World Food Day: FAO calls for building back better, honours food heroes - NaijaAgroNet

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Today, World Food Day marks the 75th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

Born on the wake of catastrophe - World War II, three-quarters of a century later, FAO's mission to end hunger and nourish the world has been made more relevant because of another global scourge - the COVID-19 pandemic, said QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General.

Along the way, the world, and with it FAO, went from growing more food, to getting attuned to its environmental footprints, setting up regulatory frameworks in response, getting animal diseases under control, and, finally, seeing the fight against hunger as inseparable from other development goals. 

Hence, also, this year's World Food Day's theme: grow, nourish, and sustain. Together. 

"The present moment is again fraught with danger, complicated, and demands urgent action. As hunger grows once more, as the COVID-19 pandemic exposes the fragility of our food systems, history is calling upon us once more to rise to the challenge," urged Qu.

The Director-General spoke today at FAO's global 75th Anniversary/World Food Day virtual event in Rome, which brought together Pope Francis; Italy's President; Lesotho's King and Spain's Queen - FAO Special Goodwill Ambassadors for Nutrition; UN's Secretary General; and the heads of IFAD and WFP.

Saluting FAO's anniversary, Pope Francis described the organization's mission as "beautiful and important".

Time to build back better

World Food Day is marked this year as global hunger rises for the fifth consecutive year and a healthy diet is out of reach for 3 billion people. Nearly 700 million people still go hungry, and the pandemic could tip up to 132 million more into hunger by the end of 2020.

This year's World Food Day aims to galvanize and accelerate action towards ending hunger and malnutrition in all its forms, and to make food and agriculture an essential part of the COVID-19 response.

Chief amongst them, as speakers at today's event noted, are global solidarity and building more resilient, robust agri-food systems that can withstand shocks, deliver affordable and sustainable healthy diets for all, and decent livelihoods for all workers along the food supply chain. 

"Now is the time to rethink our approaches and redouble our efforts," said Qu.

Amongst these, Qu highlighted pioneering sciences and technologies, stressing that "Innovation is our ally in re-imagining our food systems and ending hunger, as we are morally and politically bound to do in the next ten years".

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

Flour Mills boss endorses Cognito Micronutrient powder - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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Affirming the significance of micronutrients in human nutrition, the managing director of Flour Mills of Nigeria plc Dr Paul Gbededo has commended Micronutrient Laboratories Limited for the introduction of Cognito Micronutrient Powder as a contribution to fighting the threat of infant malnutrition in Nigeria, reports NaijaAgroNet. 

Gbededo spoke on Wednesday 14 October as he unveiled the new micronutrient powder formulation on the sidelines of the 44th annual conference of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology.

Malnutrition: Nigeria gets Cognito Micronutrient Powder - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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Nigeria’s battle against deficiencies in childhood nutrition got a boost Wednesday 14 October with the introduction of a micronutrient fortification product for quick and easy utilisation by families, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Micronutrient Laboratories Limited unveiled its Cognito Micronutrient Powder as a response to the challenge of high infant mortality from poor feeding at the 44th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology in Lagos. It was one of the highlights of the annual conference of the nation’s food scientists and technologists.

Ekiti stakeholders take stock of Fayemi's projects - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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Ekiti stakeholders including Radio Callers Association and community leaders are taking stock of the projects and various programmes of the Dr Kayode Fayemi administration in recent times, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The stocktaking was part of the tour of the state by the stakeholders as led by the chief of staff, Mr. Abiodun Omoleye, stressing that they are executed based on the needs and yearnings of the people.

Earthshot dangles £50m prize for climate change, restore nature - NaijaAgroNet: ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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New global prize for the environment has emerged to the tune of £50 million, just as the five challenges at the heart of The Earthshot Prize has been unveiled, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This follows the launch by Prince William seen as the most prestigious global environment prize in history, as the five challenges at the heart of The Earthshot Prize were also unveiled to incentivise change and help to repair our planet over the next ten years – a critical decade for the Earth.

COVID-19: Sudan takes delivery of 3,000 personal protective gear - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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Sudan has received medical boost with the delivery of estimated 3,000 personal masks Siemens in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) reports NaijaAgroNet.

This, NaijaAgroNet gathered, was delivered last month to assist in the battle against Covid-19, and is the partnership's latest humanitarian investment initiative aimed at improving living standards in Sudan through the Ministry of Health.

COVID-19: Five media outlets benefit from Bloomberg, Ford grants - NaijaAgroNet... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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To strengthen regional journalism at a time when communities urgently needed access to accurate, local information on COVID-19, the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA) and the Ford Foundation have awarded their latest round of funding to some five media entities on the continent, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The beneficiaries cut across Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa will receive grants from the BMIA Community Media Fund (BMIA-CMF) to improve training and support the production of independent, reliable news content on issues impacting local communities. 

Afi-Antonio partners Feminine Star to empower women - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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The Afi Antonio Foundation in partnership with Feminine Star Africa has hosted a women empowerment programme in Anloga, Ghana, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Empowering women to be key change agents is an essential element to achieving the end of hunger and poverty.

The theme for the programme was "Empowering Women And Girls For a Better Tomorrow" with focus on training women for equity on income generating skills that will help them realize their financial goals and overcome persistent gender based barriers.

Bridging African medicare gaps with technologies - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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Omnia Health Live Africa set to bring together policy drivers, thought leaders, expert clinicians and decision-makers to transform healthcare's most pressing challenges through collaboration and empowerment.

The international healthcare community sits at a critical juncture, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic placing a spotlight on some of the industry’s biggest resource challenges.

African Oil Week: US, Africa collaboration leads agenda - NaijaAgroNet ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

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The participation of US Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and the US Development Finance Corporation’s Chief Development Officer in AOW Virtual highlights the importance that the United States places on fostering relationships with the continent, reports NaijaAgroNet.

When the US government launched its Prosper Africa initiative in December 2018, it did so with a vision to open markets for American businesses, grow Africa’s middle class and promote youth employment opportunities. Securing the continent’s energy future – either with its own resources or imported ones – and facilitating electrification for those Africans not yet connected to the grid have been crucial to the initiative since its inception.