By hosting both the Football World Cup and the Summer Olympic Games in recent years, Brazil put the focus of the world’s attention firmly upon itself. In the resulting spotlight, many Brazilian citizens took the unique opportunity to voice concerns to the Brazilian government, with the wider world audience looking on. Protests and reform movements abounded in the past decade as a rapidly widening middle class made unprecedented demands in Brazil’s increasingly mobile and globally integrated society.
Among these movements, students and teachers in Brazil banded together to protest deficiencies in an education system that has long underserved Brazil’s citizens. In 2016, protestors occupied hundreds of schools nationwide to bring attention to the country’s needs.
In response to the protests and upheavals of the past few years, governments at every level in Brazil are beginning initiatives to address educational shortfalls. In many areas, education reforms in Brazil look familiar to readers from the United States. Ideas like performance pay for teachers and turning school management over to private charter organizations are spreading throughout the country at a rapid rate.
Application of the new American-inspired techniques is inconsistent however, and most education reforms in Brazil are still too new to evaluate effectively. In particular, schools in large urban centers are innovating at a faster rate than systems in less developed areas of the country. Regardless, enthusiasm is high. Many of the movements are being fueled by the personal initiative of teachers, who are in some ways pulling their more conservative institutions forward with them.
Technology in Brazilian schools shows a similarly inconsistent yet hopeful picture. Schools in Rio de Janeiro, for example, are leaders in educational technology use in South America. In Sao Paulo, South America’s largest city, one nonprofit foundation leads an initiative to translate and implement the Khan Academy materials for use in Brazilian schools. This popular online curriculum and method now features in hundreds of Brazilian schools reaching over 70,000 students.
In addition to the visible presence of the popular video-based curriculum, officials at the Lemann Foundation are even more excited about the potential for the support material and quality measurement features of the Khan Academy method. They see these “back end” features as creating real lasting value for future advances in Brazil’s schools.
Still, regions outside of the country’s largest cities have not progressed as quickly. Internet speeds to schools in Brazil are one unexpected challenge. While Brazil is a world leader in mobile internet infrastructure, most connections to schools do not reach the 2Mbps threshold considered ideal for the delivery of online materials. Fortunately, one potential solution to this challenge is on the way. KALite, a compressed, offline version of the Khan Academy materials, is now being implemented in areas with less robust infrastructure.
Some of these tech-heavy initiatives are showing early signs of success. Brazilian students using these self-paced, interactive tools are more likely to show up to class, and anecdotal reports indicate a higher level of morale and enthusiasm as well.
Brazil instituted compulsory primary education in the 1980s, after the end of military rule. In many ways, that change was impressively successful. Literacy rates, for example, are far higher today than in the latter half of the 20th century, and enrollment has strongly improved. Still, educational attainment lags behind nations at a similar stage of development. Brazil’s education system is ranked 105th in quality out of 122 nations by the World Economic Forum.
As time passes, results from more structural changes will be seen as well, and time will tell whether the legacy of these education reforms in Brazil will garner the same attention as the sporting events that precipitated their beginning.
– Paul Robertson
Photo: Flickr
Five Key Factors Improving Sustainable Agriculture in Thailand
Thailand’s high dependency on agriculture led to a change in previous farming techniques. These new practices enhanced sustainable agriculture in Thailand. Five main farming systems were promoted to better the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and improve environmental conditions.
These sustainable approaches include integrated farming, organic farming, natural farming, agroforestry and New Theory farming. Each one helps promote sustainable agriculture in Thailand, an essential goal for a nation reliant on agriculture.
Integrated Farming System
This system is used when two or more different agriculture activities are in the same field. This lowers costs for farmers and utilizes limited spaces to their maximum potential.
Organic Farming
Organic farming limits the quantities of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers used in farming. By using less harmful chemicals, the soil and land are protected. This branch of sustainable agriculture is researched by the government, various universities and NGOs. In Thailand, NGO research is conducted mainly by the Alternative Agriculture Network (AAN) and later by its sister organization, the Sustainable Agriculture Foundation Thailand (SAFT).
