Bookshelf

The poverty of nations

Despite three decades of external assistance, Africa is no better off now than it was at independence. Socially, economically and politically many nations have made little or no progress.

Concentrating on the Sudan, James Morton examines what has gone wrong and why aid has so often been ineffective and even counter-productive. He argues that it is incorrect to pin the blame simply on incompetent decision-making by donors or recipients, on environmental and climatic conditions, or on civil strife. Instead, it should be recognized that the success or failure of any aid programme is essentially related to aspects of political economy, and that attention to factors like sovereignty and accountability is as crucial as rigorous scientific and technical evaluation. Moreover, considerable periods of time and study in an area are a prerequisite for any achievement. Morton's argument implies that unless these factors are taken into account, even the most democratic grassroots approach to development will fail.

Morton's solutions are radical and spring from an intimate knowledge of the problems of giving aid to rural communities. He considers such measures as the ending of all except emergency aid to allow unimpeded economic development and in some cases the direct transfer of funds to recipients. Above all, aid and development are regarded as an enabling process: to help rural communities to do what they often understand better than the international aid community. His analysis is based on his long experience as a development economist in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The poverty of nations: the aid dilemma at the heart of Africa by
James Morton 1994
265pp price UKL 35.00
ISBN 135043 617 7
British Academic Press,
45 Bloomsbury Square
London WC1A 2/1Y, UK

The camel in today's world

The dromedary, or one-humped camel is a greatly undervalued animal. It is associated with primitivism and is often considered vicious and unpredictable. The most common comment on the camel is that it is a horse designed by a committee!'. This statement detracts from the perfect design and function of the animal which enables it to withstand the climatic and nutritional problems inherent in hot arid zones. In these conditions most breeds of cattle have difficulty in surviving, and when they do produce milk, the quantity is negligible. The camel, however, has the ability to produce large quantities of milk even in times of drought.

This handbook, The camel in today's world, is as a guide for camel farming and deals with camel herding in general. It addresses the practical advantages of the camel and its management as a source of food in arid lands, and the characteristics of the animal in health and disease.

The camel in today's world: a handbook on camel management by Professor Reuven Yagil 1994 73pp German-lsrael Fund for Research & International Development, POB 7011, Hakirya, Tel Aviv 61070 ISRAEL

The groundnut crop

The groundnut (peanut) is a crop of global economic significance, not only in the widespread geographical areas of its production but also in the even wider areas of its processing and consumption. Each chapter of this book has been written by acknowledged experts in each of the major aspects of the crop. Contents include outlines of the economic status of the groundnut and the origin and history of its cultivation. The crop's taxonomic status and agronomic aspects are covered, including pests and diseases, and thorough detail is given to the utilization, processing and nutritional value to animals and humans.

The book provides a solid reference on this important crop and should be of great use to all those involved with its cultivation and production, including agronomists, plant scientists, food scientists and technologists.

The groundout crop: a scientific basis for improvement edited by J Smartt 1994 733pp ISBN 0412 408201 Chapman & Hall, 2-6 Boundary Row, I London SE1 8HN, UK

Under-utilized crops

The world continues to depend heavily upon a relatively small number of crops for food, fuel fibre and industrial use, while many potentially good and economically acceptable alternatives exist. This book which is the first in a new series looking at under-utilized crops, provides thorough details of those crops which research has suggested may be worthy of further and greater commercial development and exploitation. Pulses and vegetables considers in detail the potential for the following crops: yam bean, bambara groundnut, Celosia, lupine, vegetable jute, Opuntia, palm hearts and soybean leaves. Under the guidance of the International Centre for Underutilized Crops the contents of this book have been drawn together by Professor Williams, who has wide research experience in the exploitation of new crops.

The contents of this book will be of interest and use to a wide range of people involved in work on the greater exploitation of currently under-utilized crops, including upper level students in agricultural, plant and food science, researchers in development agencies and scientists working directly on improvement and exploitation of this group of crops.

Underutilized crops: Pulses and vegetables edited by J TWilliams, 1993 ISBN 0 412 46610 4
Published by Chapman and Hall, 2-6
Boundary Row, London SE1 8HN, UK

Proceedings

Climatic change and geomorphology in tropical environments proceedings of a colloquium held on Ma., 1992 in Brussels edited by J Alexandre, M DeDapper and J-J Symoens 1994 253pp Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences, Rue Defacqz 1 bo 3, B-1050 Brussels, BELGIUM

Food policy in sub-Saharan Africa: a new agenda for research and donor assistance proceedings of an NRI/IFPRI symposium held in March 1993 113pp ISBN 0 35954 376 5 price UKL 15. 00 NRI, CentralAvenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK

The future of the land: mobilising and integrating knowledge for land use options proceedings of a conference held in August, 1993 in Wageningen, The Netherlands edited by Louise Fresco, Leo Stroosnijder, Johan Bouma and Herman van Keulen 1994 409pp ISBN 0 471950173 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Baffins Lane, Chichester West Sussex PO19 IUD, UK

Plant viruses highlighted

The Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center has produced a series of Technical Bulletins of which numbers 20 and 21 are reviewed here.

