FAO sets $50m emergency fund for Ethiopia drought

NaijaAgroNet:

The amount of drought witnessed at the end of 2015 and cross over to 2016 is giving the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) a lot of concern, hence it voted the sum of $50m for emergency in the drought-ridden Ethiopia, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The droughts attributed to the strongest El Niño weather episode in the last several decades, FAO said, has caused repeated crop failure, decimated livestock herds and driven some 10.2 million people across Ethiopia into food insecurity.

FAO revealed this to NaijaAgroNet in its emergency response plan to urgently protect livestock and rebuild crop production in the Horn of Africa nation. 

According to the FAO Representative for Ethiopia, Mr. Amadou Allahoury, the outlook for 2016 is very grim, adding that "After two consecutive seasons of failed crops, the success of the main cropping season that starts now will be critical to preventing conditions from worsening."

Mr. Amadou equally said that continued drought throughout the beginning of 2016, also means pasture will become even more scarce, which will negatively impact livestock keepers that rely on those grazing lands and water points for their food security.

"Food overall will become harder to access if we continue to see prices rise, food stocks deplete and livestock become weaker, less productive, and perish," he said. 

The El Niño phenomenon is associated with the abnormal warming of sea surface temperature in parts of the Pacific Ocean that has severe effects on global weather and climate patterns - leading to reduced rainfall and drought in some regions and heavy rains and flooding in others. 

Under the current El Niño, crop production in Ethiopia has dropped by 50 to 90 per cent in some regions and failed completely in the east. The drought resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of livestock.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE +Naija AgroNet @FAO News
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Anambra urges citizens to adopt hygienic life style

NaijaAgroNet:

The Anambra State Government has alerted Anambrarians of the outbreak of Lassa fever, urging citizens to live a hygienic life style, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Hon. Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Anambra State, Dr. Barr. Mrs. Uju Nwogu made this known in Awka, the state capital, saying that they wish to alert the public of reported cases of outbreak of Lassa fever in some states of the federation, including Bauchi, Kano, Taraba, Niger, Ondo, Edo, and Rivers among others, thus disease is caused by lassa virus.

The disease, she said, which spreads widely is transmitted by infected rats, noting that it spreads to human beings through contact with urine and droppings of infected rats and also contact with the body fluid, blood, urine and vomitus of infected persons.

“The symptoms of Lassa fever include fever, abdominal pains, headache, vomiting and muscle cramps. Other symptoms of the disease include bleeding from the nose, nostrils and passing of bloody stool,” she said, stressing that members of the public who experience any of these symptoms are advised to report to the nearest hospital or health clinic within their areas.

Mrs. Nwogu pointed out that in order to avoid the contact and curb the spread of this disease, “all persons are advised to maintain good personal hygiene, wash their hands regularly with soap and clean water and keep their surroundings clean. Report persons who have the symptoms of Lassa fever to the nearest hospital or health centre. They should also rid their environments of rats as well as keep their food away from rodents.”

Equally, she said, all health care providers and disease notification and surveillance Officers are advised to report any case of the disease in their locality to the State Ministry of Health.

“Ndi Anambra lets continue to keep our environment clean. Lets maintain good personal hygiene.
Lets be our brothers keeper,” she urged.

 

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Cereal prices declined by 1.3% - FAO

NaijaAgroNet:

Cereal prices declined by 1.3 per cent in the month of December from its November value due to intensifying export competition among maize producers according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), reports NaijaAgroNet.

FAO in its Cereal Price Index made available to NaijaAgroNet said expectations of more wheat supplies entering world markets after Argentina removed export taxes was a major influencer, noting that the sub-index, which includes rice, shed 15.4 per cent on average during 2015 from the previous year. 

While the Dairy Price Index subsided 1.0 per cent in December, and over the year was 28.5 per cent below its average level in 2014, the sharpest decline of any food commodity, a press statement from FAO showed.

The Meat Price Index, however, dropped by 2.2 per cent in December, which was prompted by surging pork output in Europe and reduced U.S. demand for imported beef, pointing out that “Over the full year, meat was on average 15.1 cheaper than in 2014.”

Whereas the Vegetable Oil Price Index rose 2.1 per cent in December, pushed up by uncertainties regarding Brazil's soybean crop, but over 2015 as a whole was 19 per cent below the previous year.

Meanwhile, FAO's Sugar Price Index rose 0.6 per cent in December, but was on average 21 per cent lower in 2015 than the previous year.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE 
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Dakar to host Africa Hepatitis Summit’16

NaijaAgroNet:

Leading African and international public health experts, patient representatives, policymakers and physicians will convene in Dakar, Senegal, to discuss and better understand the burden of hepatitis B and C in Africa, NaijaAgroNet reports.

African countries, NaijaAgroNet gathered, have some of the highest rates of chronic viral hepatitis in the world - it is estimated that more than 30 million people in the Africa region are living with hepatitis C alone.  Awareness of viral hepatitis is low, and access to screening and treatment is currently limited in most countries.

The African Viral Hepatitis Summit 2016, sponsored by Gilead Sciences would provide a forum to discuss the latest in viral hepatitis B and C research, including surveillance, prevention, treatment, service delivery and policy issues.

“The hepatitis B or Cepidemics continue to grow across the continent, and are becoming a serious public health issue,” said summit co-chair Danjuma Adda, World Hepatitis Alliance Executive Board Member for the African Region, stressing this summit is very timely and will benefit all those working to establish a public health approach to preventing and treating these diseases.

Also speaking, summit co-chair and Professor at the University of Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Souleymane Mboup, said “This summit presents a rare opportunity for a broad range of groupsto share perspectives on this significant public health problem,” pointing out that sharing research, policy and programmatic insights from across Africa will be enormously helpful to those on the ground working to help people living with or at risk for viral hepatitis.

Viral hepatitis is inflammation of the liver caused by a virus. There are five different hepatitis viruses - hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. All of these viruses cause short term, or acute infection. The hepatitis B and C viruses can cause long-term infection, called chronic hepatitis, which may lead to life-threatening complications such as cirrhosis (liver scarring), liver failure and liver cancer.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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FAO food price index drops in December

NaijaAgroNet:

The Food and Agriculture Organisaiton (FAO) has disclosed that food prices dropped in the month of December 2015 due to dwindling global economic downturn, reports NaijaAgroNet.

FAO also said that abundant supplies and slow economic growth drive food prices down for the fourth consecutive year.

FAO's Food Price Index sighted by NaijaAgroNet showed that prices of major food commodities declined for the fourth year in a row in 2015, averaging 19.1 percent below their previous-year's levels, as the dwindling global economy also triggered sharp price falls from metals to energy markets, ending the year even lower, at 154.1 points during the month of December. 

In December, FAO said, the index declined a further 1.0 per cent from its revised November value, as falling prices for meat, dairy and cereals more than offset gains by sugar and vegetable oils.

"Abundant supplies in the face of a timid world demand and an appreciating dollar are the main reason for the general weakness that dominated food prices in 2015," said FAO senior economist Abdolreza Abbassian. 

The FAO Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index tracking international market prices for five key food commodity groups: major cereals, vegetable oils, dairy, meat and sugar.

 

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