: cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire, bananas and subsequently fisheries in Somalia, and cotton in Central Asia. Much like the traditional conflict resources (oil, diamonds, timber, minerals, etc.), there is strong evidence that fished and farmed commodities can also be (mis)used in such a way that their production and trade contribute t more...

The World Bank Group’s New Deal on Global Food Policy has been endorsed by 150 countries. The New Deal embraces short, medium and long-term responses: including safety nets such as school feeding, food for work, and conditional cash transfers; increased agricultural production; a better understanding of the impact of biofuels; and action on the trade front to reduce distorting subsidies and trade barriers. The Bank is taking action by:

The global economy is in a tough spot, caught between sharply slowing demand in many advanced economies and rising inflation everywhere, notably in emerging and developing economies. Global growth is expected to decelerate significantly in the second half of 2008, before recovering gradually in 2009. At the same time, rising energy and commodity prices have boosted inflationary pressure, particularly in emerging and developing economies.

'This briefing paper examines the modalities for the proposed climate investment funds (CIFs) and considers the impact these funds will have on existing global measures to tackle the causes and effects of climate change. In particular, the paper demonstrates how the World Bank’s role in climate change financing may create parallel frameworks of climate change governance which may undermine existing multilateral climate change regimes, despite claims to the contrary. '