In Touch l RCPLA Network 223
sovereignty in West Africa at
http://pubs.iied.org/14603IIED.html
n Read the IIED blog: www.iied.org/westafrican-farmers-heard-uk-houses-parliament
Policy briefings
Two IIED policy briefings on the above
research have been recently published –
see our In Touch section for more
information:
n Putting farmers first: reshaping agricultural
research in West Africa
http://pubs.iied.org/17122IIED.html
n Putting citizens at the heart of food system
governance
http://pubs.iied.org/17125IIED.html
IIED websites and blog
IIED launched its redesigned website in
April – and over the next few months we
will be updating and improving the
Participatory Learning and Action pages.
See e-participation for more information
on the website below and others. We
welcome your feedback!
n Visit the new website: www.iied.org
n Visit also our new blog page:
www.iied.org/blogs
n For updates on the Democratising
Agricultural Research projects mentioned
above see: www.excludedvoices.org
n For policy updates, guidance and resources
on biocultural heritage, see IIED’s website:
http://biocultural.iied.org
Staff members
We are pleased to welcome Barbara
Adolph to IIED’s Natural Resource
Group. Barbara is coordinating and
consolidating the Institute’s work on food
and agriculture. Barbara has worked in
agricultural research and rural livelihoods
for over 15 years, advising government
agencies, research organisations and civil
society organisations working in subSaharan Africa and Asia. Before joining
IIED, Barbara worked as a consultant for
Triple Line Consulting Limited and as
senior scientist for the Natural Resources
Institute, the International Crops
Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics in India, and the University of
Hohenheim in Germany. Barbara is a
passionate advocate of participatory
methodologies – and wrote an article in
PLA (then RRA Notes) on farmers’
participation in watershed management
in South India. We look forward to
working closely with her.
We are very pleased to welcome
Barbara, but we are also very sorry to be
losing another valued and well respected
colleague, and another ardent supporter of
participatory research – Michel Pimbert.
Michel has been offered a Fellowship at
the Rachel Carson Centre for Environment
and Society at the University of Munich,
where he plans to continue some of his
long-standing work with partners. Michel
joined the Sustainable Agriculture and
Rural Livelihoods Programme (now the
Agroecology and Food Sovereignty Team)
at IIED 13 years ago, and has carried out
some radical and groundbreaking action
research with partners around the world,
notably on the regeneration of food
systems based on social and ecological
diversity, and on more inclusive forms of
citizenship. His recent work on
democratising agricultural research
culminated in the dialogue with AGRA
and farmers in Accra earlier this year, as
mentioned above. Michel has authored
several articles in PLA, including in this
issue, as well as numerous other
publications promoting citizen voice and
power-equalising research. Michel has
continuously supported and inspired the
PLA editorial collective – always warmly
encouraging us in his distinctive style, and
playing a key role on our strategic board.
He will be greatly missed but, as he says,
he will continue to be part of this
community of practice, and we are
delighted that he will remain on our
editorial board. We wish him every success
for the future and look forward to ongoing
collaboration.