Received: from SOUTH-STATION-ANNEX.MIT.EDU by po7.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA21462; Tue, 31 Jan 95 21:56:26 EST Received: from vtbit.cc.vt.edu by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA01614; Tue, 31 Jan 95 21:56:23 EST Received: from VTBIT.CC.VT.EDU by VTBIT.CC.VT.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 5340; Tue, 31 Jan 95 21:52:00 EST Received: from VTBIT.CC.VT.EDU (NJE origin LISTBIT@VTBIT) by VTBIT.CC.VT.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 7076; Tue, 31 Jan 1995 21:51:57 -0500 Received: from LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU by LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8a) with spool id 87573 for DEVEL-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU; Tue, 31 Jan 1995 21:30:48 -0500 Received: (from daemon@localhost) by atlanta.american.edu (8.6.9/8.6.9) id CAA21581 for devel-l@listserv.american.edu; Wed, 1 Feb 1995 02:30:35 GMT Received: from relay1.UU.NET (relay1.UU.NET [192.48.96.5]) by atlanta.american.edu (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id VAA37927 for ; Tue, 31 Jan 1995 21:26:47 -0500 Received: from lan.vita.org by relay1.UU.NET with SMTP id QQybdh10200; Tue, 31 Jan 1995 21:26:45 -0500 Received: by lan.vita.org (5.64/PERFORMIX-0.9/08-16-92) id AA05013; Tue, 31 Jan 95 21:26:53 EST Message-Id: <9502010226.AA05013@lan.vita.org> Date: Tue, 31 Jan 1995 21:26:53 EST Reply-To: DEVEL-L Administration Sender: Technology Transfer in International Development From: DEVEL-L Administration Subject: Your VITA newsletter for February. X-To: devel-l@american.edu To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% @@@@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@ @@@@@@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@ @@ @@@@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@@ @@ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% @@ @@ @@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ On-Line News and Views on @@@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@@@ @@@@@@@ @@ Technology Transfer in @@ @@@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@@@ @@ International Development %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% @@@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@ @@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% February 1995 Volume 5, No. 2 IN THIS ISSUE AGRONOMY WATCH Fighting Hunger With Mineral-Rich Crops LITERATURE REVIEWS Plastic Bags Running Out of Fuel "The Commons" in Thailand Forest Management ORGANIZATIONS Preparing for Climate Change VITA PROJECTS VITASAT for Japanese Telemedicine ANNOUNCEMENTS Tropical Soils Information Technologies * * * DevelopNet News is published monthly by Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA) in Arlington, Virginia, USA. For additional information, please see the end of this newsletter. * * * A g r o n o m y W a t c h FIGHTING HUNGER WITH MINERAL-RICH CROPS New mineral-enriched varieties of the world's most common food crops may prevent malnutrition and disease in millions of the world's poorest peo- ple, according to a recent report. The new varieties are expected to perform particularly well on mineral-deficient soils, such as those found in most of the developing world. According to Howarth E. Bouis (International Food Policy Research Insti- tute, Washington, D.C.), "Crops such as corn, rice, wheat, beans, and cassava, which are the primary sources of food for the vast majority of the world's poor, lack sufficient amounts of essential vitamins and minerals that prevent disease." Bouis directs the micronutrients project of IFPRI. These mineral-enriched crops have been shown to outyield present crop varieties and to require fewer chemical inputs and less irrigation, thus reducing the costs of growing them and better protecting the environ- ment. These advantages also would favor adoption of the new strains by farmers in the developing world. Moreover, mineral-enriched crops would enhance commercial agriculture in developed-world countries where mineral-deficient soils also are widespread. "The research costs for developing mineral-dense varieties can be justi- fied on the basis of the benefits to agricultural productivity alone," says Bouis. Health Benefits The mineral-enriched crops are also expected to have far-reaching health benefits. By and large, in developing countries a substantial number of people have diets that are low in vitamin A and in such minerals as iron, iodine, and zinc. The World Health Organization estimates that 125 million preschool children worldwide suffer severe vitamin A deficiency, which can cause permanent blindness. Less severe vitamin A deficiency is associated with high rates of child mortality due to an inability of the immune system to fight off such killer diseases as diarrhea and measles. An estimated 2,100 million people lack sufficient amounts of