Calestous Juma
Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Contact:
Telephone: (617) 496-8127
Fax: (617)-495-8963
Email: calestous_juma@harvard.edu
January 2011
"Advances in Science, Technology, and Engineering"
Book Chapter
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"The Green Revolution played a critical role in helping to overcome chronic food shortages in Latin America and Asia. The Green Revolution was largely a result of the creation of new institutional arrangements aimed at using existing technology to improve agricultural productivity. African countries are faced with enormous technological challenges. But they also have access to a much larger pool of scientific and technical knowledge than was available when the Green Revolution was launched in the 1950s."
AP Photo
June 13, 2011
"Stop Demonising Foreign Investors in Agriculture, They're Not Grabbing Land"
Op-Ed, The Daily Nation
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"Nearly 60 per cent of the world's available arable land is in Africa. What is needed is a vision among African leaders that would help the continent to contribute to global food needs while fostering local prosperity. Efforts to achieve this have already been started through foreign investments in agriculture."
AP Photo
April 18, 2011
"Juma Mwapachu: Legacy of an Entrepreneurial Leader"
Op-Ed, The East African
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"Mwapachu will be remembered as a true entrepreneur with a passion for creating new institutions that improve the lives of the majority of people. He operationalised the EAC Customs Union, led negotiations for the EAC Common Market that came into force in 2010 and laid the groundwork for the forthcoming EAC Monetary Union. He also oversaw the admission of Rwanda and Burundi into the EAC."
AP Photo
April 11, 2011
"Growing the Economy"
Op-Ed, Public Service Review
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"Sustaining African economic prosperity will require significant efforts to modernise the continent's economy through the application of science and technology in agriculture. In other words, agriculture needs to be viewed as a knowledge-based entrepreneurial activity."
April 5, 2011
U.S. Book Launch of The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation In Africa
Announcement
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
The U.S. book launch event for The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa by Calestous Juma will be Friday, April 22, 2011, 10:30am – 12:00pm at Preston Auditorium, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, Washington, D.C. RSVP for this event here: http://bit.ly/hmE773
AP Photo
February 2011
"Africa—From Basket Case to Breadbasket"
Op-Ed, New Agriculturalist
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"...Africa is also actively learning from the experiences of other agricultural giants such as China, Brazil and India. But more importantly, it is also learning from itself. African presidents meet more regularly than in any other region of the world. They learn a great deal from each other and are starting to draw on their own experts openly."
AP Photo
February 19, 2011
"Technological Intolerance Threatens Global Food Security"
Op-Ed, The Des Moines Register
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"Modern biotechnology is an important force in global agriculture. But it continues to be challenged by those wanting to limit its spread under the pretext of preserving the purity of organic farming. This is being done despite worrying evidence of rising food prices and the associated political unrest."
AP Photo
January 2011
"Africa Can Feed Itself in a Generation"
Policy Brief
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
African agriculture is at a crossroads. Persistent food shortages are now being compounded by new threats arising from climate change. But Africa also has three major opportunities that can help transform its agriculture to be a force for economic growth. First, advances in science, technology, and engineering worldwide offer Africa new tools needed to promote sustainable agriculture. Second, efforts to create regional markets will provide new incentives for agricultural production and trade. Third, a new generation of African leaders is helping the continent focus on long-term economic transformation.
AP Photo
January 20, 2011
"The End of Economic Ideology in African Agriculture"
Op-Ed, African Technology Development Forum Blog
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"Africa can feed itself in a generation. It can do so by harnessing abundant technologies that are available worldwide, expanding internal regional markets and expanding rural infrastructure. But to achieve this, African leaders at the highest level possible will need to take charge of the agenda for agriculture. The continent cannot afford anymore to listen to well-meaning consultants in affluent countries that still rely on conventional and traditional approaches in dealing with the ongoing crisis. It has sufficient lessons to learn from within Africa and from other countries to draw on."
January 2011
"Governing Innovation"
Book Chapter
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
African countries are increasingly focusing on promoting regional economic integration as a way to stimulate economic growth and expand local markets. Considerable progress has been made in expanding regional trade through regional bodies such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC). There are six other such Regional Economic Communities (RECs) that are recognized by the African Union as building blocks for pan-African economic integration. So far, regional cooperation in agriculture is in its infancy and major challenges lie ahead. This chapter will explore the prospects of using regional bodies as agents of agricultural innovation through measures such as regional specialization. The chapter will examine ways to strengthen the role of the RECs in promoting innovation. It adopts the view that effective regional integration is a learning process that involves continuous institutional adaptation.
