South Sudan 3.9m citizens face severe hunger– UN

NaijaAgroNet:

Three United Nations agencies haveraised alarm thatestimated3.9 million South Sudanese now face severe hunger, NaijaAgroNetreports.

These agencies include Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

This was revealed in a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis made available to NaijaAgroNet, which although noted that the number of food insecure households has decreased - as expected - during the harvest season, it is almost 80 per cent higher than in the same period last year, as even people living in states not directly affected by conflict with its long-term effects, erratic rainfall, depleted livelihood options, high food prices, fuel costs and inflation, equally experience the downturn in a generally degraded economic environment.

They called on the parties to the conflict to grant urgent and unrestricted access to Unity State, where a newly released Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis shows that at least 30 000 people are living in extreme conditions and are facing starvation and death.  

Since the war in South Sudan began nearly two years ago, NaijaAgroNet learnt,it is the first time that an IPC analysis has found any parts of the population in phase five (catastrophe) on the five-point IPC scale.

 “This is the start of the harvest and we should be seeing a significant improvement in the food security situation across the country, but unfortunately this is not the case in places like southern Unity State, where people are on the edge of a catastrophe that can be prevented,” said WFP Country Director, ,Joyce Luma. “The people of South Sudan need peace, nutritious food and other humanitarian assistance and livelihood support to survive and rebuild their lives," she stated.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that unless unrestricted humanitarian access is urgently granted, the food insecurity could deteriorate to famine in parts of Unity State, where humanitarian assistance has been hampered by the dreadful violence and lack of access in recent months. Some displaced families say they survive on just one meal a day consisting of only fish and water lilies.

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New SDAs to end hunger by 2030

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The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director General, Graziano da Silva, has said that the Sustainable Development Agenda's goals (SDAs) approved at last month's United Nations summit will end hunger by 2030,NaijaAgronet reports.

The agenda has eradication of hunger as one of its core goals. Its approval at last month's United Nations summit "brings new momentum to our efforts," Silva told delegates at the CFS plenary.

"Now the world has a set date to end hunger, to achieve food security and to end malnutrition in all its forms. I do not doubt that we can become the Zero Hunger generation.

"Building consensus takes time, but it helps things move faster later," he added, noting that FAO, often working with the World Food Program and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, is already putting the framework's principles into practice.

The CFS opened its plenary October12, marking the first international gathering on food security and nutrition since global leaders approved the Sustainable Development Agenda's goal, NaijaAgroNet.

The CFS is aninter-governmental body that serves as a forum for the review and follow up of food security and nutrition policies.

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Zero hunger, key for realization SDGs

ITRealms

 

The Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) José Graziano da Silva has told world leaders at United Nations headquarters that zero hunger is the only guaranty for  realization of the entire set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Information from FAO stated that fourteen of the 17 new SDGs are related to FAO's historic mission, the Director-General noted, adding that the second goal - which is "to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture" - must be urgently pursued as rapid progress on that front is the key to the other goals, he added

"We have given ourselves an enormous task,that begins with the historic commitment of not only reducing but also eradicating poverty, hunger in a sustainable way. We can only rest when we achieve zero hunger," Silva said.

NaijaAgroNet recalledthat the SDGs follow and expand on the Millennium Development Goals, established in 2001 and ending this year, which set a hunger reduction target that was met by more than half of the countries monitored by FAO. But nearly 800 million people still suffer from chronic undernourishment.

A majority of the world's poor and hungry live in rural areas, and improving their livelihoods is the core challenge.

He also reminded world leaders that in the next 15 years an additional investment of 160 dollars, about N31,848per year per person living in extreme poverty is needed to end hunger, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

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FAO protects sagric-based livelihoods for peace-building, poverty alleviation

NaijaAgroNet:

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is protecting agriculture-based livelihoods during conflict as a crucial strategy for peace-building, poverty alleviation and development in countries facing protracted crisis situation, NaijaAgroNet reports.

At a practical level FAO said,its prioritizing help for the most vulnerable families to improve their access to food, nutrition and income while creating the conditions for rehabilitation and long-term resilience of agriculture as a crucial strategy.

According to a press statement, the Director-General of the organization, José Graziano da Silva said that the millions of people who are being forced to flee from war, poverty and other hardships are a tragic reminder of the urgent need for peaceful solutions based on social justice and improved economic opportunities for all. Key to achieving this is the protection of and investment in rural livelihoods.

"Rural development and food security are central to the global response to the refugee crisis. War causes hunger and hunger too, kills and forces people from their homes.
"Supporting agricultural based livelihoods can contribute to both helping people stay on their land when they feel safe to do so and to create the conditions for the return of refugees, migrants and displaced people," Graziano da Silva said.

In Syria, NaijaAgroNet gathered, the conflict is having a devastating impact on agriculture, with food markets and supply chains dysfunctional, much of the irrigation and other infrastructure destroyed and farmers and livestock keepers left with no other option than to abandon their fields and animals. The ones who remain cannot access markets or afford seeds, fertilizers and other inputs. Meanwhile the influx of Syrian refugees is also impacting agriculture in neighbouring host countries

This involves seed assistance to enable Syrian farmers to harvest sufficient cereals to feed their families; cash-for-work programmes to create income opportunities while repairing critical on-farm infrastructure; veterinary support and vaccination campaigns in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to preserve livestock health and vital sources of nutrition; and distribution of backyard production kits that give displaced and host families the means to produce nutrient-rich foods, such as eggs, milk and vegetables, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

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Animal deaths worsen food crisis in Africa

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The Animal Health Officer at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Dr. Felix Njemi has said that the large number of animal deaths is worsening the food crisis in Africa, especially in countries south of the Sahara, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Njemi was among experts from across Africa who agreed that trans-border diseases kill between 10 and 20 per cent of the continent’s animals every year. The experts, who gathered in Cameroon recently to discuss the problem, suggested large vaccination and pest eradication programmes to stop the spread of the diseases.

