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Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Merck marks International Day for elimination of violence against women - NaijaAgroNet

Philanthropic arm of Merck Germany, the Merck Foundation, has marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and commencement of the “16 Days of Activism" that precedes Human Rights Day on December 10 each year, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Through their “Merck more than a Mother” campaign, NaijaAgroNet gathered that Merck Foundation planned to empower infertile women against all sorts of discrimination, abuse and psychological and physical violence due to their inability to bear children.

“Together with our partners and our ambassadors, we can create a culture shift to sensitize all communities to respect women whether they are mothers or not. Women are more than Mothers, this is what we stand for. No for violence against women and #NoForInfertilityStigma. 

"Merck Foundation marks the International Day for Elimination of Domestic Violence against Women today and every day as part of our daily activities to empower infertile women through access to information, health, change of mindset and economic empowerment so that they can be independent and stronger” emphasizes Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of Merck more than a Mother.

Watch the story of Merck Foundation CEO visit to Jackline Mwende, the victim of infertility Stigma. She was abused and accused of being unable to bear a child. Although she was not the one with the infertility problem – it was her husband. Yet he refused to get treated and abused her. He chopped off both her hands trying to kill her. Merck Foundation empowered and helped her to start her new life, new home and a new supermarket to lead a good life. She became the “Merck more than a Mother” heroine.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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Thursday, November 22, 2018

Kano achieves 67% milestone on 2018 health programme - NaijaAgroNet

The Kano State government has achieved about 67 per cent of the milestones set in the 2018 health system programme, reports NaijaAgroNet.

A press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet by the Chief Press Secretary to the Kano State Governor, Abba Anwar quoted the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Kabiru Ibrahim Getso, as disclosing this at the technical session with donor agencies including Bill Melinda Gates and Dangote Foundations.

Dr Getso revealed that, "Of the 6 agreed 2018 milestones for the health programme, 4 have been completed, which represents 67 per cent.”

He also said that “As a priority for the health programme and 100 per cent Routine Immunisation Funds for Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4 2018 deposited into the respective accounts, all funds for RI have been released to respective accounts."

According to Getso, another priority of the government was in reintroducing and scaling up of Missed Opportunity for Vaccination (MOV), tracking in secondary health facilities.

"MOV training conducted across all SHFs. While additional 5,122 children have been immunised through MOV between July and September, 2018," he said.

Further, he said, the priority of finalising roll-out of the enhanced community engagement (CE) strategy across all 44 local governments for Routine Immunisation.

"Community Engagement strategy rolled out 96 per cent of Mai Unguwas in the state now line-list new-born and track unimmunised children in their settlements," he said.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Unlocking Africa’s earth observation potential @1st GMES Africa - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:
The first Global Monitoring for Environment and Security and Africa (GMES and Africa) Forum of the GMES and Africa has kicked off in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, with some 400 delegates, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The delegates, NaijaAgroNet gathered were drawn from Africa, Europe and other parts of the world have gathered to discuss new and innovative Earth Observation technologies supporting Africa’s socio-economic development.

Organized jointly by the African Union Commission and the government of Gabon, the Forum is the first gathering of all stakeholders involved in the GMES and Africa programme. The programme was jointly launched in 2016 by the African Union and the European Union to strengthen Africa's capacity for the optimal exploitation of Earth Observation systems, data and technologies.

Africa has significant aptitude to utilize the opportunities provided by Earth Observation, through satellites and other applications that improve environmental management, agricultural productivity, climate change mitigation, food security, health, and disaster risk reduction, among many of its developmental priorities. Limited investments and a fragmented approach has constrained the continent’s ability to mobilize funding, develop local capacities, and provide the necessary infrastructure for a robust Earth Observation industry.

The African Union Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, H.E Professor Sarah Anyang Agbor said the Forum will evoke the aspirations envisioned by the people of Africa in Agenda 2063 for a prosperous continent with the means to harness its resources to drive its own development on a sustainable basis. She pointed out the pressing imperative for Africa to invest in technological innovation and harness its existing human capital for better health, education and infrastructure systems.

The Head of the European Union delegation to Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tomé-et-Principe and CEEAC, H.E. Ambassador Helmut Rudolf KULITZ, stated that "GMES and Africa and its predecessor programmes represent more than 15 years of fruitful cooperation with Africa on Earth Observation and a European contribution of more than €100 million.

The 1st GMES and Africa Forum is centred on the theme “Unlocking the Potential of Earth Observation as a Key Driver of Africa’s Sustainable Development”, a reference to the existing imbalance between the continent’s potential and the actual benefits it derives from Earth Observation dividend. The theme addresses the means of harnessing opportunities offered by Earth Observation to leverage Africa’s socio-economic development.

‘By putting end users at the heart of product and service development, GMES and Africa has become a vision for the sustainable and efficient management of natural resources and security in Africa’, remarked Guy Bertrand Mapangou, Gabon’s Minister of Digital Economy, Communication and Post Office, who is also the government spokesperson.

Forum delegates comprise African end users of Earth Observation services, policy makers, scientists, businesses and academia, who will use the five-day conference to discuss the challenges undermining the growth and expansion of the sector in Africa. They will devise strategies for closer communication, collaboration and engagement among industry experts and users of Earth Observation services. They will further explore the building of stronger partnerships and the deeper involvement of players especially from the private sector and academic institutions.

The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security and Africa (GMES and Africa) is a flagship programme of the African Union under the African Space Policy and Strategy. It prescribes a pathway for the continent to be globally competitive in space activities, including Earth Observation, and to develop a viable continental space programme. With continent-wide coverage, the programme is implemented through grants to African institutions under the banners of regional consortia. 13 consortia representing a total of 72 African institutions have been awarded grants through open competitive bidding to implement projects in water, natural resources, marine and coastal areas management.