iron, con- tributing to anemia in 1,200 million people. Anemia particularly affects pregnant women and accounts for up to 40% of the half-million deaths that occur each year to women giving birth. Zinc deficiency is widespread in developing countries and is often closely associated with iron deficiency. In children, zinc deficiency impairs growth and cognitive development and leads to increased inci- dence and severity of infection. In pregnant and lactating women, zinc deficiency contributes to complications during pregnancy and poor preg- nancy outcomes. Zinc deficiency also contributes to vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin and mineral supplements administered through pills, powders, or liquids address the symptoms of malnutrition and have been used success- fully in programs aimed at poor countries. But supplements do not address the root cause of malnutrition, nutrient-poor diets, and can be costly to administer on a large scale, particularly when they must be delivered to rural areas. Breeding nutrient-rich plants requires only a one-time investment. Research shows that its cost would be far lower than the costs of comprehensive supplement and fortification programs in a country such as India for even one year. "Supplements can be quite cost-effective in the short run, but they are expensive in the long run in the sense that they must be readministered year after year," says Bouis. Better Yields A strategy of breeding for wheat varieties that are efficient in the uptake of zinc from the soil has already been shown to increase wheat yields in Australia, where zinc-deficient soils are widespread. "These wheat varieties have been outstanding in areas that are not only zinc deficient, but that are also stressed by drought," says Robin Graham (Waite Agricultural Research Institute, Adelaide, Australia), the scien- tific coordinator of the project. Turkey also has zinc-deficient soils. Agronomists there believe that adopting the same zinc-packed wheat varieties from Australia could save farmers in Turkey millions of dollars a year. "Because of Turkey's zinc- deficient soils, farmers have to plant an enormous number of wheat seeds -- 250 kilograms of seed per hectare -- because so many seedlings don't survive," says Bouis. "If Australia's zinc-efficient wheat varieties can be adapted to Turkish growing conditions, only 150 kg of seed may be needed. This could save farmers approximately $100 million a year, not including the higher profits expected from higher yields." "We believe that increasing zinc densities in seeds will improve crop yields anywhere that plants are grown on zinc-deficient soils," says Ross Welch (Cornell University, Ithaca, New York). "And there are milli- ons of acres of lands affected by zinc deficiency in the United States," especially in the South and West. Breeding Healthier Plants Like humans, plants are often vulnerable to disease because they are unable to obtain needed minerals from soils. These nutrient deficiencies are caused not just by the absence of zinc and other minerals in the soil, but by the fact that the zinc and other minerals are bound chemi- cally to other elements that make them "unavailable" to plants. Certain plant genotypes, however, are more efficient than others in the uptake of zinc, iron, and other minerals from soils. Their roots emit substances that chemically "unbind" minerals in the soil, resulting in their becoming available to plants. Plant breeding can select for such "efficiency" characteristics, including the characteristic of transfer- ring high amounts of iron and other minerals to the plant's seeds. When replanted in mineral-deficient soils, such mineral-dense seeds have been shown to be more vigorous and disease resistant, which, in turn, leads to higher plant yields, even though fewer chemical inputs and less irri- gation are required. "One can't overcome the problems of zinc-deficient soils just with fert- ilizers," says Welch. "Zinc from fertilizers remains only in the top few centimeters of the soil, where a plant's subsoil roots are not aided. Plant subsoil roots need to be bathed in zinc in order for plants to resist root stresses. Breeding for zinc efficiency in plants and increa- sing the amount of zinc in seeds improves plant vigor and viability." Project research began in May 1993. Research is planned in Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, India, Mexico, Nepal, the Philip- pines, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States. Scientists in several other countries have expressed interest in collaboration as well. The project could have nutrient-enriched crops ready for commercial produc- tion within six to ten years. Says Bouis: "We are starting our research on iron and zinc because they provide benefits to human nutrition and also have advantages for farm- ers. We would also like to research the viability of breeding for plants with a high