China, others cause food price crash in July---FAO

NaijaAgroNet

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has revealed that in July, the dairy price index dropped 7.2 per cent from the previous month, mainly due to lower import demand from China.

Other regions which contributed to the crash in prices, NaijaAgroNet gathered, include Middle East and North Africa along with abundant European Union (EU) milk production which has resulted in good availability of dairy products for export.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 164.6 points in July, down 1.0 per cent from June, and 19.4 per cent from a year earlier. The trade-weighted index tracks prices on international markets of five major food commodity groups: cereals, meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar.

The July, NaijaAgroNet reports, vegetable oil price index was some 5.5 per cent below its June level, reaching its lowest value since July 2009. The recent slide was primarily caused by a fall in international palm oil prices due to increased production in Southeast Asia combined with slower exports especially from Malaysia, and a further weakening of soy oil prices on ample supplies for export in South America and a favourable outlook for global supply in 2015/16.

The cereal price index, NaijaAgroNet reports, rose by 2.0 per cent from June, but was still 10.1 per cent below July last year's level. For the second consecutive month, higher wheat and maize prices, in part due to unfavourable weather in North America and Europe, kept the cereal index rising, but rice prices continued to fall.

In July the meat price index remained nearly unchanged from the previous month. An increase in international prices of bovine meat offset a decline for pig meat and ovine meat, while prices for poultry remained stable. The sugar price index rose by 2.5 per cent from June 2015, largely due to less than ideal harvesting conditions in the main producing region of Brazil, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

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Wildlife killing, environmental degradation criminal in Malawi

NaijaAgroNet

The killing of wild animals and degradation of the environment in Malawi have become criminal offences, NaijaAgroNet reports. 

The President of Malawi, Peter Mutharika who emphasized that his government will apply tough laws against people who kill wild animals and degrade the environment was speaking at the launch of Malawi Parliamentary Conservation Caucus, Tuesday, in Lilongwe, adding that his commitment will help stop and reverse the current situation of wildlife and natural resources destruction.

"Those smuggling or killing our wild animals will face the law. Careless cutting down of our trees is a crime. We aim to harness wildlife and environment promotion policies and also working to introduce laws that will make these acts strong crimes," Muthurika stated while adding that the development of the National Conservation Policy is key.

The Minister for Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Bright Msaka, NaijaAgroNet gathered, said the caucus will see parliamentarians become conservation activists. "We also have the Parliamentary Committee on Environment. In the caucus we are adding 178 more activists. True activists are not those who will point at a river and say it is dirty, but real activists will go out and clean the river," he said.

He went further to say that his ministry had in the meantime detained a truckload of hardwood at the border with Tanzania at Songwe.
Chairperson for Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Change, WelaniChilenga said the MPCC caucus aims to build capacity of Members of Parliament (MPs) about the value of conservation of the country's natural resources.

Malawi, NaijaAgroNet  learnt, is losing most of its green cover and wild life to fraudulent loggers and poachers, including foreigners like Europeans who externalize rare fish species and Chinese who kill elephants for their ivory.

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 Pix: The President of Malawi, Peter Mutharika

G-Soko platform to connect farmers for grains

NaijaAgroNet:

G-Soko, a platform to connect farmers to grain buyers was launched recently in Nairobi, Kenya, NaijaAgroNetreports.

The platform, invented by a Kenyan-based Information Technology(IT) company, Virtual City in collaboration with the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) and the Food Trade Eastern and Southern Africa Organization, is an online trading platform which would enable Smallholder farmers in the East Africa to sell their produce at favourable prices.

The Secretary General, the East African Community, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera, commended EAGC for partnering with the Secretariat to implement the EAC Food Security Action Plan, which is the community’s strategy to achieve food security in the region.

The Executive Director of EAGC, Mr. Gerald Masila, at the event said, G-Soko was part of a five-year trade promotion programme in the region, adding that linking rural food production zones in East Africa to urban consumption centres demands a well-functioning regional market and system whereby farmers in the region will be able to access credit while waiting for prices to increase through pledging the electronic warehouse receipt with the banks and agro-dealers.

The farmers will also benefit from reduced post-harvest losses through access to professional storage, cleaning, drying and will benefit from improved prices discovery since many of them rely on farm-gate prices that deliver cash at lower prices.As for Millers, G-Soko system guarantees availability of quality stocks; standardized and proven grading thus reducing need to carry out sampling to check quality.

The G-Soko, NaijaAgroNet learnt, is now operational in two of the EAC Partner States; Uganda and Kenya, and arrangements are underway to extend the system to Tanzania and Rwanda before the Grains Farmers Summit scheduled to take place in Rwanda in early October, 2015.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE with addition sourcefrom East African Community Secretariat (EAC)
 
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Pix: The Executive Director of EAGC, Mr. Gerald Masila,

Food crisis looms in Namibia

NaijaAgroNet

A major food crisis may occur in the northern communal areas of Namibia by the end of August, says the Crop Prospects, Food Security and Drought Situation Report, NaijaAgroNet can authoritatively reveal.

