A new partnership for the sustainable use of resources in developing countries
Minister Agnes van Ardenne of Development Cooperation and Aalt Dijkhuizen, Chairman of the Executive Board of Wageningen University and Research Centre (Wageningen UR) have signed a partnership for 'Globalisation and Sustainable Rural Development’.
The aim of this new partnership is the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources in developing countries. The continuing globalisation and extension of free trade have led to the development of often conflicting demands and there is increasing pressure on the use of resources like land, water and raw materials. On the one hand these developments offer opportunities for economic growth but they have, on the other, negative effects on food provision, poverty and the environment.
Considering the often conflicting local and global interests, this new partnership will contribute to solutions for sustainable chain management in the agricultural sector, and for the sustainable use of natural resources and the environment. The focus will be on improving the income position of farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector in particular.
The partnership will centre primarily on the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Wageningen UR and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs each contributing five million euros.
Within the framework of this partnership, Wageningen UR will assist the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) in the next four years with policy-supporting research in the fields of food security, the influence of globalisation and the combating of poverty. In addition to this, it will invest in research and education to build up actual capacity by training and instructing local people, and by developing institutions to reinforce local organisations and their interconnections. Wageningen UR will be working closely with universities, national and international research institutes, NGOs and farmers’ organisations.
Cooperation with DGIS should contribute to achieving some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations: eradicating extreme hunger and poverty, ensuring a sustainable environment and promoting global partnerships for development.