Free Webinar hosted by USAID

Meeting the challenges of value chain development: A learning event

February 2012

Dates: 7-8 February 2012
Type of event: Learning event (with live webinar) 
Location: Washington, USA
Organization: USAID Microenterprise Development office

As research to date suggests, and as project implementers can attest, the ‘poorest of the poor’ rarely benefit from value chain development initiatives as a result of constraints that preclude them from participating in project activities as well as from attracting the attention of private-sector actors. Building on recent work in this area, USAID will be hosting a session on “ Reaching the Very Poor Through Value Chain Development” at the upcoming two-day learning event: Meeting the Challenges of Value Chain Development. For those unable to attend in person, it is possible to participate through a live webinar broadcast of the keynote session. The session will focus on the importance of agricultural value chain development to lifting people out of poverty and bringing an end to food insecurity, and the growing appreciation among donors and practitioners of the need to take a systems perspective to agricultural value chain development.

The Learning Event will bring the donor, practitioner and research communities together to learn about innovations and challenges in market system development, access the latest tools and resources, share best practices in management and implementation, and connect with other professionals.

Panel discussions over the two days will cover the following themes:

• Understanding Gender and Culture in Market Systems
• Financing Value Chains
• Facilitating Sustainable Change
• Learning and Evaluating Within Dynamic Systems

The closing panel will draw on experts from advisory, practitioner and donor roles to discuss the landscape of market development programs as well as key challenges and priorities going forward.

Register for free here: https://irgltd.adobeconnect.com/_a984430303/value-chain-learning-event/event/event_info.html

Food Security: Agriculture and Subsistence Farmers in Kenya

Check out this great presentation tomorrow!

Food Security: Agriculture and Subsistence Farmers in Kenya

Date:	2/2/2012
Time:	3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Presenter:	Darlene Florence
Location:	103 Kottman Hall w/video link to 123 Williams Hall
More Info:	Darlene Florence, doctoral candidate in the School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR), will present 'Food security: Agriculture and subsistence farmers in Kenya' as part of the SENR Winter 2012 Seminar Series.

Next Meeting Tuesday, February 7th at 7:30pm

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, February 7 at 7:30pm at Travonna Coffee House located at 1195 North High Street (on corner of 5th Ave and High St).

All new volunteers are welcome! We will designate time for planning International Womens' Day so come with creative ideas! See you there!

Central Ohio Food Forum

Central Ohio Food Forum

Date: Monday, January 16, 2012 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm

At our January Food Forum we'll be discussing eating locally through the winter and some of the challenges and opportunities that come with it.

Presented in partnership with Wayward Seed Farm and Edible Columbus, Local Matters is proud to co-host the Central Ohio Food Forum.

Central Ohio Food Forum: The Real Dirt on Your Food is a series of monthly conversation about our food system.

More information about the Central Ohio Food Forum:

We're all familiar with "Know Your Food, Know Your Farmer," but do you? Have you ever wondered what a farmers “living wage” actually is?

Mark your calendars for every 3rd Monday of the month at Wild Goose Creative!

Doors open at 5:30 for mingling, program starts at 6:30. BYOB encouraged (especially if it's local!).

See regular updates on our facebook page.

Join us for a series of open and honest conversations about our food system. With topics ranging from production to distribution, community gardens to backyard chickens, and everything in between, we invite you to join us. Bring your ideas, questions and thoughts, your neighbors, friends and family.

The Central Ohio Food Forum invites farmers, gardeners, growers, chefs, home cooks, homesteaders, planners, and eaters of all types to join in the conversation for the betterment of our food system.

Questions? Email centralohiofoodforum@gmail.com

Oxfam Action Corps 2012 Recruitment

Hey Everyone,

Oxfam America is currently recruiting new volunteers for 2012-2013. If you are interested in joining the Oxfam Action Corps please sign up and spread the word by February 14th at http://www.oxfamactioncorps.org.

Join the Oxfam Action Corps to support women farmers, fight global hunger, and build a better food system! You will meet great people and work together to change laws that can save lives, defend the rights of the world’s poorest farmers, and protect communities from rising food prices and climate change. You will gain leadership skills, have fun, and change the world!

Anybody can join the local effort! All levels of experience are welcome. You can also apply for Oxfam’s free four-day leadership training in Washington D.C. May 12 – May 15.

This year, we will mobilize for the GROW campaign for global food justice. The women and men in poor countries who struggle to grow enough food to feed their families are facing competition for land and water, rising prices, and climate change. We will call for laws that support women and farmers, sustainable practices, and resilience to climate change, and ensure a better future for people in the poorest regions of the world.

This is a year-round volunteer opportunity, with a deadline of February 14 to apply for the spring training. Find out more and sign up at http://www.oxfamactioncorps.org .

Check out this video to see what we are all about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FmA5kFi9AA

Turn on your radio!

Tune in today at 10am to noon on 89.7 WOSU NPR to

hear Ann Fisher from 'All Sides' interview Gawain Kripke


 (Oxfam America's Director of Policy and Research) 


about Global Food Security...should be a great show!






Don't forget about the luncheon today at noon!

THURSDAY, November 17, 2011

TIME: Check In/Networking: 11:30 am

Program: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

LOCATION: WOSU @ COSI

333 West Broad Street Columbus, OH 43215

COST: Members/students: $30 ($15 lecture only)

Members Table of Eight: $250 General Public: $50 ($30 lecture only) General Public Table of Eight: $450 *Group discounts available for K-12 classes

RSVP BY TUESDAY, November 15, 2011:

REGISTER HERE

ORONLINE: www.columbusworldaffairs.org EMAIL: rnicholas@ columbusworldaffairs.org CALL: 614-229-4599 ext. 401 (Rhonda Nicholas)MAIL: 51 Jefferson Avenue, Columbus, OH 4321

Secretary of State Clinton on Foreign Aid

Here is an excerpt from a recent post on Foreign Policy that stresses the importance of foreign aid for national security:

If Congress doesn't pass an omnibus appropriation bill, the resulting funding cuts will "seriously impede our efforts to meet unanticipated national security needs," Secretary Clinton said yesterday in a statement.

Without an omnibus bill, the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) would be subject to a yearlong continuing resolution that "would sharply cut our funding and severely weaken the [State] Department and USAID's ability to execute our critical civilian missions, particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq," Clinton stated.

She also said, "We need these resources now more than ever to support national security priorities in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan where we are helping secure gains made by our military and preventing the spread of violent extremism."

Clinton and other government officials have repeatedly said that U.S. foreign policy rests on three pillars: defense, diplomacy, and development. Weaken the pillars of diplomacy and development, and the edifice of U.S. foreign policy collapses. Leaders such as Gen. David Petraeus have said that there is "no military solution" to Iraq (and the same can be said of Afghanistan). The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review -- released yesterday and titled "Leading Through Civilian Power," asks, "How can we do better?" It answers, "we will build up our civilian power: the combined force of civilians working together across the U.S. government to practice diplomacy, carry out development projects, and prevent and respond to crises."

Time is running out to voice your support for the foreign aid budget, so please let your representatives know why it's important to protect it from cuts. Oxfam America has a form that you can fill out, or you can contact your representative directly by finding them on the House of Representative's website.