FAO, USAID deal to enthrone new age in agricultural data collection

NaijaAgroNet:

A new age of data collection in the agriculture sector may have taken root with the recent agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to the tune of $15 million Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to the FAO Chief Statistician, Pietro Gennari, from the two organisations, the need for better, cost-effective and timely statistical data for agricultural and rural areas is widely recognized. 

Critical gaps in data production and dissemination persist in several countries - a consequence of long-standing issues such as shortages of financial and human resources, and the resulting limitations in technical capacities. 

FAO, Gennari noted has already been addressing such issues through the" Global Strategy to improve agricultural and rural statistics" (GSARS) programme, an umbrella effort working to enhance  the capacity of developing countries to produce and use agricultural and rural statistics and to strengthen statistical governance mechanisms. AGRIS is a spin-off of the Global Strategy's research programme. 

"With efforts like our Global Strategy and ‘next generation' tools like AGRIS, we're engaging with partners to spark what we hope will be a new era in agricultural data collection," Gennari said.

AGRIS, NaijaAgroNet, is being implemented by FAO within the context of the multi-agency Global Rural and Agricultural Integrated Surveys (GRAInS) Partnership, which is currently establishing in Rome as a Global Survey Hub.

Nenye Dom/GEE
... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

SDGs implementation: Ban Ki-moon stresses importance of finance

NaijaAgroNet:

The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon has stressed the importance of financing and other support mechanisms in implementing the global goals for sustainable development and climate action, reports NaijaAgroNet.

He also urged further efforts by G20 countries to fulfilling their commitments to SDGs and climate action.

“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a universal, integrated and transformative plan of action for peace and prosperity for all on a healthy planet,” Mr. Ban told a session on inclusive and interconnected development during the G20 Summit happening in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Referencing the 2030 Agenda on 17 global goals adopted by the UN General Assembly last September, he said that achieving them requires balanced, inclusive and sustainable economic growth. 

"The Addis Ababa Action Agenda, adopted in Ethiopia last year, provides a global framework for financing the 2030 Agenda implementation. It aligns all financing flows and policies with sustainable economic, social and environmental development," he said.

Mr. Ban also pointed out that the G20 Action Plan to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda is testament to your commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” the UN chief said, acknowledging China’s leadership for mainstreaming sustainable development in the work of G20.

Mr. Ban also applauded the leaders of France, Germany, Japan, Mexico and the Republic of Korea for initiating inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms on implementation of the global goals, calling upon all G20 leaders to follow “these good examples.”

“Implementing the 2030 Agenda will strengthen our collective ability to address short-term risks and build long-term resilience. This is why it is essential that sustainable development is fully integrated into a global macroeconomic policy framework,” Mr. Ban said.

The G20 initiative on supporting industrialization in Africa and least developed countries will strengthen their inclusive growth and development potential, he said.

The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) report provides a comprehensive framework in this regard. Increased investments in infrastructure and industry, access to finance, sharing and transfer of technologies, trade facilitation, capacity building and improving enabling environments can support the transformation needed, he added.

The G20’s financial support to the Paris Agreement on climate change, adopted last December in France, is crucial, the Secretary-General emphasized. “Now it is time to ensure we live up to our commitments on climate finance, including the commitment to provide $100 billion for the Green Climate Fund,” he said, describing this as “an important step” to support developing countries’ efforts to implement the climate accord.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

US donates AGRIS tools to pilot data collection

NaijaAgroNet:

The United States (US) government has donated some Agricultural Integrated Surveys (AGRIS) tools as part of its recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pilot data collections in four developing countries, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The donation received by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on behalf of benefiting countries to be named soon, NaijaAgroNet gathered, was made through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The endowment, NaijaAgroNet reports would cover the first phase of an FAO-led project that will run from 2016 to 2021 starting with pilot efforts in four developing countries, two in Sub-Saharan Africa, one in Latin America and one in Asia. A dialogue is under way with eligible countries.

The goal, NaijaAgroNet also gathered is to design and implement a new and cost-effective approach to agricultural data collection in developing world contexts, known as agricultural integrated surveys (AGRIS).

The AGRIS methodology will not only capture improved annual data on agricultural production, but also broader and more detailed structural information relating to farms, including employment, machinery use, production costs, farming practices, and environmental impacts.

This will incorporate recent innovations like remote sensing, Global Positioning System (GPS), mobile technology and various uses of "big data." These tools will introduce more objective approaches to measuring agricultural performance, in some cases replacing traditional, more expensive methods.

In addition to better and more detailed data, NaijaAgroNet reports that AGRIS will also promote the integration of disparate data sources, improve data timeliness and usability, and cut data collection costs.