GMES and Africa is supported by the European Union through its Pan-African Programme. It is also supported by the European Commission (EC) "COPERNICUS" Earth Monitoring Programme, which provides satellite data and products from the services through the satellite EUMETCAST system of EUMETSAT. Today, more than 300 users in Africa can directly receive Sentinel 3 data and Global Land products. A collaboration arrangement was also signed in June 2018 between the AUC and the EC for Copernicus information and data exchange with Africa. GMES and Africa Programme is another example of the long-standing partnership between the European Union and the African Union.

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Monday, November 19, 2018

NaijaAgroNet goes blue to commemorate Rights of Child - NaijaAgroNet

In commemoration of the anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which also is known as World Children’s Day (WCD) on 20 November, the management of NaijaAgroNet has resolved to mark it with our website going blue.

Editor of NaijaAgroNet, Remmy Nweke in a press statement, said this is part of the World Children’s Day commemoration, and call by the United Nations Children Fund in this regards with hashtag #GoBlue.

“This #GoBlue campaign, he also would see staff and NaijaAgroNet going blue,” he said.

The award-winning NaijaAgroNet, he said, is a member of DigitalSENSE Africa Media Group and focuses on agriculture and role of Information and Communication Technologies for Sustainable Development (ICT4SD) in achieving 21st century agro-businesses to deliver value, prompt and concise information, towards connecting agriculture, water, sanitation, youths, children and women, environment and ICT to bring about ZERO hunger and food security in our society.

He further explained that by going blue would have its website going blue from masthead to the background.

This, will last between, midday of Monday, 19 November to midday Wednesday November 21, 2018.

NaijaAgroNet  recalls that UNICEF will present a petition for global signing by millions of people, which will be active for one year. 

The visual signatures, NaijaAgroNet  gathered, will be handed over to world leaders at the UN on 20 November 2019 at the 30th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child – calling for re-commitments and new, stronger commitments to child rights.

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One man's meal, 163 children’s death per month - NaijaAgroNet

Arrival of every child in a family is always joyful. REMMY NWEKE in this report postulates that one man’s meal that costs N3.5m of tax-payers money, could actually save 163 children from death monthly, if nation’s resources are prioritized.

Malnutrition @FCT:

Still reminiscing on what one saw at the recent site visit to Kwalu Primary Health Care (PHC) Centre within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, with a good number of malnourished children not less than 50 in that centre and considering that, this PHC may not be very far away from where the Federal Government is feeding one man monthly with the sum of N3.5 million, while over 2000 children under 5 die daily as a result of malnutrition, becomes unthinkable.

Frankly, travelling from Lagos to FCT, Abuja, about 11 hours 42 minutes by road and some 756.8 kilometres (km) via Sagamu-Benin Expressway, one would simply not envisage that there are some malnourished children near the seat of power in the most populous black nation, Nigeria.

The N3.5m gab and CMAM:

Recall that the Federal Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, a fortnight ago revealed to the Nigerian media that the whooping sum of N3.5m is used monthly to feed the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.

So, penultimate Wednesday, November 7, precisely, the Information Minister since inception of the All Progressive Congress (APC)-led Federal Government, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, told media including leading Internet TV, OakTv in a viral video that the government was spending N3.5 million monthly to feed Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, the Shi’ia sect leader who has been in detention since December 2015. The paradox in the above is the revelation of using N3.5m to feed a one-man detainee and just nearby community of Kwali there are some 50 malnourished children and some 2,000 die nationwide daily.

According to the 2017 Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) sighted by NaijaAgroNet, experts at the UNICEF in collaboration with the Federal Government alluded that it would cost N21,350 only about $61 to cure a child suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in the non-emergency states of the country. On the other hand, it will cost N36,750 only, about $105, to cure a child suffering from SAM in emergency states like the North East (NE) geopolitical zone of Nigeria, consisting of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe.

What is SAM?

Experts at National Institutes of Health defined Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) as extremely low weight-for-height, and estimated to affect between 500,000 and 1,000,000 million children under age five in Nigeria every year, thus contributing to as many as 100,000 deaths per year. They also underlined the causes of malnutrition in Nigeria to include poverty, inadequate food production, inadequate food intake, ignorance and uneven distribution of food, poor food preservation techniques, improper preparation of foods, food restrictions and taboos, and poor sanitation.

Arithmetically, what this entails, according to NaijaAgroNet findings is that at the non-emergency states, N3.5m would be able to feed and obviously cure some 163.93 children monthly at the rate of N21,350, which amounts to N3,499,905.5. And for children suffering from SAM in the six aforementioned emergency states, at least 95.23 children will be saved at the cost of N36,750 with a round up figure of N3,499,702.5 every month. Per-adventure N3.5m is shared among 30 days on average of a month, will indicate N116,666 is spent daily. This figure when matched with N21,350 will save about 5.4 children on daily average.

This figure when juxtaposed with the number of months since Malam Ibrahim El-Zakzaky was arrested and detained by the state in December 2015, following initial clampdown on his members by soldiers despite court ruling to release him; indicates that he has spent 34 months in detention till October 30. When 34 months is multiplied by N3.5m leaves NaijaAgroNet correspondent with N119,000,000 (One Hundred and Nineteen Million Naira).

How to save 3,328 SAM children in North East:

Conversely, dividing N119,000,000 with the cost of N36,750 anticipated to save children suffering from Severe Acute Malnourished (SAM), Nigeria should have saved some 3,238 children in the six emergency states of North East, while the same amount could have saved some 5,573 in some 30 states including FCT that are categories as non-emergency states within the period under review of 34 months.

