Food and nutrition insecurity are becoming increasingly concentrated in conflict-affected countries, affecting millions of people. Policies and interventions that build resilience to these shocks have the power to not only limit the breadth and depth of conflict and violence around the world, but also strengthen national-level governance systems and institutions.

Appetite for fish continues to expand around the globe, despite the stagnant levels of capture fish production. What is the role that aquaculture can play in supplying the world with adequate animal protein? What lessons can be drawn from dynamic Asian aquaculture producers that might guide emerging fish farmers in Africa and elsewhere?

CONTENTS:; African Stakeholders Committed to Building Consensus on Biotechnology. 2; A Safety Net with Investments in Children. 3; Assisting China with Rural Development Challenges. 3; Interview with Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India. 4; Commentary: Managing Water Competition in South Asia. 7; Putting Gender into the Global Food Picture. 8; IMPACT Software Now Available. 8; Building Public-Private Partnerships for Agricultural Innovation. 9

People in developing countries—particularly the agricultural poor—face a host of risks to their lives and livelihoods, including those stemming from globalization, climate change, and weather shocks. These experiences highlight the importance of social protection, which can have a potentially significant impact on reducing poverty and vulnerability when implemented with the optimal design, targets, and resources.

In this study, an economywide model focused on Morocco's rural economy is used as a laboratory for analyzing issues at the core of such a rural development strategy.The model is used to explore the effects of alternative scenarios for water tariffs and sales, and supply-side advances (irrigation expansion, and accelerated productivity growth, both in agriculture and other sectors). Among these, instruments of tax policy and irrigation expansion are under the direct control of policymakers whereas other supply-side shifts are less directly influenced by government actions.

Despite rapid income growth, South Asia has lagged behind the rest of Asia in reducing poverty and hunger. South Asia accounts for more than two-fifths of the world's poor, and although the region seems on track to meet the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving poverty and hunger by 2015, it faces challenges in achieving that goal.

China’s and India’s rapid rise in the global arena has not only captured the attention of the world but has also set into motion a rethinking of the very paradigm of economic development....Today, China and India together account for 40 percent of the world’s population. Both have implemented a series of economic reforms in the past two and half decades: China initiated this process at the end of the 1970s, while India began in the early 1990s. These reforms have led to rapid economic growth, with a growth rate of 8–9 percent per annum in China and 6–7 percent per annum in India.

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