The end result will be high-quality data on a wide range of technical, economic, environmental and social dimensions of agriculture that will help governments analyse and understand the impacts of agricultural policies, assess progress toward the SDGs and other goals, and shape better policies.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE
... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Amb. Idro disappointed by elites, says they abandoned women farmers

NaijaAgroNet:

The chairman of the Uganda-based Leveraging Excellence in Agricultural Development (LEAD), Ambassador Philip Idro has expressed disappointment on elites claiming to be championing growth of agriculture on the continent of Africa, alleging they have abandoned women farmers, reports NaijaAgroNet.

He made his views known at the sideline events on Accelerating Africa’s Rise: Maximising Non-State Actors’ Potential for Results and Impact at the 2016 African Green Revolution Forum ongoing in Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Amb. Idro described women as the brains behind the food on the glass tables of the elites.

Amb. Idro charged the facilitators of the session, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Non-State Actors Coalition (CNC) to be more people oriented, because no matter whatever happens, the people are the majority and even more than those in government, but needed adequate mobilization and enlightenment.

The former Ugandan ambassador to China also lamented that despite the role of women in development of agriculture, large number of them especially in Africa have been abandon and neglected in the rural areas by those who should cater for them.

These attitudes, he said, have led to lack of social amenities to better the lives of these women and children who form large number of the smallholders and subsistence farmers across the continent.

“I am disappointed at the elites who have abandoned our rural women,” he decried, noting that these women from day breaks, wake up to ensure there is food prepared for everyone in the house including their husbands, and use estimated about two-hours to search and fetch water daily, very often with children at the back.

He also lamented that infact by the time they finished preparing breakfast and head to the farms, a little time later, it will be lunch and then after working all day, gets home to start another round of dinner preparation and of course without forgetting to make the husband happy eventually.

He wondered why such a person or group of persons will not fail sick if not by the grace of God, stressing that unfortunately, those who have passed through these rural women, forget soon and very easily to plough back in the areas of improving their lives with social amenities like good roads to move their produce to a larger market, clinics and schools.

Ambassador Idro, therefore charged the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Non-State Actors Coalition (CNC) to work on reversing these trends so as to properly empower women especially in Africa.

Other panelists at the session include the Executive Director, ACORD, Mr. Ousainou Ngum, One Campiaign representative to the African Union (AU) and East Africa, Dorine Nininahazwe, Deputy Regional Director at Oxfam, Ms Dedo Mate-Kodjo, deputy chairman of CNC, Mr. Cris Muyunda, chief executive officer of East Africa Farmers Federation, Mr. Stephen Muchiri and was moderated by the Executive Director, Local Development Research Institute (LDRI), Mr. Muchiri Nyaggah.

Remmy Nweke in Nairobi/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology
Pix: Amb. Idro speaking

ACORD boss, Ngum tasks CAADP Non-State Actors on mindset

NaijaAgroNet:

The Executive Director of the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development, (ACORD), Mr. Ousainou Ngum, has tasked the leadership of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Non-State Actors Coalition (CNC) to change their current mindset so as to reap the potentials in CAADP, reports NaijaAgroNet.

In a keynote to the session, at the ongoing African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF 2016) on "Accelerating Africa’s Rise: Maximizing Non-State Actors’ Potential for Results and Impact, Mr. Ngum said that if the desire of CNC is to make real impact, it must open its arms to welcoming new people and concepts especially at this era of technology.

This, he said, includes exploration of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools that have become people-oriented such as social media and platforms like What’sApp.

He stressed that exploiting the likes of What’sApp, for instance, the horizon for CNC will be larger and hence become more acceptable and inclusiveness to its membership and even potential members.

Ngum told the session moderated by the Executive Director, Local Development Research Institute (LDRI), Mr. Muchiri Nyaggah, and included panelists like One Campiaign representative to the African Union (AU) and East Africa, Dorine Nininahazwe, Deputy Regional Director at Oxfam, Ms Dedo Mate-Kodjo, deputy chairman of CNC, Mr. Cris Muyunda, chief executive officer of East Africa Farmers Federation, Mr. Stephen Muchiri and chairman, Leveraging Excellence in Agricultural Development, Ambassador Philip Idro, CNS has to develop a new framework with clear deliverables.

CNC, he also pointed out should ensure the involvement of all regional organizations and work around making certain that CAADP is a success.

“Civil society should talk beyond themselves and work on the youth too,” he declared, stressing that the need for change in mindset will open up lots of other opportunities, especially by working closely with the African Union Commission (AUC).

