FAO boss commends PSMA, says it’s a landmark treaty

NaijaAgroNet:

An international treaty known as the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, has been commended by the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Mr. José Graziano da Silva, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The PSMA, NaijaAgroNet gathered, according to da Silva, would soon have 48 parties, counting all 28 members of the European Union as one - with Japan and Montenegro about to join after having deposited their instruments of adhesion.

“This gives the one-year-old treaty added heft,” Graziano da Silva declared, adding that he was very confident more countries will join in the near future.

Speaking at the first meeting of the Parties, hosted by the Government of Norway to hammer out details regarding the implementation of the PSMA, Graziano da Silva said, noting that FAO-brokered treaty which restricts port access to fishing vessels that fail to comply with a set of rules, including proof that they have proper operating licenses and transparent disclosure of the species and quantity of fish caught.

The PSMA represents the capstone of years of diplomatic effort to combat the scourge of IIU fishing, which amounts to up to 26 million tonnes, worth some $23 billion a year, and represents a huge threat to all efforts to bolster sustainable fishing in the world's oceans.

NaijaAgroNet notes that parties to the PSMA currently account for more than two-thirds of the global fish trade.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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FAO boss in northeast Nigeria, calls for increase assistance

NaijaAgroNet:

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) José Graziano da Silva, has visited the hunger-threatened northeastern Nigeria, and called for urgent increase in humanitarian assistance, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Da Silva also said that restoring agriculture-based livelihoods is key to recovery and peace efforts in Lake Chad Basin region.

"If we miss the coming planting season, there will be no substantial harvests until 2018. Failure to restore food production now will lead to the worsening of widespread and severe hunger and prolonged dependency on external assistance further into the future," Graziano da Silva said. 

He insisted that the time for all to act is now, stressing that insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin - which incorporates parts of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and northeastern Nigeria - has resulted in the largest humanitarian crisis in Africa.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the conflict has forced an estimated 1.9 million people to abandon their homes and their predominantly agricultural livelihoods, in northeastern Nigeria alone.

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Prevention fundamental to containing zika – FAO boss

NaijaAgroNet:

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Mr. Graziano da Silva has offered FAO’s technical assistance in collaboration with the  International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the effort to contain Zika, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Zika, NaijaAgoNet gathered, is a mosquito-borne disease that has been detected in the country, where a humid and warm climate is ideal for the insects’ proliferation.

Speaking in Rome at the weekend, FAO boss said they are responsible for prevention, describing prevention as fundamental to containing zika globally.

“FAO is responsible for prevention, not for the disease itself. Prevention is fundamental,” he said, stressing that using insecticides in urban areas may not be enough to eradicate the mosquitos.

He revealed that FAO and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have a joint programme to support member countries in insect pest control which has developed a technique of using sterile insects to combat such disease vectors.

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