Worsening malnutrition crisis prompts government call for Agri-Food funding - NaijaAgroNet

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Nigeria is facing a severe food insecurity and malnutrition crisis, with an estimated 31 million people food-insecure and over 10 million children under five acutely malnourished, reports NaijaAgroNet.

In a joint communique issued on World Humanitarian Day, the Federal Government of Nigeria and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator sounded the alarm, highlighting that "pipelines for food and nutrition that are lifelines for millions of people, especially children under the age of five, are severely disrupted, if not completely depleted".

Pope Francis urges government to develop indigenous cultures, relationship to earth

NaijaAgroNet:

The Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis has urged the government to reconcile development, both social and cultural, with the protection of indigenous peoples and their territories, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Pope Francis made this call in Rome, Italy while in audience with the representatives of IFAD's Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum, which focused on economic empowerment of indigenous peoples, particularly women and youth.

This call has become vital especially when planning economic activities that may interfere with their cultures and their ancestral relationship to the earth.

The 36-member delegation, which included representatives from the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), were in Rome to take part in the Third Global Meeting of the Indigenous People Forum of IFAD.

During the morning meeting, the Pope emphasized the need for governments to pay attention to indigenous identity, and to generate guidelines and development approaches that include young people and women.

“For governments this means recognizing that indigenous communities are a part of the population to be appreciated and consulted, and whose full participation should be promoted at the local and national level,” he said.

Mirna Cunningham, President of the Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Autonomy and Development (CADPI), headed the delegation.

"I think the Pope's words are important," she said. "He went straight to the point. We have to remember that technological and economic development is not progress in itself and IFAD can play a very big role with technical and financial support to ensure that these measure are considered with indigenous peoples."

Antonella Cordone, Coordinator for Indigenous and Tribal Issues Policy and Technical Advisory Division at IFAD, said that “recognizing and institutionalizing indigenous peoples’ rights is essential, but we also have to work to set self-implementation strategies to support local economies. Otherwise we risk that indigenous peoples’ societies will disappear.”

Members of the delegation brought gifts to illustrate the work of indigenous peoples around the world, including an alpaca coat from Bolivian Andes, a blanket from the Igorot people in the Philippine Cordillera, and a bible translated into Miskitu from Nicaragua.

NaijaAgroNet recalled that between 10th and 13th February, IFAD hosted the Third Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples Forum, bringing together representatives of indigenous peoples organizations and leaders of partner organizations to discuss the ongoing challenges faced by these communities.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE 

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Canada denounces attack on Syrian displaced persons camp

NaijaAgroNet:

The Government of Canada has condemned attack on Syrian displaced persons camp, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, in a press statement available to NaijaAgroNet on the airstrike on the Kamouna camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Syria, strongly condemned the attack.

Part of the statement read:

“Canada strongly condemns the bombing of the Kamouna IDP camp in the Syrian province of Idlib. The death and destruction is heartbreaking. On behalf of all Canadians, we are deeply saddened by the loss of life and hope for a speedy recovery for those injured.

“If this was a deliberate attack targeting civilians, then it was a war crime and the perpetrators must be held accountable. This incident follows the recent escalation of violence, particularly against hospitals and clinics in Aleppo, and further undermines the efforts of the international community to resolve the conflict peacefully.

“Canada calls on all parties to immediately adhere to the Terms for Cessation of Hostilities in Syria agreement and to return to the negotiating table in good faith. The people of Syria deserve a future that has hope and is free from violence. It is up to the parties to work toward that.”

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Hackers invade FAO headquarters

NaijaAgroNet:

Last Friday, a group of Italian and international hackers literally invaded headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome for a United States (US)- government-sponsored ‘Fishackathon’ reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Fishackathon, NaijaAgroNet reports, was aimed at cooking up high-tech solutions to problems that have long plagued fishing communities around the globe.

The Assistant Director-General of FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Árni M. Mathiesen, said that working in teams in a marathon hacking session, the group of around 30 coders, technology students, developers and designers will be asked to harness FAO data to develop creative mobile applications, systems, and tools to help tackle key challenges facing sustainable fisheries.

Mathiesen also said that these range from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, to overfishing and degradation of fishing grounds, to post harvest losses of catches.

Teams of 2-8 people joined forces to brainstorm solutions that responses to one of nine fisheries-related problem statements to be provided.

