Nigerian Agriculture Minister, Sen Kyari calls for Amendment for Agric Agency Act for alignment of Policy trust of Government Food Security: Agric Ministers, Kyari, Abdullahi, Meet Senate Committee. …..Senator Kyari Calls For Amendment To Agric Agencies’ Acts For Policy Alignment The Honourable Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, CON, and his colleague, the Honorable Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, CON, honored an invite to participate in an interactive session held at the National Assembly Complex by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Production Services, and Rural Development. In the session chaired by the Senate Committee Chairman, Senator Saliu Mustapha, he said harped on recognizing that the NASS committee and the Federal Ministry are all stakeholders in the agricultural sector, and that the nation relies on all stakeholders to provide the necessary support for enhancing agricultural production, the largest employer of labor in our nation. “Agriculture stands as the cornerstone of our economy, maintaining its significance as the driving force behind the national economy.” “Ensuring food security for our citizens is imperative for Nigeria’s survival, with a majority residing in rural areas and predominantly engaged in farming for their livelihoods. As active participants in this crucial sector, we must not falter in meeting their expectations. The committee members acknowledge the weighty responsibility on our shoulders and are dedicated to ensuring the full implementation of policies and legislation. This interactive meeting is pivotal to assess our current position, determine our standing, and plan for the future. With your cooperation, and by the grace of the Almighty, we aim to act in the best interest of our nation and the livelihoods depending on this sector. Distinguished Senators, honorable ministers, heads of agencies, and parastatals, I extend a warm welcome and anticipate a harmonious working relationship. The interactive session is hereby called to order, with the minister leading the proceedings.” Taking his turn to speak at the event, the Honourable Minister of Agric and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, CON, opened the floor, “Honourable members, I confidently distinguish my colleagues, including my esteemed brother, the Honorable Minister of State, who was also a member of the 8th and 9th Senate. I extend our gratitude for the invitation from Mr. Chairman and the warm reception within these walls. Today, we gather to discuss the critical issue of agriculture, a topic that warrants more time than a day or two due to the multitude of challenges it faces.” “Notably, on July 13th, 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a food security emergency, leading to the renaming of the ministry from Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. Our nation is currently grappling with threats to food security, primarily stemming from conflicts and climate change.” “Agriculture in Nigeria confronts two major challenges: conflict and climate change. The safety of our farmers, predominantly residing in rural areas as smallholders, is jeopardized by insurgency and kidnapping. Moreover, climate change introduces unpredictable weather patterns, such as heavy rainfall causing flooding or disrupting traditional planting practices. Another pressing issue is the lack of inclusion, with smallholder farmers struggling to access essential resources like inputs, finance, and capital. Fortunately, institutions like the Bank of Agriculture and the National Agriculture Development Fund, established through recent legislation, aim to address these inclusion gaps.” “President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s 8-point agenda outlines crucial focus areas, including food security, job creation, economic growth, inclusion of women and youth, poverty eradication, and access to capital. To tackle immediate challenges, our programs for dry season farming, supported by the African Development Bank, aim to cultivate significant hectares of wheat, maize, rice, and cassava. This initiative not only addresses food insecurity but also promotes self-sufficiency. Mechanization becomes a pivotal aspect, urging us to embrace technology and innovation to maximize yield in our shrinking arable land.” “As we navigate these challenges, the National Assembly’s support, exemplified by the supplementary budget, plays a vital role in realizing our objectives.” The Senate Committee Chairman, Senator Salihu Mustapha, queries the relationship between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and agencies like NIRSAL and NALDA, emphasizing the need for collaboration to enhance food security. He points out that these newly created agencies, though external to the Ministry, play a significant role that intertwines with its functions. In response, the Honourable Minister of Agriculture. Senator Abubakar Kyari, revealed a lack of cooperation between NIRSAL, the CBN, and the then Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. He highlighted the plans for a meeting between the Managing Director of NIRSAL and himself, expressing optimism about fostering mutual cooperation. Additionally, the Executive Secretary of NALDA’s role in achieving food security is acknowledged, but concerns were raised about the agency’s efficiency in land preparation, vital for cultivating the substantial untapped arable land. Solidifying Senator Kyari’s position, his colleague, the Honourable Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, CON, emphasized the collective interest in ensuring alignment between NALDA’s programs and the Ministry’s objectives. He pointed out that despite NALDA reporting to the Presidency, it was ceded to the Ministry for supervision. Senator Abdullahi urges the committee to review the NALDA act promptly, given the declared food security emergency, to align the agency’s programs with the Ministry’s goals and enhance overall efficiency in the agricultural sector.

