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A Damselfly Discovery in Angola

One of the world’s largest inland water systems, the Cubango-Okavango River Basin, is a vast natural resource for Angola, Botswana, and Namibia. It is an environmental treasure trove that not only provides water for more than 1 million people, but also covers more than 6 million biologically abundant hectares. Threatened by climate change and overharvesting…

A Fruitful Future

On a sunny spring day in May 2013, thousands of Georgians converged in Zugdidi, a city in western Georgia, for a landmark event. They came from all over the country to taste strawberries in every form imaginable — as juice, cake, cookies, and by the basketful. In addition to indulging in delicious food, the 5,000…

A New Agricultural Extension Policy Takes Root in Uganda

Agriculture is not an art; it is a science. Yet, when picturing a scientist, a farmer usually is not the image that comes to mind. This creates an inherent tension: Farmers need to understand scientific best practices to be successful, but how can the latest research reach farmers who live in far-flung rural areas and…

A New Approach to Improving Learner Performance in Zambia

When 7-year-old Haward Kachula finished Grade 1 in 2012, he was one of the first students to benefit from Zambia’s national reading initiative. As visiting administrators looked on, Haward carefully wrote his name on the board and showed off his reading skills. His school, in Mwinilunga District of North-Western Province, embraced a new approach to…

A New Kind of Sindhi Story for Children in Pakistan

Imagine growing up as a small girl or boy and struggling to find stories written in the language you speak at home with your family. It is easy to find books in other languages or for older children, but there is nothing appealing and approachable for a seven-year-old. Would that make it more difficult for…

A New Spin on an Old Crop

In 2007, R.M. Mohanlal walked through the doors of the Sri Lankan Department of Agriculture (DOA) to purchase chili seeds. Despite its history as a traditional crop in Sri Lanka, fewer and fewer local farmers were growing chili. Mr. Mohanlal’s village, Milagoda, located in the Anuradhapura District, was once a central chili production area. Unfortunately,…

A New Trade Horizon for Afghanistan

December 17, 2015 marked a historic moment for Afghanistan. On that day, ministers formally approved the country’s terms of accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the 10th Ministerial Conference (MC10) in Nairobi, Kenya. Although WTO accession is not yet fully complete —Afghanistan has until June 30, 2016 to ratify the deal and become…

A New View of Nutrition

In July 2012, some 60,000 Sudanese refugees, fleeing conflict in their home country, crowded the Yida camp across the border in South Sudan. Hundreds more arrived each day, exhausted and weak. Each day a handful of refugees died, and the daily death toll was increasing. As the rainy season began, threatening to worsen sanitation, hygiene,…

A One-Stop Success for Afghanistan

It’s a winter morning at the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul, Afghanistan, and an Afghan Rug and Carpet Center trader is standing by a desk while a government employee types hurriedly on a keyboard. A shipment of rugs waits safely in a warehouse nearby. These rugs will be transported by air to be…

A Relentless Champion for Land Rights in Tajikistan

What do you do when you are in danger of losing half of your land to an influential businessman? Gulbahor Rajabova, a farmer from Tajikistan, found herself in this precarious situation more than four years ago. She had to act fast to make sure she didn’t lose her land, and subsequently, her livelihood. Such scenarios…
Recent reforms have helped Kosovo make it easier for entrepreneurs to register and grow businesses.

A Roadmap to Reform

Opaque regulations, institutional inefficiency, and widespread corruption present immense challenges for developing countries that are trying to strengthen their economies. To build a strong economy, it’s key to have a thriving business environment that brings public sector stakeholders and private sector advocates together. The World Bank’s annual Doing Business Report offers a useful framework to…

Accessing Her Rights

Sometimes, individuals have to advocate for themselves to gain access to their legal rights. Bibirajab Boymakhmadova knows this first hand. Bibirajab is a female farmer in Tajikistan, and one of over 30 shareholders in a mid-sized farm called Khirobon. In Tajikistan, the government has passed a series of laws to restructure collective farms, allowing agricultural…
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