Economic Crisis: Adeleke unveils food security plan, preaches unity - ITREALMS

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The Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has unveiled his government’s food security plan and advocated for national unity to resolve the current nationwide economic crisis.

The Governor who recently attended President Bola Tinubu’s briefing with Governors on Thursday was at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture today during which he opened up on the extensive agenda of the state government on food security and expanded food production.

Economic crisis: Adeleke plans committee on food security, reels out actions - ITREALMS

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The Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, would this week inaugurate a state committee on food security in response to the increasing economic hardship facing residents, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The committee to comprise representatives of civil society groups, youth organizations, farmers' associations, security agencies, religious groups, market associations and relevant commissioners is to be led by the Commissioner for Special Duties and Regional Integration, Dr Bashiru Salami.


The Committee is to work on farm security for food production, expand farming activities through state incentives, track foodstuff marketing and pricing, review operations of ongoing palliatives measures with a view for improvement if any and recommend immediate actions to further relieve the suffering of the populace.

Nigeria: NLNG partner LCCI to promote food security sustainable - NaijaAgroNet

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Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), in partnership with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), on Wednesday presented the joint-winning works of The Nigeria Prize for Science (2022) to industry players in an effort to push agricultural innovations that can positively impact food security in the country.

The presentation of the winning works, Gains in Grain Yield of Released Maize (Zea Mays L.) Cultivars under Drought and Well-Watered Conditions by Dr Muhydideen Oyekunle and Professor Shehu Ado; and Development of Process Plant for Plantain Flour by Professor Sesan Peter Ayodeji and Dr Emmanuel Olatunji Olutomilola was made at an interactive business forum.

Center on Adaptation to help smallholder farmers enhance food security - NaijaAgroNet

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The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) has said its providing technical advisory support to a new World Bank’s investment project in Ethiopia valued at $600 million to increase the resilience of food systems and preparedness for food insecurity, reports NaijaAgroNet.

As a result of climate change, smallholder farmers in Ethiopia are suffering from greater variability and extreme weather events, increased temperature and declining rainfall in a country where 85 percent of farmers are depended on rain-fed agriculture. Ethiopia is currently in the middle of one of the worst droughts for 50 years which follows 12 to 18 months of erratic and failed rains which have dried up many water sources. The war in Ukraine and subsequent rising wheat, fuel and fertilizer costs are also worsening the country’s food crisis.

No food security without healthy plants says FAO - ITREALMS

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As the world marks the International Day of Plant Health (IDPH) for the first time, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has called for more investment in innovation in a field crucial for boosting food security and transforming how our food is produced, delivered and consumed.

“On this very first International Day of Plant Health, we will reflect on plant health innovations for food security,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in his opening remarks, adding that investments are needed in research, capacity development and outreach. “We need to continue raising the global profile of plant health to transform agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable.”

Nigeria’s rising population a security threat says MeCAM - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

Nigeria must multiply its efforts to strengthen the economy and provide all the necessary social and physical infrastructure to keep up with the country's explosive population growth, the Media Centre Against Child Malnutrition (MeCAM) has said, reports NaijaAgroNet.

MeCAM, a media advocacy group against child malnutrition, is determined to strengthen the agro-nutrition capacity and interest of its members professionally in contribution to nation-building and emancipation from extreme hunger especially in children, women as espoused in the Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

MeCAM National Coordinator, Remmy Nweke said in a press statement commemorating the World Population Day that Nigeria’s estimated 192m population is not sustainable and may well worsen its security challenges and leave more children malnourished, unless it is matched by commensurate economic growth and infrastructure.

“Such infrastructure must include affordable and accessible medical facilities that would not only boost public health but will offer all the assistance for family planning to check unwanted pregnancy and keep population in check as well as have healthy children,” according to the statement.

“Overpopulation begets insecurity especially on food and put pressure on family fiscal economy, could lead to school dropouts, and lack of money for balance diet which is key to effective breastfeeding by mothers.