vitamin A content. However, vitamin A does not aid in plant nutrition and therefore would not provide higher yields." Information: Barbara Rose, International Food Policy Research Institute, 1200 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20036; tel. +1 (202) 862-5600; fax +1 (202) 467-4439; e-mail . L i t e r a t u r e R e v i e w s PLASTIC BAGS "Bangladesh Bans Plastic Bags," 1994. ENFO News [Bangkok] (March), page 2. The government of Bangladesh has banned the production of plastic (poly- ethylene, polythene) bags for home use, but not for export. Persons who favor the ban claim that foods packed in plastic bags could be harmful to health, that bags are not biodegradable and impact unfavorably on the environment, and their wide use obstructs national efforts to revive the jute industry. Opponents of the ban argue that the government's decision was hasty, that plastic is not an environmental problem provided that the public cooperates, that the decision was a harsh blow to the 100 polyethylene factories in the country, and that it will only encourage the smuggling of plastic bags from neighboring countries. Opponents also urge that the recycling of plastic be developed in Bangladesh. [Original source of information: Bangkok Post, 6 January 1994.] RUNNING OUT OF FUEL J.O. Adegbehin and J.E. Omijeh, 1944. "A Survey of Fuel Wood Consumption and Alternative Sources of Domestic Energy in Kaduna State of Nigeria." Discovery and Innovation [Nairobi], volume 6, no. 2, pages 166-175. The 3.5 million inhabitants of Kaduna State are running out of fuel wood. The reasons: past cultivation practices, fire, and grazing. A few exotic, fast-growing tree species are being introduced; this and other measures, according to the authors (Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria) "can go a long way in alleviating the wood shortage problems in the state." In Africa, about 90% of the ppopulation uses fuel wood for cooking, and the annual rate of fuel wood consumption now exceeds the annual forest yield. Wood is used as fuel by 69% of the households in Kaduna State, and kerosene is also widely used. The use of electricity, gas, and char- coal is restricted to higher income parts of the population. However, calculation of energy costs shows that it would be cheaper to cook with kerosene than fuel wood at prevailing prices, provided one ignores the initial costs of kerosene stoves. Can fuel-wood sources be replenished? Interviewed persons were not interested in tree planting to replenish fuel sources. Some of them were fuel wood dealers. Most farmers do plant trees, but most trees they plant are fruit trees, because farmers are less interested in making the long-term investment required for private fuel-wood plantations. The authors describe a range of strategies for dealing with wood short- age problems. Short-term measures include improving the design and qual- ity of cookstoves and pressure-pot cookers, and subsidizing nonwood energy sources. Long-term measures include intensified afforestation, tapping of solar energy, and developing such other energy sources as wind and biogas. The report is clearly written and the study can be recommended as a model for similar analyses in other places. "THE COMMONS" IN THAILAND FOREST MANAGEMENT Masaki Matsumura, 1994. "Coercive Conservation, Defensive Reaction, and the Commons Tragedy in Northeastern Thailand." Habitat International, volume 18, no. 3, pages 105-115. Matsumura (Cornell University, Ithaca, U.S.A.) has studied access to forests in Northern Thailand, which has been restricted by military action. Thus he revisits Garrett Hardin's metaphor of "The Tragedy of the Commons" (Science, 162 [1968], page 1244), which attracted global attention by highlighting problems resulting in the degradation of open- access resources. Hardin had proposed a choice of two solutions in order to prevent "freedom in a commons [that] brings ruin to all:" privatiza- tion or government regulation (nationalization) of their use. Matsumura concludes that "neither privatization nor nationalization can guarantee conservation, and that one alternative solution . . . is for local people to manage their own resources at the community level." Many factors influence land use in Northern Thailand and they interact in complex ways. Among the factors is differing perceptions by farmers and the government of legal rights to land and of appropriate environ- mental strategems for its use. The author agrees that villagers may not now be competent to manage their own land, but he believes that they need to further both their knowledge of effective resource management and their organizational competence as communal land users. To carry out these proposals could involve entrusting villagers with communal title to open-access land. O r g a n i z a t i o n s PREPARING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, a U.S. national R&D