ACPC, AYICC youth consultation for COP21

NaijaAgroNet:

The Gambia's minister of Youth and Sports, Alieu K Jammeh, has said that Africa Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) and the Africa Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC) organized Conference will create space for a youth consultation in the run up to COP2, NaijaAgroNet reports.

COP21, a United Nations’ Conference, NaijaAgroNet reports, is a sustainable innovation forum 2015 to be held on December 7 and 8 in Paris, France to brainstorm on issues arising from climate change.

Jammeh was addressing the 1st Africa Youth Conference on Climate Change held in Zimbabwe, Monday, on the theme: 'African youth responses to climate change and food security, action from the frontlines'.

"We all know that Africa, our continent, is the world's youngest continent with two-thirds of the population falling below 24 years old and increasing; in fact expected to double by 2045. There is huge potential in these numbers because with big numbers, as proven in certain dynamics, they can propel economic success," he stated.

 He told the gathering that it is the people of Africa that will have to take the lead in shaping the future that they desire for themselves and generations unborn so that Africa can become the giant that it should be; a giant of economic prosperity, socio-cultural advancement, and political tolerance, all within an ecosystem that guarantees their continuous existence on earth in harmony with nature, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

"In addition, the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report states that Africa could face a triple whammy of extreme weather, crop failures and disease if temperatures rise are unchecked."

"As the theme for this conference aptly links food security with climate change, we are called upon to look at agriculture again and ensure that agriculture, being the biggest economic sector of most of our countries, is revitalised and made attractive to our teeming youthful population. By getting agriculture fixed and functioning well, two issues of employment creation and improving food security for our people would have been addressed automatically," the minister opined.

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Women entrepreneurs hold ace for successful SDGs – Fotabong

 NaijaAgroNet:

The Director of Programmes at the NEPAD Agency, Mrs Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong, has said that women entrepreneurs hold the ace for successful achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reports NaijaAgroNet.

In a key keynote at the 2nd Conference for Women in Agribusiness Durban, South Africa, Mrs Fotabong noted that in every region of the world, more and more women are seeking economic opportunity and self- determination through enterprise creation. 

The growth of women’s entrepreneurship, she said, is frequently cited on an anecdotal basis, and is increasingly covered and commented upon in the business media.

She pointed out that expectation is that by 2018, an estimated 9.72 million small, business-related jobs would be created and female entrepreneurs would contribute more than 50 per cent in this job creation space. 

Statistically, she said, nature proves that women are becoming more comfortable in assuming leadership position and creating job opportunities on a large-scale1.

“Women starting up in business tend to provide a more immediate contribution to the economy: Around one in five women come into self-employment from unemployment compared with around one in fifteen for men,” she said.

Mrs. Fotabong emphasized that women have power to contribute more to African economies, asserting, “Entrepreneurship is critical to the success of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the inter-governmentally agreed set of targets for international development leading up to 2030.”

The MEC for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal, Mr. Cyril Xaba said that the heart of the strategy for agrarian transformation is the development of the small-scale farmer.

. “If the statistics are examined more closely, it actually means unleashing the potential of women in agriculture,” he said.

Chairperson, Agribusiness Development Agency, Dr. Martha Mbatha said that women are still the major producers of food in Africa; producing between 60 to 80 percent of the food output. 

She contended that it is important to take heed of women’s voices in agribusiness, whose humility is at times mistaken for ignorance.

Corraborating Dr. Martha, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Representative for South Africa Dr Tobias Takavarasha, reiterated that women play an indispensable role in agriculture and food security. 

Dr Takavarasha further stated that partnerships in maximising women’s potential in agribusiness entrepreneurship remain critical. Therefore, women who excel in the agrarian sector need to be given due recognition.

NaijaAgroNet further reports that a press statement endorsed by Mwanja Ng’anjo and Teko Nklapo both of NEPAD agency notes that the exhibition at the conference provided female exhibitors the space to showcase their value-add agricultural products. About 200 participants at the conference had the opportunity to also dialogue and share their experiences in agribusiness. 

In addition, there is capacity building training provided in the area of agribusiness processes.