“Importantly, MECAM urges the government to make life more abundant for the people by working on all the fundamentals of the economy that would support its population. Also, we call on the governments to double their efforts on education, health care and access to other basic needs so that the rising population would be an asset instead of liabilities and source of security threats.”

Commemorated every July 11, the World Population Day was established by the then-Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, an outgrowth of the interest generated by the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987. The objective is to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues. This year’s commemoration was themed “Family Planning is a Human Right”.

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Presidency explains private sector role in National Food Security Council

NaijaAgroNet:

The Presidency has explained the role of private sector in the recently inaugurated presidential national food security council, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Senior Special Assistant to the President, (Media & Publicity), Garba Shehu, informed NaijaAgroNet that the private sector will play an advisory role in the National Food Security Council recently by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The President, he said, is aware of the huge interest indicated by the private sector since the composition of the Council was announced, as well as the reservations expressed by groups that felt left out.

“We wish to emphasise that the Council constituted by the President was more of a think tank that would focus mainly on policy, while various groups from the private sector would be called upon to make sectoral presentations from time to time,” he said.

The presidency further assured that everybody will be carried along as the Council will work closely with all stakeholders.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that the Council will be inaugurated by President Buhari on Monday, March 26.

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Peace is impossible without food security

NaijaAgroNet:

Experts participating at the Noble Peace Laureates Alliance in Rome, have declared that peace is impossible without food security, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Leading discussion on this was the Communications Director, at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Enrique Yeves said, in his introduction to the session on, "Perspectives for Integral Disarmament" that freeing the world from hunger is essential if “we want to build long-lasting peace."

After steadily declining for over a decade, he noted that global hunger is on the rise again, affecting 815 million people in 2016, or 11 per cent of the global population.

“At the same time, multiple forms of malnutrition are threatening the health of millions worldwide,” he said.

The increase, he emphasized has reached 38 million more people than the previous year, which is largely due to the proliferation of violent conflicts and climate-related shocks.

Rural areas and their populations, FAO officer said, have continued to be the most affected by conflicts, as attacks on farming communities undermine rural livelihoods and displace people from their homes

"Just as conflict leads to hunger, hunger can also lead to conflict," Yeves said, stressing that peace is a prerequisite to achieving food security and ending this "vicious circle."  

Further, the FAO Communications Director warned that conflict has driven northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen to the brink of famine and triggered acute food insecurity also in Burundi, Iraq and elsewhere.

He noted that 489 million of the 815 million chronically food-insecure and malnourished people in the world live in countries affected by conflict.

Expressing optimistic that agriculture is part of the solution, he cited for instance that over 75 per cent of the world's poor and food insecure depend on agriculture and natural resource-based livelihoods, in conflict situations, agriculture and food security can give new life to affected homes and communities, bringing people together and driving recovery.

"The right mix of humanitarian aid and rural development can set the foundations for rebuilding livelihoods," he said.

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PMB applauds security agencies, RedCross, NGOs on release of 82 Chibok girls

NaijaAgroNet:

The President, Muhammadu Buhari has applauded the security agencies, RedCross, non-government organisations on the release of 82 Chibok girls by Boko Haram yesterday, Saturday, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Buhari in his remarks on the release of the 82 Chibok secondary school girls in exchange for Boko Haram members in state security custody, said this is a pleasant 2nd anniversary gift to the people of Nigeria.

“I cannot express in a few words how happy I am to welcome our dear girls back to freedom. On behalf of all Nigerians, I will like to share my joy with you, your parents, your relatives, friends and Government of Borno State on regaining your freedom.

“The Federal Government will like to commend the Security Agencies, the Red Cross, local authorities, local and foreign NGOs and all those who contributed in one way or another to secure the release of our Chibok Girls,” he said.

He reassured Nigerians, especially relatives and friends of the remaining girls that the Federal Government will spare no effort to see that they and all other Nigerians who have been abducted safely regain their freedom.

