N8 Research debuts @ Manchester for food study programme

NaijaAgroNet:

A group of leading eight northern Universities in the United Kindgom (UK) has launched a groundbreaking international food research programme in Manchester, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The N8 Research Partnership comprising Manchester, Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and York Universities, NaijaAgroNet gather would enable academics and researchers to collaborate closely with industry, farmers and the government, and aims at solving the global challenge of ensuring sustainable, resilient and healthy food supplies for everyone.

NaijaAgroNet reports that over 50 speakers from the likes of Sainsbury’s, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Co-Operative Group, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), HSBC and the National Farmers’ Union spoke at the launch event, where attendees explored the need for a sustainable food system to meet current and future needs, particularly in light of population growth and climate change impacts.

Delegates also explored critical issues such as building resilience in the supply chain, closing the skills gap, antibiotic resistance and integrated approaches to food and nutrition. Attendees had direct access to funders, new partners in industry and academia, and took part in a series of interactive workshops addressing issues surrounding sustainable food production, supply chains and improved consumption and health.

Professor Bruce Grieve, Director of The University of Manchester’s e-Agri Sensors Centre, said this is a really exciting time as the N8 Agri-Food programme represents 12 per cent of the total academic research and resources in the UK and the first time such a large group has come together to tackle the global challenge of sustaining food supply and nutrition.

“This is such a complex and interconnected problem, spanning everything from soil and plant science through to consumer psychology and engineering, that only through bringing such a large group together can we help to deliver a new paradigm with our farming, industry and charity partners,” Grieve said.

 

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Pix: #iam4n8 because a partnership make us stronger! @GianelaM

Informed media reportage can influence policy-making in agriculture - Chinje

NaijaAgroNet:

The Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Media Initiative (AMI), Mr. Eric Chinje, has adduced some reasons behind the recently concluded assemblage of some 50 media practitioners in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire, to leverage skills on covering agriculture, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Chinje who made this known at the three-day session wrap-up, informed NaijaAgroNet that the aim was to develop a critical mass of skilled reporters who are specialized in covering the agriculture sector, and belong to a professional network and continental community of practice.

On working with the World Bank, he said, AMI commenced this project in West Africa where a three-day training workshop was held in Yamoussoukro, between June 13 and 16, 2016, because they believe that well-informed, incorporating evidence-based knowledge and data could be used in broader development policy-making in areas such as poverty reduction, employment and labour policies, and overall economic policy.

He also outlined the objectives to comprise sensitizing participants to the importance of agriculture issues in their country and region; building participants’ capacity to gather and analyze agriculture data and render reports on agriculture that are “palatable and digestible by all levels of media consumers.”

Additionally, Chinje said, the workshop enriched national and regional dialogues on agricultural policies; animate an online network platform with their reports and documentaries, thus, allowing for well-researched and informed articles and audio-visual products to be widely disseminated beyond their own media organizations.

“About 50 journalists are expected to attend this training, that is, 40 from West Africa and 10 from the other regions, namely North, Central, East, Southern and the Indian Ocean Islands,” he said, stressing, that all the participants showed enthusiasm in agriculture.

Agriculture, he said, is a critical component of development in Africa, with a growing consensus that could directly affect state welfare and individual well-being, therefore, media coverage of the sector is important.

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Pix: Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Media Initiative (AMI), Mr. Eric Chinje

Hammer prescribes open data-driven journalism for Africa media

NaijaAgroNet:

The Lead Operations Officer, World Bank Institute’s Global Media Development programme, Mr. Craig Hammer has offered some prescription to drive African media on open data, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking at a 3-day workshop on reporting agriculture put together by Africa Media Initiative (AMI) and World Bank in the city of Abidjan at the weekend, Mr. Hammer, said that data-driven journalism would drive good governance, accountability and global knowledge economy.

Hammer, who dwelt on ‘Data-Driven Journalism Media,’ defined data as information that has been translated into a form that is more convenient to analyze.