Nigerian Agriculture Minister, Sen Kyari calls for Amendment for Agric Agency Act for alignment of Policy trust of Government Food Security: Agric Ministers, Kyari, Abdullahi, Meet Senate Committee. …..Senator Kyari Calls For Amendment To Agric Agencies’ Acts For Policy Alignment The Honourable Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, CON, and his colleague, the Honorable Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, CON, honored an invite to participate in an interactive session held at the National Assembly Complex by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Production Services, and Rural Development. In the session chaired by the Senate Committee Chairman, Senator Saliu Mustapha, he said harped on recognizing that the NASS committee and the Federal Ministry are all stakeholders in the agricultural sector, and that the nation relies on all stakeholders to provide the necessary support for enhancing agricultural production, the largest employer of labor in our nation. “Agriculture stands as the cornerstone of our economy, maintaining its significance as the driving force behind the national economy.” “Ensuring food security for our citizens is imperative for Nigeria’s survival, with a majority residing in rural areas and predominantly engaged in farming for their livelihoods. As active participants in this crucial sector, we must not falter in meeting their expectations. The committee members acknowledge the weighty responsibility on our shoulders and are dedicated to ensuring the full implementation of policies and legislation. This interactive meeting is pivotal to assess our current position, determine our standing, and plan for the future. With your cooperation, and by the grace of the Almighty, we aim to act in the best interest of our nation and the livelihoods depending on this sector. Distinguished Senators, honorable ministers, heads of agencies, and parastatals, I extend a warm welcome and anticipate a harmonious working relationship. The interactive session is hereby called to order, with the minister leading the proceedings.” Taking his turn to speak at the event, the Honourable Minister of Agric and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, CON, opened the floor, “Honourable members, I confidently distinguish my colleagues, including my esteemed brother, the Honorable Minister of State, who was also a member of the 8th and 9th Senate. I extend our gratitude for the invitation from Mr. Chairman and the warm reception within these walls. Today, we gather to discuss the critical issue of agriculture, a topic that warrants more time than a day or two due to the multitude of challenges it faces.” “Notably, on July 13th, 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a food security emergency, leading to the renaming of the ministry from Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. Our nation is currently grappling with threats to food security, primarily stemming from conflicts and climate change.” “Agriculture in Nigeria confronts two major challenges: conflict and climate change. The safety of our farmers, predominantly residing in rural areas as smallholders, is jeopardized by insurgency and kidnapping. Moreover, climate change introduces unpredictable weather patterns, such as heavy rainfall causing flooding or disrupting traditional planting practices. Another pressing issue is the lack of inclusion, with smallholder farmers struggling to access essential resources like inputs, finance, and capital. Fortunately, institutions like the Bank of Agriculture and the National Agriculture Development Fund, established through recent legislation, aim to address these inclusion gaps.” “President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s 8-point agenda outlines crucial focus areas, including food security, job creation, economic growth, inclusion of women and youth, poverty eradication, and access to capital. To tackle immediate challenges, our programs for dry season farming, supported by the African Development Bank, aim to cultivate significant hectares of wheat, maize, rice, and cassava. This initiative not only addresses food insecurity but also promotes self-sufficiency. Mechanization becomes a pivotal aspect, urging us to embrace technology and innovation to maximize yield in our shrinking arable land.” “As we navigate these challenges, the National Assembly’s support, exemplified by the supplementary budget, plays a vital role in realizing our objectives.” The Senate Committee Chairman, Senator Salihu Mustapha, queries the relationship between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and agencies like NIRSAL and NALDA, emphasizing the need for collaboration to enhance food security. He points out that these newly created agencies, though external to the Ministry, play a significant role that intertwines with its functions. In response, the Honourable Minister of Agriculture. Senator Abubakar Kyari, revealed a lack of cooperation between NIRSAL, the CBN, and the then Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. He highlighted the plans for a meeting between the Managing Director of NIRSAL and himself, expressing optimism about fostering mutual cooperation. Additionally, the Executive Secretary of NALDA’s role in achieving food security is acknowledged, but concerns were raised about the agency’s efficiency in land preparation, vital for cultivating the substantial untapped arable land. Solidifying Senator Kyari’s position, his colleague, the Honourable Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, CON, emphasized the collective interest in ensuring alignment between NALDA’s programs and the Ministry’s objectives. He pointed out that despite NALDA reporting to the Presidency, it was ceded to the Ministry for supervision. Senator Abdullahi urges the committee to review the NALDA act promptly, given the declared food security emergency, to align the agency’s programs with the Ministry’s goals and enhance overall efficiency in the agricultural sector.

