FAO member countries urged to domesticate new world soil charter

NaijaAgroNet:

The over 190 member countries of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) have been urged to domesticate the newly endorsed World Soil Charter (WSC), NajiaAgroNet reports.

This is coming as the world celebrates  the 2015 International Year of Soils, at the 39^th FAO Conference to promote and institutionalize sustainable soil management at all levels, even as the 13 principles listed in its charter still remains valid

This according to the Global Soil Partners (GSP) is in light of new scientific knowledge gained over the past 30 years, especially with respect to new issues such as soil pollution and its consequences for the environment, climate change adaptation and mitigation and urban sprawl impacts on soil availability and functions. 

The original strong focus of the WSC on land use planning and land evaluation had to be adjusted; NajiaAgroNet gathered that, more recent key references and concepts such as the more widely understood framework of ecosystem services had to be reflected; major developments in the intervening period such as the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and ensuring spate of new agreements and the work of the Committee on Food Security had to be factored in; and the guidelines for action had to be reorganized and expanded to take account of a broader range of stakeholders. 

This was achievable through the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), tasked with a revised text wide consultations within the international soil community and submitted to the GSP pleanary Assembly.

NajiaAgroNet also learnt that the first WSC was conceived and formulated, negotiated and adopted by the member countries in the 1981 FAO Conference and was a major normative instrument agreed by member states that the GSP partners was duty-bound to promote its principles and has requested all member states to move into its full implementation of the new World Soil Charter.

Daniel Nsolibe/GEE 

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Ghana scales MDG’S deadline

NaijaAgroNet

Ghana has scaled the hurdle of the 2015 deadline set by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and World Food Summit (WFS) for countries of the world to bring down the proportion of those living without food by half, reports NaijaAgroNet.  

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Regional Representative for Africa,Mr Bukar Tijani, said around one person in four persons in Sub-Saharan Africa suffered from undernourishment, down from one in three persons 25 years ago.

This assertion was made recently by Mr.Tijani while speaking at the launch of the first edition of the FAO’s Regional Overview of Food Insecurity in Africa (SOFI) 2015 report, on the theme, “African Food Security Prospects Brighter than Ever” in Accra, Ghana.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the report presented the key undernourished figures for Sub-Saharan Africa and examined the factors driving the progress made in food security in the Africa region.

The documents, NaijaAgroNet also reports, discussed successful experiences in African countries to institute and sustain policies, which have contributed to improve nutritional and food security.

It was also disclosed that Ghana was able to reach this far, because it has partnered with the private sector and civil society in implementing and reviewing policies and programmes to develop the agriculture sector.

Cyriacus Nnaj/ GEE

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Oceans, critical to food security -SenzeniZokwana

NaijaAgroNet

Fish has been described as the highest source of the world’s protein consumed by humans, making the oceans vital to food security, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Based on this, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister, Senzeni Zokwana said South Africa need to produce more Marine, Forestry and Fisheries scientists.

Zokwana,NaijaAgroNet learnt, was among other industry leaders at the commemoration of World Oceans Day, where the Status of Marine Fisheries Resources Report was equally unveiled in Cape Town.

“We know that achieving food security in its totality continues to be a challenge for the whole world and in particular for the developing nations when you consider the proportion of the population affected,” he said.

Minister Zokwana also said that the development of new fisheries remains a critical part of government, hence the launch of operation Phakisa, as a means to unlock the oceans’ economy, adding that “Our planet comprises 71% of the ocean. It is the most important life-support systems on earth, and almost all humans on earth depend on the sea natural resources”.

He pointed out that half of the world’s population lives with 200 kms of the coastline.

“Oceans produce 50 percent of the oxygen necessary for human survival and therefore, the sustainable use and management of the oceans even its resources, is therefore critical to us today and for the future generation,” he said.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

 
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Food insecurity looms in South Sudan

 NaijaAgroNet

The World Food Programme (WFP), an agency of the United Nations Organization, has alerted the world that South Sudan  is under the threat  of the worst levels of food insecurity  because of a combination of conflict, high food prices and a worsening economic crisis, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, released recently, confirmed fears that ceaseless conflict and the onset of the lean season are intensifying alarming levels of hunger both in conflict-affected areas and in other parts of the country, NaijaAgroNet gathered..

Joyce Luma, WFP’s Representative and Country Director in South Sudan said, “millions of people in South Sudan are trapped by a terrible mix of brutal conflict, rising hunger and a deepening economic crisis.

A staggering number of people are hungry. This analysis is a chilling reminder to the world that South Sudan cannot be forgotten,” Luma said in a statement issued in Nairobi..

NaijaAgroNet also learnt that the IPC result indicates that about 4.6 million people, or 40 per cent of South Sudan’s estimated population, face acute hunger in the next three months and will require urgent lifesaving food or livelihood assistance.

WFP also fears that lack of funding and shrinking humanitarian access are compromising relief agencies’ ability to meet South Sudan’s escalating needs, NaijaAgroNet gathered.

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FAO to unveil report of hungry people

NaijaAgroNet

 

The annual State of Food Insecurity in the world report would be unveiled at the forthcoming World Food Summit in Rome with expectation it will provide new figures for the number of chronically hungry people globally, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The meeting, NaijaAgroNet  reports, would also take stock of progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG1) as it kicks off on Wednesday, May 27, 2015.

NaijaAgroNet learnt that United Nations (UN) bodies slated to present their reports include the three Rome-based food agencies, namely the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the UN World Food Program (WFP).

The new hunger report, NaijaAgroNet gathered, would be presented jointly at FAO’s headquarters by its Director-General José Graziano da Silva, IFAD Associate Vice-President, Josefina Stubbs and Stanlake Samkange, Director of WFP's Policy and Programme Division.

In addition, Maurizio Martina Italy's Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies, NaijaAgroNet learnt, would participate via videolink from EXPO 2015 in Milan.

This year’s edition of State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI) contains updated estimates of the number and proportion of hungry people in the world in 2015, the target year of the Millennium Development Goals.

It also offers analysis into what drives successful anti-hunger programs, such as agricultural investments, in addition to the growing importance of social protection schemes and the new challenges presented by the increasingly protracted nature of crises, NaijaAgroNet also gathered.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

 
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World cereal production may decline----FAO

NaijaAgroNet

Indications are that world cereal production may decline by  1.5 per cent from what it was  last year due mainly to the reduced acreage planted with maize, even though the effect will be mitigated by "exceptionally high" levels of existing stocks, according to the latest forecasts in FAO's biannual Food Report published May 7, 2015, reports NaijaAgroNet.

FAO's first forecast for global cereal production in 2015, assuming normal weather conditions for the remainder of the season, amounts to 2.509 billion tonnes, a bit down from last year's record but nearly 5 per cent above the average of the past five years.  

The report, NaijaAgroNet further gathered, stated that the modest decline in output would require running inventories down by around 3 per cent in the new season (2015/16), with faster drawdowns for coarse grains and rice than for wheat

"The world food import bill is forecast to reach a five-year low in 2015", the report say, mainly driven by a decline in international prices, low freight rates and a strong US dollar. Import volumes of the various food components of the bill were little changed or even rising. Low income countries are also expected to benefit from lower import bills. 

Several years of solid harvests and stockpiling mean most basic food commodities are in surplus. As a result, the projected drop in cereals output is not expected to impact availability of food for consumption.

Dairy production trends are poised for further steady growth of around two percent in 2015, with lower international prices buoying imports in Africa. The abolition of the European Union's milk quota system is likely to boost output and was one of the main drivers of the 6.7 percent monthly drop in the Dairy Price Index, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

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