AU to motivate African countries to increase budgetary allocation to agric

Fighting food security in Africa, African Union is set to motivate African countries to increase their national budgetary allocations to agriculture a minimum of 10 per cent, SierraExpressMedia reports.

This, the AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Mrs. Rhoda Peace Tumusiime said at a press conference about the issue of agriculture and food security in the context of the comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

The 10 per cent minimum requirement for agriculture budgetary allocation, NaijaAgroNet gathered is to ensure agricultural growth of 6 per cent.

Part of the efforts of the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture as revealed by the commissioner includes coordination of multi-institutional support of the preparation of agricultural sector investment plans both at country and regional levels, this in order to for CAADP to reach its set goals.

Commissioner Tumusiime said that out of the 54 member states of the AU, only 30 have already yielded to the CAADP 10% strategic plan, and a number of them have surpassed the 10% requirement. This shows great commitment, she said. Read more

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Britain gives N12.337b grant to Zambia

Over the next three years, the Zambian government will receive a grant of GBP58 million, about N12.337 billion from the British government, reports LusakaTimes.

The grant as gathered by NaijaAgroNet was made available through the Department for International Development (DFID) of the British government for growth and poverty reduction in Zambia.

The Public Relations Officer of the Zambian Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Chileshe Kandeta affirmed that the grant would be delivered as general budget support to help the government in the fight against poverty.

“The money will ensure that an additional 54,000 rural people have access to safe water by 2014, keep an additional 50,000 children in school every year and provide an additional 42,000 households with access to electricity by 2015,” he said. Read more

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WorldBank, USAID, Gates work on new approach to feed 1bn globally

In effort to fight hunger and feed the hungry globally, the World Bank, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Gates Foundation are working on new approach, reports PolicyMic.

The new approach as gathered by NaijaAgroNet is to work on increased crop production in Africa through the deployment of high-yielding crop varieties, fertilizers and pesticides; an outlook based on the 1960s Green Revolution which averted famine in India and Latin America then.

With Sub-Saharan Africa as one of the main focus, the Green Revolution is of hegemony ideology over the agricultural development, having the notion that farmers' returns will automatically guarantee their food security.

The U.S. Ambassador to the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) in Rome, Ertharin Cousin said the project will bring companies to buy goods from smallholders in order for the deal to be beneficial to the smallholders. Read more

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NEPAD, AU seeks support to address food insecurity in Niger, Sahel

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in partnership with the African Union (AU) has called for support in order to fight food insecurity in Niger Republic and the Sahel countries.

This was contained in a communique made available to NaijaAgroNet by NEPAD.

The Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission (AUC) Mrs. Rhoda Peace Tumusiime and NEPAD's CEO Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, urged the international community for an urgent support to Niger and the Sahelian countries.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the request for support is of great importance as the 2011/2012 agriculture season has been characterized by an erratic and a short fall in most Sahelian countries.

The two international bodies also called for the effective implementation of solidarity mechanisms provided for at regional level to support existing efforts.

International communities were also called on to motivate development partners to better coordinate their efforts on the basis of the needs identified at national levels in the affected regions.

The support according to NEPAD is an effort to promote food security as a significant decline was recorded in cereal and grass production in the region compared to the previous year with a higher deficit in Niger.

NaijaAgroNet, recalls that over half of the population of Niger is affected with the erratic and rainfall shortage, the more reason to act fast as people in their millions are living in a critical vulnerability and also in need of assistance.

ECOWAS and Permanent Interstate Committee for drought control in the Sahel will also be joining hands with AUC and NEPAD Agency in mobilizing additional resources for national initiatives that aim to address food security in the affected region.

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