5 sustainable agriculture practices for long-term success

Implementing sustainable practices aimed at sequestering carbon, or carbon farming, can help farmers and ranchers increase their bottom line while …

5 sustainable agriculture practices for long-term success

Community Agriculture Alliance: Can land management principals to avoid desertification be applied here?

Lyn HallidayCommunity Agriculture Alliance – https://www.steamboatpilot.com/opinion/guest-commentary/community-agriculture-alliance-can-land-…

Community Agriculture Alliance: Can land management principals to avoid desertification be applied here?

Kitchen gardens to alleviate hunger and malnutrition

PROF. DR. WILLEM VAN COTTHEM Nutritional deficiencies in the Third World affect the daily life of almost all the poor, most of whom suffer from …

Kitchen gardens to alleviate hunger and malnutrition

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World

By David Braughton In September, 2015, United Nations members participating in a summit on sustainable development adopted a bold and far-reaching …

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World

THE UNIVERSAL SOLUTION for alleviating #malnutrition and #hunger

Utilizing flower beds and pots to grow vegetables and to some extends fruits can be a very effective means of enhancing nutritional security of the family.

by Prof. Dr. Willem VAN COTTHEM (Ghent University, Belgium) Here is MY UNIVERSAL SOLUTION to the world problem of hunger and malnutrition of children…

THE UNIVERSAL SOLUTION for alleviating malnutrition and hunger

Internship: Governing food sharing in Utrecht

Rural Sociology Wageningen University

We are looking for a research intern to conduct scientific research on food sharing and governance in the Municipality of Utrecht as part of the EU-funded project CULTIVATE. Knowledge of Dutch and experience with qualitative research methods and analysis are essential.

CULTIVATE uses a multi-actor approach to build sustainability and resilience in urban and peri-urban areas through a ground-breaking online social innovation support platform – The Food Sharing Compass. Built with and for five key stakeholder groups – food sharing initiatives, policy makers, food supply actors, researchers and citizens – the platform will make it possible to navigate diverse food sharing landscapes and cultures, in order to understand, develop, replicate, expand and strengthen sustainable food sharing in Europe. In essence, CULTIVATE will establish the EU as the global frontrunner in the development of resilient and inclusive food sharing economies, identifying drivers and implementation gaps and challenging existing theories and practices…

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Tax Break for Agric-Investor in Nigeria

“FG approves five-year tax break for agric investors”

FG approves five-year tax break for agric investors

The Federal Government has approved new incentives for investors in the agricultural sector to improve high-level private sector participation in the nation’s food production and processing industry, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, has said.

Among the incentives included tax and duty-free holidays for a period of five years for agricultural production and processing in Nigeria; tax-free agricultural loans with a moratorium period of over 18 months and repayment period of not more than seven years; and zero-tariff rates on the importation of agro chemicals.

Abubakar stated these in Abuja on Thursday during the 29th edition of the LAPO Annual Development Forum with the theme, ‘Financing agriculture and rural development initiatives in Nigeria: Issues and way forward’.

While calling Nigerians to invest in agriculture, the minister explained that the sector was experiencing a reinvigoration with dedicated policies of the Federal Government aimed at allowing the private sector to get involved and make more contributions in growing the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.

He said, “Agriculture will continue to be an established driver of Nigeria’s GDP growth. The agricultural growth in Nigeria has steadily increased from 3.48 per cent in 2015 to 6.48 per cent as of 2020.

“The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, harps on the imperative of improving the country’s agricultural produce and turning agriculture itself into big business.”

The minister reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment towards creating investment opportunities for the private sector to participate in industrialising the agricultural sector; adding that its annual budgetary allocation to agriculture had been increased.

Abubakar emphasised that the government was making efforts across the length and breadth of the country to ensure sustainable food security and agribusiness as its core.

He said, “The government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has established viable institutions, which provide services that will accelerate the tempo of private investment in Nigeria’s agriculture

“We have shown more commitment to secure investment in agriculture by increasing budgetary allocation from seven percent to 10 per cent.”

He also said that under the proposed National Livestock Transformation Programme, some areas of cooperation would have to be addressed for the private sector to consider

They included beef and dairy production and processing, veterinary drugs and vaccine production, sheep and goat production, animal feed production and several others.

Delivering his keynote lecture, Prof. Ernest Aiyedun of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Abuja, said that over the years, the Nigerian government had formulated good agricultural financial policies meant to encourage food production.

He, however, regretted that such policies have been found to be inefficient and ineffective, as the intended results were not realized.

