Cuba joins forces with global anti-rogue fishing effort

NaijaAgroNet:

 The Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations agencies in Rome, Alba Soto Pimentel, has formally presented FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva with Cuba's instrument of accession to the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Ambassador Soto Pimentel said Cuba's accession to this international treaty is a sign of the political will of the Government of Cuba to contribute in an effective and concrete way in support of measures for the protection and sustainability of ecosystems and the preservation of marine biodiversity.

For his part, the FAO Director-General, Graziano da Silva, strongly welcomed Cuba's accession, saying "I am sure it is an example which will be followed by many other countries in the Caribbean region."

The Agreement, NaijaAgroNet gathered will create binding obligations, comes into force when 25 countries or regional economic blocs have deposited their instrument of adherence with the FAO Director-General. With Cuba's adherence 23 countries and the European Union, on behalf of its members, have deposited 24 instruments of adherence. Among the latest are Barbados, Guyana, Republic of Korea, South Africa and the United States.

Graziano da Silva has expressed confidence that the target of 25 could be reached by July this year.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that Illicit fishing, which includes operating without authorization, harvesting protected species, using outlawed fishing gear and violating quota limits, may account for up to 26 million tonnes a year, or more than 15 percent, of the world's total annual capture fisheries output.

Besides economic damage, such practices can threaten local biodiversity and food security in many countries.

Port State measures set standards for inspection of foreign vessels that seek to enter the port of another State. Importantly, the measures allow a country to block ships it suspects of having engaged in illicit fishing and thereby prevent illegal catches from entering local and international markets.

To assist countries in building their capacity to implement the Agreement, FAO has convened a series of regional workshops around the world, with participation from over 100 countries.

By becoming party to and implementing the Agreement, States will be in a position to better achieve the objectives of the voluntary 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which seeks to promote the long-term sustainability of the sector.

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Pix: (r) Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations agencies in Rome, Alba Soto Pimentel, presenting FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva with Cuba's instrument of accession to the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, recently.

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Graziano da Silva emphasizes fight against hunger, boosts resilient rural livelihoods

NaijaAgroNet:

The Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Dr.José Graziano da Silva has empahised the agency fight against hunger, just as they plan to boost resilient  of rural livelihoods, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Speaking to members of the United Nations Security Council, Jose Graziano da Silva stressed that actions to promote food security could help prevent a crisis, mitigate its impacts and promote post-crisis recovery and healing.

He pointed out that conflicts are a key driver of protracted crises, where hunger is three times more likely than in the rest of the developing world, while the countries with the highest levels of food insecurity are also those most affected by conflict.

According to him, that is borne out in cases ranging from Syria and Yemen to South Sudan and Somalia.

He also cited post-conflict Angola and Nicaragua, post-genocide Rwanda and post-independence Timor-Leste as cases where peace and food security were mutually reinforcing.

The opposite, he said, could equally prove true, leading to a relapse into violence. 

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Four new organisations admitted into GEO

NaijaAgroNet:

The Executive Committee of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) has admitted four new organisations into its fold, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Committee during its 36^th meeting recently in Geneva welcomed new participating organizations, namely the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC); Joint Board of Geospatial Information Societies (JBGIS); Mountain Research Initiative (MRI); and a new Observer, the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF).

The Communications Manager, Group on Earth Observations, Ms Katherine Anderson in a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet quoted the co-chair of GEO, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, as disclosing this.

She also noted that the Executive Committee Co-Chairs including Hejun Yin, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology (China); Rudolf Strohmeier, Assistant Director-General, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (European Commission); and Philemon Mjwara, Director-General, Department of Science and Technology (South Africa) were in attendance.

GEO, NaijaAgroNet before now comprised of 102 Member states, including the European Commission, and 95 participating organizations, even as it strives to improve the world’s observation systems and provide policy makers and scientists with accurate and useful data to make informed decisions on issues affecting the planet. 

NaijaAgroNet further gathered that with headquarters in Switzerland, GEO’s primary focus since establishment in 2005 has been to develop a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) to enhance the ability of end-users to discover and access Earth observation data and convert it to useable and useful information.

