Safe water: Lagos, USAID to improve access, supply - NaijaAgroNet

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To improve access to safe water, the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to have a holistic revitalization of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) for the residents.

This was revealed during a working visit of USAID team led by Dr. Joechim Ezeji to LWC on the Lagos Urban Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (LUWASH) at the LWC 45 million Gallons per Day (MGD) Iju Waterworks.

SOFIA 2018: Trends in global fish supply - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA 2018) reports that 90.9 million tonnes of fish was captured in the world in 2016, a slight decrease of 2 million tonnes from the year before, mainly due to periodic fluctuations in populations of Peruvian Anchoveta associated with El Niño, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Generally, the amount of fish being captured in the wild plateaued starting in the 1990s and has remained largely stable since. 

Despite that fact, the world has for decades been consuming ever greater amounts of fish - 20.4 kg per capita in 2016 versus just under 10 kg/pc in the 1960s — thanks in no small part to increased production via aquaculture, a sector which expanded rapidly during the 1980s and 1990s. 

In 2016, production from aquaculture reached 80 million tonnes, according to SOFIA 2018 — providing 53 percent of all fish consumed by humans as food. 

While aquaculture's growth has slowed — it experienced 5.8 percent annual growth between 2010 and 2016, down from 10 percent in the 1980s and 1990s — it will still continue to expand in the coming decades, especially in Africa. 

Efforts to reduce the amount of fish being discarded at sea or thrown out post-capture — for example by using discards and trimmings to produce fishmeal — will also help meet ongoing increases in demand for fish products. 


Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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5m people to benefit from improved water supply, wastewater services

NaijaAgroNet:

A US$210 million World Bank project will improve the quality of drinking water supply and wastewater services to 5 million residents in Baghdad who suffer from water shortages and the outbreak of waterborne diseases due to inadequate infrastructure, rapid population growth, and the inflow of internally displaced people, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Baghdad Water Supply and Sewerage Improvement Project, approved today by the World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors will support the Mayoralty of Baghdad and the Baghdad Water and Sewerage Authorities through improvement in utility management, and generate employment during the construction, operation and maintenance stages of implementation. The project will also help reduce the incidence of water-borne diseases and improve the quality of life, health, and sanitation.

“The recently completed National Water and Land Strategy (2015-2035) indicates that Baghdad will need substantial investments in its water supply and wastewater treatment systems over the next 20 years. Given limited availability of public funding, attracting commercial finance will be critical for implementing this ambitious strategy”, said Saroj Kumar Jha, World Bank Mashreq Regional Director. “In close coordination with the International Finance Corporation, this project will focus on creating a more favorable business environment, and on supporting the preparation of feasibility studies and transactions to enable private sector participation in the water sector.”

The residents of Baghdad deal with daily water service interruptions, especially during the hot summer months. Baghdad is one of the governorates impacted by outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Leakage from sewer pipes contaminates potable water networks and groundwater aquifers, which aggravates health and environmental problems. Contaminated water supply and improper disposal of sewage force families to spend a significant fraction of their income on medical treatment and to purchase bottled water. 

“Water supply and sanitation have immediate and major impacts on the quality of life of citizens”, said Thikra Alwash, Mayor of Baghdad. “We are committed to improving public services for the residents of Baghdad and to alleviating the burden households face on a daily basis in getting clean and reliable water supply. We are confident that improved access to these services can significantly strengthen people's trust and confidence in the state and contribute to building social cohesion when it is most needed”.  

“Major cities like Baghdad face a growing population but have inadequate water infrastructure and service delivery capacity”, said Abdulhamid Azad, Lead Water Resources Specialist and Project Team Leader. This project will improve the city’s water and sanitations services as well as support the Baghdad Water and Sewerage Authorities in improving their institutional knowledge and preparedness in relation to water security and urban water management. 

"Also, the project will finance capacity-building activities targeted to female technical and managerial staff to increase their professional skills and allow for career advancement within the Water and Sewerage Authorities.”  

The project will finance the construction of a service reservoir with a total capacity of 135,000 cubic meters, which will help the city manage its water supply better in case of climate-induced droughts. The project will also rehabilitate existing sewerage pumping stations thus reducing the public health effects of untreated wastewater discharged into the Tigris. The project will contribute to the reduction of physical losses by replacing about 130 km of water supply distribution network and the creation of district metering areas. 

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Rivers, Shell sign MoU on gas supply

NaijaAgroNet:

The Rivers State Government and Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the distribution of gas to industries in the Greater Port Harcourt area and its environs, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The MoU, NaijaAgroNet gathered, sets out broad terms and conditions to guide co-operation between the two parties in the development of new gas distribution opportunities in the Greater Port Harcourt area and its environs in addition to its existing gas distribution network in the State.

"The agreement is key in the efforts of the government to boost industrialization in Rivers State," said Richard Hart, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, who signed for the government. "We believe that the agreed terms in the MoU will lead to the signing of the "Build-Operate-Own-and Transfer" (BOOT) agreement early next year so businesses can begin to reap the benefits of a steady source of energy."

SNG Managing Director, Ed Ubong who signed for the company said the partnership was an opportunity to further promote gas as a more reliable, cleaner and cost-effective alternative to liquid fuels in the Niger Delta.

"Gas is the key to boosting industrialization. It is no coincidence that states that currently do well on internal revenue generation have also encouraged the use of gas to boost industrial output, which in turn provides employment and improved livelihood. SNG is grateful to the Rivers State Government for the foresight and co-operation in the signing of the MoU, and will reciprocate the gesture by taking every step to fulfill its obligations in the agreement," he said.

Also commenting on the significance of the MoU, Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor reiterated the leadership role of Shell in the domestic gas market.

"For more than 50 years, Shell has been in the forefront of the campaign to develop and monetize Nigeria's huge resources and it is good to see SNG continuing in the tradition to grow the domestic gas market and also help to improve lives and earnings in Rivers State," Okunbor said.

Isaac Oyimah/ED, Ops

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Defective supply chain behind food waste in Africa

NaijaAgroNet

The food security challenges facing Africa has been attributed to defective supply chain as produce raised on some fertile cropland, the shortest route to the richest urban markets runs through another country, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Stephanie Gallatova, who cited the continent’s bad roads, insanitary conditions and poor food stock management as major problems, NaijaAgroNet gathered, said "The food losses occurring in Africa are due to limitations in the various technological and logistical factors in the food chain,"

Gallatova is an agro-industries officer with the FAO Regional Office for Africa, which conducts anti-food loss projects in more than a dozen West African countries. "We are looking at the whole value chain and seeing what investments can be made to reduce losses in a sustainable manner."

This geographic reality, with its multiple logistical hurdles, illustrates the food security challenges facing Senegal, for instance, and the wider West African region. 

The trouble with feeding people here is not so much the availability of food but its accessibility, adding, NaijaAgroNet learnt, that the difficulties arise not just in agricultural production but also in inefficient food delivery systems – in harvesting, storage, processing and transport.

In their 2014 Agricultural outlook report, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned that food waste and losses represent a major threat to global food security over the next ten years.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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