A communiqué issued from a recent 3-day media training cum field visit from October 29th to November 1st, 2018 in Abuja on the theme “The Journalists’ Role in Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Allocation and Use of Health/Nutrition Funds in Nigeria” hosted by Civil Society Scaling up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) under the Partnership for Improving Nigeria Nutrition Systems (PINNS) project, decried the daily 145 maternal death as a result of malnutrition, recognising nutrition as multi sectoral issue admonishing all hands to be on deck so as to tackle the menace.

At the training, Mr. Dare Oguntade took on “The Nigerian Malnutrition Situation with Focus on PINNS project”; Communications Officer at CSSUNN, Lilian Ajah-mong, highlighted challenges in nutrition reporting; Project Manager at CSSUNN, Mr. Sunday Okoronkwo harped on ‘Nutrition Funding’ and Akin Jimoh of DevCom, facilitated ‘Communicating Nutrition Stories for Change.’

The communique endorsed by Mr. Salihu Mohammed Alkali and Mrs Priscilla Dennis on behalf of participants, pointed out that the first 1000 days of life from the time of conception to a child’s second birth day is not prioritized yet, adding that governments at all levels, have not been making adequate budgetary allocation, approval, timely release and cash backing.

Wake-up for stakeholders:

They also lamented that where budgets are allocated and released, implementation tend to focus more on the curative measures than preventive, citing an instance that a malnourished child when immunized does not absorb or utilize the immunization. Noting though there is low reportage of nutrition-related issues in Nigeria, experts reportedly attributed 53 per cent of deaths from child killer diseases as directly related to malnutrition.

This, they said, underscored the fact that most mothers at the Primary Health Care (PHC) centres, especially at Kwali, were not practicing Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF), decrying lack of men involvement and support towards EBF.

They agreed that stakeholders including but not limited to the government, media, CSOs, care givers, donor agencies need to place emphasis on preventive than curative measures, stressing that government and policymakers, for instance, should be held accountable for their commitments on issues bordering on nutrition especially for children and mothers of child-bearing age, while media practitioners were urged to be consistent in their reportage on nutrition and holding government accountable by getting enough information aimed at addressing nutrition issues, in order to place nutrition at the front burner and influence policy decisions thereof for improved nutrition interventions.

Mainstreaming nutrition:

Advocacy for policies to mainstream nutrition into agriculture as well as sensitizing women on the need to exclusively breastfeed their children in the first six (6) months of life, without addition of water was brought to fore, even as mothers were encouraged to continue to breastfeed their children for two years in addition to adequate complementary feeding.

Participants, according to the Mr. Alkali and Mrs. Dennis were encouraged to explore key components of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so as to bring to the fore requisite solutions to the plights of women, children and other vulnerable groups within the Nigerian society. They insisted that government should scale up and sustain existing interventions on nutrition, while media should intensify campaign towards behavioral change, especially for men to support EBF for a better family life eventually.

Purdah:

Purdah, according to online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, is the practice in certain Muslim and Hindu societies of screening women from men or strangers, especially by means of a curtain and often described as “a state of seclusion or secrecy.”

Hannatu Musa, a mother, says Purdah has not been helpful as they women are kept at home and rely heavily on what their husbands bring home which may not necessarily be nutritional mix and varies at various stages of growth, both for mother and child.

Also, a mother of 10-month girl twins, 20-year-old Habibat Abubakar, told NaijaAgroNet that though married to a driver, she treks from Kwaku PHC before they were referred to Kwali, which is a distance and said she was encouraged to visit the hospital by her community leaders. Her twins, she said were underweight at birth and before they were brought to PHC Kwali. As said by her, she breastfeeds her twins, but grandmother gives water afterwards, within the first 1000 days of life.

From Kwaku to Kwali, she said, is about 1:30 minutes trek to receive medicare, but added that she has been coming to PHC weekly and every medicare is free except when she has to take transport, confirming she attended antenatal too.

For Marawiya Isiaka, a mother of 2-year old baby who did not know her age, but could be below 25, told NaijaAgroNet, that her husband cares less about them and she has been coming to PHC Kwali without requisite attention for over a week. This was also brought to the attention of the chief nutritionist supervising the Kwali PHC and she immediately received medicare. The supervisor argued that her case like any other one beyond the PHC are referred to the General Hospital, but in the case of Mrs Isiaka before the visit could end, she was seen attended to with a smile.

Wrap-up:

As the election year approaches, its crucial for stakeholders to ensure that nutrition becomes a political agenda, to include the prioritization of health related issues based on importance of food security and nutritional health; one highlight also will be ensuring that government votes at least 50 per cent of what they spend on managing crisis like the one associated to the Malam Ibrahim El-Zakzaky’s detention as revealed, some 3,238 children in the emergency states of North East, and some 5,573 in some 30 states including FCT from non-emergency states should have been saved from death in 34 months, with an average vote of N3.5 monthly.

The underlined causes of malnutrition in Nigeria comprising poverty, inadequate food production, inadequate food intake, ignorance and uneven distribution of food, poor food preservation techniques, improper preparation of foods, food restrictions and taboos, and poor sanitation, cannot be wished away.

Still imagine a Nigerian society, if 163 children could be saved from Severe Acute Malnutrition per month in non-emergency states, at the cost of N21,350 per child per month and at least 95.23 children at the cost of N36,750 from emergency states saved respectively, of course, the story will change including reduction drastically in the numbers of children at risk of death daily.

And by reversing this trend of one man's meal costing Nigeria 163 children’s death per month, we should have been positioned to see the importance of quality of life in our children improve significantly, having in mind what Caryn Elaine Johnson alias Whoopi Goldberg, a black literary icon and actress said, “... when our children are happy, then we are better as human beings.”

The time to start thinking in that direction is now.

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Pix: Lai Mohammed flanked by two children's pictures from PHC Kwali, FCT.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

UNICEF assembles key players over sanitation markets in West, Central Africa - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:
In an effort to support 250 million people globally to abandon open defecation and 60 million to gain access to at least basic sanitation services by 2021, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is convening industry, financial institutions, governments and development partners from the 13th to 15 November in Abuja to discuss shaping healthy sanitation markets in the West and Central Africa Region.

