World Environment Day 2017: Shell celebrates with tree planting

NaijaAgroNet:

The Shell Nigeria and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), Monday joined in the commemoration of the World Environment Day 2017, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The ceremony which held in Lagos, saw the management team of SNEPCo planting trees to commemorate the day.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the Vice President Shell Nigeria and Gabon, Peter Costello and Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), Bayo Ojulari, used the occasion to plant a tree at the Marina area of Lagos.

Further, NaijaAgroNet recalls that since the first celebration in 1974, the World Environment Day has helped the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to raise awareness and generate political momentum around growing concerns such as the depletion of the ozone layer, toxic chemicals, desertification and global warming.

The Day has developed into a global platform for taking action on urgent environmental issues. Millions of people have taken part over the years, helping drive change in our consumption habits, as well as in national and international environmental policy.

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Pix: From left: Vice President Shell Nigeria and Gabon, Peter Costello and Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), Bayo Ojulari, plant a tree at the Marina area of Lagos in commemoration of World Environment Day on June 5.

Everyone has role in environment says Guterres

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The office of the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has declared that without a healthy environment, the world cannot be said to be working hard to end poverty or build prosperity, reports NaijaAgroNet.

In his message to mark the 2017 World Environment Day, Mr. Guterres said every human being has a role to play in protecting nature in all facet of life.

"Without a healthy environment we cannot end poverty or build prosperity. We all have a role to play in protecting our only home: we can use less plastics, drive less, waste less food and teach each other to care." Guterres asserted.

NaijaAgroNet, gathered that the theme for 2017, ‘Connecting People to Nature’, urges people to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and to think about how to be part of nature and how intimately people depend on it.

“It challenges us to find fun and exciting ways to experience and cherish this vital relationship,” the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) official statement enjoins.

Noting man is both creature and moulder of his environment, which gives him physical sustenance and affords him the opportunity for intellectual, moral, social and spiritual growth. In the long and tortuous evolution of the human race on this planet a stage has been reached when, through the rapid acceleration of science and technology, man has acquired the power to transform his environment in countless ways and on an unprecedented scale.

The United Nations, aware that the protection and improvement of the human environment is a major issue, which affects the well-being of peoples and economic development throughout the world, designated 5 June as the World Environment Day. The celebration of this day provides us with an opportunity to broaden the basis for an enlightened opinion and responsible conduct by individuals, enterprises and communities in preserving and enhancing the environment.

Since it began in 1974, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated all over the world, with every, a country is identified as the host of the theme with 2017 holds in Canada.

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FAO boss commends PSMA, says it’s a landmark treaty

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An international treaty known as the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, has been commended by the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Mr. José Graziano da Silva, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The PSMA, NaijaAgroNet gathered, according to da Silva, would soon have 48 parties, counting all 28 members of the European Union as one - with Japan and Montenegro about to join after having deposited their instruments of adhesion.

“This gives the one-year-old treaty added heft,” Graziano da Silva declared, adding that he was very confident more countries will join in the near future.

Speaking at the first meeting of the Parties, hosted by the Government of Norway to hammer out details regarding the implementation of the PSMA, Graziano da Silva said, noting that FAO-brokered treaty which restricts port access to fishing vessels that fail to comply with a set of rules, including proof that they have proper operating licenses and transparent disclosure of the species and quantity of fish caught.

The PSMA represents the capstone of years of diplomatic effort to combat the scourge of IIU fishing, which amounts to up to 26 million tonnes, worth some $23 billion a year, and represents a huge threat to all efforts to bolster sustainable fishing in the world's oceans.

NaijaAgroNet notes that parties to the PSMA currently account for more than two-thirds of the global fish trade.

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FAO heads to Ocean Conference

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has concluded plans to take active role in the forthcoming Oceanconference slated for the city of New York, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The conference, NaijaAgroNet gathered, would afford FAO a key role to play given its work on the sustainable use of marine resources upon which millions of people around the world depend for food security and for livelihoods.

NaijaAgroNet also reports that FAO is supporting countries to develop and implement the Blue Growth agenda which aimed at eliminating harmful fishing practices and overfishing while fostering approaches that promote growth, improve conservation, and support adaptation to climate change.

In addition, NaijaAgroNet reports that FAO has been instrumental in brokering the  Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA), which went into force in June 2016.

The theme of the conference, NaijaAgroNet report, has been geared towards partnering for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14:: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

The Ocean conference is holding at the United Nations office in New York between June 5 and 9.