facility that is part of the University of California at Berkeley, is best known for its research on electron microscopy, heavy-ion physics, and the human genome. Recently it was awarded $1.4 million by the U.S. government to provide support to countries requesting technical assistance with their plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, developing countries and countries with economies in transition are helped as they begin to com- ply with the Framework Convention on Climate Change signed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the Earth Summit in 1993. Currently more than 45 countries participate in the program. The program is part of a larger project that aims to enhance the capa- bilities of countries and regions to: 1) list sources of greenhouse gases from human activities; 2) assess their vulnerability to climate change; 3) assess their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (this is the special role of Lawrence Berkeley Lab in the project, which also involves other organizations); and 4) help find ways to reduce and adapt to climate change. The technical assistance that promotes these capa- bilities is provided through guidance materials and analytical tools, technical workshops, site visits by technical experts, and three to six- month assignments in Washington, D.C., for visiting analysts. The laboratory has brought together a technical support team of 30 experts from academic, private, and government institutions experienced in global climate change issues. The team now provides specific techni- cal assistance to 14 countries and will be introducing another 23 coun- tries to the training options in mitigation analysis at a workshop to be held in Berkeley in April. Follow-up support for these countries will include training courses in specific models, site visits, stays by for- eign experts for up to two months at the laboratory or another partici- pating institution, and continuing support by phone and fax as the stud- ies progress. Information: Mirka della Cava, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1250 Mary- land Avenue SW, Suite 150, Washington, DC 20024; tel: +1 (202) 484-0880; fax: +1 (202) 484-0888; email . V I T A P r o j e c t s VITASAT FOR JAPANESE TELEMEDICINE On 24 January the Telemedicine Society of Japan, a nonprofit organiza- tion established in 1982 and based at Tokai University near Yokohama, signed an agreement with VITA to extend its telemedicine program to new sites by using VITA's low earth-orbiting satellite, VITASAT. Because of its connections to Internet and other e-mail network gateways, VITASAT is expected to greatly accelerate TSJ's information and data-exchange capability. The society's service is used daily for transmitting electrocardiograms, trauma images, and AIDS and other medical information. TSJ's president, Isao Nakajima, said, "Telemedicine is one way to bring modern medicine to developing countries quickly; they don't have time to repeat the same historical process that more developed countries have gone through. VITASAT will help us expand our present service." Since 1990, the society has linked together 21 medical centers in the Asian-Pacific region using its own geostationary satellite. Its telemed- icine network serves Earth stations in Cambodia, Fiji, Japan, Papua New Guinea, and Thailand. Unfortunately, because of the limited range of its satellite, TSJ cannot communicate with areas in a number of these coun- tries that are most in need of services. VITASAT's ability to serve these remote areas will solve this problem and extend the network's out- reach. The first three VITASAT stations will be located in Cambodia, Fiji, and Thailand. Henry Norman, VITA's president, said that using VITASAT to provide med- ical information to remote areas of these Asian-Pacific nations will help achieve a major goal in VITA's communications program. "Most people in the world still can't get the medical information they need to improve their lives. Using VITASAT to link doctors with patients in the Asian-Pacific area can help change this condition." He expressed hope that VITA's participation with TSJ in this project will be emulated in other developing areas of the world. A n n o u n c e m e n t s TROPICAL SOILS The University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany, has just announced that it will be holding its annual course on soil degradation and conserva- tion in the tropics from 24 August to 13 September. The course aims to further the awareness of the importance of soil conservation and provide researchers with an opportunity to get abreast of recent research on the subject. It also aims to stimulate further research and foster informa- tion exchange arrangements between laboratories in developing and indus- trialized countries. Participants will discuss the principles of soil degradation with main emphasis on the possibilities and benefits