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Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Post-COVID-19: FAO reiterates mandate delivery despite pandemic - NaijaAgroNet: ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has reiterated delivery on its mandate while safeguarding the health and wellbeing of its employees, especially since the early days of the pandemic, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The UN agency, NaijaAgroNet gathered had in July, presented the FAO COVID-19 Response and Recovery Program aimed at preventing a global food emergency during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, while working on medium- to long-term development responses for food security and nutrition.

On the normative side, the International Code of Conduct for the Sustainable Use and Management of Fertilizers and the Ten Elements of Agroecology were adopted by the FAO Conference; and the FAO Climate Change Strategy is being implemented.

On the operational side, FAO continued to support its members in combatting plant pests and animal diseases that affect lives and livelihoods of millions of people such as the Desert Locust, a threat that remains a priority for FAO with the pandemic making activities on the ground more difficult.

"Between January and August 2020, over 760 000 have been controlled across 10 countries from the Horn of Africa to Yemen," official hinted.

FAO said that in this area, control operations have averted the loss of an estimated 1.52 million tonnes of cereal in the region, stressing that this amount of grain is enough to feed 9.88 million people for an entire year and is valued at $456 million.

In some countries, including Ethiopia and Somalia, FAO and governments are currently fighting the second generation of a widespread desert locust surge. National governments continue to lead control and surveillance operations supported by FAO through the provision of pesticides, bio-pesticides, equipment, aircraft and training.

FAO has also launched the Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control for a strong and coordinated response to the rapid spread of the Fall Armyworm at all levels.

Additionally, the UN agency said, its providing assistance for a Peste des Petits Ruminants-free world, and measures aimed at countering African swine fever and other major animal diseases.

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

Renewable Energy Jobs grew to 11.5m worldwide - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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The renewable energy sector has continued to bring socio-economic benefits by creating numerous jobs worldwide, according to the latest figures released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), reports 
NaijaAgroNet.
The seventh edition of Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review shows that jobs in the sector reached 11.5 million globally last year, led by solar PV with some 3.8 million jobs, or a third of the total.

United for global biodiversity agenda - NaijaAgroNet: ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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Ahead of the UN biodiversity summit later this month, a partnership of environment and development organisations – including IIED – are urging world leaders to ramp up ambition on action for nature, climate and development.

COVID-19 has proved that transformative action is possible with political will, so a breadth of organisations are calling on world leaders to take action to stop biodiversity loss (Photo: Tomas Munita/CIFOR via FlickrCC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

In June and July this year, IIED joined 27 partners – ranging from UN agencies to business groups to Indigenous Peoples’ organisations – to co-convene a series of “Virtual biodiversity dialogues”. The purpose of the dialogues? To explore some of the issues under consideration in the emerging post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and to highlight common concerns and priorities for global leaders to take into account during the negotiations.
Making the most of COVID-19 constraints.

The partnership of environment and development organisations was established in anticipation of the IUCN World Conservation Congress being held in France in June 2020. The original purpose of the partnership was to co-organise a series of side events at the congress, located in a joint ’pavilion’.

All events were to focus on the new framework due to be agreed at the Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), that was due to be held in October 2020.

COVID-19 obviously put a halt to both the IUCN and CBD gatherings but the ’Post-2020 Pavilion Partnership’ decided to make the most of these global meetings being postponed and organised a series of online events instead.

Overall, nearly 900 people from all corners of the world participated in the series of 10 dialogues discussing issues ranging from the scope and content of ambitious global goals for nature to governance for transformative change; from synergies with other conventions and the Sustainable Development Goals to intergenerational equity.
Equity and justice at the heart of a new biodiversity agreement

Perhaps one of the most significant outcomes of the dialogues, from an IIED perspective, was the clear message that rights, equity and justice must lie at the heart of the post-2020 framework. These are issues that IIED has long advocated for, particularly through our work on equity in the context of protected area management. We recognise the urgent need to tackle biodiversity loss and to protect the world’s remaining intact habitats.

But efforts to protect biodiversity that ride rough-shod over local people’s rights to own and manage their resources are not acceptable, and we share concerns with human rights groups as to the potential implications of calls for 30% of land to be protected by 2030.

The dialogues made clear that this year must mark the start of a pivotal moment in human history when we reset our relationship with nature. COVID-19 has shown just how catastrophically misaligned we currently are. Last year’s IPBES Global Assessment highlighted how nature underpins the delivery of all the SDGs. And our own work emphasises the development implications of biodiversity loss.

The drivers of both biodiversity loss and the emergence of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 lie in our mismanagement of nature – in unfettered land conversion and habitat destruction driven by our global food system.