Natural Farming
Natural farming is considered the ideal sustainable farming model for many areas in Thailand. It includes farming with no tillage, no application of chemicals and complete preservation of the ecosystem with little damage from farming.
Agroforestry
This approach enables cash crops and cattle to coexist with trees and forestry land. As such, it amplifies the ability to utilize the land for sustainable agriculture while also promoting reforestation.
New Theory Farming
Proposed in 1993 by His Majesty the King Bhumiphol Adulyadej, New Theory Farming is ideal for farmers with limited field allotments and a shortage of water resources. The concept highlights self-sufficiency by dividing the available land into four parts and utilizing each for various needs. These include fish ponds/raising, fields for crops and vegetables, a rice paddy for self-consumption and space for living and livestock raising.
These proposals, set out to improve farming techniques and promote sustainable agriculture in Thailand, are critical in developing a healthy environment and economy for future generations.
– Bronti DeRoche
Photo: Flickr
Sustainable Agriculture in Eritrea
Drought, caused by inconsistent rainfall, hinders the crop yield of the subsistence farming. The labor required to increase crop yields and the growth of farms is unavailable due to mandatory conscription.
Furthermore, uncertain relations between Eritrea’s government and other states has led to a lack of mutual trust which would enable sustainable growth. This lack of trust makes it difficult to measure the impact of the lack of sustainable agriculture in Eritrea has on the population. It also makes it difficult for international actors to provide assistance.
According to the government of Eritrea, 70 percent of its land is classified as hot and arid. This land receives less than 350 millimeters of water each year. Despite this harsh environment, 20 percent of Eritrea’s GDP is its agriculture sector.
Plans to Implement Sustainable Agriculture in Eritrea
In 2016, the Ministry of Agriculture published a booklet, titled, “Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture and Food Systems: the Eritrean Context”. This booklet outlines its plan to improve the sustainability of agriculture in Eritrea. Important efforts include:
Organizations Involved in Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Eritrea
Eritrea aimed to increase collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to promote sustainability and food security. As such, there has been success with projects that aim to increase sustainable agriculture in Eritrea, specifically in the small village of Keih-Kor. With the help of the UNDP, the village was able to regain the use of 45 hectares of farmland.
Techniques such as terracing and the construction of dams helped the villagers regain what erosion had taken away. The additional benefit of these techniques is that future erosion in these areas will be mitigated.
The Syngenta Foundation
Another organization working to increase the sustainability of agriculture in Eritrea is the Syngenta Foundation. Its mission is to help poor farmers in developing countries increase the value of their farms and goods. It helps farmers understand their market and helps increase the sustainability of their farming practices. According to the program website for Eritrea, its eight goals closely align with those of both the Eritrean government and the UNDP.
So far the Syngenta foundation has helped to complete the first-ever database report on soil erosion, water runoff and soil conservation at Afdeyu Station. This is the only station of its type that consistently measures these factors in Eritrea.
Other achievements include the successful testing of a micro-drip irrigation system in partnership with the College of Agriculture at the University of Asmara. The test showed food security rises with the use of the micro-drip system. Breeding tests of the new pearl millet, one of Eritrea’s major crops, have been successful both under controlled conditions and in the field.
With continued efforts, Eritrea can remedy its poor harvests due to drought. The country is still in need of a combination of funds to complete these projects and both advanced and simple technologies to improve crop yields. Implementing sustainable agriculture in Eritrea is not impossible, especially with the contributions of international organizations.
– Nick DeMarco
Photo: Flickr
Five Important Ongoing Development Projects in Moldova
Here are five ongoing development projects in Moldova.
Implemented by Chemonics International, Inc., MCP (2015-2020) aims to improve efficiency and competitiveness in Moldovan industries in order to support Moldova’s efforts to foster a strong, export-oriented economy. Some of the project’s goals include improving the quality of Moldovan products and services, increasing productivity and technical skills in the labor force and expanding market linkages. These goals are expected to increase incomes, reduce poverty and emigration and enable Moldova to compete within the E.U. and other high-value markets.
