Dear friends,
Welcome to the first edition of The Resource, giving you the highlights of recent activities at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich. To receive immediate news, and to join us in discussion, you can follow us on facebook or twitter.

May 2012

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Strengthening capacity for agricultural research in Africa (SCARDA)

As the SCARDA project draws to a close, Tim Chancellor tells us what it has achieved. In recent years there has been a growing consensus among developing country governments and international donors of a need to increase investments in agricultural research. Research plays a crucial role in stimulating growth in the agricultural sector and this makes a vital contribution to economic development and poverty reduction. SCARDA developed and tested an approach to capacity strengthening that enables national research and education organisations to identify and address their priority capacity needs in order to improve their performance. Our Director of Capacity Strengthening and Learning, Tim Chancellor, gives an account of the project.

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Boost for research at NRI: new research professors and PhD studentships

Significant new investment is being made in research at the Natural Resources Institute. The Vice Chancellor has set a new course for the future with research and enterprise central to all that we do at the university. As a result 5 new research professors are to be appointed to NRI in the following areas: Agriculture and Climate Change, Food and Nutrition, Food and Agriculture Policy, Sustainable Agriculture, and Environmental Economics (Climate Change). At least 5 fully-funded PhD studentships will also be announced shortly. Those newly appointed will join a research institute that has been working with its partners for over a century, at the forefront of international efforts, to harness agriculture and renewable natural resources to increase food availability and raise the incomes of poor people.

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Fragrances from Namibia, and the story of Veerii Tjivinda

Working with the Ovahimba people, a fledgling essential oil industry is being developed from indigenous plant resin. Tucked away in the northwest corner of Namibia is the Kunene Region, where a resin from 'Omumbiri' is sustainably harvested and traded by the Ovahimba communities. NRI is supporting the establishment of a fledgling essential oil industry with an Innovation Fund Grant won in early 2012 from the US Government Millennium Challenge Corporation. The grant will help NRI identify a pipeline of products from plants like Omumbiri to assist the Ovahimba people to generate an income.

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New study published to improve food safety around the world 

SPS coordination mechanisms. Food safety is a growing public health problem, and institutions across the world are required to work together to ensure that animal health, plant health and food safety regulations are duly applied. A new study 'National SPS Coordination Mechanisms: An African Perspective' will support private and public stakeholders in developing countries to implement Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards in accordance with the Agreement on the Application of SPS Measures, an international treaty of the World Trade Organisation.

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