AU commissioner extols rising use of IT to improve agriculture production

NaijaAgroNet:

The African Union’s Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, has extolled the rising use of information technology to improve agriculture production and access to financing, NaijaAgroNet

She said that she believes there is reason to be optimistic that Africa’s agriculture sector is moving toward a brighter future, particularly in the rising use of information technology to improve agriculture production and access to financing, something she said, will play an important role in attracting more young Africans to farm-related ventures,

“We have seen this work in Nigeria with the ‘e-wallet’ and in Kenya with M-Pesa,” she said.
Peace also singled out AGRA for its ongoing effort to increase access to seed, fertilizers and other inputs and promote market and policy improvements that will allow the economic benefits of agriculture to be shared more broadly. The AU Commissioner also called on the continent leaders to banish the hand hoe into a museum, reports NaijaAgroNet.

She said that for the 2015 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) to stay true to its theme of “Walking the Talk on Youth and Women,” delegates must firmly embrace pledge from the 2014 AGRF to banish the hand hoe.

“We need to banish the hand-hoe to liberate our hardworking mothers and sisters from the drudgery associated with agriculture and increase their productivity and return from their labour. And I don’t believe our young people will be attracted to agriculture if we are still using the hand hoe,” Peace said.

Peace, NaijaAgroNet gathered, was the keynote speaker as the AGRF moved into the heart of its deliberations over how to increase production and incomes in Africa’s farm sector - while also generating better opportunities for the 10 million young Africans entering the job market every year and for women across Africa, most of whom are already farmers.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ED,OPs

 
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Earth observation applications critical for African regional integration

 NaijaAgroNet

The Commissioner, Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission, (AUC), Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, has said earth observation applications at continental, regional and national levels are critical for African integration, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking recently at the 1st Monitoring for Environment and Security Forum which examined how earth observation data through Monitoring for Environment for Security in Africa (MESA) Project supports policy, planning and decision making at the national, regional and continental level in Africa.

With the theme “Streamlining MESA products and services towards the decision-making cycle in support of sustainable environmental management” the forum, NaijaAgroNet gathered, was organised by the African Union Commission (AUC) in association with Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources with the support of the European Union.

Rhode stated  that  “the MESA Project contributes to the increase of information management, decision-making and planning capacity of African institutions mandated for agriculture, environment, climate, fisheries, food security and related responsibilities. This is critical for African regional integration.”

NaijaAgroNet also learnt that the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources, Judi Wakhungu, said, cases of poaching and deforestation have reduced by 50 per cent this year compared to 2013.

 “Before this, my office and team members had to travel physically to protected area which took several days and incurred huge costs. Thanks to MESA projects, Kenya Wildlife Service can now get snapshots of satellite images of the protected areas on a single page,” said Wakhungu.

MESA has brought together 250 international delegates comprising decision and policy makers, planners, earth observation data users and experts from across the continent, NaijaAgroNet.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE, additional report from Capital News

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