Investing in girls’ education, impacts child marriage - UNICEF

ITRealms:

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has identified investing in girls education as a step capable of impacting on child marriage, even as they are partnering with some other international agencies to ensure that 1 million more girls are in school by 2020, reports ITRealms. 

UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Jean Gough made this disclosure at the 2015 commemoration Day of the African Child with the theme “25 Years after the Adoption of the African Children’s Charter: Accelerating our Collective Efforts to End Child Marriage in Africa,” describing the theme as timely.

According to Gough, UNICEF is helping the government to address the challenge of ensuring all children especially girls have access to quality education, especially in Nigeria.

Lamenting that child marriage has increased in Nigeria, UNICEF noted that the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS 4) 2011, showed that there is a five per cent increase in the number of girls married before age 15.

“It was 13 per cent in 2007 and MICS 2011 indicates it is now 18 per cent,” UNICEF said. 

Child marriage, as said by UNICEF official, denies children the attainment of their human rights as children. 

“It erodes the child’s rights to life, good health, education and dignity.  Studies link child marriage to maternal mortality, school drop-out, Virginal fistula (VVF) condition and malnutrition among others,” a press statement endorsed by Geoffrey Njoku of UNICEF Nigeria read.

Equally, UNICEF, he said, believes that investments in girls education and getting more girls into school delays marriage and impacts the incidence of child marriage. 

ITRealms that the Girls’ Education Project, funded by the UK’s Department of International Development (DFID) and implemented by UNICEF, aims to get 1 million more girls into school by 2020, while at the same improving the quality of education. 

The project, UNICEF pointed is helping to train female teachers through the female teachers’ service scheme and deploying them to rural areas, where the predominance of male teachers deters many parents from sending their girls to school. 

“Another intervention under this project is the conditional cash transfer scheme provides cash to girls to help defray some school-related costs like textbooks, uniforms and others.  The project, aims to encourage parents to send their daughters to school. It is expected to reach more than 50, 000 girls this year in Sokoto and Niger States. 

“Getting girls into schooling, and remain in school is particularly important in a country where 10.5 million children are out of school, and more than 60 per cent of them are  girls. It is a win for everybody and has an impact on child marriage,’ Gough said.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) 

 

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Preventive measures to check child labour in agriculture

 NaijaAgroNet

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has designed new measures to checkmate the preponderance of child labour in agriculture, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Rob Vos, Director of FAO's Social Protection Division, in a press release in Rome said, "In recent years, we have seen an increase in awareness of child labour and its role in producing export crops such as cocoa, coffee and cotton." The implication of this, he said, “we see much more effective action to prevent child labour in these value chains. However, child labour on family farms not connected to international commodity markets has remained largely untouched. The new guide tries to fill this void”

The new guide, NaijaAgroNet gathered, is intended for use by agricultural organizations, NGOs, international organizations, agricultural ministries, policy-makers, and other actors involved in agricultural programmes, be they related to crop production, fisheries and aquaculture, forestry or livestock-raising.

Worldwide, large numbers of children are involved in agricultural work. This is normal on family farms and - provided it stays within acceptable boundaries -- is not only beneficial for the farm but also allows children to acquire valuable knowledge and skills.

For about 100 million children, however, such work goes beyond what is acceptable - interfering with schooling or involving them in work that is hazardous and damaging to their development, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

The new guide highlights the need to address child labour in family farming in an appropriate and context-sensitive way that respects local values and family circumstances. Social protection and poverty reduction programmes can be particularly effective in helping poor families to send their children to school and to avoid exposing them to hazardous work on the farm.

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Da Silva outlines policies to eradicate hunger

 NaijaAgroNet

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Director-General José Graziano da Silva, has outlined policy direction that will become signpost of his current tenure at the helm of FAO affairs for another four years, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Graziano who recently received a total number of 177 out of 182 votes cast by FAO member countries which represents the highest number of favourable votes ever scored by a candidate for the FAO topmost job said, "I thank you for showing confidence in the Organization under my leadership," Graziano da Silva told members of FAO's governing Conference meeting in Rome this week,.

"You have given me a clear mandate to lead this Organization in my second term, pressing on the path that we charted together," he stated.

The FAO Director-General, in his address, underscored that the next step must be the complete eradication of chronic undernourishment. This, together with ending malnutrition has been included in the Sustainable Development Goals which will be finalized later this year setting the global development agenda for the decades to come, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

Raising levels of nutrition has always been "at the heart" of the mandate of FAO, Graziano da Silva hinted.

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ACP, FAO sign MoU to boost capacity building

NaijaAgroNet

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in collaborating with the African Caribbean and Pacific Group States (ACP), are intensifying efforts aimed at enhancing capacities to cope with the challenges of climate change, sustainable food production and security, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The Memorandum of Understanding to this effect signed by the Secretary General ACP Group, Patrick Ignatius Gomes, and the FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, NaijaAgroNet gathered, is intended towards supporting the 79 ACP member countries to work assiduously to achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals that will be agreed later this year.

The MoU commits both ACP and FAO to jointly promote and contribute to the implementation of activities planned within the Fund's framework.

It also factorizes procedures aimed at enhancing an -ACP South-South Cooperation programme for food security and agriculture, including technology sharing, knowledge exchange and policy dialogue between tropical countries.