of soil conservation for agricultural production in the tropics. They will also learn about recent development and research results on the socioeconomic context of erosion, soil erosion, and policy formulation, soil degradation proces- ses, quantification of erosion through simulation models, soil degrada- tion monitoring using geographic information systems, soil conservation strategies in different cropping systems, and the role of tillage and fertility management in controlling soil degradation. Participants are expected to be involved in ongoing soil conservation research projects that they can present. They should have a minimum of a university degree or equivalent in agriculture or a related field. Since the course will be taught in English, a good command of the language is needed. Applications for admission to the course are due February 28. The University of Hohenheim is offering the course in cooperation with a network of European agricultural universities and scientific complexes. Information: The Course Coordinator, Centre for Agriculture in the Tro- pics and Subtropics (790), University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany; tel. +49 (0711) 459-3742; fax +49 (0711) 459-3315; telex 722- 959. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES Between 10 and 12 May, the UK Programme on Information and Communication Technologies will be sponsoring an international conference on "Social and Economic Implications of Information and Communication Technolo- gies". The conference will review the problems confronting the informa- tion and communication field and the opportunities which lie before it, and debate future directions for research, policy, and practice. The conference program will include panels composed of prominent schol- ars, practitioners, and policy makers, which will discuss some of the major social issues tied to information and communications technologies. These panel sessions will be complemented by a set of parallel sessions organized around invited papers, as well as papers chosen on the basis of a competitive review. The conference is supported by the UK Economic and Social Research Coun- cil and will be held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster, London. Information: William Dutton, Programme on Information and Communication Technologies, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, UK; tel. +44 (895) 233379; fax +44 (895) 233828; e-mail: . * * * HOW TO JOIN VITA'S ELECTRONIC FORUM VITA's free, public, online discussion forum, DEVEL-L, provides for the exchange of ideas and information on a wide range of issues and topics related to technology transfer in international development; for exam- ple, technologies, communications in development, sustainable agricul- ture, women in development, the environment, small enterprise develop- ment, meetings, and book reviews. Subscribers to DEVEL-L automatically receive this newsletter and can download documents free from a special archive by using FTP requests or e-mail messages. To join the forum, send this command or message that reads: SUB DEVEL-L (your real name, without parentheses) to this address: or . You can receive the same benefits by joining the newsgroup bit.listserv.devel-l. You can subscribe to DevelopNet News without joining the discussion forum by sending the following message to the same address: SUB DNN-L (your real name, without parentheses) Please do not send these messages to VITA. * * * DevelopNet News is an electronic newsletter published monthly by Volun- teers in Technical Assistance (VITA), a private, nonprofit, interna- tional development organization located in Arlington, Virginia. The newsletter needs your stories: you are invited to send them to the edi- tor in electronic form. Your redistribution of DevelopNet News is encouraged. Kindly send us a message on the approximate size of your mailing list; it will be helpful in our planning. President: Henry R. Norman Acting Editor: Vicki Tsiliopoulos Editorial Assistant: Rafe Ronkin, VITA Volunteer VITA specializes in information dissemination and communications tech- nology. It offers services related to sustainable agriculture, food processing, renewable energy applications, water sanitation and supply, small enterprise development, and information management. It has pro- jects in 6 African countries. VITA's publications, on a variety of prac- tical subjects, are designed to assist persons and organizations in developing countries. You can request a descriptive publications list by postal mail, phone, or fax. Be sure to include your postal address. Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA), 1600 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 500, Arlington, Virginia 22209. Tel. +1 (703) 276-1800, 24-hr BBS: +1 (703) 527-1086 [up to 9600, N,8,1], fax +1 (703) 243-1865, telex 440192 VITAUI, cable VITAINC, e-mail: Internet , FidoNet 1:109/165.