AATF to boost agro-productivity in Africa via Innovation

  NaijaAgroNet:

The Executive Director, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Dennis Kyetere has said that the use of technology will play a key role in addressing farmer’s constraints and enhancing agricultural development on the continent, reports NaijaAgroNet.

In line with this, the AATF has signed a memorandum of Understanding with Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) during which the Secretary General COMESA, Mr. Sindiso  Ngwenya, said that there is need for African countries to use innovation to boost agricultural productivity and trade in the region.

Also, Mr. Ngwenya said, technological interventions will help in securing Africa’s future through increased agricultural productivity, and as Dr. Kyetere said, the foundation promotes various kinds of technologies to strengthen the capacity of farmers in Africa.

Mr. Ngwenya further said that the partnerships should help address the entire commodity value chains from production through to the markets.

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Food security: UN, EU launch global network for joint assessments, coordinated action

NaijaAgroNet:

A new network to achieve joint global food-security assessments and joint responses to food crises, including those related to phenomena such as El Niño, was launched in Istanbul Monday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the European Union, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Global Network for Food Insecurity, Risk Reduction and Food Crises Response, NaijaAgroNet gathered, would pave the way for enhancing the impact of future responses to food crises at the global level by regularly producing, in real time, joint reports based on key analyses and containing timely response options.

According to FAO, this will prompt coordination among stakeholders and promote joint planning and joint responses to food crises, in addition, to improving learning from past crises and increase the level of transparency and availability of crucial analysis of global needs.

The "Global Network" and its outputs are public goods, available for everybody. Participation in the network will be broadened to all key stakeholders that can contribute to the analysis and/or to the response. The network’s pilot publication “Global analysis of food and nutrition security situation in food crisis hotspots 2016” is the example that a joint analysis is possible. It covers 70 countries affected by a food crisis in 2015, including chronically vulnerable countries at or above Phase 2 of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). 

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FAO heads to World Humanitarian Summit 2016

NaijaAgroNet:

The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit slated for Istanbul, Turkey has attracted the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), reports NaijaAgroNet.

The summit which commences Monday, May 23 through Tuesday, 24, 2016, NaijaAgroNet gathered comes at a time when the world is witnessing the highest level of humanitarian needs since the Second World War.

NaijaAgroNet reports that rural communities are often the hardest hit by crises and disasters, hence, FAO believes that much more must be done to ensure they have unimpeded access to food and nutrition and that their livelihoods, which are mostly based on agriculture, are protected.

Globally disasters and conflicts, FAO said, are increasing in frequency and magnitude, stressing that these are as diverse as Typhoon Haiyan, the recent Ebola outbreak, and civil war in Syria, to name just a few.

FAO said, supporting agricultural livelihoods could help reduce risks, promote stability, and drive post-crisis recovery, just as investing in agriculture is a good investment in building a future in which no one is left behind.

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Nigeria, ready for nuclear energy –FG

NaijaAgroNet:

The Minster of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has said Nigeria was ready to commence the production of nuclear energy, as she had secured the necessary certification from the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), reports NaijaAgroNet.

Stating that Nigeria had started a nuclear program 17 years ago, he also said Nigeria has also “produced 25 graduates of master’s level under certification by the International Atomic Energy Agency. He also said that we (Nigeria) are at the stage of developing a design for financing, after which we would move to the design for construction.

“If all things go well, by quarter four of next year – that is the schedule that I met – we should have started construction, so that is what I meet“ he said.

Fashola said it was important for Nigeria to focus on the gains and safety of nuclear energy as obtained in other developed countries and since the whole world was moving toward a cleaner fuel and the use of more sustainable form of energy, Nigeria could be an exception.

The minister further said that diversifying the nation’s energy mix would lead to the utilisation of the various forms of renewable energy sources in the country but the developed countries could only share the technology with countries ready keep to the standards in the utilisation of the technology. This, according to him, will ultimately make electricity cheap in the country.

“What we are thinking about is long-term solution. We need a solution that will endure for generations to come.“When you design a power solution, design it so that the next coming generations can use it,” Fashola said.

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WHEAT FORUM TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY VIA LEVIES

 NaijaAgroNet:

The Wheat forum, currently sent a request to the South African Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC), on behalf of the directly affected groups in the winter cereal industry, for the introduction and promulgation of the following statutory levies (VAT excluded), to be collected and administered by the Winter Cereal Trust, for a period of four years reports NaijaAgroNet.

This is line with the current statutory measure regarding levies on winter cereal as promulgated by Government Notice No. 38201 of 11 November 2014, which currently amounts to R17/ton (excl VAT), which will expire on 30 September 2016.

The proposed levies will be utilised for the funding of information, quality and grading, transformation, administration, capacity building, research, the Supply and Demand Estimates Committee, and pre-breeding research as opposed to seed breeding which the soon to expire levy was used for. This will result in lower amount levied.