Reflecting this, a further clear message from the dialogues was that world leaders must adopt an ambitious global goal for nature that commits the world to halting further loss of nature and restoring what we have already lost. Participants discussed the concept of ‘nature positive’ as a parallel to ‘carbon neutral’ in the climate negotiations and in one session agreed we would like to see a global ambition for an equitable, carbon-neutral and nature-positive world.
Calling on world leaders to do better

Achieving this ambition would require transformative change in many areas. In our financial systems, food systems, trade systems, and in governance – from international to local levels. If COVID-19 has shown us anything at all it is that transformative action is possible when the risks of inaction are perceived to be great enough. Governments can take actions that previously might have been thought impossible.

One of the objectives of the virtual biodiversity dialogues was therefore to recognise the moment of opportunity that COVID-19 presents amid catastrophe and to collectively craft some key messages for the UN Summit on Biodiversity on 30 September. The heads of the partner organisations have signed a call to action (PDF) aimed at the world leaders participating in the summit.

The call outlines four key measures we would like leaders to take, to deliver an ambitious post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and contribute to the achievement of the SDGs and the Paris Agreement.

The Post-2020 Pavilion partners are not the only organisations issuing a call to action ahead of the UN Biodiversity Summit. Other sectors of society are also calling for ambitious, collective action for nature, climate and development including (but not limited to) business, humanitarian organisations and youth.

Will world leaders respond to these calls or will it be just business as usual? Critical agreements on nature and climate will not be forged until next year. But this month’s summit provides an opportunity for heads of state and government to set the tone for the negotiations to come.

Let’s hope that the tone in the statements that will emerge from the UN summit reflects the high ambition we need, and is accompanied by commitments to real action and change (yes, even the transformative stuff), not the lip service we’ve been used to.

Read the joint press release where hundreds of organisations – including businesses; environment and development organisations, humanitarian organisations; faith groups; local and regional governments; Indigenous Peoples; and youth – call on world leaders to ‘Act on nature’.

Contributed by Dilys Roe, a principal researcher in IIED's Natural Resources research group, Dilys Roe
@dilysroe

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

SDGs: FAO's Committee on Agriculture focuses on livestock sector transformation - NaijaAgroNet: ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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The agricultural sectors and livestock farming in particular must shift towards sustainability to enhance their contribution to food security, nutrition and healthy diets and build back better to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu has said, reports NaijaAgroNet.
In his opening remarks to the 27th session of the Committee on Agriculture (COAG), the DG called for an integrated agri-food systems approach to better address food insecurity and malnutrition amid COVID-19.

Africa oil sector to leverage technology for optimisation - NaijaAgroNet: ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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The ‘Leveraging the Power of Technology for Oilfield Optimization’ webinar was organized by Microsoft in partnership with Africa Oil & Power and the African Energy Chamber, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Participants also foresee lower production costs are paramount to a revamped global oil sector with technology to spearhead cost reductions. 

LMMS performs ground-breaking for multi-specialty trauma centre - NaijaAgroNet: ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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The Loveworld Medical Missions and Services (LMMS) has performed the ground breaking for a multi-specialty hospital that will improve trauma care and emergency services in Nigeria, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The proposed facility to be known as the "Loveworld Medical Centre," will be situated at Aseese, along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Ogun State and will boast of modern equipment and highly skilled personnel dedicated to service, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Monday, September 28, 2020

2020 Report on State of Agricultural Commodity Markets debuts - NaijaAgroNet: ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched the State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020, reports NaijaAgroNet.

FAO, NaijaAgroNet gathered, posited that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the close relationship between markets and food security, and the role of global food systems in withstanding shocks.

Electricity hike: FG to provide solar solution for 5m says minister – NaijaAgroNet

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The Federal Government of Nigeria has advanced plans to provide solar power to some 5 million Nigerian households in the next 365 days, reports NaijaAgroNet.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this to NaijaAgroNet on Saturday in Lagos while reacting to insensitivity of FG over the recent increases in petrol and electricity prices, said the truth is that the government can no longer afford the cost of subsidy, mostly under the prevailing economic conditions.

Saturday, September 26, 2020

Omar Farouq: Cywinsky urges Buhari to reverse sentence, ready to mobilse 120 global volunteers - NaijaAgroNet

A Director of Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland, Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywinsky, has made appealed to the Nigerian President, General Muhammadu Buhari, retired, to intervene in the recent sentencing of a 13-year Omar Farouq to 120 months in prison, reports NaijaAgroNet.
Gov. Ganduje of Kano State
He berated the Sharia court judgement, saying its disgraceful and proposed to take the place Omar if the clemency he was pleading was not appealing enough, just as he plans to mobilise some 120 adult volunteers to serve Farouq’s jail term, including himself.