“Finally, I am very pleased to have personally met you and let me assure you that the Presidency will personally supervise the performance of those entrusted with your welfare and commitments made by the Federal Government on your health, education, security and general well-being,” he said.

Buhari decried that no human being should go through this kind of ordeal. The security agencies and state governments should continue to provide special protection to educational institutions vulnerable to this kind of outrage especially in remote areas.

This administration, he said, is resolutely determined to safeguard the security of all Nigerians at all times.

“Once again, I congratulate you and your parents on your safe return,” he said in a press statement endorsed by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

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‘Role of food security to conflict prevention’

NaijaAgroNet:

The role of food security and agriculture have an essential role to play in preventing conflicts and crises on the African continent, blunting their impacts and acting as engines for post-crisis recovery, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Mr. José Graziano da Silva gave this highlight in address to African leaders and international development actors in Nairobi, Kenya, at the foremost summits on African development.

"Ending hunger and malnutrition, addressing humanitarian and protracted crises, preventing and resolving conflicts, and building peace are not separate tasks, but simply different facets of the same challenge," Graziano da Silva said at a side-event on ‘Peace and Food Security', hosted by FAO, at the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI).

Graziano da Silva was among the high-level delegations who attended in the opening ceremony of TICAD VI, led by the President of the Republic of Kenya and the Prime Minister of Japan.

NaijaAgroNet also reports that the conference which brings together policy makers, UN agencies and financial institutions, among others aimed at promoting high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and their partners and mobilize support for African-owned development initiatives.

The link between conflict prevention and development is of particular importance in the region, which is host to nearly 60 percent of active UN Peacekeeping Missions. And whilst armed conflicts across Africa as a whole have decreased in recent years, this trend has been uneven across the continent.

"Much of FAO's work aims at promoting sustainable development and building the resilience of rural populations," Graziano da Silva said, giving concrete examples of countries where agricultural support helped secure the transition from wars to sustainable peace, including Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"By supporting agriculture and rural development, we help create jobs, provide income and boost youth employment. This can help prevent distress migration and radicalization, as well as mitigate disputes over depleted resources," he said.

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Pix; FAO D-G, Mr. José Graziano da Silva

EU invests N251.1billion in West Africa

NaijaAgroNet

The European Union (EU) will pump about €1.15 billion (N251.1b) into peace, security and regional stability, including support to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in its regional mandates, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Other aspects of interest covered by the fund include regional economic integration and trade, the private sector, regional integration and support for infrastructure.

The assistance made possible by the 11th European Development Fund, NaijaAgroNet gathered, was made public during the signing of a new regional funding for cooperation between European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimic and  representatives of regional organizations from West Africa.

 Mimica said, “Regional integration in West Africa is already bearing impressive fruits and today’s signing is the ambitious starting point for preparing new, concrete projects that will benefit the region and its countries. Having almost doubled our support from the last programming period, we will work with a wide range of partners to tackle the challenges that remain in West Africa, such as peace and security, economic integration and trade, as well as sustainable development,” NaijaAgroNet learnt.

The West Africa Regional Indicative Programme was co-signed by President Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and President Cheikhe Hadjibou Soumaré of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

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Oceans, critical to food security -SenzeniZokwana

NaijaAgroNet

Fish has been described as the highest source of the world’s protein consumed by humans, making the oceans vital to food security, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Based on this, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister, Senzeni Zokwana said South Africa need to produce more Marine, Forestry and Fisheries scientists.

Zokwana,NaijaAgroNet learnt, was among other industry leaders at the commemoration of World Oceans Day, where the Status of Marine Fisheries Resources Report was equally unveiled in Cape Town.

“We know that achieving food security in its totality continues to be a challenge for the whole world and in particular for the developing nations when you consider the proportion of the population affected,” he said.