One of the key approaches in the UNICEF global strategy for water, sanitation and hygiene is to build sustainable markets for goods and services where supply meets demand. “There is a need for governments and development partners to work in partnership with global and local businesses to ensure that appropriate solutions are available and affordable to those who need them,” says UNICEF’s Supply Director, Etleva Kadilli.

This consultation is an important signal that solutions are urgently needed to achieve targets set In the Sustainable Development Goals. Currently, 2.4 billion people worldwide do not use improved sanitation.[1] As a key custodian of SDG 6.2, UNICEF works to achieve equitable access to adequate sanitation and hygiene for all and to end open defecation by 2030.

Open defecation is a life-threatening practice, as contact with human waste can lead to diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, polio and diarrhea. Inadequate or non-existent sanitation causes tremendous harm. Every day, 700 children under five die from diarrhea-related diseases.

Sanitation in West and Central Africa (Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana)

The level of open defecation in West and Central Africa accounts for 14 per cent of the global open defecation rate. In Nigeria alone, 46.5 million people practice open defecation, making it the second highest ranked country in the world. Between 2008 and 2017, the creation of sanitation demand through Community Approaches for Total Sanitation[2] in West and Central Africa has led to an increase of almost 25 million people living in open defecation-free communities.

“Despite this recent success, the current rate of progress is insufficient to eliminate open defecation by 2030,” says Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “While UNICEF will continue to rely on proven strategies, new accelerators are needed to support local markets to deliver sustainable sanitation solutions at scale. Following the rise in demand for toilets, we will work with countries to enhance the engagement of the private sector to provide adequate and affordable sanitation products and services, including in isolated, often underserved rural areas.”

In the first of a series of regional sanitation industry consultations, the event in Abuja will convene product manufacturers, service providers, government officials, financial institutions and development partners to share information, discuss market challenges, communicate perspectives and identify strategic steps to strengthen local markets in West and Central Africa and specifically in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Similar consultations in other regions such as Eastern & Southern Africa, Southern Asia and Eastern Asia and the Pacific are also in the pipeline. UNICEF is a key market influencer for solutions that improve the lives of children and their families. As the world’s leading organization for children and the largest procurement agency in the United Nations, UNICEF has a long history of influencing markets and driving product innovation that has increased children’s access to essential commodities.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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Inclusion of DRC Grand Inga 3 dam sparks energy protest - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:
Human rights activists from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and civil society organisations including International Rivers and WoMin will picket at the Department of Energy in Pretoria this coming Friday 16 November against the inclusion of the Grand Inga 3 hydroelectric dam in the updated draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

Of concern to South Africans is the impact that Grand Inga will have on local electricity prices. Studies show that, if South Africa goes ahead with procuring this hydro-electric power from the DRC, the cost of electricity will increase by R400 million per annum.

Another concern is the lack of transparency and inadequate involvement of local, already marginalised Congolese communities. It is estimated that over 30 000 people will be displaced if the project goes ahead.

The picketers will hand over a petition signed by over 10,000 community members from Inga in the DRC against the construction of the dam in which South Africa is heavily invested: in 2014, the government under Jacob Zuma signed a treaty in which it pledged to buy 2500MW of Congolese hydropower per year once the dam comes online in 2030.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Improve nutrition funding in Nigeria says CS-SUNN - NaijaAgroNet

The Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS—SUNN), has urged the three tiers of government in the country to make certain adequate budgetary allocations on nutrition activities, reports NaijaAgroNet.

A communiqué issued at end of a 3-day workshop , the Civil Society Organisation (CSO) called on government to ensure adequate and prompt release of the nutrition budgets in order to facilitate necessary provisions for the treatment of drugs for the handling of malnutrition issues ravaging children under 5 years old.

The workshop with the theme; "the journalists' role in ensuring transparency and accountability in allocation and use of health/ nutrition funds in Nigeria", was aimed at building the capacity of media practitioners in reporting issues of nutrition

Endorsed by Salihu Mohammed Alkali and Priscilla Dennis, chairman and secretary of the Communique Committee, respectively, described as unacceptable, the record of over 2000 of children under 5 dying daily as a result of cases of malnutrition.

Participants also decried the daily 145 maternal death as a result of malnutrition, recognising nutrition as multi sectoral issue admonishing all hands on deck to be able to tackle the menace.

Participants noted that preventing malnutrition is better and more cost effective than curing the problem, regretting that any malnourished child will be resistant to immunisation.

They further urged media to promptly and adequately report malnutrition cases in order to effectively tackle the problem.

The workshop was organised by CS-- SUNN in collaboration with Partnership for Improving Nigeria Nutrition Systems, PINNS.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Dialogue, knowledge exchange scopes to zero hunger - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:
Food security experts have identified forging ahead strategies and partnerships with different organizations will ensure that food systems are visible, and recognized, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Leading this call at the weekend is Christiana Louwa Saiti from El Molo People in Kenya, while speaking at the wake of High-Level Expert Seminar on Indigenous Food Systems held to explore how to build on traditional knowledge to achieve Zero Hunger in Italy.

"What it is important about this seminar is not only indigenous peoples themselves coming together, but that we are forging ahead strategies and partnerships with different organizations to ensure that our food systems are visible, recognized and respected," said Christiana.

Indigenous food systems are dynamic and their very persistence highlights their value as a source of insights for broader global challenges, said Helena Semedo, FAO's Deputy Director General.

She urged seminar participants to think of "how can we embrace key features of indigenous food systems that depend on both cultivated crops and wild plants, synergies with the natural environment and biodiversity, close adaptation to local conditions, a high level of diversification, a light carbon footprint, fewer ‘negative externalities' and reduced use of external inputs while being closely tied to socio-cultural and spiritual activities?"