On the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mr. Ngum said, the Coalition must ensure no one is left behind by delving into the 17 goals, explaining that the latest SDGs is about the world and not just about the rich and poor or those who have and havenots.

“We can only do that by reaching out,” he declared.

Remmy Nweke in Nairobi/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology
Pix: Mr. Ngum speaking.

AGRF 2016: Nigeria, 12 others lead in CAADP implementation

NaijaAgroNet:

The Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has listed Nigeria and 12 other countries on the continent as those leading in the implementation of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), reports NaijaAgroNet.

CAADP is the African Union’s initiative created in 2003, with a component part of CAADP being its call for African governments to allocate at least 10 per cent of the national budgets to agriculture and to aim for six per cent annual growth in the sector.

This was contained in the African Agriculture Status Report (AASR) unveiled on Tuesday at the on-going annual African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF 2016) at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Kenya.

The lead-authors including Mr. David Ameyaw of AGRA and Prof. Thomas Jayne of Michigan State University, as well as the former president of AGRA and chairman of AASR, Dr. Namanga Ngongi, acknowledged those making progress and listed what they called early adopters to comprise, Nigeria, Benin, Burundi, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Togo.

AASR 2016 underscored the differences when compared among countries that signed up early on CAADP between 2007 and 2009 against those that have not yet signed.

According to them, after decades of stagnation, Africa has commenced to enjoy sustained agriculture productivity growth since 2005, and as a result, poverty rates have declined in places like Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso.

Also, NaijaAgroNet gathered from the report that agriculture has had its biggest impact in countries that moved quickly to embrace CAADP.

The AGRA report further noted that even if they didn’t hit the 10 per cent targets, early adopters of the CAADP goals have seen productivity on existing farmlands rise between 5.9 to 6.7 percent per year.

This, the report pointed out gave a boost in turn by spurring a 4.3 per cent average annual increase in overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

As stated by the AGRA report on evaluation of its 10 years as a body known as AASR, emphasized that those later to the game achieved anywhere from a 3 to 5.7 per cent growth in farm productivity and a 2.4 to 3.5 per cent increase in GDP.

Equally, AASR noted that countries that sat on the sidelines saw farm productivity rise by less than 3 per cent and GDP rise by only 2.2 per cent.

The trend, according to AGRA Status Report, is similar for declines in malnutrition, with countries that have embraced the CAADP process experiencing annual declines ranging from 2.4 to 5.7 per cent, while those who have not averages only a 1.2 per cent decline.

Remmy Nweke in Nairobi/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology!
Pix: L-r: Dr. Ousmane Badiane is the Africa Director for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Dr. Namanga Ngongi, chair of African Fertiiser Agricultural Partnership (AFAP), co-lead author, Prof. Thomas Jayne and David Ameyaw, lead author and Head, Monitoring and Evalution, AGRA, with copies o the report on display.

USAID, FAO sign $15m MoU to boost agro data collection

NaijaAgroNet:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have signed a $15 million Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost the capacity of developing countries to track key agricultural data -information that is essential to good policy making, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This MoU, NaijaAgroNet gathered will assist in tracking progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly considering the second goal of SDGs which is to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. 

Director-General at FAO, José Graziano da Silva, said that in the decades to come, humanity will need to produce more food for a growing population using natural resources such as water, land and biodiversity in a sustainable way, while coping with the challenges imposed by climate change.

"Our ability to boost food yields sustainably and meet the SDG hunger eradication target will hinge on the availability of better, cost-effective and timely statistical data for agriculture and rural areas" he said.

The Assistant to the Administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Food Security and Deputy Coordinator for Development for the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative, Beth Dunford, said that they are pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with the FAO on this important endeavor that will help build sustainable agricultural and food systems.

“Strong national data systems are critical for governments and private sector actors to make informed and smart decisions that foster food security and economic prosperity. Our work with FAO under the Feed the Future initiative builds on years of success and lessons learned, and is essential to bring about the types of data systems to support the more catalytic investments needed to achieve a food-secure world by 2030”​ she said.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Breaking News: IFAD president, Kanayo Nwanze emerges first Africa Food Prize winner @AGRF 2016

NaijaAgroNet:

All is now set for the presentation of the first-ever Africa Food Prize to the President of Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), at a ceremony to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The former President of Nigeria Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ), NaijaAgroNet gathered would lead dignitaries Wednesday evening, September 7, 2016 to perform this honour as the chairman of the Africa Food Prize by presenting the award to fellow Nigerian, Dr. Nwanze.

The Africa Food Prize, NaijaAgroNet gathered has a US $100,000 award which celebrates individuals as well as institutions that are changing the reality of farming in Africa from a struggle to survive to a business that thrives.