DCA (2011-2028) helps, “Moldovan financial institutions to increase financing for local small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) through a loan guarantee mechanism.” The main goal is to increase economic opportunities and improve the Moldovan private sector’s competitiveness. Additionally, it aims to improve Moldovan energy efficiency.
Current DCA programs in the country include two guarantee facilities. One of them supports the Moldovan Information Technology (IT) sector in order to increase loans to IT firms for capital and long-term investments and support loans to IT professionals for mortgages, thereby improving quality of life and providing continued support to investments in the country.
USAID Moldova and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) launched the second guarantee in 2014 to “support lending to the energy sector,” in order to improve Moldovan SMEs’ efficiency, thereby strengthening their “commercial viability and growth in an environmentally sustainable manner.”
With a budget of $2.7 million, this project is set to run from 2017 to 2022 and catalyze investments in low carbon green urban development with an integrated urban planning approach. The project seeks to achieve its goal by encouraging innovation and participatory planning and partnerships with various public and private sector entities. The goal is to improve the quality of life and advance opportunities for sustainable economic growth in Moldova. Primarily, the project aims to establish a sustainable Green City Lab that would continue to operate after its closure.
Under this 36-month project, USAID will launch and develop an ICT Excellence Center in Moldova in collaboration with the government and the private sector. Through this development project in Moldova, USAID aims to bring “significant new resources, ideas, software, technologies and development activities, such as training, practical assignments and mentoring programs” to the country. The project will support the setup and equipment needs, the creation of a relevant business plan, training of qualified staff and the expansion of educational and entrepreneurial development activities.
Implemented by People in Need, this project builds on previous support for organic agriculture in Moldova. It specifically focuses on developing the local organic market and sustainable extension services, preparing Moldovan farmers to export products for the sustainable “advancement of the entire sector.”
Most of these development projects in Moldova aim to improve its presence within the E.U. and other competitive markets in order to enable the people of this nation to lift themselves to a higher quality of life. With similar continued investment in the Moldovan community, industry and infrastructure, there is hope that Moldova will be able to reach this goal.
– Mehruba Chowdhury
Photo: Flickr
The Kosovo Conflict Has Left Long-Term Consequences
Starting in February 1998 and lasting until June 1999, the Kosovo Conflict was essentially ethnic Albanians being in opposition to ethnic Serbs and the government of Yugoslavia in Kosovo. Problems of the Kosovo Conflict were both widespread and numerous, despite only lasting for less than two years. Considering the issues it caused, it is important to understand what the Kosovo Conflict was in a broader sense.
The Kosovo Conflict began in response to Albanians being in the majority of the population in an area that was held in high regard by the Serbs. In addition, Ibrahim Rugova, leader of the Albanians in Kosovo, sought to nonviolently protest Slobodan Milosevic, the president of Serbian Republic at the time. Tensions gradually rose between the two groups and resulted in the emergence of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
Beginning two years prior to the start of the war in 1996, the KLA sporadically attacked Serbian politicians and police. The attacks gradually escalated and led to the actions of the KLA being classified as an armed uprising, resulting in the Kosovo Conflict. The Serbian police force, along with Yugoslav armed forces, tried to regain control of the territory. Attempts to regain control of the region led to widespread media attention and a slew of refugees from the area.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was instrumental in ending the Kosovo Conflict. After NATO had exhausted its diplomatic attempts to find peace in Kosovo, they turned to Operation Allied Force. Allied Force was the first time in NATO history in which military action took place against a sovereign state outside NATO territory. After 77 days of Allied Force, Milosevic agreed to NATO’s demands. One million refugees were able to safely return to Kosovo.
However, along with the influx of refugees from the region, the war resulted in various negative consequences. Problems of the Kosovo Conflict included damage to trade routes and transportation, a loss of confidence in consumers and investors, weakened infrastructure and increased stress on the economy.
Unfortunately, the response to the consequences of the Kosovo Conflict was not sufficient. Humanitarian organizations in place that represented the international community were simply not prepared to deal with the large-scale effects of the war. Training and guidelines were typically bypassed, and some members of the military admitted that guidelines were lacking.