 +Remmy +ITRealms DSA +NEPAD Agency 

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pix: NEPAD PICD Director, Mrs Estherine Fotabong, with Mr Cyril Xaba [on her left] MEC of Agriculture & Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal, visiting one of the stands at the conference exhibition

CEFTER to reduce N880byearly post-harvest losses by Africa

NaijaAgroNet:

 

The former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Dr (Mrs) Farida Waziri, has said that Centre for Food Technology and Research, (CEFTER) will reduce over $4 billion, about N880 billion estimated as the yearly post harvest losses incurred by African countries, NaijaAgroNet reports. 

According to a statement by her media aide, Mr. Ade Williams, Waziri said this while commissioning the World Bank Africa Centre of Excellence Project, CEFTER, located at the Benue State University, Makurdi.The former EFCC boss who was the chairperson at the official launch of the Centre noted that the World Bank project is coming to Nigeria at the right time. 

While counseling the managers of the Centre to make dedication and transparency their watchwords, Waziri commended the Vice Chancellor of BENSU, Prof (Mrs) Charity Angya and the Project Manager of CEFTER, Dr Barnabas AchakpaIkya for their efforts to see the project take off. Benue State University was chosen by the World Bank as one of its 10 Africa Centre of Excellence Project, NaijaAgroNet learnt. 

“No doubt, our over-dependence on oil revenue has brought us to the point where we are as a nation today. As an anti-corruption czar, I have seen how some of those nation entrusted with its oil resources in the past helped themselves more than the country. 

“With our focus on agriculture, the struggle by political office holders to steal oil fund would diminish while the national wealth will be in the hands of the people instead of a privileged greedy few. We cannot all dig oil wells in our backyard but we can all farm in our backyards. It is time to end oil-money induced corruption in our land by buying into President Buhari’s vision and take ownership. 

"I am aware the mandate of this Centre, CEFTER is to promote teaching, research and extension in Post Harvest services, enhance agricultural productivity and industrial output for the socio-economic advancement of Nigeria and Africa. I must admit that this can’t be coming at a better time than now when the new leadership of our country is already looking towards agriculture as a more reliable alternative to oil revenue. 

“With the strategic location of CEFTER in the food basket of the nation, Benue state and the caliber of hands that have been put in charge to manage the project, I will wholeheartedly seek the support of the federal government, multi-nationals and well-meaning Nigerians and our friends across the country that this is one project all of us should support in the interest of our national economy and economic development of all.” 

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Smallholder farmers need agribusiness skills to succeed–Nnaemego

NaijaAgroNet:

 

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Founder, Fresh Young Brain Development Initiative, Barr.Nkiruka Nnaemego, has said rural women and smallholder farmers need agribusiness skills and transformative leadership to succeed in the sector, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Nnaemego who was speaking at the Rural Women Farmers Forum (RWFF) General Assembly held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said leadership is a process of directing and influencing another individual or group of individuals to accomplish a goal;an art and ability of inspiring, guiding, and directing people so that they ardently desire to do what the leader wishes.

NaijaAgroNet also reports that the training was organised to help women and smallholder farmers have access to additional skills and knowledge to enable them to move from a 'farm' to a'firm (business)’.

Nnaemego enumerated ways to build good customer relation in agribusiness to include keeping customers details (names, phone numbers and other relevant information), which would help for easy contact of clients especially when “you’ve not seen them for a while.”

Listening, she said, is just as important as telling, stressing the importance of talking with your clients often that apart from business purpose, the farmer should build informal relationship by calling them often to show them “you care.”

NaijaAgroNet also reports that Nnaemego encouraged farmers to set and manage realistic expectations,adding that as much as customers want their problems to be fixed, farmers should try as much as possible not to disappoint them.

“It is better to always be truthful and realistic than disappointing them,” she cautioned, pointing out that reward is a very simple form of saying 'thank you.' This could be verbally or in action through discounts or free products.

On customer segmentation, she said, the farmer could group customers according to their common needs, common behaviours or other  afford them to answer the question:Are they willing to pay for your product or service?Who are they?  Are they old, young, and from where, rural or urban?

Customer relationship, she told the women farmers, is a way an agropreneur communicates and deals with existing and future customers in other to retain and gain more client, solidify relation with existing ones and loyalty which increases profitability.

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