As farmers in eastern and southern Africa wrestle with severe drought, the Africa Food Prize arrives as a clarion call for the bold thinking and technical innovation required to overcome this and an array of other challenges.

NaijaAgroNet reports that the Africa Food Prize Committee selected Dr. Nwanze for his outstanding leadership and passionate advocacy in putting Africa’s smallholder farmers at the center of the global agricultural agenda.

Earlier in the day, media are invited to attend a short briefing in the UN Press Centre. H.E. Obasanjo and other prize committee members will speak to the winner’s achievements, who will also make an address to the media and be available to answer questions.

Others on the panel include Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze, Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, Chief executive officer, eleni LLC, Dr. Joachim von Braun, Director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF), Bonn University, and Professor for economic and technological change; and Ms. Sheila Sisulu, Special Envoy for Food and Nutrition Security of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of South Africa.

Remmy Nweke in Nairobi/ED, Ops

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

CAADP endorsed countries post higher productivity, strong GDP, reduce malnutrition – AGRA report

NaijaAgroNet:

The 2016 African Agriculture Status Report (AASR) has shown that member countries that have endorsed and implemented the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in the past 10 years, have posted higher agriculture productivity and stronger Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth as well as sharper declines in malnutrition, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The latest report made available to NaijaAgroNet at the launch in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi as part of the 2016 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF).

The 284-page publication by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), NaijaAgroNet reports, examined the progress made towards agricultural transformation across the continent in the past 10 years.

NaijaAgroNet also reports that African countries that have not adopted the program by signing CAADP compacts, stressing that the differences are especially stark when comparing with countries that signed up early, between 2007 and 2009, to those that have not yet signed.

The early adopters, according to the lead authors, Mr. David Ameyaw, and Prof. Thomas Jayne  include Benin, Burundi, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

While Mr. Ameyawone is the head of Monitoring and Evaluation for AGRA, Prof. Jayne is the University Foundation Professor on Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at the Michigan State University. 

For Ameyaw, “It’s clear that with agriculture now back at the top of Africa’s development agenda, the foundations have been laid for a renaissance in African agriculture that could quickly deliver benefits to the broader economy.”

Also he said the report found evidence that many farmers are “gaining more options in the seeds they plant, in the fertilizers they use, and in the markets available to purchase their produce.

He noted that African agriculture experts who contributed to the report made it clear that all is far from well. 

The report, he said, pointed out that Africa remains “the world’s most food insecure continent, with relatively low levels of agricultural productivity, low rural incomes, high rates of malnutrition and a worsening of food trade balance.”

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

L-r: Dr. Ousmane Badiane is the Africa Director for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Dr. Namanga Ngongi, chair of African Fertiiser Agricultural Partnership (AFAP), co-lead author, Prof. Thomas Jayne and David Ameyaw, lead author and Head, Monitoring and Evalution, AGRA, displaying the report.

Obasanjo, Masiyiwa to herald Africa Food Prize 2016

NaijaAgroNet:

Former Nigerian president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo may be heralding the newly-created Africa Food Prize as the chairman of the board by announcing the inaugural winners, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Chief Obasanjo who has history in agriculture both in his days as military head of state in Nigeria and later democratically elected president and fondly called OBJ by admirers is the pioneer chairman of the Africa Food Prize, which is another novel from AGRA secretariat in marking the 10th year of its foundation.

NaijaAgroNet also gathered that Obasanjo will be leading other high-dignitaries to the award at the on-going African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), just as the accolades tend to focus attention on individuals and institutions that are inspiring and driving agricultural innovations throughout Africa.

Some industry watchers are already tipping the Nigerian Dangote Industries and CocaCola Africa office as some of the winners to be announced as part of the 2016 African Green Revolution Forum events.

OBJ, NaijaAgroNet gathered would be accompanied by the former president of Ghana, John Kuffor and host president, Uhuru Kenyatta as well as the chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and founder of Econet Wireless, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, to name a few.

While this year’s theme centres on “Seize the Moment – Securing Africa’s Rise through Agricultural Transformation” NaijaAgroNet gathered that the theme was inspired by the call to action from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) enticed by President Barack Obama’s Global Food Security initiative, which is classified as the largest development commitment from the administration and one that is aligned closely with the African Union’s (AU) agriculture agenda.

Hence this year’s AGRF would feature many other heroes of African agriculture who are committed to mobilizing the investments and partnerships that could “seize the moment” for making Africa’s agriculture potential a reality.

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology
Pix: Obasanjo and Masiyiwa