Conflict in the region is still at an all-time high today. In January 2018, a Serbian train bearing signs saying, “Kosovo is Serbian,” was stopped on its way to enter Kosovo due to reports of a planned attack by Albanians. Kosovo officially declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but this is not recognized by Serbia or its ally, Russia. Hopefully, the region will be able to find peace, but it seems that the problems that arose from what was the Kosovo Conflict continue to persist 20 years later.
– Blake Chambers
Photo: Flickr
What is a Senator?
Since 1787, the U.S. Senate has existed to bring representation to individual states and a minority opinion to the United States of America. Senators are an integral part of the news cycle. They are a voice for the electorate. They are composers of history. But what is a senator?
America is a country of democracy and relative stability in spite of bipartisanship. Surrounded by a world in which many are starving and living in poverty, however, it is important to look at the basics. Doing so gives Americans the ability to make a difference to those less fortunate. This is made possible by having a population of 323 million speak through elected representatives.
Qualifications of a U.S. Senator
The qualifications of a U.S. senator are simple. A senator must be at least 30 years old, must have been a U.S. citizen for nine years and must be a resident of the state which he or she is elected to represent. Their terms last for six years and there is no limit to the number of terms, as long as it is the will of the population in the senator’s state. Each state has two elected senators, who exist to bring individual voice and to be a part of the vital checks-and-balances system. This goes some of the way to answering the question ‘what is a senator?’.
Responsibilities of a Senator
The most important job of a U.S. senator is to be the voice of his or her constituents. As the accountable party to the state, a U.S. senator is responsible for voting on legislation that is to the benefit of the state as a whole. It also means that senators are responsible for taking phone calls, reading letters and meeting with his or her constituents.
In addition to their responsibility to the state, senators also serve on committees. Committees exist to examine major sectors of American life, including energy, health and the U.S. budget. It is a Senator’s responsibility to meet with lobbyists and determine amendments to existing legislation through the committee on which they serve.
U.S. senators also introduce and vote on legislation. Once a bill is introduced, it must be examined by the Senate. If it passes muster, the bill will then go to the House of Representatives (or vice versa). If the bill passes both houses of Congress, it will then go to the President of the United States to become a law.
What is a Senator?
So, what is a senator? A senator is someone that individuals elect to ensure that the country is going in a direction in which they want it to go. A senator is a voice for the state; an elected official responsible for ensuring the protection of human rights.
Unfortunately, much of the world does not have that same representation. The U.S has the power to create change and it starts with individual voices.
It is essential to exercise the right to vote and voice opinions through elected officials. Once senators are in office, citizens can write letters, email or call them to hold them accountable. They can make sure they are carrying out the state’s interest as well as using their position for good in the world.
– Eric Paulsen
Photo: Flickr
Credit Access in China Receives Strong Government Support
Consumer credit has experienced rapid growth since the market economy began in-depth reforms in 1998. It is common for individual home buyers to seek extended mortgage loans, which are currently among the best assets in commercial banks of China. The use of credit cards is also increasingly popular. However, for national banking systems and policy regulators, there are quite a few challenging issues for improving credit access in China.
In 2015, the World Bank reported that about 79 percent of adults in China had at least one bank account. Central bank credit information systems have information on more than 21 million entrepreneurs and nearly a billion customers. Bank loans are becoming more popular among rural families. Due to the considerably high rate of account penetration in China, financial infrastructure urges fast development.
Furthermore, China is expected to continue reducing financial leverage. The Central Bank has a series of loans and bonds for poverty alleviation, which also provide financial support to the rural disadvantaged groups. For banks of China, reforming rural credit cooperatives and developing new types of financial organizations should be strongly supported, as they are a significant force for inclusive finance.
While China has made substantial progress in inclusive finance, some issues still require further concern. Central Bank governor Xiao-Chuan Zhou has expressed his worries on three systematic financial risks: the credit risk in micro-finance, the high-leveraging ratio and liquidity in the economy and the cross-market and cross-regional shadow banking associated with financial crimes.
