UN agencies enter MoU to close SDG gaps - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The two of United Nation's agencies, namely the  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have renewed their partnership to boost efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, including the goal of Zero Hunger, reports NaijaAgroNet.

FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay today signed a new Memorandum of Understanding in Paris. It comes more than 70 years after the first partnership signing between the agencies.

"This new agreement opens a new chapter in the relationship between our two organizations," said FAO's Graziano da Silva. "We need to work closer together to accelerate our efforts towards the goals set out under Agenda 2030."

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay welcomed reinforced collaboration between UNESCO and FAO as two key Specialized Agencies of the UN system. "The nexus between education, culture, food and health is at the center of many of the challenges faced in this century", she highlighted. "We are committed to strengthening our collaboration in these areas to create sustainable futures for societies."

Under the partnership, FAO and UNESCO have agreed to support the development of learning modules, teaching aids and practical sessions for agricultural secondary schools, universities and farmer field schools on food security and sustainable food systems. The agencies will also explore opportunities for nutrition education and healthy nutrition in schools.

This builds on the joint work already being carried out in South Sudan's cattle camps, where literacy and numeracy training by UNESCO is incorporated into FAO's Pastoral Field School approach. This means young people can access a formal school curriculum as well as topics on livestock management and livelihoods' diversification.

FAO and UNESCO will also develop a joint knowledge-sharing platform on the nexus between food, culture and peace, and develop special education projects in poor, rural conflict-affected areas.

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Two sites added to global agricultural heritage - NaijaaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

Traditional ginseng farming in the Republic of Korea and olive tree groves in Italy's Umbria region have been recognized on the register of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), managed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), reports NaijaAgroNet.

The two sites, NaijaAgroNet gathered, were added during a meeting of the GIAHS Scientific Advisory Group in Rome this week (2-4 July), which is the first time an Italian site has been recognized, and the fourth site in the Republic of Korea. 

NaijaAgroNet reports that the traditional ginseng agricultural system in Geumsan, South Chungcheong Province has been recognized because it relies on a symbiotic relationship between nature and cultivation, and has been in practice for around 1500 years. Farmers use a 15-to-20 year rotation system whereby land is left fallow or used for other crops after harvest, to allow the land's ‘energy' to restore.  Surrounding forests and rivers contribute to micro climate control, and shade structures using natural materials help mimic conditions for wild ginseng cultivation.

"This is not only about the past, but also about the future," said FAO's Yoshihide Endo who coordinates the GIAHS programme. "Becoming a GIAHS site encourages the preservation of these long histories of agricultural practice, but it also recognizes the benefits for future generations in keeping these systems sustainable, promoting knowledge sharing and agrotourism potential and encouraging young people to participate in agriculture." 

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African leaders unite against malaria, launch ‘Zero Malaria Starts with Me’ - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

African leaders have launched the Zero MalariaStarts with Me, a continent-wide campaign co-led by the African Union Commission and the Roll-Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership to End Malaria, to see more people involved in the fight against the disease that kills over 400,000 Africans every year, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Following reports that malaria cases have increased for the first time in more than a decade, Zero Malaria Starts with Me seeks to reignite a society-wide movement to get back on track efforts that contributed to a 60% decline in cases and saved an estimated 7 million lives since 2000, and to help meet the goal of eliminating malaria across Africa by 2030.

The campaign, unveiled Sunday during the AIDS Watch Africa Meeting at the 31st African Union Summit by President Macky Sall of Senegal and King Mswati III of Eswatini and endorsed by 55 (TBC) African Heads of State and Government today, empowers communities to take greater ownership of malaria prevention and care, and to mobilise additional resources for the effort.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Chair of the African Union, says: “The African continent accounts for over 90% of the global malaria burden. It is in this context that we have launched the “Zero Malaria Starts with Me” campaign, a continent-wide public-facing campaign for a malaria-free Africa. The campaign will reignite grassroot movements in which individuals, families, communities, religious leaders, private sector, political leaders, and other members of society pledge to take responsibility in the fight against malaria.”

Inspired by Senegal’s nationwide campaign of the same name launched in 2014, Zero Malaria Starts with Me is now being rolled out across the African continent to encourage all citizens – political, business, community and religious leaders, as well as individuals, families and communities – to make a personal commitment to ending malaria for good.

To date, over 20 African nations have committed to join in supporting the campaign, with presidents of Uganda, Zambia and Mozambique already launching nationwide campaigns that include large-scale bed net distribution drives to establishing high-level national End Malaria Councils and parliamentary groups on malaria. Others, including the First Ladies of Ghana and Niger, have pledged to do more to engage leaders and communities to fight malaria in their countries.

President Macky Sall of Senegal comments: “In my country, malaria has long been a major public health concern threatening the socio-economic development and structural transformation trajectory that has put our country on a firm path to sustainable development. It is through national ownership, shared responsibility and global solidarity that we can defeat malaria for good.”

