GCARD consultations featured on latest Collective Action News letter

GCARD features as top story on the Collective Action News, a periodical e-publication of the CGIAR’s Regional Plan for Collective Action in Eastern and Southern Africa. Entitled “Online consultations to enhance agricultural research for development, the article by Simone Staiger-Rivas, illustrates some aspects around broad participation and trust of the ongoing GCARD process from the [...]

What I take from the CAC Region GCARD Consultations at Tashkent? Ajit Maru’s blog from Tashkent

As I packed my bags leaving Tashkent, I started wondering what I was taking beyond the tasty dried fruits and a bottle each of Armenian and Georgian Cognac that I had received as gifts from friends. I started making a list of new insights and reinforcements of old perspectives that I want to carry to [...]

Ajit Maru’s blog from Tashkent – Friday, 16 October and Saturday, 17 October 2009

Tashkent is beautiful by the day. It is iridescent by night. The marriage season continues. Yesterday, 16 October, there were two beautiful brides both waiting their turn for a grand entry into the ballrooms of the Hotel. There was a musical quartet that played “here comes the bride(s) “when they made their majestic entrance. Cameraman [...]

Ajit Maru’s blog from Tashkent – Thursday, 15th October 2009

The weather here is now becoming colder. In the day, it was lovely. The nights colder. But, Autumn somehow has not made an appearance. The trees are green as ever. Yesterday we had achieved the formation of the Consortium of Farmer Organizations I Central Asia and Southern Caucuses. We had spent half an hour at [...]

Ajit Maru’s blog from Tashkent – Wednesday, 14th October 2009

Dr. Beniwal and I had a short walk in the Independence Square in Tashkent. There is a memorial to the soldiers from Uzbekistan who died in the Second World War.  It is of a grieving mother. The pain on her face of loosing her lost sons is moving. Very little is known to the outside [...]

Ajit Maru’s blog from Tashkent – Tuesday, 13th October 2009

The first time I heard of Tashkent was as a boy of about 9 years growing up in Mombassa, Kenya. India’s then Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri, had suddenly died in this city. India had just had a war with its neighbour, Pakistan and the Soviet Union had called for a meeting between the warring [...]

Ajit Maru’s blog from Tashkent – Monday, 12th October 2009

Tashkent  is in the middle of a Wedding season. Brides in angelic white. Grooms in dark suites. The wedding party in their best. Sonorous huge pipes, like those you hear in Tibetan Buddhist Temples but played with more vigour and power, welcome guests. Sitting in my room, I heard rhythmic clapping.  The bride and groom [...]