Along with opening and closing ceremonies led by Abuela Amalia, a traditional healer of the Nahuatl People in Mexico, and Taita Morales, the seminar addressed topics ranging from how indigenous food systems can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Zero Hunger Challenge. Sessions were also dedicated to case studies related to communities in upland Vietnam, northern Finland, the Solomon Islands and Cameroon's forests.

"I learnt all that I know about handcrafts and the use of medicinal plants from my grandparents. Today the mission of the youth is to take care and save the natural resources and the sacred elements of their communities and cultures", said Abuela Amalia, calling attention to the challenges, noting that migration and the loss of natural resources pose challenges for the transmission of traditional knowledge to indigenous youth.

Diversified practices linking pastoralism, nomadic gathering and agroforestry from Guatemala, India, Kyrgyzstan and Mali were also presented.

"I think the biggest challenge now is to take what we have learnt and discussed here to the local levels, and be able to engage with communities in preserving and valuing our indigenous food systems," Hayu Patria from the Dayak people in Indonesia.

Along with spurring greater and broader commitment to strengthen the understanding, promotion and preservation of indigenous food systems, the goal of the seminar is to upscale the current indigenous peoples task force into a FAO Technical Network with bolstered links to research institutions, universities, indigenous organizations and other United Nations agencies so as to coordinate activities, and to foster an informal action network to serve as a platform for countries to highlight and support the role that indigenous peoples and their food systems can play in ensuring food security and nutrition.

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Pix: Christiana Louwa Saiti from El Molo People in Kenya

Monday, November 12, 2018

IFAD donates to Anambra farmers after flood disaster - NaijaAgroNet

Some farmers affected by the recent flood disaster in Anambra State have been compensated with the relief materials worth N50 million by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), reports NaijaAgroNet.

The IFAD-assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) has donated relief materials and farm inputs worth over N50 million to farmers affected by the recent flood disaster in Anambra State.

Some of the items presented to the farmers at Umueri General Hospital which serves as a holding centre in the state included bags of rice and garri, cartons of noodles, vegetable oil and soaps.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mechanisation, Processing and Export, Mr Afam Mbanefo said that the gesture was to help ameliorate their sufferings.

“The items are to ensure that you have food to go back home with and while the inputs are to ensure that you have something to go back to farm with,” he explained.

The commissioner further disclosed that the state government already had a rice nursery farm in Umueri for dry season farming which commences immediately the flood recedes.

Mbanefo said that the State government was partnering with other agricultural intervention programmes, agencies and stakeholders to further give succour to farmers in the state.

The State Programme Coordinator of IFAD-VCDP, Mr Nnamdi Agwuncha said 200 rice farmers and 50 cassava farmers will be supported with inputs to enable them to get back early to farms to continue business.

“Every rice or cassava farmer will be supported with farm inputs for one hectare. “Rice seeds, cassava stems and fertiliser inputs would be provided for a total of 250 hectares of rice and cassava farms.

“The inputs will be provided as soon as the farmers are ready to go back to farm,” Aguncha assured while stressing the need for them to ensure their farms to mitigate loss during disasters.

In his remarks, the traditional ruler of Umueri, Igwe Ben Emeka appealed to the Federal Government to establish damns that would collect the flood water when they overflow their banks.

Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Theresa Obi, the chairman, Nnaemeka Cooperative Society, Umuoba-Anam commended the IFAD-VCDP and the state government for coming to their aid.

“If you come to our farms, you will pity us; but I thank God that they have fulfilled their promise.

“This gesture has rekindled our hope,” Obi said while appealing to other affluent individuals to come to their aid.

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‘Strengthen indigenous food systems key to achieving zero-hunger world’ - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:
Indigenous Food systems and indigenous traditional knowledge have survived hundreds and sometimes thousands of years, therefore they may have some of the answers we are looking for, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to him, FAO considers indigenous and tribal peoples as fundamental actors in the fight against poverty, hunger and all other forms of malnutrition, as well as in the promotion of sustainable agriculture practices.

Graziano da Silva also said in a keynote speech wrapping up High-Level Expert Seminar on Indigenous Food Systems held to explore how to build on traditional knowledge to achieve Zero Hunger. Failing to grasp and support indigenous food systems risks losing ancestral knowledge and centuries of know-how.

"The loss of biodiversity, is also the loss of our identity of our foods and medicines, said Taita Ignacio Morales, a traditional healer from the Muiska-Piuret people of Colombia.

Seventy panelists coming from indigenous communities and organizations; universities; research centers and more than 180 attendees and 49 countries, exchanged their expertise and knowledge on indigenous food systems. By combining presentations on traditional knowledge and expertise from scientific knowledge, the seminar allowed to increase the understanding and contributions that indigenous food systems have been making to the world.

Participants reviewed some of the analytical and field studies done over the past year by a task force set up by FAO and Bioversity International, the Center for International Forestry Research, France's Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) and the Indigenous Partnership for Food Security and Sovereignty, as well as several local indigenous organizations, on how indigenous communities around the world generate food while managing the territory and the environment in a sustainable way.

"In the path to achieve the Zero Hunger Goal we need more efficient food production methods. We need to cease environmentally unsound practices. We need to innovate on and open to all manner of food systems" highlighted Patrick Rata, New Zealand Ambassador.

Co-organized by FAO, UNESCO, UNPFII, FILAC and DOCIP, the expert seminar was an opportunity to exchange knowledge, understandings and concepts, which will be articulated in a future publication. The expert seminar and the publication are key contributions to the global debate on sustainability and climate resilience in the context of the 2030 Agenda and the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition.