He also revealed that World Bank has over 9000 data that could be explored by any analysts including journalists in dissecting information for the simple understanding of ordinary citizens.

According to him, today’s world is ruled by three distinct paths, especially for media practitioners, which include having access to information and open data, finding agriculture data with today’s relevance and finally, using open data-driven journalism knowhow based on ideas to deliver their stories.

African media practitioners, Hammer said, must first decide which issues matter to them nowadays and what are ‘the right’ questions which will attract the right answers or responses either from the data base or potential respondents.

Earlier in his opening remark, the chief executive officer, Africa Media Initiative (AMI) Mr. Eric Chinje, noted that in majority of African countries, agriculture accounts for over 60 per cent of national economic activities and revenue, yet, the sector gets a disproportionately small amount of media coverage, thereby contributing less than 10 per cent to the national economic and political discourse.

As said by Chinje, recent AMI-sponsored survey of major media markets on the continent established that reporting on the sector remained largely uninformed and was limited to press releases, industry publications, and a growing number of blog posts as well as social media blurbs.

He, therefore, called for improved overall media coverage of the sector on the continent of Africa. 

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Pix: Mr. Craig Hammer

African media must take charge of African narratives – Nyaggah

NaijaAgroNet:

African media practitioners have been tasked to take charge of narratives coming from the continent, says the Executive Director, Local Development Research Institute (LDRI), Mr. Muchiri Nyaggah, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This, he said, must be done specifically in the coverage of agriculture sector whilst enmeshing the narratives with relevant data in order to tell the stories more explicitly.

Nyaggah gave this charge in a presentation he made at a three-day Reporting Agriculture workshop in Abidjan, the Cote D’Iviore capital organised by the Africa Media Initiative (AMI) in conjunction with the World Bank.

Dwelling on “Using Data in Reporting on Agriculture in Africa” Nyaggah cited an instance with the recent report on Kibera’s people which was largely exaggerated to be between 800,00 and 1million people; purportedly living in the shanty town in an area of only 255 hectares, meaning that population density is so high that people have only about 1 meter space per three persons each.

The report, he noted however, added that over 100,000 children were believed to be orphans due to the high incidence, but according to him, this story was very far away from the truth because it was being reported from the eyes of foreign media elements in collusion with some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who did not do their home-works well.

To take charge of the narrative, Nyaggah said Africa needs evidence to fix it’s challenges, because, “He who has the data controls the narrative.”

African media practitioners, he said, could only hold their governments accountable when their stories or narratives are backed with evidences based on relevant data, giving another instance that the World Health Organisation (WHO) otherwise known as the World Health Assembly (WHA) has target on nutrition that there would be about 40 per cent reduction in the number of children under 5 who are stunted by 2025.

He pointed out that story on nutrition for instance has data from WHO to back it up, such narrative would make a better sense both in understanding and seriousness by the authorities, mostly in a developing economies like Africa.

Nyaggah recalled that in 2014, the African Union Heads of State and Government recommitted themselves to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) principles and objectives in Malabo.

He emphasised that 65 per cent of Africa’s labour force is employed in the agriculture sector and contributes just over 30 per cent of the continent’s GDP, coupled with the increasing need to achieve food sufficiency for 1.5 billion people by 2020 makes agricultural transformation pivotal to achieving the Health Policy Initiative (HPI) objectives.

The LDRI boss, insisted that African media practitioners have not been very philanthropic with the power of narratives due to lack of supporting data and enjoined them to explore the use of data in their editorial contents.

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Rice production: Ebonyi pays N87.1m IFAD’s counterpart fund

NaijaAgroNet:

The Ebonyi State government has paid N87.1million as one year counterpart fund to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to boost rice production in the state, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Affirming this, Sunday, the state Programme Coordinator of IFAD, Mr Sunday Ituma, disclosed this in Abakaliki, the state capital, at the conclusion of its national office assessment of some rice production and processing clusters across the state.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports, he said, the intervention, would also cover the production and processing of crops like cassava and yam as well as general agricultural enhancement.