On Sunday, FAO experts would judge the submissions and one team will be chosen as the winner.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that the exercise now in its third year, the Fishackathon was first launched in 2014 by US Secretary of State John Kerry at the Our Oceans conference is an event taking place in 40 cities around the globe.

The winners of each, including this weekend's Italian edition, will move forward into a global contest whose final outcome will be announced by the US government on June 8 at World Oceans Day 2016.

Last year's Fishackathon winners included a game to teach children about sustainable fishing, an app to help consumers find and eat sustainable seafood, and a reporting tool for marine mammal protection.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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FF, AUC say leadership, partnership key for Africa’s agricultural transformation

NaijaAgroNet

 
A panel co-hosted by the United States government's global food security initiative, Feed the Future, and African Union Commission (AUC) have said government leadership and partnerships with the private sector as well as civil society are crucial for Africa to achieve food security, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Held recently in Addis Ababa, the panel was a side event of the Third Finance for Development Conference aimed to highlight how the commission's Comprehensive Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) set the foundation for enhanced engagement for the governments throughout the continent with the private sector as well as how non-state actors could play a role in advancement of country-led approaches towards food security.

Deputy Chairperson, AUC, Erastus Mwencha, in his keynote said, "Since the initiation of CAADAP we have seen a tremendous transformation in agriculture sector."

Acting Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),  Ambassador Alfonso Lenhardt, on his part, said that "the possibilities are truly endless" when the private sector, the civil society and all relevant stakeholders are engaged in ensuring food and nutrition security, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

He went further to say, "We are on a critical part of the post-2015 agenda. And we must work together" towards the transformation of the agricultural sector."

In support of  Lenhardt’s position, NaijaAgroNet reports, was a panelist, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ethiopian Government's Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), Khalid, Bomba who said "increase production and productivity, manage risks and disaster as well as work on commercialization, we must work together to translate policies into action. We must engage the private sector and civil society groups."

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

 
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‘Buhari charged to implement youth-led projects’

 NaijaAgroNet

The founder, YFarm Project, Nkiru Nnaemego, has called on the Buhari-led government to ensure the implementation of youth-led projects, especially for the agriculture sector, NaijaAgroNet reports.

She stated that the government can borrow a leaf from those of YFarm that aim to establish and promote at least 10,000 youth-led farms and agribusinesses across Nigeria and Africa by 2020, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

“Agriculture is not only profitable but a solution to problems of unemployment, insecurity, poverty, corruption, among several others,” she said, challenging youths to embrace agriculture by accessing land, finance, market, mentoring, farm inputs and equipment, to reap lots of benefits in the sector.

The government, Nnaemego said could implement youth-led projects by creating platforms to showcase African and national youth agriculture festivals and marketplace, schools camp on sustainable agriculture, e-platforms, community outreaches on agribusiness and climate smart agriculture as a means to capturing the attention of the youths to get involved in agriculture.

She also said that the benefits of YFarm Project, for instance include a platform for agricultural education, viable careers and businesses, improved livelihoods through jobs creation, entrepreneurial opportunities, among several others, describing mechanization as the solution to attract the attention of the Nigerian youths to agriculture, reports NaijaAgroNet.

She pointed out the need to ensure that the subsidized farm inputs are made available to youths in rural areas to further boost youth curiosity in the sector in order propel more investment in agricultural mechanization.

Cyriacus Nnaji with additional reports by Leadership/GEE

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FG commissions 12.5m capacity Sugarcane bio-factory

NaijaAgroNet:

The Federal Government has commissioned her first Sugarcane Bio-factory in Zaria, Kaduna, estimated at 12.5 million cane seedlings per annum,n line with the implementation of her Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), reports NaijaAgroNet.

Declaring the Sugarcane Bio-factory open for operations, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, NaijaAgroNet gathered, said the factory is one-million seedlings per annum capacity.

“The provision of high grade and quality seedlings of sugarcane is essential for the attainment of the set goals of the National Sugar Master Plan.This facility is designed to address a critical constraint facing Nigeria’s sugar industry – timely provision of high quality and clean seeds to sugar estates and farmers across Nigeria.” He said.

Aganga also stressed that the expectation in four years, is that five of this kind of facility would have been established across Nigeria with capacities of between 2million and 2.5million seedlings per annum each.