Indigenous peoples number more than 370 million people speaking more than 4,000 languages in 90 countries and occupying around 22 percent of the earth's surface while acting as custodians of 80 percent of the planet's biodiversity. Yet while representing around 5 percent of the world's population, they make up 15 percent of the world's poor.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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Pix: FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Waste not, want not: Improving diets by reducing food loss and waste

NaijaAgroNet:
A new policy brief has called for action to reduce the loss and waste of high-nutrient foods, reports NaijaAgroNet.

With one in five deaths associated with poor-quality diets, a policy brief launched today urges policymakers to prioritize the reduction of food loss and waste as a way of improving people's access to nutritious and healthy food.

The brief, Preventing nutrient loss and waste across the food system: Policy actions for high-quality diets, points out that poor-quality diets are now a greater public health threat than malaria, tuberculosis or measles. Meanwhile, approximately one third of all the food produced for human consumption never reaches the consumer's plate or bowl.

The brief was prepared by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

It notes how foods such as fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, dairy products, meats and seafood are rich in nutrients, but are also highly perishable and therefore susceptible to losses throughout the food system. The numbers are staggering: each year more than half of all the fruits and vegetables produced globally are lost or wasted. A vital source of protein, around 25 percent of all the meat produced - equivalent to 75 million cows - is not consumed.

Panel member and FAO Director-General of FAO, José Graziano da Silva, said: "To tackle all forms of malnutrition and promote healthy diets, we need to put in place food systems that increase the availability, affordability and consumption of fresh, nutrient-rich food for everyone. Taking specific actions to reduce the losses and waste of fresh and nutritious food is a fundamental part of this effort."

Action across the entire food system

The brief proposes a series of policy actions across the entire food system, including: educating stakeholders; focusing on perishable foods; improving public and private infrastructure; encouraging innovation; and closing the data and knowledge gaps on food losses and waste.

Panel member and President of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Prof. Srinath K. Reddy, welcomed the brief, saying: "The Global Panel's policy actions show how reducing food loss and waste could play a key role in improving the poor and inadequate diets that affect 3 billion people globally, and which are often responsible for persistent undernutrition, and also the rise of overweight and obesity and the associated increase in non-communicable diseases".

FAO data indicates that in low-income countries food is mostly lost during harvesting, storage, processing and transportation, while in high-income countries the problem is one of waste at retail and consumer levels.

Together, they have a direct impact on the number of calories and nutrients that are actually available for consumption. The loss and waste of micronutrients is of particular concern given the direct impact on wellbeing, learning capacity and productivity.

Globally, agriculture produces 22 percent more vitamin A than we require. However, after loss and waste, the amount available for human consumption is 11 percent less than required. Reducing the loss and waste of nutritious foods could therefore yield substantial health benefits.

It would also deliver economic returns, as the value of food lost or wasted annually at the global level is estimated at $ 1 trillion. Eating more of the food already produced would also avoid the waste of the water, land and energy that went into its production.

Isaac Oyimah

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Nigerians urged to prioritise first 1000 days of child life - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:
Nigerians have been urged to prioritize the first 1000 days of life of a child, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The participants made this call at the three-day Media Training at Consort Luxury Suites, Abuja, on the theme, “The Journalists’ Role in Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Allocation and Use of Health and Nutrition Funds in Nigeria.”

The event organized by the Civil Society Scaling up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) under the Partnership for Improving Nigeria Nutrition Systems (PINNS) project, saw to building of capacity of media practitioners to develop stories and programmes focusing on transparency and accountability in allocation and use of health cum nutrition funds in focal states and the country at large.

The training was also organized to engender passion and commitment to reporting health and nutrition issues through site visited to Kwali Primary Health Care (PHC) Centre for firsthand experience of the challenges in the sector among other important issues.

Rising from the workshop, participants in a communique made available to NaijaAgroNet noted the importance of Nigerians prioritizing the first 1000 (one thousand) days of life of a child, saying it’s very crucial to the survival and ability of such child to live beyond five years.

For this, participants urged most Nigerian mothers at the Public Health Care (PHC) centres, have been found not practicing Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF), at least in the first 1000 days of a child.

They also urged Nigerian media to sensitize women more on the need to exclusively breastfeed their children in the first six months of life, without addition of water.

“Media should also sensitize women to continue to breastfeed their children for two years in addition to adequate complementary feeding,” the communique stated, just as they called on husband to get involved on how their children are handled especially in matters regarding Exclusive Breast Feeding for the first 1000 days of infants.

NaijaAgroNet  recalls that breast milk provides the ideal nutrition for infants and lowers baby's risk of having asthma or allergies, just as experts have often said that babies breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months, without any formula, have fewer ear infections, respiratory illnesses, and bouts of diarrhea.


Also, they lamented that government across the state, should make adequate budgetary allocation, approval, timely release and cash backing in support of nutrition interventions.

“Where budgets are allocated and released, they focus more on the curative measures than preventive measures,” part of the communique read.

Chuks Egbune/GEE


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Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Communiqué: 2,000 children, 145 women die daily due to malnutrition - NaijaAgroNet

Communiqué issued at the end of a 3-day Media Training/Field visit at Consort Luxury Suites, Abuja from October 29th to November 1st, 2018.
Theme: The Journalists’ Role in Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Allocation and Use of Health/Nutrition Funds in Nigeria. 
The Civil Society Scaling up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) under the Partnership for Improving Nigeria Nutrition Systems (PINNS) project, organized the training to build capacity of media practitioners to develop stories and programmes focusing on transparency and accountability in allocation and use of health/nutrition funds in focal states and the country at large. The training was also organized to engender passion and commitment to reporting health and nutrition issues through site visit to Kwali Primary Health Care (PHC) Centre for firsthand experience of the challenges in the sector among other important issues.

