Canadian and developing-country teams to advance food security research

Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is pleased to announce the first projects to be supported under the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund.

Ottawa, Canada, January 12, 2011

“These projects were selected for their proven track record of performance to date and their potential to produce lasting results within a relatively short timeframe – one to two years. They will help break the cycle of poverty, food insecurity and unsustainable practices in developing-world regions, by strengthening and helping rural families through increased food security,” said David Malone, President of IDRC.

The Canadian International Food Security Research Fund, a joint initiative of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and IDRC, is supporting efforts between Canadian and developing-country researchers to advance their applied research in food security.

Three partnerships between Canadian and developing-country researchers will receive funding of approximately CA$1million each to advance their applied research in food security:

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan and Hawassa University in Ethiopia are tackling food insecurity and human nutrition in the highlands of Ethiopia through the enhanced and sustainable production of pulse crops such as chick peas, fava beans, and lentils;
Researchers at McGill University, University of Agricultural Sciences - Dharwad, India, and the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation are studying ways to improve production, processing and marketing of locally important grains (e.g. millet varieties) for small-scale farmers in four regions of India;
Researchers at the University of Calgary and Wayamba University of Sri Lanka are developing strategies to promote profitable fish farming, working particularly with women, to increase production in northern and eastern regions of the country, which are recovering from civil war.

This funding represents the first of three calls in 2010 and 2011 as part of the five-year, CA$62-million Canadian International Food Security Research Fund – a key component of the Government of Canada’s recently launched Food Security Strategy.

More information on the Fund and first funding recipients is available on the IDRC website.

About IDRC

To achieve self-reliance, poor communities need answers to questions like: How can we grow more and healthier food? Protect our health? Create jobs? IDRC supports research in developing countries to answer these questions. IDRC also encourages sharing this knowledge with policymakers, other researchers, and communities around the world. The result is innovative, lasting local solutions that aim to bring choice and change to those who need it most. publicwebsite.idrc.ca

For more information:

Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé
Senior Media Advisor, IDRC
(+1 613) 696-2343
[email protected]

Published: 17 Jan 2011

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