WFC to launch five-year forests, water action plan

NaijaAgroNet:

The World Forestry Congress (WFC) has said it will launch a five-year forest and water action plan to tackle rise in global demand for fresh and access to safe drinking water, and call for action in areas of science, policy, economics and forest practices,  NaijaAgroNet.

This, NaijaAgroNet gathered, will form part of the programmes for the XIV World Forestry Congress slated to hold in Durban, South Africa from September 7 to 11, 2015. The congress will also highlight the need for governments, civil society and the private sector to boost investment in forests as a key element for sustainable development.

Themed  “Forests and People: Investing in a Sustainable Future”, participants will discuss ways to unleash the full potential of forests to lift rural populations out of poverty, act as buffers against climate change and inspire new technologies and renewable products, NaijaAgroNet gathered.

Being the first time the congress will be hosted on African soil, about 20 ministers and deputy ministers from around the world will join heads of international and national agencies and several thousand delegates gathering for the Congress, which takes place every six years. The Congress proceedings will be in English, French and Spanish and will be webcast

Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa, Prince Laurent of Belgium, Special Ambassador to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for Forests and the Environment, and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, are among speakers who will open the Congress.

The winner of the Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award 2015, NaijaAgroNet learnt, will be announced at a special ceremony. The USD 20,000 prize was established by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests in 2012 and recognizes extraordinary efforts by an individual to improve and sustain forests and the people who depend on them.

At the opening ceremony, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva will launch FAO’s latest Global Forest Resources Assessment, which reveals how the world’s forests have changed over the last 25 years and provides the latest information on the state of sustainable forest management.

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2/3 countries improve on food security - EIU

NaijaAgroNet:

World leader in global business intelligence, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in its Global Food Security Index (GFSI) annual update,Expo Milan 2015, revealed that two-thirds of 109 countries have improved in food security, reportsNaijaAgroNet.

The GFSI overall results, NaijaAgroNet gathered was unveiled at the DuPoint Forum on Food and Agriculture tagged; Rural and Urban Innovations, showed that sustained economic expansion in most regions and rapid growth in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, combined with lower global food prices provided the necessary food security improvement in almost every region of the world over the past year.

It further revealed that food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)improved in 28 countries in the region, with 82 percent recorded score increases between 2014 and 2015, and the region as a whole saw a score improvement of 1.5 points.

Also it pointed out that Sub-Saharan Africa saw impressive gains in food Quality & Safety, with Burkina Faso and Mali leading the way, driven by improved access to quality protein, a measure of the average consumption of essential amino acids in a country’s diet. Burkina Faso also made significant strides in the diet diversification indicator, with a 25% increase (87% score increase) in the amount of non-starchy foods consumed in the average diet.

Dr Richard Okine,Regional Director for DuPont Sub-Saharan Africa, speaking on the report said that,“Developing countries often lack basic infrastructure, including storage, road and port facilities, while smaller incomes inhibit access to and affordability of nutritious food. Political risk and corruption frequently compound structural difficulties in these countries. Investment in infrastructure and food systems in low-income and lower-middle income countries is the key to narrowing the gap.”

He also stressed that an overwhelmingly positive factor has been the fact that over the past few years, the overall economic growth in the developing world has led to improvements in the structural areas that are essential to improving people’s access to a wider range of affordable, nutritious foods.

“This, according to Dr. Okine, includes more extensive food safety-net programmes, expanded crop storage capacity and dietary diversity.”

With such progress notwithstanding, global food insecurity remains a challenge. According to UN estimates,NaijaAgroNet learnt that the world population is projected to increase by 1 billion over the next 12 years and reach 9.6 billion by 2050, with growth coming mainly from developing countries, with more than half in Africa. As populations’ boom and incomes rise in developing countries, the FAO also estimates that food production will have to grow by 50% to meet demand.

The GFSI is an annual measure of food security across 109 countries, produced by the EIU and sponsored by DuPont.

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Aquaculture to produce 2/3 global food fish supply – Report

NaijaAgroNet:

A joint research by the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPI) have shown that fish farms sub-sector is to produce two-third of the global food fish supply by 2030, reports NaijaAgroNet.

With this, NaijaAgroNet also reports that there are prospects for fisheries and aquaculture globally.

Fish farming, the tripod report equally showed has potential to provide close to two thirds of global food fish consumption by 2030 as catches from wild capture fisheries level off and demand from an emerging global middle class, especially in China, substantially increases. 

