CNC contributed actively in Malabo declaration, urges RWFF to join

NaijaAgroNet:

The Comprehensive African Agriculture Programme (CAADP) Non State Actors Coalition (CNC) has said it contributed actively in the Malabo declaration, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This was made known by one of the leading light of anchors of CNC and Livelihoods Thematic Manager at a member organization, the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD), Ms Fatou Mbaye at the general assembly of the Rural Women Farmers Forum (RWFF) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

She said that so far, CNC has five strategy and 18 months action plans in place.

CNC, she also said has a joint work-plan between Africa Lead II and CNC which is being finalized, even as they held an official launch of CNC which was inaugurated by African Union Commission (AUC) leadership led.

Mbaye further said that the coalition has developed Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) between the AUC and CNCs and another one for the CNC membership. 

These, she said, still waiting for AUC feedback as it is undergoing some internal processes.

She explained that CAADP aims to achieve an agriculture-led socio-economic growth that will create wealth, tackle poverty and reduce hunger which requires broad and inclusive coalitions committed to acting in concert to improve the sector’s policies, programming and institutions.

Equally, Mbaye said, CAADP recognizes the need to transform African agriculture as imperative to building broad and inclusive coalitions of state and non-state actors.

The Non-State Actors (NSAs), she said, are actors outside of the government, who share the vision and objectives of CAADP.

Some of the NSAs, she listed to include, the private sector, farmer organizations, associations and networks, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), women organisations, academic and research organizations, faith-based organizations, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), media, labour unions and youth organisations.

She therefore urged aforementioned stakeholders to join forces with CNC and particularly, the Rural Women Farmers Forum (RWFF) to key into the benefits and objectives of CNC to promote agriculture and specifically farming on the continent as it concerns women in rural areas.

“Join the CNC for inclusive agriculture, food policies and more actions to end hunger and malnutrition in Africa by 2025,” she said, enjoining them to contact another CNC top notch, Ms Constance Okeke of ActionAid International who is in-charge of membership.

+ITRealms DSA @NaijaAgroNet #RWFF2015

 

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Digitally reconstructed skull provides insight into dinosaur brain

NaijaAgroNet:

Some experts have described one of the most complete sauropod dinosaur braincases ever found in Europe, with a digitally reconstructed skull providing insight into dinosaur brain, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This finding, scientists said could help uncover some of the mysteries of how dinosaur brains operated, including their intellectual and sensory abilities.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the team had digitally reconstructed the cavity where the brain lay, the passages of the cranial nerves and certain blood vessels as well as the labyrinth of the inner ear.

An extract from a journal PLOS ONE published Wednesday, the team led by a senior research fellow from The University of Manchester, Dr Fabien Knoll, described the rare find. 

“Skulls, and particularly the braincases, are very fragile so not many have survived. That is not the case with this find, which is remarkably complete,” Dr. Knoll said, stressing that the skull, from a titanosaur, a type of sauropod, was found at a dig site in eastern Spain in 2007 and experts have spent the last few years studying it to see what secrets it may reveal.

“This is such a rare finding that is why it is so exciting. Usually we find vertebrae or other bones, very rarely the braincase and this one is complete. I was present on the dig site when it was uncovered and it was a very special moment,” he said.

Pointing out that nowadays, man knew very little about the brain of dinosaurs. Research such as this is fundamental if we want to get an idea about the cognitive skills of these animals or if they had keen hearing or good eyesight and plenty of other information.”

The titanosaur  lived about 72 million years ago. Like all sauropods it was four-legged with a long neck and a long tail and herbivorous. It was a distant relative of Diplodocus but, with about 14 m in length, was only half its size. The study shows that its brain fitted in a diminutive cavity of only 6.3 cm in length.

Dr Knoll, who made the first digital reconstruction of a dinosaur endocranial cavity in the late 1990s, said: “In a few years’ time if more finds like this come to light and, above all, if they are studied with the modern imaging technologies then we could really start to understand more about dinosaur brains.” 

