The study on the sources of rural growth
in Burundi results from a meticulous work carried out by
eminent experts of the World Bank in response to a request
of the Government of Burundi. It describes the global
environment, which explains poverty aggravation and builds
proposals to overcome most binding constraints to growth in
Burundi. This study is an important contribution in the
fight against poverty, as it identifies ways to resume

Water policy is an important topic on
the agenda of the international community, and efficiency
and equity in the allocation of water have emerged as
important factors to be considered. Water pricing can be
used to mitigate both the quantity and quality dimensions of
water scarcity. This paper reviews partial equilibrium
models and general equilibrium models that are relevant to
irrigation water management issues. The most widely

“The great opportunity of the Anthropocene is that we can choose to learn the lessons of the past and steer a new course to a safer future.” Soils are the most significant nonrenewable geo-resource that we have for ensuring water, energy, and food security for present and future generations while adapting and building resilience to climatic change and shocks. But soil’s caring capacity is often forgotten as the missing link in our pursuit of sustainable development.

Land is our natural ally. But the natural conditions of land and soils are not eternal, and must be protected. Soil is the most significant geo-resource we have for ensuring water, energy and food security for present and future generations. Healthy soils are also vital for building resilience and adapting to climate change.

As part of the broader United Nations Development Programme and United Nations Environment Programme (UNDP/UNEP) Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI), Phase 1 Project, the overall objective of this study is to develop a framework to assess the impact of land degradation and the benefits of SLM.

Because agriculture is the economic backbone of most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, any meaningful sustainable development program in the continent must therefore be anchored in the sector. The concept for this study on agribusiness indicators was based on the vital role that agribusiness plays in agricultural development. The study focuses on agribusiness indicators (ABI) to identify and isolate the determining factors that lead private investors and other stakeholders to participate in agribusiness and to engage in discourse regarding its development.

* Maria Luisa Mendonça
 
En esta nueva entrega del boletín quincenal Apuntes, el Instituto para el Desarrollo Rural de Sudamérica (IPDRS) comparte con las y los suscriptores un tema de actualidad y preocupación permanente: el efecto de la expansión de la frontera agrícola dedicada al monocultivo para la producción de etanol. La autora ofrece información detallada sobre la experiencia brasileña y alerta respecto a los peligros de la práctica, ya notablemente extendida en su país. Como siempre, nuestro sitio queda abierto al debate.

A crucial part of the Initiative is the determination of the extent and nature of the land degradation
due to salt damage in Central and Southern Iraq. A range of techniques, including the very latest
Geographic Information Systems are being deployed to achieve this.
من أهم عناصر البحث التي يعني بها هذا المشروع هو تحديد مدى وطبيعة تدهور الأرض الزراعية المتدهورة بفعل الملوحة في وسط وجنوب العراق حيث تستخدم مجموعة من التقنيات لتحقيق ذلك. نذكر منها على سبيل المثال نظم المعلومات الجغرافية.

Remote sensing has been considered as an appropriate tool for temporal monitoring of some natural phenomena. Ardestan Region is prone to land degradation and masked by sand sheets, sand dunes, clay flats, desert pavement and different kinds of salt crust due to dry climate. To study the trends of land degradation in last three decades, four satellite data sets of Landsat MSS, Landsat TM, Landsat ETM+ and IRS acquired in 1976, 1990, 2001 and 2008, respectively were analyzed.

Over the coming decades, land policy and
administration, for urban as well as rural areas, will be
critical for Ethiopia's development. The vast majority
of people making up the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia's (FDRE) predominantly agricultural economy
live in rural areas. Finally, land policies and
administration can contribute significantly to the
objectives of promoting gender equality and protecting

Since the early 1980s, the Government of
Niger and its development partners have invested more than
200 billion West African Francs (FCFA) in programs will
promote sustainable land management (SLM) and other
activities to reduce poverty and vulnerability. Overall,
more than 50 programs have promoted SLM in Niger. Despite
large investments in SLM programs, their impacts on land
management, agricultural production, poverty, and other