Selected documents from June to December 2016
1 Title: 20th Anniversary (1996 to 2015) of the Global Commercialization of Biotech Crops and Biotech Crop Highlights in 2015 (2015).
Annotation: The publication focuses on 20 years of commercialization of biotech crops (also known as genetically modified (GM) or transgenic crops) and biotech crop highlights in 2015. It indicates that an unprecedented cumulative hectarage of 2 billion hectares of biotech crops were successfully cultivated globally in the 20 years period 1996 to 2015. The cultivated hectares include those of biotech soybean, biotech maize, biotech cotton and biotech canola. The report shows that biotech crops have delivered substantial agronomic, environmental, economic, health and social benefits to farmers and to the society at large.
2 Title: Nourishing millions: Stories of change in Nutrition (2016).
Annotation: It is a peer-reviewed publication which has gathered simple examples of effective nutrition programmes and interventions. The publication is a rich collection of narratives that highlight successes and challenges associated with attempts to drive the nutrition agenda forward. It is hoped that the lessons contained in this book can guide scaling up success stories and help end hunger and undernutrition by 2025.
3 Titlle: Development of Integrated Multipurpose Animal Recording systems (2016)
Annotation: The publication is one of the FAO Animal production and health guidelines series which has been prepared for the purpose of helping countries to design and implement animal recording systems. It puts performance recording in a more general context and complements rather than replace previous FAO guidelines. The guidelines focus primarily on the process rather than the methods and technologies employed.
4 Title: Earthquake Lessons from China: Coping and Rebuilding Strategies (2016).
Annotation: The peer-reviewed publication explains the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake which had a devastating physical and socioeconomic impact on China. It highlights on how public, private and nonprofit actors responded effectively and comprehensively to the earthquake. It identifies and discusses the crucial disaster management innovations that were put to use to in order to cope with the earthquake’s aftermath.
5 Title: Tanzania Industrial Competitiveness report 2015. Tanzania at a Crossroad: Shifting Gears towards Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialisation (2016).
Annotation: This is an analytical periodic report and a product of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (MITI), by the Industrial Intelligence Team at the Ministry. The report aims at providing a framework to track progress towards national and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets. It also gives valuable information to decision makers throughout the policy formulation and implementation process. The report comes as the result of the collaboration between the MITI, UNIDO International Experts and other key stakeholders.
6 Title: 2016 State of the World’s Forests (2016).
Annotation: This is a report by FAO which explores the challenges and opportunities represented by the complex interrelationships between forests, agriculture and sustainable development. The report demonstrates that the sustainable management of both forests and agriculture, and their integration in land-use plans, is essential for achieving the Sustainable development Goals (SDGs), ensuring food security and tackling climate change.
7 Title: Tanzanian Cashew Cultivars: Selected Clones (2006).
Annotation: The book briefly describes cashew breeding and production in Tanzania and gives details of selected cashew clones. It gives highlights of the main cashew diseases and insect pests as well as pictorial illustrations with respect to cashewnut processing in the country. The book is a useful reference to cashew growers, students and extension workers.
8 Title: Diseases and Insect pests of Cashew in Tanzania (2014).
Annotation: The publication gives a detailed description of the pathogens, distribution, symptoms and control methods of the major diseases as well as occurance and damages of the insect pests. The publication is a useful reference for college and university students, cashew technicians, growers and processors.
9 Title: Enhancing Pro-poor Innovations in natural Resources and Agricultural Value Chains (EPINAV) Programme: Baseline Research Performance Report (2012).
Annotation: The report begins by providing brief background information about EPINAV programme at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). It gives comprehensive baseline information about 17 research projects under the programme. The information covers all four thematic areas of the programme namely, Innovations Systems Research; Adaptation of Agriculture and Natural Resources to Climate Change; Policy Research Analysis and Governance; and Innovative Communication and Knowledge Dissemination Pathways. The report also provides a synthesis of key performance and livelihood indicators for each thematic cluster of projects.
10 Title: “Information and knowledge as drivers for poverty reduction”. Proceedings of the 1st COTUL Annual Conference held on 25th-28th November 2014 at the RUAHA Catholic University, Iringa Tanzania (2014)
Annotation: The publication comprises of papers that were presented at the conference mentioned above. The purpose of the Consortium of Tanzania University and Research Libraries (COTUL) is to facilitate access and usage of library electronic resources among its member institutions. COTUL facilitates joint subscription to e-resources and organizes training workshop to build capacity among its member institutions.
11 Title: Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA): Impact of 40 years (1973-2015) of Norwegian Government Cooperation Support to the University (2016).
Annotation: This publication documents the Norwegian Government support to SUA and the collaboration between SUA and Norwegian institutions which has been on for a period of more than 40 years. The report on the contribution and impact of the support covers the historical description of the various phases of the collaboration including the purpose and objectives, institutional transformation and capacity building, research activities, gender dimensions of the collaboration, activities related to crosscutting and challenging issues such as HIV/AIDS, major outcomes, impacts and lessons learned.
12 Title: Livestock-related interventions during emergencies: the how-to-do-it manual (2015).
Annotation: This manual has been prepared as a complement to the FAO’s Livestock Emergence Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) handbook to provide guidelines for each of the most common livestock interventions, namely: destocking, veterinary support, provision of feed and water, livestock shelter and settlement, and provision of livestock. Also, it has two additional chapters; one on the use of cash transfer and vouchers and another on monitoring, evaluation and assessing the impact of emergency response.
13 Title: Agricultural Research in Africa: Investing in future harvests (2016).
Annotation: The book has taken a comprehensive look at the evolution, current status, and future goals of agricultural R & D in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA). It is offering analyses of the complex underlying issues that make Africa’s development challenges unique, but also offers insights into how they might be overcome. The focus on the issues is in terms of human, institutional, and financial resources as well as effectiveness of R & D and its impact evaluation. In addition, the book makes the case for greater investment in African agricultural R & D as a crucial prerequisite to raising agricultural productivity and competitiveness, increasing rural incomes and food security, reducing poverty and food-import dependence and halting environmental degradation.
14 Title: 2016 Global Hunger Index: Getting to Zero hunger (2016).
Annotation: The yearly global hunger index report is a peer-reviewed publication which calculates the Global Hunger Index and analyses the multidimensional measure of global hunger. The yearly reports tracks the state of hunger worldwide and country by country, and spotlights those regions and countries where action to address hunger is urgently needed. This report shows that the level of hunger in the developing world has declined by 29 percent since 2000. Despite this progress, the level of hunger globally remains alarmingly high, with 795 million people still facing hunger, roughly one in four children affected by stunting, and 8 percent of children affected by wasting. As a way forward, it is recommended to embrace the 2030 Agenda and its ambitions to reach Zero hunger among other things.