Key areas under the expanded collaboration, NaijaAgroNet learnt, is to engage the private sector to support the development of efficient and inclusive agrovalue chains. The emphasis will be on targeted agricultural commodities, both food staples and cash crops, and on smallholders, farmer- and producer organizations and small and medium enterprises.

More so, the collaboration will be identified by ACP members which are likely to be projects to harness private-sector support in building efficient and inclusive agricultural value chains that will help smallholder farmers meet export market regulatory requirements, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Other measures will aim at hunger eradication, better nutrition and sustainable economic practices.

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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.

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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.

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China lifts 138m citizens out of chronic hunger

 NaijaAgroNet

The Republic of China has said the country effectively lifted 138 million citizens out of chronic hunger since 1990 and have reached the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the prevalence of hunger ahead of the 2015 deadline, NaijaAgroNet reports.

This revelation, NaijaAgroNet reports, was made during the signing of a $50 million, about N9.94 billion agreement between China and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to support developing countries in building sustainable food systems including agricultural value chains, recognizing the growing importance of collaboration between Southern countries in the fight against extreme hunger and poverty. 

Mr. Wang Yang, Vice Premier, China, NaijaAgroNet learnt, said, "China is the leading agricultural producer among the developing countries; FAO is the world's top agricultural organization. We are ready to enhance our cooperation with FAO, which will not only benefit agricultural development and progress toward hunger reduction targets, but also the poor and hungry people of the world."

NaijaAgroNet reports that China's new contribution to the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Trust Fund will support the exchange of Chinese agricultural experts with countries in the global South, particularly in low-income food-deficit areas of Central Asia, the Pacific Islands, Africa and Latin America, over a period of five years.

The Trust Fund has supported knowledge exchanges through 11 country projects and two global initiatives in areas such as irrigation, horticulture, livestock protection, and food processing and marketing. 

During the first phase, Chinese experts deployed to host countries will stay for two-to-three years, train local farmers in using adaptable and affordable technologies for crop, animal and water management, while the second phase will expand on the lessons learned so far, sharing best practices and supporting host countries in developing sound policies, building institutional capacities, facilitating the transfer of new technologies, working with research centres and other partners. 

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MDG: 72 countries halve proportion of hungry people

  NaijaAgroNet

About 72 out of 129 countries have achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to halve the proportion of hungry people by a 2015 deadline, or bringing it below the 5 per cent threshold were, Sunday recognized at an International award ceremony, reports NaijaAgroNet.

 

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva paid tribute to these achievements at the ceremony which was held at the Organization's headquarters.

 Bolivia, Costa Rica, Laos (Lao People's Democratic Republic), Mozambique, Nepal, Solomon Islands, Suriname and Uzbekistan received an award for having reached the MDG target. They joined other countries who, NaijaAgroNet gathered, were awarded for reaching the target in previous years.
Angola, China, Dominican Republic, Gabon, Mali and Myanmar were awarded for having also achieved the more ambitious WFS.

"Since 1990, 216 million people have been freed from hunger," Graziano said.
He noted however that almost 800 million people still suffer from chronic undernourishment.

Graziano da Silva urged for a redoubling of global efforts to combat chronic undernourishment.

"One out of nine people on the planet still do not have enough food to conduct active, healthy and productive lives. It is not acceptable," adding that "If we all do our part, zero hunger can be achieved within our lifetimes. Together we can make this vision a reality," he said.

The year 2015 marks the completion of the monitoring period for the Millennium Development Goals which will be replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals currently being negotiated by the international community.

 

The Prime Minister of Gabon, Daniel Ona Ondo and the Vice Premier of China, Wang Yang, NaijaAgroNet further learnt, received diplomas on behalf of their countries at the ceremony that attracted  dignitaries as President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Prime Minister of Djiboutim, Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe.

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Kenya committed to boost agricultural production

 NaijaAgroNet

 

The Kenya’sActing Cabinet Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Adan Mohamed has said that his country is committed to developing linkages between industrialization and the agricultural sector to power the sector's transformation, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Addressing the Grow Africa Investment Forum held in Cape Town, South Africa, recently, NaijaAgroNet gathered that Mohamed said that this will open up opportunities in the sector to accelerate Kenya's food security plans.

According to him, NaijaAgroNet learnt, "Kenya is placing an enabling agricultural policy to attract investors establish investments in the agricultural sector which includes infrastructure investments to improve market access and lower the cost of production."

Kenya's strong agricultural sector accounts for 24 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), supports numerous employment opportunities and trade but has historically experienced sustainability challenges.

The model farm of 10,000 acres that is part of the 1 million-acre(about 405,000-hectare) food irrigation programme, NaijaAgroNet gathered, is progressing well and once completed will offer a sustainable food security solution.

The Grow Africa Investment Forum, part of the World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF food Africa) brought delegates from different countries together to find solutions to Africa’s agricultural needs. Among those who attended this year's forum were; South Africa's President Jacob Zuma, Ghanaian Vice-President KwesiAmissah-Arthur, Cote d'Ivoire Budget Minister MamadouKoulibaly and Erastus Mwencha of the African Union, NaijaAgroNet gathered.

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