It was observed that:

1. Malnutrition is a multi-sectorial issue of serious concern that requires a collective response.

2. Nigeria loses over 2000 children under five years of age on daily basis due to malnutrition.

3. Over 145 women of child bearing age die daily due to malnutrition.

4. The first 1000 days of life from the time of conception to a child’s second birth day is not prioritized.

5. Governments have not been making adequate budgetary allocation, approval, timely release and cash backing.

6. Where budgets are allocated and released, they focus more on the curative measures than preventive measures.

7. A malnourished child when immunized does not absorb/utilize the immunization.

8. There is low reportage of nutrition related issues in Nigeria.

9. 53% of deaths from child killer diseases is directly related to malnutrition.

10. Most mothers at the PHC are not practicing Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF).

11. There is lack of male/husband involvement and support towards EBF.

Recommendations:

1. Participants agreed that stakeholders (Government, Media, CSOs, care givers, Donor agencies etc) need to place emphasis on preventive than curative measures.

2. Government and policy makers should be held accountable for their commitments.

3. Journalists should be consistent in their reportage on nutrition.

4. Media practitioners should hold government accountable by getting enough information aimed at addressing nutrition issues.

5. Media should put nutrition at the front burner and influence policy decisions through their reportage for improved nutrition interventions.

6. Participants should advocate for policies to mainstream nutrition into agriculture.

7. Media should sensitize women on the need to exclusively breastfeed their children in the first six (6) months of life, without addition of water.

8. Media should also sensitize women to continue to breastfeed their children for two years in addition to adequate complementary feeding.

9. Media practitioners are encouraged to explore key components of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so as to bring to the fore requisite solutions to the plights of women, children and other vulnerable groups.

10. Government should scale up and sustain existing interventions on nutrition.

11. Media should intensify campaign towards behavioral change, especially for men to support EBF.


Signed:

Mr. Salihu Mohammed Alkali (chairman, drafting committee)

Priscilla Dennis (Mrs) (secretary, drafting committee)

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Monday, November 5, 2018

WAOM berates Morocco over Africans travel restrictions - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:
The West African Observatory on Migrations (WAOM), has berated Morocco for joining the European Union (EU) against African migration, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Morocco, NaijaAgroNet gathered is a North African country bordering the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

As said by WAOM, the travel restrictions for Malians, Guineans and Congolese wishing to travel to Morocco, is disheartening.

A press statement from International conference on environmental migration in West Africa made available to NaijaAgroNet, said "Far from appearing as an experiment as presented by the Morocco kingdom, this measure is a real step backward as it removes from the citizens of these countries the possibility that they had until then to travel without a visa to Morocco. A few weeks before the international conference to adopt the Global Compact on Migration in Marrakesh, the Moroccan decision shocks deeply because it goes against the will reaffirmed by the African Union to move towards the free movement of Africans on their continent.

"The dream of an African Schengen area, where citizens can travel without any visa or travel authorization requirement, seems to be called into question by the Kingdom of Morocco, which is nevertheless presented as the ” Leader ” for migration by the African Union. After returning to Africa Union, in January 2017, Morocco was given the responsibility by its African peers to propose the broad outlines of a migration policy for the African Union. In the wake of its reconquest of the continent, the Moroccan kingdom had then manifested its candidacy to join the Economic Community of States of West Africa (ECOWAS), which advocates a free movement for the citizens of its community. The glimmers of hope thus sent by Morocco seem to be buried in the face of pressure from the European Union, which is constantly reinforcing the role of the countries of North Africa and the Sahel as gendarmes of its policy against the immigration of Africans.

"This Moroccan decision, contrary to African interests, can only be understood in its perspective of pleasing the European institutions. Indeed, the European Union has just opened a series of negotiations with some African countries to demand that they repatriate their “undocumented” citizens residing in Europe on pain of having their Schengen visa restricted for their nationals wishing to travel legally to European countries. 

Morocco seems miraculously not threatened by this blackmail from the European Union despite recent events that saw Moroccan citizens trying to illegally gain Europe. It seems more than ever necessary for African civil society, as a whole, to raise its voice against the dictates of the European Union, which under the guise of development aid, weaken African integration and prevent Africans from traveling without visa in the same way as the citizens of the European Union. The West African Observatory on Migrations is appealing to all citizens of African countries to advocate on their States not to accept measures that undermine our mobility rights on our African soil and destroy our will to live a real fraternity life as sons and daughters of the same continent.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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Sapele Power petitions IG Idris over police harassment - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:
The operator of the 1,020MW Sapele Power Plant, the Sapele Power Plc (SPP), has petitioned the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, over the use of Police to settle business scores by Seistech, reports NaijaAgroNet.

In a petition to the police high command on the details of the contract with Seistech, the management of Sapele Power noted that during the power privatisation exercise, SPP, along with its assets which include two storage tanks and a jetty located within the power plant, was acquired by Eurafric Power Limited.

The petition also noted that sometime in 2016, Seistech Energy Limited, an oil and gas company, approached SPP for the lease of one of its storage tanks in the plant for storage of crude oil produced by Mid-Western Oil & Gas Company Limited. A Storage Lease Agreement dated September 6, 2016 was negotiated and executed.

Sapele Power says Seistech had now failed to meet the terms of the agreement and has resorted to intimidation, attempt to forcibly takeover its facilities and threat to life, among others.

Just as the company also alleged complicity of the Police in the matter for which it has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, asking that he puts a stop “to the use of the police to perpetuate illegality.”

“Few months into the transaction, Seistech became bankrupt, and unable to meet its financial obligations under the contract, Seistech then introduced Mid-Western to assume its financial responsibility and Mid-Western effected tank rental payments on behalf of Seistech. Subsequently, Seistech had a fall-out with Mid-Western and payment for the tank rental was suspended.

