Improving the Scholarship and Practice
of International Development

Our Mission

The Conflict and Development Foundation is a new non-profit corporation of the State of Texas.  Its mission is to study and discuss the relationship between conflict and international development in the hope of eliminating hunger, poverty, and violence in the developing world. 

The Conflict and Development Foundation supports the research, scholarship, and practice of international development – specifically international agriculture development and natural resource management. These activities are carried out through a combination of teaching, training, and conservation programs. 

The Conflict and Development Foundation takes as its inspiration the legacy of the late Dr. Norman E. Borlaug.  Dr. Norman Borlaug won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his work preventing mass hunger and starvation in Mexico, India, and Pakistan.  He saw that food insecurity was a principle cause of violence and civil unrest and through providing both food and jobs through agricultural development, peace could be secured.

“Therefore I feel that the aforementioned guiding principle must be modified to read: If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the same time cultivate the fields to produce more bread; otherwise there will be no peace.”
— Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

What We Achieve

The Conflict and Development Foundation works within the field of international development to promote the scholarship and practice of development interventions in communities affected by conflict.  Such questions we seek to address are:

  • How does development funding create conditions of conflict? 

  • How can development more effectively reduce the likelihood of conflict? 

  • What kinds of development are more prone to incite conflict? 

  • How can countries or communities best emerge from conflict situations?   

The Conflict and Development Foundation uses a variety of tools to address these issues: agricultural science, political science, economics, agricultural and rural development, resource conservation and community outreach.  The outcomes of these activities lead to reduced incidences of political and community violence and reduced hunger and poverty. 

Our approach is field oriented respecting our agricultural roots and the notion that communities and individuals closest to development issues have the greatest insight to development issues. We find value in private-sector led solutions and understand the power of markets to drive social and economic development. Finally, we understand the land-grant legacy of transferring applied science and engineering to transform rural industry. 

Additional information regarding our research support can be found at www.condev.org.