Last but not least, some financial exclusion issues caused by de-risking cannot be ignored. For instance, a few large cross-nation banks closed some outlets in Africa due to insufficient support on operations in those regions, which could cause some negative impacts. Advancement of digital technology on credit access in China may help to mitigate the derisking pressures.
While improving credit access in China received strong governmental support, the national banking systems and financial regulations are still far from perfect. Besides the nationwide scheme on “social credit” by 2020, a variety of other measures to promote investment and reduce risks on financial products must also be regulated.
– Xin Gao
Photo: Flickr
2021 Promises Prosperous Development Projects in Zambia
With most of these projects gaining momentum, the outcome for 2021 shouldn’t be a surprise. Development projects in Zambia are not only helping to improve the lives of locals, but also to allow the nation to compete on a global scale.
– Tara Jackson
Photo: Flickr
Humanitarian Aid to Mali
The Bamako Agreement
The 2016 Mali Humanitarian Response Plan followed a peace and reconciliation agreement the year prior, otherwise known as the Bamako Agreement. The Bamako Agreement was a response to the continued violence from a 2012 uprising of Tuareg-led rebels. It sought to bring peace between separatists and Mali loyalists and to provide better representation in government affairs.
However, due to limited funding, the Bamako Agreement did not immediately live up to its potential. One of the most negatively affected areas was Mali’s healthcare sector. Mali is a country in which only 24 percent of citizens have access to improved sanitation and 6,000 died from HIV/AIDS in 2016. As a result, access to proper healthcare is a major concern. Underfunding following the Bamako Agreement was reflected by health concerns such as increased infant mortality and the spread of disease.
Not willing to accept a failed Bamako Agreement, the 2016 allocation of funds sought to improve humanitarian aid to Mali. This was done by allocating funds appropriately to the most urgent needs such as health, water and nutrition. It also created a more coordinated success strategy between humanitarian groups.
Humanitarian Aid to Mali: Moving Forward
While the situation in Mali remains perilous, there are encouraging signs of a turnaround. The country is stabilized compared to the time before the Bamako Agreement. The $354 million dispersed in a scrupulous manner will have lasting benefits for the people of Mali.
By further coordinating humanitarian aid to Mali, organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have the resources to make a difference. The WHO is seeking additional funds from the U.S. to improve health information systems, increase access to health clinics and create better responses to calamities. The need is clear and the U.S. should increase aid efforts to better an improving, but still volatile, situation in Mali.
– Eric Paulsen
Photo: Flickr
Tumultuous Times Spark Education Reforms in Brazil
Among these movements, students and teachers in Brazil banded together to protest deficiencies in an education system that has long underserved Brazil’s citizens. In 2016, protestors occupied hundreds of schools nationwide to bring attention to the country’s needs.
In response to the protests and upheavals of the past few years, governments at every level in Brazil are beginning initiatives to address educational shortfalls. In many areas, education reforms in Brazil look familiar to readers from the United States. Ideas like performance pay for teachers and turning school management over to private charter organizations are spreading throughout the country at a rapid rate.
Application of the new American-inspired techniques is inconsistent however, and most education reforms in Brazil are still too new to evaluate effectively. In particular, schools in large urban centers are innovating at a faster rate than systems in less developed areas of the country. Regardless, enthusiasm is high. Many of the movements are being fueled by the personal initiative of teachers, who are in some ways pulling their more conservative institutions forward with them.
Technology in Brazilian schools shows a similarly inconsistent yet hopeful picture. Schools in Rio de Janeiro, for example, are leaders in educational technology use in South America. In Sao Paulo, South America’s largest city, one nonprofit foundation leads an initiative to translate and implement the Khan Academy materials for use in Brazilian schools. This popular online curriculum and method now features in hundreds of Brazilian schools reaching over 70,000 students.
In addition to the visible presence of the popular video-based curriculum, officials at the Lemann Foundation are even more excited about the potential for the support material and quality measurement features of the Khan Academy method. They see these “back end” features as creating real lasting value for future advances in Brazil’s schools.