HM King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini, Chair of the African Leaders’ Malaria Alliance, says: “This campaign further reinvigorates our commitment to eliminate malaria in Africa as we now call upon all our people at all levels to work with us in ridding our continent of this scourge. I urge all governments to invest more in fighting the disease, however the success of this campaign will depend on partnerships and on collaboration across sectors and amongst our population, for as government, we cannot win this fight against malaria alone.”

The campaign offers simple tools to increase community participation in malaria elimination efforts, keep pressure up on leaders to stay committed to ending the disease, and forge new partnerships that can contribute additional funding that will increase access to treatment, improve diagnosis and prevention against the deadly disease. Campaign resources are provided via a Zero Malaria Starts with Me toolkit available at www.zeromalaria.africa.

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GAIN Executive Director, Haddad, emerges World Food Prize winner - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Dr. Lawrence Haddad, alongside Dr. David Nabarro, former special adviser to the UN Secretary General, were jointly named as winners of the 2018 World Food Prize, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Disclosing this the award Ambassador Quinn, World Food Prize President cited the recipients for their “extraordinary intellectual and policy leadership in bringing maternal and child nutrition to the forefront of the global food security agenda and thereby significantly reducing childhood stunting”

The Prize was founded in 1986 by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Norman E. Borlaug and is the foremost international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.

An economist, Lawrence Haddad has been working to advance nutrition and food security for three decades, starting with field work in the Philippines on the impacts of the commercialisation of agriculture on nutrition status. He taught at the University of Warwick for 3 years, was a researcher at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) where he was the Director of the Food Consumption and Nutrition Division, and he directed the UK’s world-leading Institute for Development Studies (IDS). In 2014 he was a founding co-chair of the Global Nutrition Report and was a principal author of the Report for its first three years. 

In his words, “I am honoured to receive this award, which has always focused on the critical and urgent issues of the time. For our generation, I believe the issue is not only how to feed the world, but how to nourish it sustainably. Six of the top 10 risk factors for the global burden of disease are related to poor diet. This is not surprising because more than 1 in 3 people on the planet eat too little food, too little food of the right type or too much food of the wrong type. Were he here today I am sure Dr. Borlaug would have been at the forefront of the fight to create sustainable food systems capable of addressing all forms of malnutrition – from wasting and stunting to overweight and obesity”.

Lawrence Haddad joined GAIN in 2016, which, under his leadership, has focused on making nutritious and safe foods more available, affordable and desirable for those most in need. 

In his reaction to the news, GAIN Nigeria Country Director, Dr Michael Ojo said "Dr. Haddad has deeply challenged us through his consistent, passionate and rigorous use of data and evidence to compel leaders in countries across the world to invest in nutrition, Nigeria inclusive. Under Lawrence’s leadership, GAIN is now at the forefront of action to improve the quality of diets by making nutritious foods more affordable accessible and desirable for everyone.  This is central to the partnership work we are supporting in Nigeria.  By honouring Lawrence, the Prize is endorsing this broad definition of food security - encouraging to us not only feed the world, but nourish it”.

This Prize is shared with Dr David Nabarro and in his reaction, Dr Haddad said “On behalf of everyone at GAIN, I would like to congratulate David and say how honoured I am to share this award with him. His achievement turning Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) into a movement changed the nutrition landscape forever.  He set the template: be inclusive and yet decisive, marry science with action; facilitate engagement of all stakeholders--even when inconvenient; and champion nutrition at all levels, from the grassroots front line worker to the highest levels of government and everything in-between”

Also reacting to the news, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said: “Like Dr. Norman Borlaug before them, Drs. Haddad and Nabarro have dedicated their careers to reducing hunger and malnutrition. Their work has deepened our understanding of nutrition’s impact not only on individual health, but on human capital and economic growth – compelling leaders in countries across the world to invest in evidence-based solutions”.

The formal presentation of the World Food Prize takes place in Des Moines in October 2018.

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Pix: Dr. Lawrence Haddad

Assessing Patent Landscape: How IDTechEx can help your technology -NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

In any emerging technology, the pace of innovation is rapid, sometimes dauntingly so.  More companies enter the market with new products that have been in in secretive development for several years, protected by patents in an effort to gain a dominant position as quickly as possible. This is true of any emerging technology, be it 3D printing, lithium ion batteries or synthetic biology: those companies who develop a product that not only meets a customer need, but is their protected intellectual property, often go on to become the market leaders and reap the financial rewards accordingly.

Of course, developing the right product is half the battle, but how can an organization accurately assess their competitor’s product before it’s even been announced? How can they pre-empt how crowded the market is, who is entering or leaving, or whether there are any global locations in which a particular product would face fierce competition?

Patent Analytics is a service that IDTechEx provides utilising our long-standing expertise in a range of emerging technologies to provide clients of our services with visibility to these questions through the analysis of the patent information stored on international IP databases. Using dedicated software, the highly technical analysts at IDTechEx can query the data to develop a bespoke Patent Analytics Report sharing actionable insights which are tailored to answer a client’s key strategic technological questions.

Leveraging our combined technical and commercial acumen in emerging technologies, an IDTechEx Patent Analytics Report is a data-driven interpretation of the existing patents in a technology domain in the context of the commercial environment. Our Patent Analytics Reports provide competitive analysis, assessment of the entire value chain and visibility on those highly prized technology whitespaces, which in turn can mitigate risk when launching a new product, gain insight into competitors’ activities and accelerate time to market.

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Agro-experts outline how to survive drought _ NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

Although preventing or mitigating drought impacts could be cheaper than providing drought relief, this does not necessarily translate into action through planning, budget allocations and changes in the institutions' behavior, says the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), reports NaijaAgroNet.

In the latest United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report available to NaijaAgroNet, experts at FAO outlined how to survive drought.

As said by them, providing emergency food assistance, access to water, fodder, and creating jobs are the most common approaches adopted by most governments when supporting drought-stricken populations.

They noted that while these are essential to saving lives and alleviate hunger, these also have several limitations as the above approaches do not help vulnerable populations become more resilient to future shocks.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that many countries do not have a structure dedicated to drought and drought action plans, stressing that coordination at the highest levels of governments when planning for droughts also need reinforcing.

“Current agricultural policies are rendering land more degraded and impoverished, and need to be re-examined to mitigate the impacts of drought,” they posited.

NaijaAgroNet noted that the report had argued that developing and implementing national drought management policies should be consistent with the country's development objectives as well as establishing early warning systems are essential.

It recommends disseminating technologies to combat drought, and support policies and incentives to use land and water resources rationally.

Growing drought-tolerant, fast maturing and watershed crops, and encouraging advanced methods of irrigation (including drip and spray irrigation) are some of the measures that should be adopted at larger scale to combat climate change.

Setting parcels of land apart to grow trees or small trees in agricultural fields and pastures to ensure their growth is a practice that can generate multiple-use trees to mitigate impacts of droughts.

Traditional livestock herding practices including keeping stocking rates low and moving herds when forage is low, capable of reducing risk of overgrazing and land degradation.

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Experts stress impacts of drought in Africa region - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The experts at the Foodand Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have given some insights into the impacts of drought for African continent and mostly the North East and North Africa, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to them, agriculture is the first and worst hit sector when drought strikes, stressing that due to the impacts of drought, domestic food production has declined in the past four decades and rural populations' income dropped.

They noted that though oil supports a number of economies, agriculture is still an important part of the region's Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and essential for populations' food security.

“Droughts are costly and can severely compromise the agricultural sectors,” they declared in a latest report made available to NaijaAgroNet, and endorsed by the FAO's Assistant Director-General, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, Mr. Rene Castro.

Further, NaijaAgroNet gathered that the latest drought in Northern Africa, which was in 2015-2016, affected all countries and caused a significant drop in cereal production in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

“As recently as the 1980s, 70 per cent of Mauritanians were nomads and subsistence farmers. In
the past three decades, recurrent droughts have forced many to move to cities where they suffer
due to high unemployment and a severe lack of social services,” they noted.

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Pix: FAO's Assistant Director-General, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, Mr. Rene Castro

IFAD says Post Offices @forefront of remittance, financial services in rural Africa

NaijaAgroNet:

The postal services can play a pivotal role in delivering remittances, lowering the transfer costs and providing access to basic financial services in Africa, says the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), reports NaijaAgroNet.

A joint report made available to NaijaAgroNet by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the European Commission (EC) on the occasion of the International Day of Family Remittances to be observed tomorrow.

The report, entitled ‘A success story on remittances at the post office in Africa,’ analyses the results achieved by African Postal Financial Services Initiative (APFSI), a joint programme led by IFAD and financed by the European Union (EU).

The programme, NaijaAgroNet gathered, has been implemented in 11 African countries in cooperation with the World Bank, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, the Universal Postal Union and the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute.

NaijaAgroNet also reports that the APFSI programme has helped post offices develop more effective business models, upgrade their computer technology and connectivity, and improve their expertise in order to process real-time payments and offer and manage financial services.

"The remittance market is changing at a rapid pace,” said Pedro De Vasconcelos, Coordinator of the Financing Facility for Remittances at IFAD, pointing out that technology is transforming the payment systems and digitalized financial services are creating new opportunities.

“In this context, postal operators play a prominent role in delivering remittances to rural migrant families, providing them with financial services they rarely had access to,” Pedro said.

According to De Vasconcelos, the strong presence of post offices in remote and rural areas is extremely valuable. Their historic footprint helps build trust in the provision of rural financial services.