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Nestle reiterates commitment with Maggi making difference towards 2020

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The Nestlé Central and West Africa has reiterated commitments towards 2020 to help people cook the difference with Maggi, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Business Executive Officer Culinary for Nestlé Central and West Africa, Mr. Dominique Allier, gave this reaffirmation on the company’s commitment at the recent Nutrition Forum in Dakar and attended by stakeholders from across West and Central Africa.

He disclosed that the iconic Maggi brand is on a mission to support home cooks with healthier and tastier choices, by simplifying ingredients lists, reducing salt and increasing micronutrient fortification.

“With 4600 food portions around the world prepared every second with Maggi, Nestle believes that these changes will have a positive impact,” he said.

He also pointed out that the company is committed to reshaping Maggi’s products to emphasize the use of familiar and common ingredients that people know and have at home.

‘’Consumer expectations are changing, they want products with common ingredients they know, minimal processing, natural or organic and ideally locally produced. Our company has a role to play in contributing to the needs of the society,’’ Allier said.

He stressed that Maggi is reorganizing its supply chain to privilege local sourcing of ingredients; even as a careful selection of each ingredient will uphold the quality of Maggi products and meet the homemade cooking standards of consumers around the world: trusted, tasty and good for consumers.

Nestlé is also continuing to lower salt in the Maggi range. This will contribute to help people in their efforts towards reducing their salt intake and meeting WHO recommendations on reducing risks associated with high blood pressure.

Fortification is a means Maggi uses to help prevent malnutrition in countries where daily consumption of essential micronutrients is lacking. In 2016, Nestlé provided 65 billion of fortified servings in Central and West Africa out of which Maggi delivered over 100 million iron fortified cubes daily to 78 million households in Central and West Africa.

He explained that in Central and West Africa, fortified Maggi stock cubes and other products are known as a staple for many households, Maggi “Simply Good” summarises the commitments of the iconic brand to help cook the difference.

In addition, to the strong commitments on improving ingredients, he said, Nestlé in Central and West Africa will highlight nutritional challenges by engaging with government authorities, civil society and consumers.

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Pix: Dominique Allier, Business Executive Officer Culinary for Nestlé Central and West Africa

ECOWAS gets $1bn Israeli solar energy boost

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An Israeli renewable energy company, Energiya Global and the USAID Power Africa Initiative have collaborated to boost the electricity power supply in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with some $1billion solar commitment, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This is coming as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed Friday between the State of Israel and ECOWAS, Israel’s leading solar developer to invest $1 billion over the next four years to advance green energy power projects across the 15 member states of the West African economic community.

“In honor of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s two terms in office, and Liberia’s friendship with the State of Israel, Energiya Global and our international partners will finance and build a commercial-scale solar field at the Roberts International Airport, which will supply 25 per cent of the country’s generation capacity,” says Yosef I. Abramowitz, CEO.  “We are prepared to finance and build the first National Demonstration Solar Projects in all ECOWAS-affiliated countries in order to promote political stability and social and economic development, as well as to advance knowledge transfer.”

Energiya Global and its associated companies developed the first commercial scale solar field in sub-Sahara Africa in Rwanda, which is supplying 6 per cent of the country’s power, and the group broke ground on a similar power plant in Burundi, which will supply 15 per cent of the country’s power by the end of the year.  The solar group has fields at various stages of development in ten African countries and expects to announce its full program at the Israel-Africa Summit in Togo at the end of October.

In an historic first, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled today to address the 15 West African heads of state of ECOWAS, as well as the head of the African Union. “Israel is coming back to Africa,” the Prime Minister will announce, and will outline the technological innovations in agriculture, water, green energy and more that can support economic development in West Africa. 

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Africa spends $818bn annually on dementia

NaijaAgroNet:

Countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to have been spending some $818 billion, about N257,2 trillion, annually on dementia, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ) latest toolbox on Dementia, the number of people with dementia will continue to rise significantly in the next coming years.

The Toolbox, NaijaAgroNet reports, has a special section focusing on covering dementia in Sub-Saharan Africa, and because of a dramatic increase in the number of elderly people in the region, dementia will rise substantially in the coming years.

Also, NaijaAgroNet reports that dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide.

The Toolbox on Dementia, NaijaAgroNet further gathered was developed with the financial support of the World Dementia Council and the assistance of World Young Leaders Fund (WYLF) in Dementia Network.

NaijaAgroNet reports that the collaboration believes that in sub-Saharan, the chronic malnutrition, particularly in older people is often a big contributing factor leading to dementia.