“There is, therefore, a need to ensure adequate budgetary provision and releases targeted to specific areas of need.

“Bridging the demand and supply gap in food and fibre in Nigeria would be a mirage, if financing for agriculture is not taken seriously. It is, therefore, necessary that the public financing models in place that are effective should be intensified and those not wiring should be evaluated for possible retooling for effectiveness”, Aiyedun added

Earlier in his welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer of LAPO, Dr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe, stated that agricultural-driven growth and food security in the country were being hindered by inadequate financing and poor use of technology amongst others, resulting in higher food prices, increasing poverty, hunger and malnutrition.

He said that LAPO had, over the years, supported the agricultural sector of the economy through the provision of flexible financial services to rural farmers and agribusinesses through the LAPO Microfinance Bank and the LAPO Rural Development Initiative.

“LARDI disbursed N75.4bn to 183,538 clients, who are predominantly rural farmers between 2015 and July 2022. The microfinance bank already disbursed the sum of N4.1bn to small scale farmers in 2022”, he added.

The Chairman of LAPO Board of Directors, Dr. Osaren Emokpae, said that aside increasing funding, it was imperative to fund agricultural researches in the country with efforts intensified to reduce the cost of basic agricultural implements and tools in order to increase accessibility by farmers.

Enhancing digital education to empower coffee professionals at origin

The GFAiR Blog

by GFAR

How can digital education empower coffee professionals at origin and transform the industry, considering the challenges posed by outdated data collection methods and the limited implementation of digital tools?

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Gersón Solórzano, a certification technician from the San Marcos area in the Honduran department of Ocotepeque, is employed by UnioCasmo. This local union of coffee organizations supports approximately 350 smallholder coffee producers by providing various services, including technical assistance, access to financial support and market opportunities, and assistance with certifications. The organization prides itself on producing traceable coffee, a highly sought-after quality in the Global North. However, the process of registering farm data on paper remains arduous and prone to human errors, hindering efficiency and progress.

Despite the widespread availability of digital solutions, many farmers and farmer organizations still rely on manual notepads for recording essential information, such as crop volume and fertilizer usage. The implementation of digital tools…

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“Could we feed ourselves like the apes do?

Prof. Dr. Willem VAN COTTHEM (Ghent University, Belgium) In many nature documentaries about the tropics, I see that apes feed on leaves from various …

“Could we feed ourselves like the apes do?

Small-scale family farming in changing food systems

The GFAiR Blog

By Sophia Amoah (Knowledge Management Intern, FARA, Ghana)

A picture depiction of a small farmer family. Photo Credit: Brand Spur

FAO defines family farming as: “a means of organizing agricultural, forestry, fisheries, pastoral, and aquaculture production which is managed and operated by a family and predominantly reliant on family capital and labor, including both women’s and men. The family and the farm are linked, co-evolve, and combine economic, environmental, social, and cultural functions” (FAO 2013, p.2). Small-scale family farming accounts for more than 80% of agricultural production and about 75% to 85% of agricultural lands in the Near East and North Africa, which face several obstacles in attaining increased food security, nutrition, and agricultural development.

More than 80% of all farms in the world are family farms with less than 2 hectares of land. Farms of less than 2 hectares are estimated to account for 75 percent of farms…

View original post 699 more words

75th Anniversary: 58) Research at the Rural Sociology Group: Agrarian Movements and Transitions in the Global South

Rural Sociology Wageningen University

Lisette Nikol, PhD candidate at the Rural Sociology Group

How do small farmers in the Global South secure their livelihoods? How do capitalist dynamics and agrarian movements striving for alternatives shape these livelihoods? How can agrarian transition pathways address possible tensions between the needs of rural development, sustainable agrarian futures and a growing world population? What role do and should farmers play in imagining and realising these transition pathways and agrarian futures? How do we analyse and explain agrarian transitions in general and the farming systems realised by agrarian movements in particular?

These abstract questions summarise my research interests. My interests are motivated by a concern for an agrarian future that is socially just and environmentally sustainable, in which our farming populations and natural environment can thrive rather than be exploited.

In my PhD research, I investigate diverse facets of an ongoing agrarian struggle in the wake of agricultural modernisation…

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An Unbreakable Connection with the Beloved Camel

Invest strategically in wind and solar farms in Africa, says Oxford study

A sustainable future for Africa can be achieved through strategic investment in wind and solar farms, reveals an Africa-wide study from the …

Invest strategically in wind and solar farms in Africa, says Oxford study

“Investments in the continent must also be geared towards improving grid infrastructure and reliability to handle utility-scale renewable energy investments, notably in Sub-Saharan Africa,’ states co-author Nick Eyre, Professor of Energy and Climate Policy at the University the Oxford.”

CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health publishes 2020 annual report

The CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) published its 2020 annual report on activities and accomplishments from its…

CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health publishes 2020 annual report

A food security agent for the camels in the desert

Question Asked~ What is the Concept of Small-Scaled Livestock Production Syetems?

“There are two main types of small-scaled livestock farming, i.e. 1. owing agricultural land (2-20 acre) 2. landless farmers
But pastoralists/nomads cannot be categorized in this small scaled farming group. They are very specialized professionals and move with their livestock on their fixed and historical routes.“ – Hasan Mohammad Nur (PhD)

Camel is a real nature based solution for food security in in the arid regions of the world

Critical pillars necessary for sustainable investment in Agriculture and Agri-business identified!

The five critical pillars has been identified and proposed by #afdb as the new approach to investing in agriculture and agri-business. These are;

1. Scaling up of proven climate-adapted, science-based production and other technologies;

2. Creating an enabling environment for enhancing agricultural production. Governments must commit to policy and regulation that facilitates access to modern technologies;

3.  Building critical backbone infrastructure linking production areas to markets and processing at African national and regional levels;

4. Crowding in private-sector investments and access to finance. Private sector investment and business expertise will grow food supply chain commercial viability, as well as inclusion of more small and medium enterprises and smallholder farmers;

5. Support to an African special emergency assistance fund on famine and drought.”

https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/world-food-day-time-global-leaders-invest-africas-agriculture-46233

Transforming the food system? Let’s talk finance.

The GFAiR Blog

Blog post by Glindys Virginia Luciano, Network Engagement Coordinator, Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) & Genna Tesdall, YPARD Director

In the last several years, dialogue around safe and nutritious food has evolved from talks about productivity towards post-productionist goals. What does it really mean to consume food that is produced in an ethical manner and in a fashion which respects farmers, animals, the environment and consumers? The conversation is still evolving, and YPARD is honored to contribute at the global level as the youth constituency is increasingly recognized. We have been advocating for youth for years thanks to inclusion at GFAR, and more recently at the UN Food Systems Summit, World Food Forum, Pre-COP and Committee on World Food Security.

While our inclusion is a great starting point, the global community needs to commit resources to taking action. Governments, non-governmental organizations, and multi-stakeholder groups need to actively work…

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New series #RiseofAgriculture tells the stories behind Trinidad and Tobago’s agriculture sector

“Reinvigorating an agricultural sector during a pandemic and within in an economy that has sustained itself on oil and gas for decades is definitely a challenge. Yet the call for agriculture to lead Trinidad and Tobago’s economy continues.“ – GFAR … What lessons would Nigeria 🇳🇬 learn?

The GFAiR Blog

By Deston Pope and Keron Bascombe, Tech4Agri

Deston Pope shoots footage on location for a site visit to a farm in Tabaquite, South Trinidad.

“In today’s world, the words ‘vaccine’ and ‘economy’ including the phrases ‘digital transformation’ and ‘food security’ can be heard almost every day. And yet the greatest untapped resource, our youth, still struggle to enter and maintain a livelihood within the agricultural sector.” – Keron, Creator @Tech4Agri

A small island in recovery?
Reinvigorating an agricultural sector during a pandemicand within in an economy that has sustained itself on oil and gas for decades is definitely a challenge. Yet the call for agriculture to lead Trinidad and Tobago’s economy continues.

Prior to the pandemic our oil and gas energy-based economy was in the midst of failure, while our agriculture sector had been downsized with several sub-sector support programs and institutions being closed down. Island food systems…

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Reeling in economic opportunities for Africa’s youth

“One sector that holds enormous potential for decent employment opportunities is aquatic food systems, which include aquaculture, capture fisheries and related supply chains. Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food-producing sectors in the world, yet it currently employs just a fraction of young people.

In Nigeria, for example, less than 2% of youth who work in agri-food are involved in aquaculture or capture fisheries.” – GFAR

The GFAiR Blog

By Indika Arulingam, Research Officer, International Water Management Institute and Shakuntala Thilsted, Global Lead for Nutrition and Public Health, WorldFish

Tilapia fingerlings being bought at aquaculture ponds in Kitwe, Zambia. Credit: D.Huso/WorldFish

Governments knew that youth unemployment was high before the COVID-19 pandemic, but what they failed to realize was how vulnerable even those with jobs were.

Globally, youth employment fell by almost9%in 2020 compared with 3.7% for adults.

And nowhere is the jobs gap more urgent than in Africa, where the median age is roughly 19 years old – half the equivalent in Europe at 42.5 years. Given thatmore than halfof the continent’s population is expected to be under the age of 25 by 2050, creating sustainable livelihoods is a priority.

Figures show that up to80%of young Africans find work in the food sector but ascompetition for jobs grows amid scarce and unevenly distributed resources and additional pressures, the…

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Camel milk lactoferrin against bacterial infections

“Its sceintifically proved that milk lactoferrin inhibits the growth of some pathogenic strains in humans and/or animals such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella dysenteriae, Listeria monocytogenes, Streptococcus spp., Vibrio cholerae, Legionella pneumophila, Klebsiella pneumophila, Enterococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp., Bacillus stearothermophilus and Bacillus subtilis.” – Prof Taherah

Fermented Camel Milk (Shubat)

It is commonly called “chukuwe” along Yobe Borno axis of North East Nigeria 🇳🇬

Camel milk- A Natural Compound against the Liver Diseases

ILRI research generates evidence for better prevention and control of zoonotic diseases

To mark this year’s World Zoonoses Day (6 July), we highlight ILRI’s research expertise, projects and recent peer-reviewed publications on zoonoses.

ILRI research generates evidence for better prevention and control of zoonotic diseases

New digital tools to support African farmers created at INSPIRE Hackathons

The GFAiR Blog

By Karel Charvat, WirelessInfo and Hana Kubickova, Plan4all

Since 2016, the INSPIRE Hackathon organized by Plan4all has served as a collaborative event for developers, researchers, designers and others interested in open data, volunteered geographic information and citizen observatories. The event brings together specialists from across disciplinary backgrounds to form teams around a problem or idea, and collaboratively co-create unique solutions to key challenges facing Europe and Africa.

Nairobi INSPIRE Hackathon 2019 and Kampala INSPIRE Hackathon 2020, organized in the frame of the IST Africa Conference, addressed some of the key topics identified by the IST-Africa conference, such as agriculture, environmental sustainability, collaborative open innovation and ICT-enabled entrepreneurship. While defining the challenges for both hackathons, challenges associated with the climate were not forgotten either.

At the Nairobi INSPIRE hackathon, the team formed around the topic ‘Climatic services for Africa’ aimed to demonstrate several options of meteorological data exploitation…

View original post 574 more words

We Need to Produce Milk and Meat and other Products in Tune with Nature

Why do we need to Support Camels and their Herders?

Borno’s Journey in two years By Prof Babagana Umara Zulum mni, FNSE the Executive Governor of Borno State Nigeria.

Borno’s Journey in two years By Prof Babagana Umara Zulum mni, FNSE the Executive Governor of Borno State Nigeria.

Fellow citizens,

It has been two years since we took the oath of office, following the overwhelming mandate you, the good people of Borno State, entrusted in us during the 2019 democratic transition.

In these two years, we have together, witnessed continued turbulence even though in the midst of shared hope, shared optimism, shared faith, shared resilience and communal determination to ceaselessly devote ourselves to freeing our Borno from 12 years of vicious insurgency. 

As part of that commitment, we, from our first day in office, made security our number one priority. This is in recognition of the fact that the fundamental duty of any Government is to ensure the safety of citizens to such a level that citizens themselves feel they are safe.

My first activity as Governor of Borno State was to interface with head of the military involved in the fight against insurgents.

In our first week in office, we interfaced with thousands of our volunteers from the civilian JTF, hunters and vigilantes, and we increased their monthly allowances, in addition to allocating to them more patrol vehicles and other logistics needed to enhance their operational roles of complementing armed forces in fighting Boko Haram.

In our combined approach, we took aggressive steps of recruiting thousands of hunters from different parts of northern Nigeria, mobilized and deployed them to accelerate our support for the military.

We made it a policy that in all our 27 local government areas, volunteers were strengthened with additional recruitment, surveillance vehicles and other gadgets.

We extended tremendous support to the military, the Nigeria Police Force and other armed forces, through the allocation of vehicles, Armoured Personnel Carriers and other logistics. We gave far reaching support to families of fallen soldiers, other security personnel and volunteers. We made the government house 100% accessible to commanders of all armed forces in Borno and ensured we gave serious considerations to all security based requests. 

On regular basis, we held several high level collaborative consultations with Mr President, Commander in chief, former and incumbent service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police and Commanders of all paramilitary organizations, the Director Generals of the DSS and the NIA as well as heads of the military and security agencies resident in Borno State, with several efforts on the fight against insurgency.

I was at headquarters of the multinational Joint Task Force in N’Djamena, and I even held meeting with late President of Chad, as well as governors of provinces in Niger and Cameroon, all towards increased security collaboration.

From our first week in office back in 2019, we began tour of all the 27 local government areas to identify their priority needs; and we interfaced with critical stakeholders in these local governments to select areas requiring immediate, short and long term interventions.

Findings from these assessment visits to 27 local government areas provided the guide to the policies, programmes and capital projects we have embarked upon from our first 100 days to our first year in office. In our second year, we have, with the full participation of all stakeholders, developed, launched and adopted a 25-year development plan for Borno, with initial 10-year phase of implementation.

We however recognized that no plan of ours could succeed when hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens, especially those displaced by insurgents, live with hunger and indignity.

From day one, we were faced with acute humanitarian crisis particularly in northern and some parts of the central senatorial zones. As such, we made it a policy, that as Governor, I assume the role of chief humanitarian officer for different reasons. On one hand, it was our duty to deliver help to our fellow citizens that were either internally displaced or taking refuge in neighbouring countries. On the other, there was the risk that insurgents could, after making IDPs socially and economically vulnerable, also explore that vulnerability by offering food and cash incentives to recruit fighters who could even serve as their spies in communities. From records, we have experienced instances when insurgents offered as low as between 5,000 and 10,000 Naira to recruit some spies and smugglers of weapons. We therefore needed to take steps ahead by making sure we regularly visit IDPs in all parts of Borno, including remote locations, to efficiently and sufficiently deliver food, cash support, and clothing. We needed to ensure that our good citizens had the support they needed, and they were not exposed to potential attractions for the incentives of insurgents.

Fellow citizens, our socio-economic interventions did not stop with IDPs.

For instance, we took measures to curtail and hopefully, put an end to street begging. To achieve this, we began conditional cash support to physically challenged persons while working on empowering them with means to rely on themselves through vocational skills peculiar to their individual and group conditions. We took a bolder step towards reforming the almajiri school system which we call sangaya here in Borno. Consequently, a bill to establish Sangaya and Islamiya Board was sent to the state assembly.

Meanwhile, we have in our reforms, banned political thuggery amongst our youths across the state. We have with their full cooperation, converted the energies they used for political thuggery into productive uses that improve our environment, while we paid them monthly stipends for livelihoods. Government will soon come up with more plans to support these youths.

Fellow citizens, in our social protection and economic drive, we took far reaching steps to stimulate businesses in local economies by giving start-up capital to small scale entrepreneurs and increasing the investments of medium scale entrepreneurs in major towns of our three senatorial zones.

Recognizing the critical importance of the local government system, we organized elections to put in place democratic leadership. In doing so, we raised the bar of leadership by encouraging University Professors and their likes to aspire to become chairmen so they could mix with our experienced grassroots politicians in other to stimulate comparative and competitive progress.

We also encouraged and even compelled our royal fathers to remain in their domains because their presence inspires public confidence and resilience.

We undertook several impromptu visits to local government areas in order to instill discipline in our civil and public service system at the grassroots.

During these visits, we applied reward and sanctions to ensure our hospitals had doctors, nurses and other medical staff; our schools had teachers and school administrators, and our royal fathers were gloriously on ground to inspire all of us.

In our supervisory approach, we made it a habit of showing up at late night, early mornings or at any odd time, to hospitals, schools, IDP camps, water service areas, ministries and other government establishments. I even established an office annex at the Musa Usman workers secretariat, in order to keep civil servants, particularly those at the top levels, on their toes. I made my appearance to the secretariat continually unpredictable to even my security and other personal aides.

Our approach have steadily yielded dividends as we can see from gradual pick up of increased commitment in hospitals, schools, other government institutions and in our local government areas.

With shared commitments and with the strong goodwill, support and prayers from you, the people of Borno State, we are delivering 556 capital projects with 70% of the total already completed while 30% are at various completion levels.
Our projects, done with your support, include 194 capital projects on education, which encompass rehabilitation, completion and fresh construction of Mega-size government technical colleges and primary schools in different communities. We have 63 capital projects on governance, and another 63 capital projects on roads, transport, rural and urban development. 59 capital projects are being delivered on water and environment; while on health, we are delivering 58 capital projects that include establishment of 74 primary healthcare centres across local government areas, rehabilitation of 8 General and specialist hospitals in MMC, Biu, Damboa, Monguno and Magumeri.
We have undertaken 53 capital projects on Reconstruction Rehabilitation and Resettlement which involve estates combining over 6,000 resettlement houses for IDPs and Refugees in 15 towns. I am happy to once again, acknowledge, that His Excellency, Mr President, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has since approved 10,000 resettlement houses in Borno State. I am also happy to note substantial number of these houses have been completed with more ongoing.