Sources of resistance to viruses of pepper (Capsicum spp): a catalog

The primary purpose of this publication is to provide a practical reference for breeders, pathologists and agricultural specialists working on virus diseases of peppers and to encourage the evaluation and use of germplasm reported to carry virus resistance or tolerance.

Some 35 viruses have been reported to infect peppers. For detailed information concerning viruses of peppers the reader is referred to the AVRDC Technical Bulletin No 18.

Leaf curl and yellowing viruses of pepper and tomato: an overview

The leaf curl and yellowing diseases caused by whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses have become increasingly important in recent years. They cause considerable yield losses, chemical and cultural control measures are ineffective, and high levels of host-plant resistance in commercial cultivars are not yet available. This review has been compiled to assist breeders, virologists and extension workers in addressing various aspects of the leaf curl and yellowing virus syndrome on pepper and tomato crops.

Sources of resistance to viruses of pepper (Capsicum spp): a catalog
by S K Green and J S Kim 1994
AVDRC Publication 94-421
ISBN 90 9058 087 9

Leaf curl and yellowing viruses of pepper and tomato: an overview by SK Green and G Kalloo 1994
AVDRC Publication 94-422
ISBN 92 9058 088 7
Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center PO Box 205 Taipei 10099, TAIWAN

Long-term experiments in agricultural and ecological sciences

This book demonstrates that long-term experimentation and monitoring are vitally important in understanding changes that are occurring in the environment and the ways in which these changes interact with agriculture and natural ecosystems. Chapters are based on papers presented at a conference held in 1993 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Rothamsted Experimental Station.

The book consists of 22 chapters covering a wide range of topics, including descriptions of various long-term experiments in the USA Australia, Eastern Europe and Africa, as well as studies at Rothamsted. It also includes chapters on long-term studies of climate-vegetation relationships, tropical forest dynamics, bird populations and planktonic communities as monitors of marine environmental change.

Long-term experiments in agricultural and ecological sciences edited by R A Leigh and A E Johnson 1994 448pp ISBN 085198 933 0 price UKL 55.00 CAB International Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, UK

Horticultural export quality explained

Countries exporting produce to the European Union face a highly competitive market. They also have to meet the demands of strict legislation and customers' requirements for food safety and consistently good quality.

The manual for horticultural export quality assurance, produced by the Natural Resources Institute is a practical guide to the procedures and practices that will meet the requirements of both EU legislation and major customers.

This do-it-yourself guide introduces the concept of total quality management and will enable exporters to establish a basic quality assurance system suited to their own specific needs. As such it will be invaluable to anyone involved in the horticultural export business.

The Manual is in two parts:

Part 1 covers the preparation of a Product Management Manual and other actions that must be undertaken in relation to Total Quality Management.

Part 2 is a reference volume, including information on current EU legislation, on packaging and pesticides, hazard analysis, etc. together with advice on sources of relevant information. This volume will be regularly up-dated to ensure that information, particularly on legislation, is correct.

Manual for horticultural export quality assurance by the Natural Resources Institute, 1994 ISBN 0 85954 382 X Natural Resources Institute Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4RB, UK

Also received

Drainage principles and applications

A revised edition of the book first published in 1972. The result is a comprehensive, up-to-date treatment of drainage and drainage design that includes discussion of the most recent technologies. Current drainage practices are thoroughly reviewed and computer applications are briefly touched upon.

Drainage principles end applications ILRI Publication 16 1993 1200pp ISBN 90 70754 33 9 price US$ 100.00 ILRI, PO Box 45, 6700A A Wageningen, THE NETHERLANDS

Tropical and subtropical vegetable research and development

The need for adequate approaches to integrate vegetable cultivation into development programmes is increasing. This applies both in rural and urban areas of developing countries. At the same time, there is a noticeable interest in various agricultural research disciplines to take up research topics related to vegetables. This book looks at research programmes and development programmes of institutions in Europe. A multidisciplinary approach was taken regarding the research aspect. Not only vegetable research projects, but also projects dealing with plant production in general, botany, genetics, plant protection, plant nutrition, economics, social sciences, geography, human nutrition, ethnology, and development studies were included.

Tropical and subtropical vegetable research and development: a documentation on research and development activities of institutions in Europe edited by Dr Susanne Gura and Petra Boie 191pp ATSAF, Ellerstr 50, 53119 Bonn, GERMANY

Liberalization of cereals marketing in sub-Saharan Africa

During the 1980s there was a move away from centralized state-controlled management of cereals marketing in developing countries. This led to market liberalization and an increased role for the private sector. This booklet reviews the situation following the implementations of this market reform, concentrating on Tanzania, Mali and Ghana.

Liberalization of cereals marking in sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from experience by J Coulter 1994 38pp ISBN 0 85954 368 4 NRl Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TP, UK

Appropriate food packaging

This publication on packaging materials for food products offers an inventory of packing materials and cost-effective methods that can be applied on a small scale in developing countries. The information is primarily aimed at entrepreneurs in small-scale food-processing industries in developing countries and employees of development organizations supporting these entrepreneurs.

Appropriate food packing by Peter Fellows and Barry Axtell 1993 136pp ISBN 90 7085728 6 TOOL Publications, Sarphatistraat 650, 1018A V Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS