About us

CIIFAD sponsors a weekly international seminar series during the academic year and co-sponsors occasional seminars with various Cornell departments and centers on campus.

Spring 2013 CIIFAD Seminar Series

On Wednesdays during the Fall and Spring semesters, from 12:20pm to 1:10pm in 135 Emerson Hall, visitors and speakers from the Cornell community present international development-related seminars for CIIFAD's Perspectives in International Development Series. The seminars are free and open to the public. Students can also receive one credit for attending the seminar series, which is cross-listed as IARD 6960, NTRES 6960, CSS 6960, and AEM 6960.

Refreshments provided. Co-sponsored by the Departments of Crop and Soil Sciences, Natural Resources, The Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and Food Systems and Poverty Reduction (IGERT)

Email Ginny L Montopoli at vlh1@cornell.edu for a brochure.

February 6
Viva Food Security! The Role of Social Mobilization in Reducing Hunger in Latin America see video here

February 20
Confessions of a Beltway Bandit see video here

March 6
How Policy-Makers Respond to Food Price Crises see video here
David Spielman, Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute

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Fall 2012 CIIFAD Seminar Series

September 5
Agricultural Science, Technology, and Innovation: New Pathways for Developing Country Agriculture and the Environment see video here
David Spielman, Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute

September 12
The Role of Agriculture in a Modernizing Society: Food, Farms and Fields in China 2030 see video here
Luc Christiaensen, Senior Economist, The World Bank

September 19
Food Security, Migration, and Climate Change see video here
Robert McLeman, Professor of Geography, Wilfrid Laurier University

September 26
Small-holder Agriculture in a Global Economy: A Panel Discussion
John Duxbury, Professor of Crop and Soil Sciences; Ed Mabaya, Assistant Director, CIIFAD; and Anu Rangarajan, Senior Extension Associate, Horticulture (Moderated by: Ralph Christy, CIIFAD Director)

October 3
Innovations in Building the Next Generation of Agricultural Scientists in Africa
Joyce Moock, Former Program Officer for African Higher Education Partnership, The Rockefeller Foundation see video here

October 11 (Thursday* 4:45-5:45 pm)
One Billion Hungry: Can We Feed the World?
233 Plant Science Professor Sir Gordon Conway, Imperial College, London (former President of the Rockefeller Foundation and Scientific Adviser to the Department of International Development) see video here

October 17
OPEN

October 24
ICT for Agriculture Development in Sub-Saharan Africa:A Market Linkages and Research Directions view pdf
Blessing Maumbe, Professor of Agribusiness Management, West Virginia University

October 31
Agriculture, Health and Nutrition Linkages in Mongu, Zambia
Beth Medvecky, Assistant Director, CIIFAD, Cornell University

November 7
Mainstreaming Eco-Standards for Tropical Agricultural Commodities: Impacts and Implications view pdf
Jeff Milder, Visiting Fellow, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University and EcoAgriculture Partners

November 14
To Bt or Not to Bt? State, Civil Society, and Firms' Roles in Transgenic Crop Controversies in India
Devparna Roy, Visiting Fellow, The Polson Institute for Global Development, Cornell University

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Spring 2012 CIIFAD Seminar Series

February 8
Aid to Middle Income Countries?
Ravi Kanbur, Cornell Professor, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

February 15
Ensuring Food Security, Income and Nutrition: The Role of Horticulture
Chris Wien, Cornell Professor, Department of Horticulture

February 22
The Current Global Land-Grab: A Game-Changer?
Phil McMichael, Cornell Professor, Department of Development Sociology

February 29
Fostering Robust Community Engaged Learning & Research Programs in Global Contexts: Key Principles and Practices
Richard Kiely, Director, Cornell Center for Community Engaged Learning and Research

March 7
Biofuel Policies and Food Grain Prices
Harry de Gorter, Cornell Professor, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

March 28
Mycotoxin Outbreaks: An Early Warning from Developing Countries
Dan Brown, Cornell Professor, Department of Animal Science

