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SciDev.Net

01 June 2012: South Africa's astronomy project must show local benefit; Co-hosting the world's largest radio telescope raises South Africa's scientific standing. But it must also help meet the country's social needs.

01 June 2012: Tunisian researchers seek greater support for science; In post-revolution Tunisia, scientists are demanding budget increases and explicit support in the country's new constitution.

01 June 2012: Science recognition in Rio+20 talks 'uphill struggle'; More science is needed in the outcome document of the Rio+20 summit, a UNESCO meeting in Paris and a UN meeting in New York have heard.

01 June 2012: Spotting unsound science in Pakistan; Quack science and illogical claims abound in Pakistan, says Pervez Hoodbhoy.

31 May 2012: North Korea lifts the veil on its agroforestry practices; A study of North Korea's participatory agroforestry programmes may open up new international links with the country, say researchers.

01 June 2012: Is Technology Fostering a Race to the Bottom?; In the West, a new informal economy is in the making - a peculiar byproduct of the digital revolution that has freelancers doing tasks rather than workers holding jobs.

18 May 2012: White House Enlists 45 Companies to Invest in Food Production for the World's Poor; Pres Obama and four African leaders will introduce a group of 45 multinational companies, the Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, at a forum that will begin the Group of 8 summit meeting; firms will invest more than $3 billion in projects aimed at helping third world farmers grow more food. Photo

18 May 2012: Firms to Invest in Food Production for World’s Poor; President Obama and four African leaders will introduce the group of companies, the Alliance for Food and Nutrition Security, on Friday at a forum on food security and agriculture.

15 May 2012: New Africa or New Hype?; Africa is making real progress, but it is not the miracle the media are celebrating.

15 May 2012: Study Seeks More Access to Caesarean Births in Poor Countries; Performing Caesarean deliveries extensively in 49 poor countries would save 16,800 mothers’ lives annually and prevent many vaginal tears, a new study found.

01 June 2012: More public support needed for small farmers; Governments need to play a more active role in support of smallholders if they are to become productive enough to help feed a growing world population, according to FAOs 119-nation Committee on Commodity Problems CCP. Widespread adoption of productivity-enhancing technology is unlikely unless greater attention is given to the incentives and constraints facing different categories of smallholders.

31 May 2012: FAO and Sweden sign Contribution Agreement; FAO and Swedenâ€™s International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) have signed a $10.8 million Contribution Agreement aimed at improving the quality of FAOâ€™s assistance to distressed populations in several high-priority countries and regions.

29 May 2012: No sustainable development without hunger eradication; Sustainable development cannot be realized unless hunger and malnutrition are eradicated, FAO said in a policy document prepared for the Rio+20 Summit to be held in June in Rio de Janeiro.

28 May 2012: Cooperatives can offer solutions to hunger and poverty, President of Costa Rica says; The cooperative model offers unique solutions to â€œfree people from hunger and poverty in a globalized world in which crises, including climate change, touch everyoneâ€�, President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla said today in a speech at FAO.

25 May 2012: FAO launches the West African food composition table; The West African Food Composition Table, a new FAO publiation, details the composition of 472 foods from the Western Africa region. The publication even includes nutrient data on the various ways foods are prepared (i.e. boiled, grilled, and stewed) and biodiversity information on local food varieties/cultivars.

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