He commended the government for the prompt release of fund and promised IFAD`s readiness to partner with the government to achieve its rice production and other objectives.

Ituma also told the visiting team that the state office had intensified its drive to reduce poverty among farmers through increase agricultural production in the state.

“We have strived to enhance income and food security of the poor and rural households engaged in production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava in targeted local government areas on a sustainable basis.

“The programme targets small-holder farmers engaged in rice and cassava value chain in the councils, as we provide them with improved seedlings, fertiliser and agro chemicals, among others at highly subsidised rates,’’ he said.

“Adequate enhancement would be made in creating awareness of IFAD’s intervention to farmers, especially on requirements from them and the intervention’s time frame.

“We, however, appeal to the national office to assist us with irrigation facilities to ensure all season farming and modalities to check flooding which submerge cultivated rice and other produce farmlands,’’ he said.

He said he led the IFAD team to assess rice clusters Ikwo, Izzi, Ezillo local government areas and the Abakaliki Rice Mill Company, among other areas.

Equally, Dr Samuel Eremie, Leader of the IFAD National Office team, commended the Ebonyi Office of the organisation for its efforts and outlined areas of defects, sustenance and overall improvement.

“It was observed that one of your greatest challenges is how to get water off the fields, especially rice farms during flooding but we assure you that the problem will be effectively tackled.

“You should, however, seek other ways of driving the rice production, processing and markets in the state and not depend entirely on the government to ensure stability.

Prof. Jones Nlemchi, another member of the team, also commended the Ebonyi IFAD Office but urged it to involve more women and youths in the various rice production and processing clusters.

“The beneficiaries should be adequately informed on the contents of IFAD interventions and what it requires of them for effective collaboration.

“You should also ensure adequate data reportage and collation so that documented data would be the same with information obtained from the fields,’’ he said.

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LDRI supports AU efforts to end hunger, poverty, reduce inequality – Nyaggah

NaijaAgroNet:

The Local Development Research Institute (LDRI) has asserted support for the African Union (AU) member states in their efforts to end hunger, poverty and reduce inequality, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Executive Director, LDRI, Mr. Muchiri Nyaggah made this known in Abidjan, Cote D’Iviore in a chat with NaijaAgroNet during a three-day workshop hosted by the Africa Media Initiative (AMI) in collaboration with World Bank.

He said that LDRI, which commenced operation in 2015, is an action-oriented think-tank whose work contributes to the efforts of African governments to end extreme poverty, end hunger and reduce inequalities.  

According to him, with 65 per cent of Africa’s labour force employed in the agriculture sector with estimation of contributing approximately 30 per cent of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), coupled with the increasing need to achieve food sufficiency for some 1.5 billion people by 2020, it is certain that agriculture will be pivotal to achieving these objectives.

LDRI, he said, focuses on the role of agricultural transformation in ending hunger, poverty and inequality especially the capability of states to have and use data/statistics in decision-making on the continent.

The strategic objectives of LDRI for the next four years, Nyaggah said, strengthening the Africa data ecosystem for planning, monitoring and review of interventions to drive agriculture transformation in Africa.

Also, he said, LDRI supports inclusive processes for evidence-driven policy on agriculture transformation in Africa and tend to build capacity of stakeholders to make their data openly accessible to others.

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Kalibata, Baker, Kadiyala to keynote at ANH Academy 2016

NaijaAgroNet:

The President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and former Rwandan Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, would be joined by the Director of Nutrition at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Shawn Baker, and Haris Gazdar, Senior Researcher at the Collective for Social Science Research as well as the Principal Investigator for the IMMANA, Dr. Suneetha Kadiyala, to give keynotes at the inaugural Agriculture, Nutrition, and Health (ANH) Academy Week, in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, reports NaijaAgroNet

The Academy Week events, NaijaAgroNet gathered would commence today, Monday, June 20, with a two-day training sessions tagged Learning Labs and which cover a broad selection of impact measurement methods and skills, as well as sessions focusing on interdisciplinary research, gender-sensitive interventions and getting published, among others.