Still, regions outside of the country’s largest cities have not progressed as quickly. Internet speeds to schools in Brazil are one unexpected challenge. While Brazil is a world leader in mobile internet infrastructure, most connections to schools do not reach the 2Mbps threshold considered ideal for the delivery of online materials. Fortunately, one potential solution to this challenge is on the way. KALite, a compressed, offline version of the Khan Academy materials, is now being implemented in areas with less robust infrastructure.
Some of these tech-heavy initiatives are showing early signs of success. Brazilian students using these self-paced, interactive tools are more likely to show up to class, and anecdotal reports indicate a higher level of morale and enthusiasm as well.
Brazil instituted compulsory primary education in the 1980s, after the end of military rule. In many ways, that change was impressively successful. Literacy rates, for example, are far higher today than in the latter half of the 20th century, and enrollment has strongly improved. Still, educational attainment lags behind nations at a similar stage of development. Brazil’s education system is ranked 105th in quality out of 122 nations by the World Economic Forum.
As time passes, results from more structural changes will be seen as well, and time will tell whether the legacy of these education reforms in Brazil will garner the same attention as the sporting events that precipitated their beginning.
– Paul Robertson
Photo: Flickr
Sustainable Agriculture in Mexico: Exporting Practices Worldwide
As home to the largest city in the Americas before the arrival of modern European settlers, Central Mexico has supported large-scale agriculture for over a thousand years. Later, in the twentieth century, Mexico was central to the Green Revolution that brought increased production and yields to feed a rapidly growing world population. Continuing this tradition today, advances in sustainable agriculture in Mexico are combining knowledge from both historical practices and modern innovations to assist farmers worldwide with the challenges of the 21st century.
Mexico was at the forefront of efforts in the middle of the last century to create higher yielding strains of both wheat and maize that fueled the Green Revolution. The International Center for the Improvement of Corn and Wheat (CIMMYT) was the leading institution in this work, focusing on the imminent problems of feeding an exploding world population. While CIMMYT’s work on crop yields was hugely successful, additional challenges have arisen in the years since.
Still in operation, the Center now focuses on initiatives to tackle the problems of a warming earth. These new efforts expand the work of CIMMYT into the development of grain varieties that can withstand the challenges of climate disruption and a still-growing population. As happened before, CIMMYT’s work is once again being exported beyond Mexico to solve the same problems in other countries.
Long before the Green Revolution and the advent of climate change, however, the predecessors of modern Mexican farmers developed technologies that allowed them to make effective use of difficult growing conditions and to farm in even marginal environments. Agricultural development experts are revisiting a number of these ancient practices and learning techniques that could power increased agricultural production in the future.
Intercropping, a technique that involves planting multiple crops close together, is a common feature of sustainable agriculture in Mexico, as practiced by indigenous groups. The cafetal, a system of growing plants under the shade of higher canopy trees along with ground cover crops, is already familiar to many westerners through the marketing of “shade-grown coffee.” The cafetal technique does far more than produce high-quality coffee in a sustainable fashion; it is a sophisticated method that renews soils and allows for a much higher diversity of crop yields when compared to ordinary plantation systems.
A similar system, the milpa, is much older and dates to some of the earliest civilizations in the Western hemisphere. Milpa farming is an intercropped system of corn, beans and squash that allows each plant to contribute to the success of the surrounding crops. Intercropped systems such as the milpa and the cafetal can yield up to 50 percent more produce than single crop plantings over the same area.
Along with research into indigenous systems and the large-scale institutional work of CIMMYT, smaller startup programs are also taking advantage of Mexico’s long growing season and diverse range of climates. One such program is The Biochar Company. Mexico is one of the pilot locations for this program that emphasizes biomass-based charcoal production. Not only is the product itself sustainable, but it enriches soils and increases regeneration rates when used as a soil additive.
All of these systems, whether 21st century innovations or time-honored indigenous techniques, are increasing the ability of agricultural methods to solve modern challenges. With its long history of success and the vast institutional knowledge of its farmers, sustainable agriculture in Mexico will remain a leader in food science and agricultural development well into the future.
– Paul Robertson
Photo: Flickr