Minister Zokwana also said that the development of new fisheries remains a critical part of government, hence the launch of operation Phakisa, as a means to unlock the oceans’ economy, adding that “Our planet comprises 71% of the ocean. It is the most important life-support systems on earth, and almost all humans on earth depend on the sea natural resources”.

He pointed out that half of the world’s population lives with 200 kms of the coastline.

“Oceans produce 50 percent of the oxygen necessary for human survival and therefore, the sustainable use and management of the oceans even its resources, is therefore critical to us today and for the future generation,” he said.

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Defective supply chain behind food waste in Africa

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The food security challenges facing Africa has been attributed to defective supply chain as produce raised on some fertile cropland, the shortest route to the richest urban markets runs through another country, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Stephanie Gallatova, who cited the continent’s bad roads, insanitary conditions and poor food stock management as major problems, NaijaAgroNet gathered, said "The food losses occurring in Africa are due to limitations in the various technological and logistical factors in the food chain,"

Gallatova is an agro-industries officer with the FAO Regional Office for Africa, which conducts anti-food loss projects in more than a dozen West African countries. "We are looking at the whole value chain and seeing what investments can be made to reduce losses in a sustainable manner."

This geographic reality, with its multiple logistical hurdles, illustrates the food security challenges facing Senegal, for instance, and the wider West African region. 

The trouble with feeding people here is not so much the availability of food but its accessibility, adding, NaijaAgroNet learnt, that the difficulties arise not just in agricultural production but also in inefficient food delivery systems – in harvesting, storage, processing and transport.

In their 2014 Agricultural outlook report, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned that food waste and losses represent a major threat to global food security over the next ten years.

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2/3 countries improve on food security - EIU

NaijaAgroNet:

World leader in global business intelligence, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in its Global Food Security Index (GFSI) annual update,Expo Milan 2015, revealed that two-thirds of 109 countries have improved in food security, reportsNaijaAgroNet.

The GFSI overall results, NaijaAgroNet gathered was unveiled at the DuPoint Forum on Food and Agriculture tagged; Rural and Urban Innovations, showed that sustained economic expansion in most regions and rapid growth in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, combined with lower global food prices provided the necessary food security improvement in almost every region of the world over the past year.

It further revealed that food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)improved in 28 countries in the region, with 82 percent recorded score increases between 2014 and 2015, and the region as a whole saw a score improvement of 1.5 points.

Also it pointed out that Sub-Saharan Africa saw impressive gains in food Quality & Safety, with Burkina Faso and Mali leading the way, driven by improved access to quality protein, a measure of the average consumption of essential amino acids in a country’s diet. Burkina Faso also made significant strides in the diet diversification indicator, with a 25% increase (87% score increase) in the amount of non-starchy foods consumed in the average diet.

Dr Richard Okine,Regional Director for DuPont Sub-Saharan Africa, speaking on the report said that,“Developing countries often lack basic infrastructure, including storage, road and port facilities, while smaller incomes inhibit access to and affordability of nutritious food. Political risk and corruption frequently compound structural difficulties in these countries. Investment in infrastructure and food systems in low-income and lower-middle income countries is the key to narrowing the gap.”

He also stressed that an overwhelmingly positive factor has been the fact that over the past few years, the overall economic growth in the developing world has led to improvements in the structural areas that are essential to improving people’s access to a wider range of affordable, nutritious foods.

“This, according to Dr. Okine, includes more extensive food safety-net programmes, expanded crop storage capacity and dietary diversity.”

With such progress notwithstanding, global food insecurity remains a challenge. According to UN estimates,NaijaAgroNet learnt that the world population is projected to increase by 1 billion over the next 12 years and reach 9.6 billion by 2050, with growth coming mainly from developing countries, with more than half in Africa. As populations’ boom and incomes rise in developing countries, the FAO also estimates that food production will have to grow by 50% to meet demand.

The GFSI is an annual measure of food security across 109 countries, produced by the EIU and sponsored by DuPont.

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