The WFSJ says the Toolbox on Dementia for Journalists allows them to cover this mental illness with knowledge of the facts so that they can report reliable and truthful information to the public on a medical condition that could be stigmatizing and certainly life changing for patients, their families and caregivers.

NaijaAgroNet pointed out that the dementia is not just forgetfulness, but is an acquired complex of intellectual deterioration which affects at least two areas of cognitive function, such as being able to make a plan and carry it out; weigh information and make good decisions; initiate activities; able to gauge appropriate social behaviour.

People with dementia are often also affected by dramatic changes in personality with often experiencing changes in mood, judgement and personality as well as difficulty in communicating and increased difficulty coping with day-to-day tasks.

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UN study says digitizing Kenyan farmers' payment helps tackle poverty

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The United Nations-based Better Than Cash Alliance has concluded a study which showed how agriculture nonprofit organization One Acre Fund in partnership with Citi Inclusive Finance, successfully digitized loan repayments for farmers in Kenya, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This move significantly boosted transparency and efficiency, driving economic opportunity and financial inclusion for thousands of smallholder farmers and their families.

Head, Communication at Better Than Cash Alliance, Angela Corbalan, said the study by One Acre Fund was supported by Citi, and enabled farmers to easily make loan repayments via mobile money instead of cash, reducing the uncertainty, inefficiency, insecurity and high costs previously caused by cash transactions.

NaijaAgroNet reports that with this digitization, One Acre Fund could now reach more farmers with greater reliability, and staff can spend almost half as much time collecting payments in cash, using that extra time to help farmers increase their incomes through training and educational programs.

“With One Acre Fund’s package of services, including training and inputs like seed and fertilizer, the average farmer participating in the program earned nearly 50 per cent more than peer farmers who do not participate,” she said.

In addition, she listed some of the findings to include that there has been increased participant satisfaction due to transparency and convenience; 85 per cent decrease in instances of repayment fraud as well as reduction in processing time for each repayment from 12-16 days to 2-4 days.

“… Farmers now know immediately when their payment is received, eliminating the worry about whether it arrived,” she said.

Further, NaijaAgroNet reports that study found out that Eighty per cent decrease in repayment processing costs, while 46 per cent of time reduced for staff working on collections, allowing for more time helping farmers to improve agricultural practices.

Just as women farmers benefited especially, because they now feel safer about payment deliveries.

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AHF prescribes 3-phased PPP strategy for Africa

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The African Healthcare Federation (AHF) has proposed a new Public and Private Partnership (PPP) strategy for the continent, to be phased in in three stages, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Chairman of the African Healthcare Federation, Dr Amit Thakker, gave this description, saying that phase 1, will include dialogue between government and private sector federations to clarify roles and agree on a shared vision.

On the phase 2, he said, will include creating or adapting regulatory frameworks and contractual obligations and the institutionalisation of PPP Acts.

While the phase 3, he said, will be the project implementation phase, which will include building and operating projects and products, followed by evaluation and sharing of information and case studies.

“Innovation should be driven by the private sector, while the public sector should be responsible for creating an enabling environment for innovation to flourish,” he said.

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Public, Private Partnership to boost African healthcare indicators

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The chairman of the African Healthcare Federation, Dr Amit Thakker, has said that increased spending on healthcare in the public and private sectors across the African continent have resulted in improved health indicators and life expectancies, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Thakker, a speaker at the Africa Health Exhibition & Congress noted that the progress of this improvement is extremely slow and not commensurate with the increase in funding.

Also Thakker pointed out that the private healthcare sector,  as well as non-government organisations (NGOs) are well placed to help improve healthcare across the continent, and while there have been Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), stressing, these need to be stepped up if Africa wants to beat its healthcare challenges.

According to Thakker, these poor outcomes reflect challenges with governance and leadership, while noting that budget allocations in a number of African countries are relatively large, but unfortunately inefficiencies reduce their impact substantially.

“We would have saved twice as many children and women if governments were efficient,” Thakker declared.

Leader of Deloitte Digital Africa, and leader for Healthcare and Life Sciences, Valter Adão says “Healthcare spend is often sizeable in dollar terms but low relative to GDP, like in Nigeria, or reasonably comparable to European countries but the outcomes are poor, like in South Africa.”

“The deviation from the traditional PPP models is that governments would not be the recipients, but owners or implementers and perhaps even the investors into these solutions,” Adão recently told the World Economic Forum.

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