Fragile states are lagging far behind in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Yet what exactly does the term itself mean? And why is state-building so difficult to accomplish? [more]

State failure is one of many causes of human and community vulnerability. Global policy-makers must therefore find ways of increasing people’s resilience to crises. The following article explores key approaches in rural regions. [more]

For ten years, Nepalese fought Nepalese in a conflict which divided the country and left a trail of destruction and poverty – especially in rural areas. In the districts of Rukum and Rolpa, the Maoist rebels established a...[more]

Again and again, there are conflicts over the scarce resources of land, water and pasture in parts of the Horn of Africa region where pastoralism is predominant – and they often lead to deadly violence. The Conflict Early...[more]

In May 2009, after nearly three decades of civil war, the Sri Lankan military claimed victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Harsha Navaratne, a Sri Lankan development practitioner, has spent more than 30 years...[more]

In many conflicts around the world, schools are not just caught in the crossfire, they are intentionally targeted for attack. Armed groups have threatened and killed students and teachers, and burned schools. Government security...[more]

The price surge for basic food staples during the 2007–08 food crisis threatened the food security of millions of people. For a year now, international food prices have been on the rise again, fuelling concerns about the food and...[more]

Biofuel production has been one of the factors behind the 2007–08 food crisis (Headey and Fan 2010). Between 2000 and 2007, 30 percent of cereal price increases were due to biofuel expansion (Rosegrant, 2008). Rising global...[more]

For more than a century, world agriculture has produced ever more food for ever more humans at ever declining prices. The turn of the millennium marks a mega-trend reversal in international agricultural markets. Since the...[more]

Food speculation is ubiquitous. Systemic benefits from risk sharing between farmers and financial speculators have to be weighed against the resulting high price volatility and the possible emergence of price bubbles. A new...[more]

The price hike of 2010/2011 is now the second one to have severely affected African countries and their many poor people since the global food price increases of 2007/2008. The following article looks at its extent and impact and...[more]

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Cameroon, in co-operation with the Government, the European Union and local NGOs, has developed a system of village granaries to minimise the effects of high prices, droughts and other...[more]

In Asia, grain prices continue to reach high levels. However, the impact of international trends varies from country to country. Limited supply response to the price hike points to structural weaknesses in the food system....[more]

Food price volatility is both multi-causal and multi-impact. Severe as the 2007–2008 spike was, the 1970s were a period of much greater volatility – yet the future holds new uncertainties that call for novel policy responses.[more]

In response to structural food insecurity in Tajikistan, in May and June 2011 Welthungerhilfe and the local Advisory Information Network surveyed 300 households in that country’s major wheat growing area. The aim was to find out...[more]