This has prompted Namibian government to contemplate importation of about 210 000 tonnes of cereal to ensure food security to cushion effects of the 2013 and 2015 droughts which occasioned poor harvests in these regions.

NaijaAgroNet also reports that sections of the country worse affected by the drought were the Kavango East and Kavango West regions which indicate a reduction of 80per cent below average and 73per cent lower than last season’s harvest.

As a country, NaijaAgroNet gathered, the national coarse aggregate production (maize, millet, sorghum and wheat) is estimated at 67 800 tonnes, reflecting a substantial decrease in the harvest of about 46 per cent below the average production and 49 per cent lower than last season’s harvest.

The report states that although maize production in the commercial areas recorded about 36 700 tonnes this season, over 92 per cent of this total came from irrigation projects, and dry land maize only contributed about 8 per cent of the total, while Pearl millet production showed a decrease of over 74 per cent below average and 65 per cent less than last season, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

“Sorghum production has also showed a significant decrease and is estimated at 79 per cent below the average production and 60 per cent lower than last season. Wheat is a winter crop and production thereof is ongoing. The harvest estimate for wheat is provisionally forecast at 12 700 tonnes. This reflects an increase of 21per cent above the average production and 23 per cent higher than last season,” the report says.

 “In contrast, the current domestic cereal domestic availability is only about 28 per cent of the cereal requirements; hence a shortfall of 234 000 tonnes is required to cover the shortfall. This consists of 59 800 tonnes of wheat, 118 100 tonnes of maize and 56 100 tonnes of pearl millet and sorghum.”

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EBA to drive 2025 vision on CAADP

NaijaAgroNet

The Eco-system Based Adaptation (EBA) driven agriculture has been acknowledged among priority mechanisms for delivering the 2025 Vision on Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

EBA is the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy to help people to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.

NaijaAgroNet reports that the Commissioner for the Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union (AU), Mrs. Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, made this known while delivering a keynote as Guest of Honour at the official opening of the Second Africa Eco-system based Adaptation (EbA) for Food Security 2015 Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, which had the theme, “Re-imagining Africa Food Security through Harnessing Eco-system based Adaptation(EBA) Approaches- Now and into the Future under Climate Change”.

She said “To operationalize the African Union Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Africa Agriculture Growth and Transformation, the African Union Commission and the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency in consultation with multiple stakeholders and partners, developed the implementation strategy and roadmap as well as the porogramme of work. Within these strategic documents, eco-system based adaptation (EBA) driven agriculture is recognized as being among priority mechanisms for delivering the 2025 Vision on CAADP.”

The Conference which attracted about 1,500 participants from all over Africa as well as development finance and technical partners from all parts of world, NaijaAgroNet gathered, had key objectives of  determining how EbA can be harnessed to protect and restore Africa’s ecosystems as well as integrate it into policy frameworks to enable improved agricultural production and productivity.

It is also to identify scalable and inclusive business models for EbA driven agriculture that can create opportunities in the entire agricultural value chain, and understand the benefits of EbA for job and wealth creation and the achievement of the proposed  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and what Africa will lose as a continent if EbA is ignored or given little support in the context of increasing population and rapid urbanization coupled with climate change, NaijaAgroNet reports.

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 Pix: Mrs. Rhoda Peace Tumusiime,

Countries collaborate against rogue fishing

NaijaAgroNet

 

Many countries have indicated interest to join in the fight against rogue fishing which is estimated to have shed about $23billion (N4.58trillion) from the global economy, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The growing number of countries ratifying the international agreement to combat unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is fueling interest on how best to implement the instrument.

The agreement, NaijaAgroNet gathered, will begin operational once 25 countries deposit their instrument of ratification, known as acceptance of accession. As of now, 12 countries have done so, the latest being Iceland in June while two more states will soon join them.

According to the terms of the agreement, NaijaAgroNet learnt, fishermen, port authorities, coast guards and navies will be able to collaborate to strengthen inspections and control procedures at ports and on vessels. It also allows states to prevent the landings of catches derived from IUU fishing by vessels regardless of the flag they fly.

The Chief of Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO's) Development Law Service, Blaise Kuemlangan said, "The Agreement aims to harmonize port controls in order to prevent illegally caught fish from ever entering international markets through ports. The ability to turn away vessels taking part in IUU fishing will greatly reduce opportunities for selling their catch, decreasing IUU fishing worldwide."