It was gathered by NaijaAgroNet that the Wheat Forum could not reach consensus on the final amount, manner of collection and the specific utilisation of a seed breeding levy which led to industry stakeholders submitting two alternative applications for statutory levies aimed at seed breeding and technology for wheat and barley, which will be published for comments at a later stage.

It was further gathered by NaijaAgroNet that the levy funds will partly compensate for the diminished funds for research and also to make provision for new research projects to be funded.

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FG to establish N750bn agriculture fund

NaijaAgroNet:

The Federal Government disclosed plans to establish a N750 billion agriculture fund in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr. Heineken Lokpobiri, affirmed this at the 2016 national summit of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), with the theme: “The Role of Poultry Industry in the Economic Revival of Nigeria” stated that the Federal Government is committed to diversifying the economy away from oil and revive the agricultural sector to boost the economy.

According to him, access to credit is one of the biggest challenges farmers are facing which is why the government has made this move to revive the agricultural sector. In addition the federal government is also talking with Islamic Bank which has agreed to provide about $ 2.5 million which will be rooted through Bank of Agriculture and Commerce Bank and at a single digit rate to finance different agric programmes.

He also disclosed that talks are being held with the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) for funding in the same sector.

“The present administration is committed to make agriculture attractive by making funds accessible and affordable as no business can survive with high interest rate charged by commercial banks. Already, there exist some funding from CBN that even the poultry farmers can access at an affordable interest rate of nine per cent but the contention is that nine percent is too high. We are trying to make credit not only accessible but available and affordable,” Lokpobiriemphasised.

In addition, he also promised to use all means at his disposal to harmonize taxes on farms – “and that since poultry products are food items, they should not be taxed.”

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Scientists drive efforts for cleaner energy

NaijaAgroNet:

Scientists have mapped the movement of electrical charge through a material known as a metal organic framework or ‘MOF’ to improve on cleaner energy efforts, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to scientists at The Manchester University, United Kingdom, MOF was designed to host charge in future vehicle fuel cells which offer a greener alternative to traditional combustion engines.

By using a combination of X-ray and neutron techniques, NaijaAgroNet gathered that scientists now have a better understanding of the flow of charge in the material, and could begin to design more efficient fuel cells in pursuit of cleaner energy.

NaijaAgroNet reports that fuel cells convert the chemical energy of a fuel into electricity by means of a chemical reaction, and there are a variety of fuel cells available, with polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells currently used most widely.

In addition, NaijaAgroNet gathered from experts that the performance of a fuel cell depends on the electrolyte, the porous material at the centre of the cell which controls the flow of charge - to boost its efficiency, hence scientists are developing smart membranes with new materials to produce more charge.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that a team from The University of Manchester linked up with others, including the University of Nottingham, have mapped the atomic structure and workings of the metal organic framework using intense X-rays at the UK’s Diamond Light Source ‘super-microscope.’

Media Relations Officer, The University of Manchester, Joe Paxton, told NaijaAgroNet that these scientists then used neutrons to map the flow of charge, known as proton conduction, in the material for the first time.

The results, also published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, found that the protons move freely within a sphere, rather than the more common ‘jump diffusion between sites’ mechanism. This new knowledge will enable the design of improved proton conducting materials by optimising the pathway that the protons take.

Drs Sihai Yang and Martin Schröder, group leaders from The University of Manchester, said, “The success of this work will not only create new knowledge on metal organic frameworks, but also enable the building of next generation fuel cells that operate at a wider temperature range and with higher efficiency. This will help bring this technology into a reality.”

Dr Claire Murray from Diamond Light Source, said “This represents really beautiful chemistry in a new and exciting area of research. Up until now, metal organic frameworks have been mainly used for gas absorption, but scientists hope to be able to exploit proton conductivity for the production of green energy fuel cells that can operate at high temperatures and in dry conditions. Because the X-rays we generate are so intense, researchers can reveal the structure of materials in very fine detail, enabling the detection of tiny changes that could impact on their performance.”

Now the team have cracked the mechanism behind proton conductivity in the material, they have returned to the laboratory to use this information to design and study new materials with increased conductivity.

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops 

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Two herdsmen get 20yrs jail term in Delta

      
NaijaAgroNet:

On Monday in Asaba, a Delta State High Court sentenced two Fulani herdsmen, Hassan Abidu and Yakubu Salem, to 20 years in jail with hard labour, on a two-count charge of unlawful possession of firearms, reports NaijaAgroNet

The charges were preferred against them by the Attorney General of the State, punishable under under Section 3(1), of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provision) Act Cap R.II, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.

They were both sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each with hard labour and without an option of fine on the two counts.

According to prosecution, on or about February 23, 2015 at 6a.m., the Ibusa Police Division received a distress call that a group of suspected Fulani boys numbering about six were sited around Power Line, Ibusa armed with dangerous weapons including firearms which led to their arrest and prosecution.

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