FAO finalizes negotiations on land tenure, access issues

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has finalized negotiations guidelines for responsible governance of land tenure and access rights.

The proposed set of voluntary global guidelines as revealed to NaijaAgroNet in a press release made available by FAO also covers issues of fisheries and forest resources and the guidelines are set for approval from the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

In a reaction to the proposed guidelines, the chairman of CFS, Yaya Olaniran said the guidelines will be voluntary once approved as they have been drawn up in such a comprehensive and inclusive process.

"In fact, we're already seeing governments moving to bring their policies and practices into alignment with the guidelines," he said.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the approval of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security which was developed over the past three years will be at a special session in Rome by mid-May.

Equally commenting, José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General congratulated the participants of the negotiations as it is a milestone achievement.

"The Voluntary Guidelines will play an important part in answering the challenge of ending hunger and assuring food security of every child, woman and man in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable way," he said.

It is also gathered that 96 countries including the European Union as an FAO member organization along with nongovernmental groups, civil society organizations, UN agencies and other international organizations, farmers associations and private sector representatives took part in several rounds of talks by an Open Ended Working Group established by CFS to negotiate the text of the guidelines. 

The last and final round of negotiations was held March 5 to 9 at FAO's Rome headquarters.

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Make earth suitable for human - Ward urges

"We have to combine our immediate commitment to meeting human needs with our longer term need to protect the earth as a place suitable for human life now and in the future" according to the Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres.

Madam Executive Secretary made this quote in honour of late Barbara Mary Ward, an economist on issues of the protection of the earth, at the 2012 Barbara Ward Lecture last weekend.

She appreciated late Barbara Ward for stressing the need to simultaneously address the inner limits of human requirements and the outer limits of what the earth could sustain.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that Christiana in her speech made known that the RIO+20 conference, a medium that allows the world to take stock of past efforts is fast approaching, hence, she stressed the need to do away with "business-as-usual" in order to make the ground shake now more than ever before.

"With billions of people still in abject poverty and with environmental depletion and greenhouse emissions at an all time high, one cannot help but conclude that this was not what Barbara Ward had in mind," she said.

She also affirmed that climate change has the potential to undo many of the development gains that have been made, including in the context of the Millennium Development Goals.

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Brazil supports 5 African countries with N371 million

The Brazilian government has promised to provide the sum of $2, 375, 000 about N371.09 million to support farming in five African countries.

These countries as revealed in a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet are Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger and Senegal.

The fund according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is in accordance with the agreement signed by the government of Brazil with FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP) for a new local food purchase programme to benefit farmers and vulnerable populations in the listed African countries.

Based on the agreement, FAO said, it would receive $1.55million, about N242.2 million to look after the production side of the new project, making provisions for seeds and fertilizer, also increasing the capacity of small-scale farmers and boosting farmers' association's growth.

FAO is also to work towards mobilizing Brazilian expertise in support of local purchase initiatives as the Brazilian government is providing her expertise drawn from its the Food Purchase Programme (PAA) of Brazil.

WFP will be held responsible for purchasing and delivering the food to schools and vulnerable groups as well as receiving $800,000 about N125 million as stated in the agreement.

Purchase for Progress (P4P), NaijaAgroNet gathered is a pilot project of the World Food Programme which has already made local purchases of food and also looking for ways to buy more directly from small-scale farmers.

One of the motives for the Agreement is to strengthen local food markets and help improve food security in order to prevent future food insecurity.

The programme also seeks to supplement the diets of hungry people.

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Canada supports the West African Sahel with N6.45b

In a bid to help the victims of famine in the Sahel region of West Africa, the Canadian Government is providing the sum of $41 million, about N6.45 billion, Reports CityNews.

Bev Oda, International Cooperation Minister of Canada affirmed the impending food security and crisis in the region which calls for a great concern.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that the United Nations and other international institutions had warned of famine which could affect about 23 million across Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania if major global rescue efforts are not mounted.

The Minister said Canada will not relent efforts to monitor the developing situation closely.

"We must act now with help for millions of people struggling to meet their immediate basic food security and nutrition needs to avoid a more tragic situation later," Oda said. Read more

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FAO introduces long-term actions to assist South Sudan

 The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has concluded plans to provide series of emergency based on long-term actions to assist South Sudan state of Jonglei to feed itself.

As revealed to NaijaAgroNet in a press statement by FAO, the UN agency is supporting the affected areas with the supply and distribution of livestock vaccines, fishing gear, vegetable seeds and tools.

The supplies, FAO said is necessary for cereal production in the world's newest nation, an indication that it’s currently about 19 per cent lower than the previous year and 25 per cent below the average for the last five years.

NaijaAgroNet also gathered that the supplies and distributions have moved towards long-term development and capacity building in South Sudan, even as the deficit in cereal for 2012 is estimated at more than 470,000 tonnes, which is about 50 per cent of the country's total consumption requirement for the year,

FAO said it intends to give vaccines and antibiotics to prevent the spread of animal disease and to treat up to 100 000 animals over the course of about a month, according to the FAO Livestock Officer, Nimaya Mogga, noted that South Sudanese are pastoralists or herders, hence cattle are their livelihood, "Without them, they are nothing."

Mogga stated that South Sudan is the sixth largest cattle economy in Africa, adding "Cattle are seen as wealth in South Sudan."

Another agricultural sector where the FAO is helping South Sudan is fishing which is being hampered by lack of fishing gear.

To this effect, FAO is making available 20,000 pieces of fishing gear to Boma and two other towns that were affected, in addition to helping local communities in the planting of vegetable gardens along river banks.

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