FAO Representative in Cabo Verde, Remi Nono Womdim, on his part said, "Fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is a key priority along the Atlantic coast of Africa, where IUU fishing contributes to overfishing, creating negative effects for the economies of these countries,"

"Many countries in the region have the will to address IUU fishing, but require the most cost-effective tools and an understanding about how these can be implemented at the legal, policy and institutional level," said Womdim.

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Makinde advocates monitoring of biotech development in Africa

NaijaAgroNet

The Director, African Biotech Network of Expertise (ABNE), Professor Diran Makinde, has posited that African countries should have reliable systems to monitor developments in biotechnology to ensure successes in health, food security, biodiversity and trade, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The Dr. Makinde said that in the face of opposition and activism, evidence based decisions is germane to sustain the tempo in public awareness on the safety of  Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) adding that what Africa needs to do is monitor local seed companies so that seeds are not adulterated.

He took this position at the three-day biotechnology short course organized by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) agency Africa Biosafety Network of Expertise in collaboration with University of Ghana (UG) Legon, and Michigan State University (MSU).

The course, NaijaAgroNet gathered, seeks to provide a platform that would empower key stakeholders within the Biosafety systems in Ghana and Nigeria with current information on safe management of modern biotechnology to enable them effectively support regulatory process.

Expert pointed out that with 65 per cent of Africa's labour workforce employed by agriculture coupled with aging farmers, climate change, drought and famine and the youth shunning agriculture, Biotech stands to optimize productivity and contribute to food, feed and fiber security.

NaijaAgroNet further reports that Biotechnology is the use of living organisms to produce a product or service such as tools of tissue culture, molecular characterization for identification purposes in plant breeding, diagnostics, fermentation and genetic engineering.

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Farmers, buyers’ partnerships guide in the offing

 NaijaAgroNet

A legal guide to ensure harmonious relationship between farmers and buyers for sustainable agribusiness is being worked out by the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), NaijaAgroNet reports.

The arrangement would take the form of an expanding practice in which farmers produce agricultural goods for specific buyers in set quantities at prearranged prices and at the same time getting a new tool to guide growers and buyers in establishing sound contracts and conflict resolution procedures.

Contract farming in principle can improve farmers' access to markets and boost their incomes while ensuring that agribusinesses have a stable supply of produce that meets their quality standards, NaijaAgroNet was informed in a press release by FAO.

But as with any contractual relationship, there are potential pitfalls, and farmers can sometimes find themselves on the losing side of the deal. For example, a company might not pay the agreed price for the produce delivered, asserting that its quality was substandard, while the contract does not include any dispute resolution mechanism.

Changes in the world's agrifood systems and consumer preferences, NaijaAgroNet, have been a key driver of this trend. As food demand has risen both in developed and developing countries, processors and marketers need a steady and high volume stream of supplies, which they are not always able to meet buying on open commodities markets.

In contract farming arrangements help buyers gain a stronger hand in production, quality control and pricing, while farmers benefit from guaranteed income and market access. They may also acquire new productive assets – under some contract types, buyers commit to supporting growers by providing farm inputs, equipment, and technical advice.

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Agriculture most vulnerable to climate change----Expert

 NaijaAgroNet

 

The Senior Programme Specialist, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Edith Ofwona said agriculture which is the backbone of African continent is the sector mostly affected by climate change, NaijaAgroNet reports.

“The biggest challenge,” she disclosed “is how to work with communities not only to cope with short-term impacts but actually to be able to adapt and be resilient over time. We should come up with practical solutions that are affordable and built on the knowledge that communities have.”

Ofwonaro, NaijaAgroNet gathered, took this position at the international scientific conference on ‘Our Common Future under Climate Change’ which was held recently in Paris, which marks commencement of programmes to usher in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), also to be held in Paris in six months’ time, to pave the way for a global agreement to keep the rise in the earth’s temperature under 2°C.

Experts said temperature rise on the continent will likely exceed 2°C by 2100 with land temperatures rising faster than the global land average. Scientific assessments, NaijaAgroNet learnt, agree that Africa will also face more climate changes in the future, with extreme weather events increasing in terms of frequency, intensity and duration.

“Most sub-Saharan countries have high levels of climate vulnerability,” said an independent specialist and one of the lead authors of the 5^th Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), South Africa, Penny Urquhart, “Over the years, people became good at adapting to those changes but what we are seeing is increasing risks associated with climate change as this becomes more and more pressing.

He said data monitoring systems are still poor and sparse over the region, “we do know there is an increase in temperature,” she stated adding  that if the global average temperature increases by 2°C by the end of the century, this will be experienced as if it had increased by 4°C in Southern Africa, stated Urquhart.

According to the South African expert, vulnerability to climate variation is very context-specific and depends on people’s exposure to the impacts, so it is hard to estimate the number of people affected by global warming on the continent.

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