“Rather than look for creative means of liquidating its indebtedness, Seistech chose to cunningly cook up lies and misinform our business partners, regulatory authorities and unsuspecting third parties that the rented tank did not belong to SPP, rather, belonged to Seistech.

“As a result of this development, we terminated the tank rental contract with Seistech and asked them to pay up outstanding rental debt, evacuate the products from the storage tank in question and vacate our premises immediately.

“Instead of complying, Seistech surreptitiously and continuously sought ways to defraud us by evacuating product in storage without settling its indebtedness (presently in excess of N600,000,000 (Six Hundred Million Naira). So far, its threats and activities have impeded our activities and smooth operations of the power plant”.

Sapele Power Plc maintained that to undermine security and control of the its power plant, within which the storage tank is located, Seistech, with the connivance of the Police, deployed mobile policemen from Mopol 33 into the plant, leading to a faceoff with SPP’s mobile policemen from Mopol 44 with threat of gunfire exchange.

Ozo Nweke Ozo/ED, Ops

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Thursday, November 1, 2018

African women shine @Anzisha Prize Awards'18 - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:
The Mastercard Foundation and African Leadership Academy are thrilled that 22-year-old healthcare entrepreneur Melissa Bime has won the US$25,000 Grand Prize at the 8th annual Anzisha Prize awards gala. She is the founder of INFIUSS, an online blood bank and digital supply chain platform that ensures patients in 23 hospitals in Cameroon have life-saving blood when and where they need it. She is only the second woman to win the grand prize since Best Ayiorworth took it home in 2013.

“Today, I stand here to represent every young girl out there that just has her dreams,” said Melissa Bime during her acceptance speech. “I stand here to represent this amazing group of entrepreneurs that I am a part of. With these people, the future of Africa is very bright. We are going to change this continent.”

Melissa was selected from among 20 finalists during a ceremony on 23 October that was live streamed to over 3,000 viewers and created a social media buzz across the continent.

The first runner up, 18-year-old Alhaji Siraj Bah will receive US$15,000 in prize money. He is the founder of Rugsal Trading in Sierra Leone, a company that produces handcrafted paper bags as well as briquettes for cooking fuel. Alhaji hopes that the funds will boost the impact his business is already having and will enable him to hire more youth from his community. “I had only US$20 dollars when I started and I have created an impact already,” said Bah. With US$15,000, I am going to impact 7.5 million Sierra Leonians’ lives in less than five years. It will happen.”

Joan Nalubega, 21, was the second-runner up. She is the co-founder of Uganics, which produces mosquito-repellent soap to combat malaria inUganda. With the US$12,500, she will conduct a certification study for the company’s products and prepare Uganics for export to neighboring countries which will help to widen her impact in the fight against malaria.

The keynote speaker, renowned entrepreneur Sim Shagaya spoke plainly about the challenges faced by the continent but was confident that young entrepreneurs are best placed to solve them. He concluded his inspiring remarks with a simple message to the finalists, “you must lead!”

“We are proud of all 20 finalists and are excited to see two young and dynamic women taking home top prizes,” said Koffi Assouan, Program Manager, Mastercard Foundation. “Their contributions will continue to impact their countries and they are role models for other young women across the continent. They are demonstrating how to turn obstacles into opportunities that create value and jobs for others.”

The Anzisha Prize, the premier award for Africa’s youngest entrepreneurs, is a partnership between African Leadership Academy and the Mastercard Foundation. The 20 finalists spent 10 days in a business accelerator camp strengthening their business fundamentals before presenting their ventures to a panel of judges that included Ntuthuko Shezi, Bita Diamomande, Saran Kaba Jones, and Polo Leteka. They join a pool of more than 85 Anzisha Fellows and a network of support that includes access to mentors, experts, and networking. Each returns home with a US$2,500.

“This year was exciting in that we announced our new efforts to support the parents of very young entrepreneurs in Africa,” said Josh Adler, Vice President of Growth and Entrepreneurship at African Leadership Academy. “Our new book – Raising the Boss – uncovers the critical role they play and how we must invest in them if we are to see more young people confidently choosing an entrepreneurship career path post school.”

Applications for the next cycle of the Anzisha Prize will open on 15 February in 2019. Nominations for promising youth entrepreneurs are welcome all year round.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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Nestlé releases 2018 financial results for Q3, offers N20 dividend - NaijaAgroNet

The Nestlé Nigeria Plc has proclaimed its financial results for 9 months period ending 30 September 2018, with recorded revenue of N 203.1 billion which translates into 9.7 per cent, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to the third quarter results sighted by NaijaAgroNet, stressing that for the period January to September 2018, the company recorded revenue of N 203.1 billion with a growth of 9.7 per cent over same period in the previous year.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that Nestle Nigeria made Profit After Tax (PAT) of N 33.1 billion.
The unaudited financial statements of the company, NaijaAgroNet also gathered, saw Nestlé Nigeria Plc posting a revenue of N 67.8 billion in Q3 2018, up from N 63.3 billion in Q3 2017.

Further, NaijaAgroNet reports that the company board in its meeting held on October 29th 2018 approved an interim dividend of N20 per share.

Below is the full detail of the January - September 2018 financial result.


N’000
N’000
Revenue
203,134,728
185,242,450
Cost of Sales
-116,984,764
-109,361,943
Gross Profit
86,149,964
75,880,507
Marketing and Distribution expenses
-29,739,809
-25,260,332
Administrative expenses
-7,050,143
-7,534,933
Results from operating activities
49,360,012
43,085,242
Finance income
1,389,846
6,281,172
Finance costs
-2,661,306
-14,887,393
Net finance costs
-1,271,460
-8,606,221
Profit before income tax
48,088,552
34,479,021
Income tax expense
-14,970,265
-11,499,031
Profit for the period
33,118,287
22,979,990

 Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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