Russio-Ukraine war: IFAD launches response to protect world’s rural poor - NaijaAgroNet

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The United Nation (UN's) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has launched a Crisis Response Initiative to ensure that small-scale farmers in high-risk countries can produce food over the next few months to feed their families and communities while reducing the threat to future harvests, reports NaijaAgroNet.

“The disruption to global markets is shaking food systems to the core,” said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD. “This is particularly alarming for countries already grappling with the impacts of climate change and COVID-19, where more people are likely to be pushed further into poverty and hunger. IFAD’s new initiative will help protect livelihoods and markets so that the most vulnerable people can continue to feed their families and communities, and thrive for a better future.”

Agriculture, lifeline for millions of Syrians war victims

NaijaAgroNet:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has urged countries attending an international pledging conference for Syria to invest in agriculture as an engine of stabilization and recovery, reports NaijaAgroNet.

FAO Deputy Director-General for Programmes, Daniel Gustafson told NaijaAgroNet in a statement that despite significant setbacks, agriculture continues to sustain almost half of the food supply in Syria, serving as a lifeline for millions vulnerable Syrians.

"This is a powerful testimony of the resilience of the people of Syria and of the agriculture sector,"  "Without additional assistance to the agriculture sector and to resilience programmes in rural areas, food insecurity will continue to rise as well as migration, and stability will remain elusive," he said.   

"We must address the root causes of the vulnerabilities that have contributed to exacerbating the crisis and their impacts. These include in particular the urban-rural gap in poverty and access to social services, escalating water scarcity and climate change which are drivers of massive rural unemployment and migration," Gustafson added. "While everyone recognizes the relevance of the resilience approach in responding to the Syria crisis and the imperative of bridging humanitarian and development interventions, we continue to face major funding shortfalls".

FAO is appealing for $120 million under the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria and has received just one quarter of the total.

The European Union and the United Nations are co-chairing the pledging conference in Brussels (24-25 April) to mobilise humanitarian aid and to garner political support for the UN-led peace process. 

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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Nigerians spoil for war: Cow meat boycott takes effect February 1

NaijaAgroNet:

There is an online cow meat boycott campaign currently going on in Nigeria over the reported incessant attacks on Nigerian Christians, who invariably are the most patronisers of cow meat in the country, reports NaijaAgroNet.

They also alleged that killed Christian bodies are now being used in the preparation of Suya, a popular delicacy made usually from cow meat, unfortunately for other Christians to consume unknown to them.

Investigations by NaijaAgroNet showed that the campaign which is trending on all available social media including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Telegram, was to protest the attacks on other Nigerians especially the Christians by members of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and other unidentified herdsmen across the country.

Part of the message sighted by NaijaAgroNet indicated that the boycott takes effects from February 1st, and urging “Christians all over Nigeria have been asked to stop eating of Cow meat.”

The message insisted that since cow meat are now being “breeded with human and Christian bloods being murdered in cold blood on daily basis without government doing anything, would amount to double killing for those Christian victims.”

The campaign insisted that the ban from eating Cow Meet should be taken seriously as from February 1st in “solidarity for the lives of our dear Christian brothers and sisters killed by wicked Islamist group.”

Urging more people, especially Nigerian Christians to eat, ”more of fish, bush meat, pig, native goat, chicken, duck, snails, etc.”

The unendorsed prayer to Christendom, that Christian elders have discovered and come to the conclusion that Muslims love the life of Cows more than the life of Christians, alleging, “they have gone as far as killing Christians to prepare suya  for Christians to eat.”

For the campaigners, “Christians are the promoters of their sales of Cows and that is enough for them to respect Christians since we are the promoters of their businesses.”

They imagined the Southern Kaduna killings of over 1000 Christians slaughtered by Islamist, but the President Muhammadu Buhari’s led All Progressive Congress (APC) government kept quiet and rather reacted to the death of cows.