April 4
Feeding the Future
Julie Howard, Deputy Coordinator for Development, USAID

April 11
A Call for a "Brown Revolution": How Soils are Key to Improving Crop Productivity and Ensuring Food Security
Peter Hobbs, Cornell Professor, Department of Crop and Soil Science


Thursday, April 19
ICTs for Agricultural Information, Outreach, and Impact: Potentials and Pitfalls
Jenny Aker, Professor of Economics, Tufts University

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Fall 2011 Seminar Series

September 7

Managing Food Price Volatility (video)
Peter Timmer, Harvard University

PDF of Peter Timmer's presentation

September 14

Hunger in the Balance: The New Politics of International Food Aid (video)
Jennifer Clapp, University of Waterloo

PDF of Jennifer Clapp's presentation

September 21

Rice in the Global Economy: Strategic Research and Policy Issues
for Food Security
(video)
Sushil Pandey, International Rice Research Institute

September 28

A Nutrition Message Consistent for All the World (video)
T. Colin Campbell, Cornell University

October 5

Private Investment, Large Farms and Competitiveness: Is There a Connection? (video)
Derek Byerlee, The World Bank

PDF of Derek Byerlee's presentation

October 12

Fall Break; no seminar.

October 19

The African Resurgence: Drivers and Challenges for Equitable Agricultural Growth (video)
Peter Matlon, International Consultant

PDF of Peter Matlon's presentation
Accompanying paper for Peter Matlon's talk

October 20 University Lecture Series (co-sponsored by CIIFAD)

Reflections on a Career in Diplomacy
Edward J. Perkins, Former US Ambassador to South Africa, Australia, Liberia and the United Nations

For information about the University Lecture Series, click here.

October 26

US Food Aid Policy and the 2012 Farm Bill (PDF)
Stephanie Mercier, former Chief Economist for the Democratic Staff of the Senate Agriculture Committee

November 2

Science for Impact: New International Agricultural Research Challenges (video)
Ruben Echeverria, International Center for Tropical Agriculture

PDF of Ruben Echeverria's presentation

November 5
Skills-Building Workshop on Monitoring & Evaluation

This Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Workshop is designed to expose 30 advanced students and junior professionals to the ideas and skills involved in monitoring and evaluation, focused specifically on field-based, international food, agriculture, and natural resource contexts. Participants will be selected to represent a range of positions, disciplines, gender, and projects. To maximize the benefits of the program, preference will be given to those who already have an existing project or at least a very clear idea of a future project. Download the registration/application form here.

More information about the workshop

Documents for download:
Notes on Carol's M&E talk

Linking Poverty Reduction with Forest Conservation: Case Studies from Lao PDR

SCALING SIDEWAYS AND UP-WAYS: Identifying factors that affect the adoption of forest-based livelihoods development interventions in Lao PDR

Integrating Livelihoods and Multiple Biodiversity Values in Landscape Mosaics

Landscape Outcomes Assessment Methodology (LOAM)

Process Documentation Guide

Conducting Reviews of Institutional Linkage Projects: A Results-Based Approach

Conducting Reviews of Institutional Linkage Projects: A Results-Based Approach (table)

Guidelines for Developing, Testing and Selecting Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management

American Evaluation Association Standards

Qualitative M&E in the 'Real World' - presentation by Carol Colfer

Evaluation in Development: An Overview of Aims, Lexicon, & Emerging Trends - presentation by Mark Constas

Logic Models: How to Develop, Link to M&E and Adapt - presentation by Lesli Hoey

Beyond logical frameworks to program impact pathways - presentation by Sunny Kim

Measuring Progress: Strategies for Monitoring and Evaluation - presentation by Rebecca Stoltzfus

Additional resources:

Western Michigan University's, Evaluation Center, 'Evaluation Checklists' (easy to reference, quick guides to designing evaluations using different models: http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/checklists/

Several places where students and professionals can get further training in short 1/2 day to week-long training institutes:
1) The Evaluator's Institute: http://tei.gwu.edu/
2) Professional development workshops offered as part of the annual American Evaluation Association conference every fall: http://www.eval.org/eval2011/11pdw.desc.htm
3) International Program for Development Evaluation Training workshops: http://www.ipdet.org/