Friday, September 25, 2020

FARA, TETFUND, UFV launch governance framework for agro-research and innovation - NaijaAgroNet

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The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the Tertiary Education Trust Fund of Nigeria (TETFund) and the Universidade Federal de Vi̤osa (UFV) РBrazil had launched the Governance Framework for the Agricultural Research and Innovation Fellowship for Africa (ARIFA), reports NaijaAgroNet.


This launch was based within the context of South-South and Triangular Cooperation, and climaxed the two years of preparatory work and series of engagements with various stakeholders. 

This event places Nigeria as the first country to take advantage of the FARA-led ARIFA.

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Importance of urban greening explained - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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The importance of urban greening has been explained by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) just as the 
world is becoming more and more urbanized, reports NaijaAgroNet

By 2050, NaijaAgroNet gathered, almost 70 percent of the world's population will be living in cities, with 90 percent of the increase occurring in Africa and Asia, with about 70 percent of all food supplies consumed by urban dwellers - a number that is steadily on the rise.

Post-COVID-19: IFAD says mobile phones to help 1.7m small-scale farmers - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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Some 1.7 million small-scale farmers in Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan will soon receive personalized agricultural advice through their mobile phones as a means to improve their incomes, food security and resilience to economic shocks caused by COVID-19, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has revealed, reports NaijaAgroNet.


The innovative initiative, NaijaAgroNet gathered that one of 11 proposals to receive initial funding under IFAD’s Rural Poor Stimulus Facility (RPSF), comes as a result of a new partnership between IFAD and Precision Agriculture for Development (PAD), a global non-profit organisation co-founded by Nobel Prize winning economist Michael Kremer.

African ministers commit to strengthen collaboration on food, agriculture - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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The Ministers from the Near East and North Africa (NENA) have approved a historical Ministerial Declaration that sets a foundation to strengthen collaboration across the region to build lasting solutions to the most urgent and pressing food and agricultural challenges, aimed at recovering from COVID-19 impacts and transforming food systems, NaijaAgroNet reports.


The Ministerial Declaration was adopted during the 35th FAO Regional Conference for the Near East (21-22 September), virtually hosted by the Sultanate of Oman, in which 30 FAO Members, as well as representatives from partner organizations, civil society, the private sector and academia, gathered to discuss innovative policy solutions related to this year's theme "Transforming Food Systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals".

Top 15 tobacco firms: Index reveals limited progress to end smoking - NaijaAgroNet

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The 15 largest tobacco companies across the world are not making substantive progress in phasing out cigarettes and other high-risk tobacco products and transitioning smokers to reduced-risk alternatives, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to the first Tobacco Transformation Index (TTI)
released this week and made available to NaijaAgroNet, courtesy of the grant by the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World.
The index also revealed that a small group of companies have made public commitments to harm reduction and backed them with significant investments.

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

CBA14 kicks off, harps on local solutions to inspire global action - NaijaAgroNet

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The 14th International Conference on Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change (CBA14) will be held online has kicked off, report NaijaAgroNet.

CBA14 would hold from 21-25 September 2020 with focus on community-based adaptation, putting the people most vulnerable to climate change at the centre of the conversation.

FAO launches Green Cities Initiative to help transform agri-food systems, end hunger - NaijaAgroNet

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has unveiled a Green Cities Initiative and Action Plan to help transform agri-food systems, end hunger and improve nutrition in and around the cities in a post COVID-19 era, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The launch took place at a high-level virtual event entitled "Green Cities to Build Back Better for SDGs - A New Powerful Venture" hosted by FAO during the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.

Highlighting the vast potential of cities in reducing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's health and food security and contributing to climate change mitigation, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu encouraged all partners to appreciate the essential role of cities in building back better and the urgency of innovative, comprehensive and coordinated actions.

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Today is Equinox day 2020 - NaijaAgroNet .. Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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Today, September 22 is autumnal Equinox day, reports 
NaijaAgroNet.

According experts, on Equinox day, the sun sets exactly on the West today after rising exactly from the East, meaning that there is approximately equal day and night respectively today. 
They posited there is also vernal or spring equinox which occurs on March 21 with same description; based on the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth and occurring about March 21 - vernal equinox, or spring equinox, whilst on September 22 is autumnal equinox.