The Learning Labs, as explained by the organiser’s Research and Knowledge Uptake Manager, Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA) Mr. Joe Yates are followed by a three-day Scientific Conference on Agri-Health Research.

Expected speakers, he said, would deliver oral and poster presentations around six major themes, namely Agriculture and Nutrition Linkages; Agriculture and Sustainable Diets; Health Impacts of Animal Sourced Foods; Women, Households and Nutrition; Markets, Value Chains and Nutrition; Determinants of Diets and Nutrition.

He quoted the Dr. Suneetha Kadiyala, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition-Sensitive Development at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Principal Investigator for the IMMANA as saying that to achieve the goals of overcoming further 165 million children from suffering stunted growth, there is need to understand the interactions between agriculture-food systems and nutrition and health, so as to have tools that allow stakeholders to predict the effects of agricultural-food system change and innovation on health and nutrition outcomes. 

“This requires collaboration across disciplines and sectors, recognition of which is reflected in the objectives of the ANH Academy,” Kadiyala said, declaring that his team is really inspired by the interest and initiative shown by the scientific community in the ANH Academy Week. 

Institutions from over 20 countries and a wide range of discipline, he said, would be represented at these events, reflecting the complex challenges facing us and the collaborations required to tackle these headlong.’   

He pointed out that the ANH Academy Week expands on the successful history of the five LCIRAH conferences, as well as events and activities by A4NH, and is part of one of three workstreams of IMMANA.

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops

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Gov. Ikpeazu advises FG to establish NYSC farms to ease unemployment

NaijaAgroNet:

The Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has advised the Federal Government to think of establishing farms across the 36 states, using members of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) as drivers of a youth agricultural initiative, reports NaijaAgroNet. 

A press statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Comrade Enyinnaya Appolos, said this at the weekend when Gov. Ikpeazu received the Director General of NYSC, Brig. Gen. Sule Kazaure, on a one day working visit at Government House, Umuahia. 

Governor Ikpeazu said the policy will make it mandatory for Corp members to be trained by experts in various aspects of agriculture during their one year national service, and every state will provide farm. 

He said that upon the completion of their service year, the Federal Government will make Agric loans accessible to them to go into various aspect of farming.

Ikpeazu said that the scheme will provide employment as it will encourage youth involvement in agriculture and reduce the number of white collar job seekers.  

The governor said, "I've thought about how to solve the problem of unemployment in Nigeria and I think that the best way to solving this problem Sent from my iPad

According to him, "NYSC is a vehicle that can drive government policies including agriculture and achieve good value chain in the industry".

He promised that the erosion site at the orientation camp will be visited and the female hostel looked into, promising that government will continue to assist the NYSC in the state.

Ikpeazu also pleaded with NYSC to consider awarding contracts for the production of uniforms and boots to Aba tailors and shoe makers to support his administrations drive for patronage of made in Aba goods and services. 

He assured that the state Government will guarantee high quality products as well as provide industrial capacity machines and high quality inputs to a consortium of tailors and shoe makers at Aba to meet the demands of NYSC in a timely manner.

 The governor stated that the state is also ready to supply uniforms and boots to military men in the country at competitive prices.

Earlier, the DG of the NYSC, brig Gen Suleiman Zakari Kazaure said that he was in the state for a routine inspection of the camp facility for the batchA stream 2 of the NYSC.

He thanked the Governor for the cordial relationship between the state and the NYSC team in the state and appreciated his achievements in the state including his benevolence to the NYSC and requested him to assist in the area of erosion control in the camp, fix the dilapidated female hostel and provide borehole as well as do something about the subvention payable to NYSC.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Pix: Dr Okezie Ikpeazu