November 9

SRI 2.0: How Is the System of Rice Intensification Evolving, and What Are We Learning? (PDF)
Erika Styger, Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development

November 16

Exploring a Green Economy Approach to Climate-Smart Agriculture
Sara J. Scherr, Ecoagriculture Partners


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Spring 2011 Seminar Series

February 9

From Recommendations to Reality: Designing and Implementing Nutrition Policy in the Real World
David Pelletier, Professor of Nutritional Science, Cornell University

February 16

Business and Sustainability Calayst or Irritant?
Mark Milstein, Director, Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, Cornell University

February 23

Bringing Science to Development: Fact, Fantasy and Opportunity
John Duxbury, Professor of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University

March 2 CANCELLED

The World Bank's View on Enhancing Agricultural Innovation: How to Go Beyond Strengthening of Research Systems
Eija Pehu, Science Advisor, and Rikka Rajalahti, Sr. Agricultural Innovations Specialist, The World Bank

March 9

"Relax, We're From Conservation, Inc.": Exploring the Consequences of Protecting Biodiversity
Jim Lassoie, Professor of Natural Resources, Cornell University

Email Jenny Nelson (vlh1@cornell.edu) for a copy of Dr. Lassoie's presentation.

March 16

Index-Based Insurance: Financial Innovations for Development and Conservation
Chris Barrett, Professor of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University

March 30

India's Dairy Revolution: The Role of Collective Action
Tom Carter, Technical Advisor USAID

April 6

Micro-Hydro Power in Indonesia: Lessons from a Social Entrepreneur
Tri Mumpuni, Executive Director, People-Centered Business and Economic Institute

April 13

Mycotoxins and Human Health: From Laboratory to Community
Yun Yun Gong, Senior Lecturer, University of Leeds

April 20

Sowing the "Seeds of Development" in Africa
Ed Mabaya, Assistant Director, Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development

April 21

CIIFAD 2nd Annual Symposium: "Student Engagement in International Development"

Monroe Weber-Shirk, Senior Lecturer, Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Director, AguaClara

Richard Kiely, Associate Director, Center for Teaching Excellence

Rebecca Darling, CIPA Fellow, Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams (SMART)

Robin Bigelow, CALS '11, Partnership for Honduran Health

Reginald Severe, CALS '11, Global Health Initiative

Photos from the CIIFAD 2nd Annual Symposium

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Fall 2010 Seminar Series

September 1
Developing Effective Delivery Systems for Biofortified Crops: Lessons Learned in Achieving Economic, Nutrition and Health Goals in Sub-Saharab Africa
Jan Low, Senior Scientist, International Potato Center
Watch as movie (Quicktime required)

september 8
Food Apocalypse Fatigue
Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Cornell Professor of Food, Nutrition and Public Policy

September 15
Politics of Food: What Everyone Needs to Know
Robert Paarlberg, Professor of Political Science, Wellesley College

September 22
The Global Supply and Demand for Land in 2050: The Making of a Perfect Storm
Tom Hertel, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University

September 29
Africa's Green Revolution: Miracle or Mirage?
Gebisa Ejeta, Professor of Agronomy, Purdue University

October 6
Crouching Tiger, HIdden Dragon: Dimensions of the Sino-African Relationship
Faculty panel discussion

October 13
Food and Health Security: Medicinal Plants in Afghanistan and Tajikistan
Karim-Aly Kassam, Cornell Professor of Natural Resources

OCtober 20
Helping the Poor Manage Natural Disaster Risks
Jerry Skees, Professor of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky

OCtober 27
Biochar Systems in Smallholder Agriculture
Johannes Lehmann, Cornell Professor of Crop and Soil Sciences

November 3
Biofuels, Food Systems, and International Development
Bob Howarth, Cornell Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

November 10
Reflections on Successes and Failures of Participatory Action Research
Carol Colfer, Visiting Scholar, CIIFAD