He said, “The strategy is the large vaccination at the country level. Undertake surveillance to detect any case of the disease and strengthen collaboration between member nations and even between international institutions. Imagine somebody who has 10 animals and loses eight. The disease can have impact in food security.”

Many poor people in African countries, he said, depend on goats and sheep for their livelihoods, even as he said  FAO is urging farmers to be on guard against transboundary animal diseases warning that ticks, lice and other pests can spread quickly from one country to the next, NaijaAgroNet gathered.

According to information from, Voice of America (VOA), the Cameroon’s livestock minister, Dr. Taiga, he does not use a first name, on his part, said pests like nose bot flies and wool maggots are harming animals in some communities in his country.

He said that all animals in an area must be killed if one animal is affected because the diseases are contagious. They spread quickly from animal to animal. He said that is why the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health are working together to destroy the diseases. He says that when central African countries succeed in killing the pests, their human populations will enjoy better quality protein, NaijaAgroNet reports.

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129 million hectares lost to deforestation

NaijaAgroNet

About 129 million hectares of forest, an area almost equivalent in size to South Africa, have been lost since 1990, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The world's forests continue to shrink as populations increase and forest land is converted to agriculture and other uses, but over the past 25 years the rate of net global deforestation has slowed down by more than 50 per cent, according to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) comprehensive forest report-- The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015-- published today, September7.

The FAO study covers 234 countries and territories and was presented at this week's World Forestry Congress in Durban, South Africa.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, launching the report in Durban, said, "Forests play a fundamental role in combating rural poverty, ensuring food security and providing people with livelihoods. And they deliver vital environmental services such as clean air and water, the conservation of biodiversity and combating climate change,"

"The direction of change is positive, but we need to do better. We will not succeed in reducing the impact of climate change and promoting sustainable development if we do not preserve our forests and sustainably use the many resources they offer us," he added.
Meanwhile, the net annual rate of forest loss has slowed from 0.18 per cent in the early 1990s to 0.08 per cent during the period 2010-2015, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

Africa and South America had the highest net annual loss of forests in 2010-2015, with 2.8 and 2 million hectares respectively, but the report notes how the rate of loss has "substantially decreased" from the previous five year period.

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FAO, MasterCard partnership kick starts with Turkana 170,000 refugees

NaijaAgroNet:

 

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) partnership with MasterCard, the technology company in the global payments industry, will take off by caring for Kakuma refugee camp, Turkana County, Kenya, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The camp is currently housing 170,000 refugees who have fled wars and violence in neighboring countries.

According to the agreement, camp residents will be provided with prepaid cards that will permit them to buy charcoal produced locally by the host community – charcoal that has been certified as being produced in a sustainable, environmentally-friendly way. The scheme, NaijaAgroNet gathered, is designed to improve incomes of Turkana residents, reduce social tensions between those residents and the refugees, and relieve pressure on the environment.

MasterCard will provide its technology expertise and a meaningful financial contribution, to kick-start the business chain by providing 1,240 host-community households with improved charcoal making kilns and 7,000 refugee households with energy efficient stoves and credit to purchase 25 per cent of their annual charcoal needs.

The FAO and MasterCard are joining forces to create this innovative alliance against hunger.  The new partnership agreement which was signed recently by FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and Walt Macnee, Vice Chairman of MasterCard, at FAO headquarters, NaijaAgroNet reports, will  pave the way for a collaborative effort that will develop inclusive payment systems to support small-scale farmers and poor families.

Among other activities, the collaboration will explore ways to provide credit or money to households for purchases of basic needs and farming inputs on local markets, thereby supporting local economies and putting financial tools in the hands of economically marginalized communities.

The effort will benefit from the complementary strengths of each organization: MasterCard’s expertise in payments technology and FAO's global reach and track record in combating hunger and malnutrition, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

FAO's three main goals, NaijaAgroNet discovers, include the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and, the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations.

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Make milk, dairy products more accessible to vulnerable FAO told governments

NaijaAgroNet:

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in its latest publication urged government to make milk and dairy products more accessible to vulnerable households so as to improve on livelihoods of hundreds of millions of poor people across the world, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The new FAO publication launched at the weekend, according to NaijaAgroNet inquiries shows that the book, Milk and Dairy Products in Human Nutrition, demanded of governments to invest more in programmes that make milk and dairy products available to poor families and help them in production of milk at home.

FAO Senior Nutrition Officer Ellen Muehlhoff, who also co-edited the publication, affirmed to NaijaAgroNet in a public statement endorsed by Fiona Winward of FAO’s Media Relations in Rome that as part of a balanced diet, milk and dairy products could be an important source of dietary energy, protein and fat.

“They are also rich in micronutrients critical for fighting malnutrition in developing countries where the diets of poor people are often starch or cereal-based and lack diversity,” she said.

Muehlhoff underscored the fact that a combination of food is necessary for a healthy diet, and milk and dairy products are not the only sources of essential nutrients.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that in a landmark decision the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) endorsed the new Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security on 11 May 2012. 

Also, FAO launched a major fund-raising campaign with the aim of securing USD 20 million to translate into action the guidelines, aimed at helping governments safeguard the rights of people to own or access land, forests and fisheries and others to help the focus on improving the lives of millions of smallholder farmers and their families.

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Pix: Cover of the latest FAO publication on Milk