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the collaboration between the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), highlighted the extent of global trade in seafood which tends to flow heavily from developing to developed countries. 

According to FAO, at present 38 per cent of all fish produced in the world is exported and in value terms, over two thirds of fishery exports by developing countries are directed to developed countries.

The "Fish to 2030" report finds that a major and growing market for fish is coming from China which is projected to account for 38 percent of global consumption of food fish by 2030. 

China and many other nations are increasing their investments in aquaculture to help meet this growing demand. 

The Asia including South Asia, South-East Asia, China and Japan is projected to make up 70 per cent of global fish consumption by 2030.

Sub-Saharan Africa, on the other hand, is expected to see a per capita fish consumption decline of 1 per cent per year from 2010 to 2030 but, due to rapid population growth of 2.3 per cent in the same period, the region's total fish consumption will grow by 30 percent overall.   

The report further predicted that 62 per cent of food fish will come from aquaculture by 2030 with the fastest supply growth likely to come from tilapia, carp, and catfish. global tilapia production is expected to almost double from 4.3 million tonnes to 7.3 million tons a year between 2010 and 2030. 

One of the report's authors Siwa Msangi of IFPRI, revealed to NaijaAgroNet that the fast-moving nature of aquaculture made this a particularly challenging sector to model and at the same time, embodies the most exciting aspect of it in terms of future prospects for transformation and technological change.

"Comparing this study to a similar study we did in 2003, we can see that growth in aquaculture production has been stronger than what we thought," Msangi said. 

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DHL identifies Africa as the next frontier for healthcare sector

CAPE-TOWN, South-Africa, July 29, 2013 - Over the past decade the global life sciences sector has experienced healthy growth. The world market for pharmaceuticals, for example, has doubled within a decade, reaching a value of about USD 1 trillion, and is expected to grow by another 3 to 6 per cent per annum until 2016.

This huge demand, has been particularly strong in the mature markets of Europe and North America, which has now infiltrated the more dynamic emerging markets including China, Russia and India, but is particularly relevant in Africa, which is positioned as the next frontier for the healthcare sector. 

This is according to Sumesh Rahavendra, Head of Marketing for DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa (http://www.dhl.com), who says that Africa has seen tremendous growth in the life sciences and healthcare sector over the past years, as well as investment into the development of healthcare, especially in the logistics sector, as a result of this shift.

“Companies are increasingly turning to Africa due to the opportunities that the continent offers as it is one of the few locations that can still obtain double digit economic growth. The life sciences logistics model in Africa is therefore changing drastically as, in the last two and a half years, we have seen major growth in hubs like Kenya, servicing East Africa, and South Africa, which plays a key role for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries; in addition to direct shipments into specific countries, as the capabilities grow within the region.”

Referencing DHL’s recent report on key logistics developments in the healthcare sector for 2020 and beyond, entitled Key Logistics Trends in Life Sciences 2020+, Rahavendra says that this growth in Africa can be attributed to Sub Saharan Africa’s increased life expectancy, rate of urbanisation and rise of the middle class. “While Sub-Saharan Africa comprises of 12% of the global population, the region comprises of 24% of the global healthcare burden.”

Rahavendra says that another contributor to this shift is ecommerce growth in the pharmaceutical industry. 

“The healthcare sector will ultimately follow the technology sector as where there is communication, there is ability. Therefore, as technology capabilities roll out in the country, so will healthcare capabilities.

“With technology continuingly evolving, there is talk that consumers will likely soon be able to self-medicate and order over the counter drugs via their cellphones or the internet. These sorts of developments have the potential to drastically change both the healthcare, and logistics, sector.”

However with the current shift in the sector, Rahavendra explains that there are key challenges that need to be met based on the current developments. “Increasing differentiation of supply chains and the need for companies to keep their supply chain flexible to adapt to requirements of innovative products is a key challenge.

“As innovation in the pharmaceutical industry shifts towards specialties and biotech products, so does the need for temperature controlled, and monitored, cold chain transport and storage, historically only required for shipments of vaccines and blood fractions.”

He says that due to the combination of increasing regulatory demands, the focus on emerging markets, and new product requirements, notably around temperature management, and cost pressures, the life sciences and healthcare sector is accelerating its emphasis on driving supply chain transformation and differentiation.

“Despite these hurdles, we are confident that the life sciences and healthcare sector will continue to flourish in upcoming years due to the on-going investment and development on the African continent,” concludes Rahavendra. “The future is bright for Africa, and the healthcare sector will be one of its star performers.”

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