The NSMP whichis one of the major sectorial policies under the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan, enunciated by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment was launched by the President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2014, with an ultimate goal to make Nigeria’s manufacturing sector highly competitive and dynamic.

It is believed that the efficiency in the cultivation and supply of sugarcane will enhance the efficient milling and production of sugar and associated by-products like ethanol and electricity.

The bio-factory would serve as a facility where disease-free crop seedlings would be rapidly micro-propagated under controlled laboratory environment for planting in the fields, as NaijaAgroNet learnt, and the NSMP projects that at least 250,000 hectares of sugarcane fields would be required for processing in about 28 mills of varying capacities to produce 1.79 metric tonnes of sugar in the first phase of the master plan.

Daniel Nsolibe/GEE

 

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Nigerian farmers demand compensation for loss of birds

NaijaAgroNet:

Poultry farmers in Plateau State are calling for government’s help to compensate them for the loss of birds and sales following recent avian influenza outbreaks, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Poultry farmers in Plateau State say that bird flu remains a serious threat to the nation’s economy and called on the Federal Government to tackle it, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The farmers also called on government and other relevant authorities to expedite action on the payment of compensation to those whose farms were quarantined. Alhaji Moshood Okanlawon, one of the poultry farmers, told NaijaAgroNet in Jos, Plateau State that the disease, which ravaged poultry farms recently, had resulted in unemployment.

Mr Okanlawon explained that the negative economic implications of bird flu on the nation’s economy had a wider impact on the lucrative poultry business.

Another farmer, Rebecca Okafor, NaijaAgroNet gathered said she had been into poultry farming in the last 18 years, describing it as a very “good business”. She said poultry farming has tremendous economic importance, adding that the avian influenza had destroyed the business. She explained that more than 700 of her birds were infected by the disease and her farm was quarantined.

“More than 75 crates of eggs and chickens being produced weekly had stopped and I cannot supply manure to local farmers,” she said.

Similarly, Alhaji Abdulazeez Qamarudeen said over 3,650 of his birds were infected with bird flu. He called on government to compensate farmers that were affected, saying poultry farming contributes largely to the GDP of the country due to generation of employment and business opportunities.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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Promoting iron beans for healthier diets, African musicians to rescue

NaijaAgroNet:

Rwanda’s top musicians have joined forces with the HealthPlus and government to promote better nutrition and health through a new music video that was released Monday in Kigali, Rwanda, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The music video was subtitled in both English and Kiswahili for easy adoption by the populace, according to NaijaAgroNet findings, depicting iron beans as very nutritious food.

The release NaijaAgroNet gathered formed part of the roadshow to create awareness on the iron beans brand in an effort to cut hungry trend on the continent.

NaijaAgroNet  further gathered that the song, according to press statement by the Africa Press Organisaiton (APO), extoled the nutritional benefits of new high-iron beans that are now available in Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda. 

NaijaAgroNet recalled that almost 40 per cent of children in Rwanda suffer from iron deficiency in their diets, which in severe cases, could lower their intelligence quotients (IQs) and learning capacity, resistance to disease, and energy levels.

Experts at the Rwandan Office of HarvestPlus led by Lister Katsvairo, explained to NaijaAgroNet that beans are a traditional staple food and eaten every day and these new iron beans contain 15 per cent more iron than ordinary beans, and could provide women and children with almost half their daily iron needs.

“They also yield twice the harvest of ordinary beans, increasing incomes for farmers,” Katsvairo said.
NaijaAgroNet notes that over 700,000 Rwandan farmers are now growing and eating these nutritious beans, first released by the Rwandan Government in 2011.

"We’ve had tremendous success so far in getting these beans out, but we wanted to reach a much wider audience across the country,” Katsvairo said.

Lead of HarvestPlus which prides itself as a global programme to improve nutrition emphasized that these iron beans are now making their way into urban markets, hence the campaign to increase consumer awareness.

“We worked with Rwanda’s top musicians, who cater to all musical tastes including Afro-pop, rap and R&B. Who better to spread this message of how beans can improve nutrition and health?" Katsvairo asserted.

The campaign, Katsvairo said has taken musicians King James, Miss Jojo, Riderman, Tom Close, and Urban Boyzon a series of roadshows across the country live performance for over 30,000 people, which equally included exhibitions and sales of iron bean seeds.


+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) @HealthPlus @Rwanda +Naija AgroNet
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