Isaac Onyima +ITRealms DSA

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Nigeria targets 1,200 agro-equipment hiring centres - Jonathan

NaijaAgroNet:

The Federal Government of Nigeria is targeting 1,200 Agricultural Equipment Hiring Centres (AEHCs) by end of 2016, says President Goodluck Jonathan, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking to NaijaAgroNet recently in Abuja, the nation’s capital, at the launch of Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP), President Jonathan also disclosed that before December 31, 2014 some 80 Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprises (AEHEs) will spring up.

He explained that AEHEs launch by his leadership is motivated to pave the way for the future agriculture programme pleasant to the youth generation who will see agriculture as business and devoid of undue hardwork will adequate fruit for their labour and as part of effort by Federal Government to mechanize agriculture.

Jonathan also explained that AEHEs is a private sector driven programme that will provide mechanized services for farmers across the country. 

“While over the next two years, a total of 1,200 of the Agricultural Equipment Hiring Centers would be established across the nation,” he said. 

To achieve the drive to encourage young commercial farmers, Jonathan told NaijaAgroNet, concerted effort must be made to take the hoes and cutlasses away from the farms and replace them with tractors and mechanized equipment. 

“The Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP), which I am flagging off today, will further change the face of Nigeria’s agriculture. YEAP has been designed to create a new generation of 750,000 young commercial farmers and agribusiness leaders (Nagropreneurs) that will make Nigeria’s agriculture more efficient, profitable and competitive. They will become the CEOs of their own farms and agribusinesses, create jobs in the rural areas and reverse the trend of high rural to urban migration. They will help to change the mindset of the younger generation on agriculture,” he declared.

These Nagropreneurs, President Jonathan said, will become models and champions for our newly launched National Agriculture Schools Initiative, as they project to younger school children, the image of agriculture as an attractive and wealth creating sector. 

 
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Nigerians walk for 2014 World Food Day

NaijaAgroNet:

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on October 13, 2014 commemorated this year's World Food Day beginning with a sensitization walk around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), reports NaijaAgroNet.

The exercise in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) commenced with a walk sensitization to commemorate the activities lined up for this year’s World Food Day in Nigeria began from Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to Federal Secretariat, Abuja.

The Director, Planning and Policy Coordination at the Ministry, Mrs. Rabi Idi Adamu, who stood in for the Honourable Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, told NaijaAgroNet the theme of this year’s World Food Day is “Family Farming: Feeding the World, Caring for the Earth.”

Also, Dr. Akinwumi said that the theme of this year’s World Food Day is apt, because of the roles families play in food production and Agricultural Transformations world over to facilitate food production and Animal Husbandry, especially for the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) which has recorded tremendous strides.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that the time table for the activities of this year include a walk sensitization of staff of the Ministry and FAO officials, Ministerial Press briefing, School Debate, Photo/ Book Exhibition, Symposium and Novelty Football March between ATA Bombers and GES Attackers.

 
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Scholarship for 10-day course on ICT, agro-design

NaijaAgroNet:

Scholarship for a 10-day online course on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Design in agriculture and biodiversity issues is now open for interested candidates, reports NaijaAgroNet exclusively.

A researcher and practitioner in the application of Information and Communication Technologies for sustainable development, with focus on agriculture and natural resources management in developing and emerging regions, Prof.  Simone Sala confirmed this to NaijaAgroNet.

According to him, the course will be delivered in January 2015 and will be part of a Master to be held in Italy that will explore how design could contribute to a variety of fields.

He also advised interested and potential students to be mindful of the deadline which is January 10, 2014, just as some scholarships are still available for the course.

NaijaAgroNet also gathered that for instance, part of the course would be Biodiversity 101 which would afford students to learn about the new outputs for the transmission of know-how through the Massive Online Open Courses system applied to biodiversity of the XXI century.

“Together with the Mooc Design 101 team and the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Milan, students will build a system of contents for e-learning in light of Expo2015,” he disclosed, stressing that the teachings will range from videos to other interactive elements and social media that convey digital content to the mass community.

He also revealed to NaijaAgroNet that they are partnering with IdLab, a design company specialised in solving problems of innovation technology. Its variety of competences allows for imagining and realising complex projects where technologic and procedural solutions blend with innovative products and services, for example aesthetics, language, communication, usability, functionality, ambientation, re-use, information, sharing, innovation simplification, interaction and sustainability.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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