BBC says NNPC lied over cause of Sabo inferno in Lagos - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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New evidence obtained by the BBC Africa Eye has contradicted the official explanation for the cause of an explosion which killed 23 people and destroyed a girls boarding school in Lagos, Nigeria, reports NaijaAgroNet.


As contained in the BBC in a video documentary available to NaijaAgroNet, showed that new evidence obtained by BBC Africa Eye contradicts the official explanation for the cause of an explosion which left 23 people and destroyed a girls boarding school in Sabo-Lagos, Nigeria commercial centre and a residential neighbourhood of Lagos on March 15, 2020 at 8:56am.

Friday, September 18, 2020

Kano: UNICEF decries sentencing of 13-year child to 10 years - NaijaAgroNet

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UNICEF has expressed deep concern about the sentencing of 13-year-old Omar Farouq to ten years’ imprisonment with menial labour by the Kano State Sharia Court at Feli Hockey, Kano, in northern Nigeria, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Gov. Ganduje of Kano State

The sentence was handed down after he was convicted of blasphemy on 10 August 2020.

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Winners emerge @ GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize - NaijaAgroNet

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The two winners of the 2020 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize have been announced at the Africa Green Revolution Forum Virtual Summit in Rwanda: Moses Katala co-founder and CEO of Magofarm Limited (Tanzania) and Daniella Kwayu co-founder and CEO of Phema Agri (Tanzania), reports NaijaAgroNet.

Each winner will receive US$50,000 to support and expand their agribusiness operations.
Part of the Generation Africa youth initiative, the aim of this prize is to identify and inspire young people across Africa to seize the opportunities across the value chain of the $1Tn agrifood industry on the continent in the decades ahead.

Four entrepreneurs were also named to receive a $2,500 Impact Award: Elizabeth Gikebe, founder and CEO of Mhogo Foods (Kenya), Millicent Agidipo, co-founder and production manager of Achiever Foods (Ghana), Dysmus Kisulu, co-founder and CEO of Solar Freeze (Kenya) and Paul Matovu, founder and CEO of Vertical Farm and Micro-Gardening (Uganda). 

Monday, September 14, 2020

COVID-19: TGI Group employees provide 1m free meals to vulnerable - NaijaAgroNet

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The TGI Cares Fund, an employee-led charity initiative of Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group, has commenced the provision of one million free meals in communities struggling with the economic impact of COVID-19. 

The pandemic has left many vulnerable people in communities without a steady source of livelihood but TGI Cares Fund, focusing solely on supporting communities during and beyond the economic crisis, is giving them food items. 

Speaking while handing over food items to FoodClique Support Initiative, an organisation that identifies and reaches out to the most vulnerable in communities, Group Human Resources Director and Coordinator of TGI Cares Fund, Mr Tominiyi Oni, reiterated the commitment of TGI employees to assisting less-privileged Nigerians. 

“We are proud of our people who birthed this noble idea. These are difficult times, so I am elated that my colleagues have pooled resources together to kick start this charity drive,” he said. 

Receiving the items on behalf of FoodClique Support Initiative, Team Lead, Bolajoko Fadipe, expressed gratitude for the kind gesture. 

He further appreciated employees of TGI Group, promising proper distribution of the food items to the most vulnerable in low-income communities across the country. 

In its first phase, 280,000 (two hundred and eighty thousand) meals have been provided for children, unemployed youth and women in Lagos State. Phase two of the charity drive will extend to other communities in the northern part of the country. 

Recall that the TGI Group had previously donated the sum of N500million (five hundred million naira) to support Nigeria’s COVID-19 intervention fund organised by the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID). 

It also donated food items to 2,000 families in Lagos, 500 families in Abuja, 500 families in Ogun and gave N20,000,000 to an Isolation and Treatment Centre in Lagos, among others. 

Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group is an international investment and holding company with diversified interests. Its corporate identity is based on respect for people, its communities and the natural environment as it continuously seeks to support its communities during and beyond challenging times.

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Thursday, September 10, 2020

Online health provides easy access to health services - NaijaAgroNet - Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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Online Health Company Limited has launched a one-stop hospital for all through a telemedicine app called “Ohealth Odoctor" that bridges the gap between health consultants and the public bringing both parties together on-air for effective health delivery, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The recent and sudden effect of the COVID 19 pandemic has again brought the world to the reality of how vulnerable human beings could be if there are no functional health facilities that are void of too many layers of protocols and bottlenecks. It is not a gainsaying that at this critical moment of human life, there is an ultimate and immediate need to bring health solutions closer to people where most needed to keep hope alive and preserve the human race as much as possible.