In 2017 alone, African migrant workers sent over US$70 billion to their families back home, representing an increase of more than 10 per cent from 2016 and more than 36 per cent over the past decade.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region in the world to send money home. In 2017 the average cost was 9.3 per cent of the amount sent.

As a result of the AFPSI joint programme, which has been implemented over the last five years, the cost of receiving remittances via post offices in four pilot countries, Benin, Ghana, Madagascar and Senegal,  decreased by 42 per cent and post offices delivered remittance services at an average cost of less than 5 per cent. This means an additional $35 million were available to migrant families between 2014 and 2016.

"The EU is committed to work with partners to lower the cost of remittances and promote faster, cheaper and safer transfers. Our collective objective is to reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs and eliminate remittance corridors with transfer costs higher than 5 per cent, as stated in the 2030 Agenda and the European Consensus for Development," said Stefano Signore, Head of Unit in charge of Migration and Employment in the Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development at the EC.

Financial inclusion remains a challenge in Africa. According to recent estimates, only 41 per cent of the population above 15 years of age has an account and access to formal financial services. In this context, postal operators have an important role to play, especially in rural areas. As a result of the joint programme, at least 100,000 adults opened new postal accounts accessing financial services for the first time.

"Having a savings account and access to credit is fundamental for families to invest in income-generating activities and build their future," said Mauro Martini, an IFAD expert on remittances and migrants’ investments and co-author of the report. "Remittances can be an engine for development."

Estimates show that while 75 per cent of remittances are generally spent on basic needs such as food, housing, health and education, another 25 per cent can be invested in asset-building or activities that generate income and jobs and transform economies, in particular in rural areas.

The EC began collaborating with IFAD in 2004, with the intention of increasing the development impact of remittances while enabling poor households in rural areas to access financial services. Since 2005, the EC has mobilized euro 9.5 million for IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances, including the APFSI. A new euro 15 million programme focusing on Africa will be launched soon to reduce costs further and improve financial inclusion and impact for development.

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UN Report demands proactive shift in drought management - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The latest United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has called for a fundamental shift in the way drought is perceived and managed in the Near East and North Africa region, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The agency said in a new report issued today that a more pro-active approach based on the principles of risk reduction is needed to build greater resilience to droughts.

Even though drought is a familiar phenomenon in the region, over the past four decades, droughts have become more widespread, prolonged and frequent - likely due to climate change.

The region is not only highly prone to drought, but also one of the world's most water-scarce areas, with desert making up three quarters of its territory.

The FAO's Assistant Director-General, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, Rene Castro, was quoted as saying that the Near East and North Africa's technical, administrative, and financial capacities to deal with drought are inadequate, rendering farmers and herders - the first and worst hit when drought strikes - even more vulnerable.

Farmers and herders, UN reported, face mounting challenges as water becomes scarcer, land more degraded and eroded, and soils more fragile.

It lamented that there is still too much focus on recovering from drought rather than being less susceptible to it, with insufficient funding, preparedness, and coordination remaining significant constraints, warns the report.

"We need to perceive and manage droughts differently, and shift from emergency response to more pro-active policy and long-term planning to reduce risks and build greater resilience," Castro said, pointing out that "The report assesses gaps in current drought management and provides a solid base to help governments rethink policies and reformulate preparedness and response plans by offering solutions that take into account each country's specific context."

Launched ahead of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, the report was developed by FAO and theWater for Food Daugherty Global Institute at the University of Nebraska.

It covers 20 countries in the region - Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen.

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Ecobank supports WED 2018, says planting today'll protect tomorrow

NaijaAgroNet:

In reaffirming commitment to help save the planet by supporting World Environment Day, the Ecobank has declared that planting today is all about protecting tomorrow, and urged supports for the World Environment Day, 2018, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to bank, through this initiative, management and staff will plant trees across all 33 countries of its pan-African footprint. In addition, garden implements will be donated to local authorities to help nurture and grow planted seedlings.

Globally, it is estimated that between 3.5 billion and 7 billion trees are cut down every year. To counter this, Ecobank’s charitable tree planting initiative, ‘Planting today. Protecting tomorrow’, illustrates the bank’s firm belief that its long-term success is intertwined with the sustainable development of the economies, societies and environment in which it operates.

Ade Ayeyemi, Group CEO of Ecobank said: “Ecobank’s presence across 36 African countries gives us many advantages but it also imposes on us a huge corporate responsibility. It is absolutely right that we demonstrate our passion for preserving the environment for future generations through our actions as opposed to just mere words.”

“As a pan-African bank we strive to give back to our communities, to society and to the environment as a core tenet of our culture. Our ‘Planting today. Protecting tomorrow’ initiative is part of our strategy to make a real difference and to ensure that we save the planet for all future generations: for everybody’s children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.”

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