 
Isaac Oyimah/GEE 
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Food insecurity: GEO launches Early Warning Crop Monitoring tool

NaijaAgroNet:

Arising from its 36^th Executive Meeting held in Geneva the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) has launched a new tool to fight food insecurity tagged the Early Warning Crop Monitor (EWCM), reports NaijaAgroNet.

The GEO’s United States (US) Co-Chair, Dr Kathryn Sullivan, affirmed this at the end of the meeting held between March 8 and 9, disclosing that this tool was developed by the group’s Global Agricultural Monitoring Initiative (GEOGLAM), established by the G-20 Agriculture Ministers, under the Early Warning Crop Monitor (ECWM) which provides consensus reports on crop conditions in countries at risk of food insecurity in Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and East Asia. 

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the March edition of EWCM bulletin reports that countries in Southeast Asia, and even more so in Southern Africa, face severe droughts attributed to the on-going El Niño.

Also, NaijaAgroNet gathered that Dr. Sullivan who doubles as the Administrator of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pointed that EWCM, together with the GEOGLAM Crop Monitor for the Agricultural Market Information Service (AMIS), will ultimately monitor crop development in 124 countries, totalling about 94 per cent of the world’s agricultural area. GEO noted that both reports synthesize remote sensing data, field observations and environmental modelling conducted by more than 40 international, regional and national organizations; whereas the monthly reports are made available to decision-makers across the food security community and to the commodities markets.

She said that concerns over food and water security are rising globally, pointing out that "Ensuring that agricultural industries around the world have access to the best science, data, tools and resources is essential as we work to increase food security and mitigate the effects of droughts and floods. The GEOGLAM Early Warning Crop Monitor provides decision-makers with essential information, gathered from satellites, buoys and other observational tools, to be ready, responsive and resilient against extreme weather and water events."

 
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Drought: Food security worsens in Southern Africa

NaijaAgroNet:

A total of 34 countries, including 27 from Africa, are currently in need of external assistance for food due to drought, flooding and civil conflicts, according to a new edition of FAO's Crop Prospects and Food Situation reports NaijaAgroNet.

The drought associated with El Nino has "sharply reduced" 2016 crop production prospects in Southern Africa, while expectations for the harvest in Morocco and Algeria have been lowered due to dry conditions, the report revealed.

NaijaAgroNet also reports that in areas of Central America and the Caribbean, ongoing dry conditions linked to El Nino may affect sowings of the main season crops for the third consecutive year. 

Moreover, persistent conflicts in Iraq, the Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, Somalia, and the Central African Republic have taken a heavy toll on the agricultural sector, further worsening the humanitarian crisis in those countries.

In most cases, the impact of conflict extends into neighbouring countries such as Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo that are hosting refugee populations. 

In several countries already in need of external assistance for food, conditions generally worsened in the past three months, according to the report from FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS), mainly in the Southern Africa sub-region, where food prices have reached record highs. 

The report also warned that last year's reduced production would negatively impact the food security situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, where "most households were already estimated to have borderline or poor food consumption."

Elsewhere, the outlook for the 2016 crops already in the ground, mostly winter grains in the northern hemisphere, is generally favourable. Early forecasts indicate large 2016 wheat crops in most countries of Asia. 

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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FAO receives US ratification instrument against rogue fishing

NaijaAgroNet:

The office of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has received the ratification instrument against rogue fishing from the United States (US), reports NaijaAgroNet.

This, industry watchers say adds momentum to global efforts targeting illegal fishing by adhering to a FAO-brokered international pact.

The US Ambassador to the United Nations agencies in Rome, David Lane, who formally presented FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva with the US' instrument of ratification of the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, said, FAO is a strong partner in the promotion of sustainable fisheries, and US looks forward to continuing to collaborate with the organisation and the entire global community in the fight against illegal fishing.

FAO Director-General appreciated US for its partnership on such an important issue, adding that combatting illegal fishing is a crucial goal not only for small island developing states, but also for major countries like the US.

NaijaAgroNet reports that the Agreement comes into force when 25 countries or regional economic blocs have deposited their instrument of adherence with the FAO Director-General. 

To date 22 instruments of adherence have been deposited by 21 countries, and the European Union on behalf of its members. Among the latest are Barbados, Republic of Korea and South Africa.

Graziano da Silva told Ambassador Lane that several other countries have expressed a willingness to become party to the Agreement and that the target of 25 could be reached by July this year.

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