Three days in Rwanda

I’m just on what might be my shortest work-related trip ever: I just spent three and a half day in Rwanda to present our work on agricultural risks for the launch of a joint report. It was a good event and there was a lot of interest in the topic of agriculture and risks, so I’m really glad I went (you can read some of the things the Rwanda New Times wrote about it here and here). It was fun also because two old acquaintances from Moldova (one of whom I worked with) saw my name on the invitation that went out for the launch event, and contacted me contacted me. The “development sector” (for the lack of a better word) is such a small world in a way, and it’s not the first time I cross paths with people on different continents and in different organizations. The visit was really short, though, and I barely had time to see anything other than the office and my hotel, but fortunately, I’m going back in a few weeks. Here is a photo that I snapped in the car on the way to the airport – streetlife in Kigali: 

  

A Presentation on Agricultural Risk Management

One of the thing that happened during hectic December was that I was invited to hold a presentation at the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation’s congress on Adapting Food Production to. a Changing Climate. My presentation was on managing the increasingly volatile food and agricultural markets and that (video and ppt) along with those of the other speakers are now posted on their website for anyone interested. I can also recommend listening to some of the other presentations there on climate change and agriculture – it’s a topic everyone will have to care more about over the next decades!   

  

It was also posted on the FARMD website a week or so later.