For the campaigners, “this is the only way we (Christians) can crumble their economy and bring them to their kneels to respect Christians.”

They equally appealed to Christians to share the protest message on Facebook, and WhatsApp on their contacts until it gets to everyone Christian in Nigeria.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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War over Edo cement holdings: BUA says Dangote claims stink

NaijaAgroNet:

The war of words has continued between BUA group and Dangote group over claims on its cement holding in Edo State, just as BUA says Dangote claims stink, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Group Head, Corporate Communications, Otega Ogra told NaijaAgroNet that latest claims by the Management of Dangote Group which is being syndicated to various new publications related to the ownership and operations of BUA’s mining sites in Obu, Okpella, Edo State, fall short of facts.

This latest statement by Dangote Group, Ogra noted, stinks of desperation in its continued attempt to disregard the judicial process and scheme a viable competitor out of business as has been their legendary antecedent. We thus wish to reiterate once again that whilst we do not want to join issues with anyone on this matter as it is currently before a court of competent jurisdiction, we are however compelled to use the opportunity presented by Edwin Devakumar’s reckless statements to clarify the cycle of misinformation being proliferated.

Specifically responding to Edwin Devakumar of Dangote Group’s claim of BUA operating on ML2541 in Okene, Kogi State, “we wish to restate that BUA does not have any operations whatsoever in Okene, Kogi State where the purported ML2541 is situated. Our Mining operations are limited to Obu-Okpella, Edo State for which licenses ML18912 & 18913 were issued and revalidate by the same ministry in a publication.”

These licenses, he said, have been owned, operated and fulfilled by BUA and its predecessors-in-title since 1976, as it is also a notorious fact that “we have exercised total control and possession over the mining area covered by the above mining leases since 1976 when we operated under the name of Bendel Cement Company Limited. We are thus wont to excuse Edwin’s claims to a lack of basic knowledge and understanding of the geography of Nigeria but he will be better served if he seeks professional opinion in critically understanding the geography of Nigeria or he should otherwise refer to documents from the boundary commission which clearly delineates boundaries within Nigeria.”

BUA group therefore asked, “Why is Dangote, an international company which is also listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, so averse to letting the rule of the law and judicial process take its course? The court has maintained that Status Quo be maintained (This includes BUA’s current ownership of our mines in Edo State) but the management of Dangote Group Dangote, as has been their strategy in the past to other companies in competition with them, is still seeking to out-muscle competition through backdoor means rather than let the court decide. If anyone is not satisfied, they should write to the courts as an independent arbiter for an interpretation of “maintaining status quo” rather than spread misinformation in the court of public opinion.

“It is public knowledge that neither Dangote nor AICO or anyone for that matter can claim ownership of ML2541 as was stated in a court injunction by a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja in suit FHC/LK/CS/25/2017 between Alhaji Mohammed Otaru Adeika & Ors. Versus AICO Ado Ibrahim and Company Limited, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel, The Mining Cadestre Office and Dangote Industries Plc. How then can they continue to claim in obvious disregard of that court order that the ML2541 belongs to them?   No one is above the law.

“The antecedent of Dangote Plc in trying to outmuscle competition is not in doubt. Various cases abound within and outside the cement industry – one of which was their taking over of the limestone deposits of another competing entity in the south-south region of Nigeria until they ceeded him 25 per cent of their company. This was in turn resold to them for hundreds of millions of dollars. Or is it the case of Ibeto whose business was almost driven under but for the prompt intervention of the then late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Or is it the case of Polo House Jetty Tincan previously owned by his uncle, Usman Dantata, whose License was revoked by NPA and reallocated to Dangote on the same day in order to prevent a sugar refinery to be sited there by a competitor.

“The facts of the matter as far as we are concerned are that BUA’s operations are in Obu, Okpella, Edo State and not Okene Kogi. We once again ask that all parties should wait for the court to resolve the issue. We will not be cowed or intimidated and will continue to seek redress through the proper legal channels,” BUA group submitted.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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