There are 28 capital projects on Jobs creation, Youths Empowerment and Humanitarian support which include an all-inclusive vocational training centre with 14 workshops for capacity development of 1,500 persons per annum.

I am happy to recall, that with your support, we have worked towards the academic take-off of the Borno State University, which was established in 2016. The senate has since been inaugurated with students enrolled and academic activities ongoing. We have continued all projects met on ground and started newer infrastructures. We have even commenced the construction of teaching hospital and a medical college, to prepare the University for the award of degrees in medicine and other medical programmes. We have successfully lobbied for the approval and take-off of a federal polytechnic in Borno State and hopefully, we will soon have a federal college of education. Hitherto, Borno had remained one of the few states in Nigeria, which had no federal polytechnic and college of education. 

Fellow citizens, as your Governor, I am however aware that in the midst of all that what we have been able to achieve, there are indeed concerns about some of our policies and actions in the last two years.

Top of these are issues relating to taxes of KEKE NAPEP, on commercial goods in markets, on shops, on consumption and entertainment and other issues. I am also aware of issue relating to ongoing reforms in land administration by the Borno State Geographic Information System, BOGIS, which deals with and also enforces some aspect of urban planning and environmental protection. There are concerns on enforcing clearance on rampant roadside trading. These concerns and many others I did not list are largely genuine and citizens have fundamental rights to be worried and to even be unhappy with these policies.

Fellow citizens, of all Nigeria’s 36 states, none is faced with the level of Borno’s security and by extension, social and economic challenges.

Borno has thousands of volunteers who are being paid monthly allowances, provided with kits and vehicles to complement the military in the fight against Boko Haram.

Fellow citizens, for every unfortunate incident of attack that occurs, more attacks would have been prevented through combined efforts that cost money.

Also related to security, we continually support IDPs and vulnerable citizens with cash to strengthen their resilience to Boko Haram manipulations, and this also costs money.

We are undertaking other social protection interventions which cost money and yet we are amongst states that are the most constant in paying monthly salaries and pensions.

As we may have seen in some states, downsizing is taking place in order to cope with payment of salaries and pensions of workers. In Borno State, we cannot afford mass retrenchment of workers because we know the potential social implications of such actions. While many persons may argue that workers are in fewer thousands, we recognize that these numbers have multiplying effects not only in terms of bigger number of dependents, but also on the effect of salaries and pensions in our local economy. Thousands of traders, both small and medium, rely on sales from the funds pumped into the local economy, for their survival.

We therefore cannot afford a mass sack to cope with wages, rather, we are even employing more and more persons. For instance, we have in January this year, employed and trained 800 teachers, just as we employed more doctors, nurses, midwives and other support staff.

To create more rooms for employment, we are reviving industries and putting the good ones to productivity. We are also preparing grounds for our youths to become more employable, and we do this by ceaselessly awarding scholarships to hundreds for specialized courses abroad and for all programmes across Nigeria.

We are subsidizing access to education by paying annual scholarship to over 20,000 students in tertiary schools within and outside Borno. We even paid tuition fees for over 3,000 pioneer students of our state university, yet, we have been supporting parents and guardians by paying for Senior Secondary Certificate Examination fees for our citizens.

Fellow citizens, Borno State is shouldering these responsibilities because we recognize that they impact on the generality of our citizens. However, we cannot sustain all these subsidies in primary, secondary and tertiary education, in healthcare, in consistency of salaries and pensions, and creating new jobs and giving out start up capitals to small and medium scale business persons, unless we create means of increasing our internally generated revenue through some of the tax measures we took, the blocking of leakages and the strengthening of our revenue generating establishments with bold targets.

The Borno State Geographic Information System, BOGIS, has in less than two years of its existence generated close to one billion naira while we were only able to generate around 100 million from 2017 to end of 2019. Of course, affected citizens, in few hundreds, were happy with not paying land levies in previous years, but then, nearly one billion naira generated by BOGIS, has been used on public services that include subsidizing education and healthcare to benefit the generality of Borno people. The same applies to whatever we generate through other taxes. We are prudently deploying these IGR for the benefit of all citizens through the execution of impactful programmes and projects.

Fellow citizens, given my background, I know the pains of struggles, but I also know, that it is better for us to make these sacrifices that  will enable government sustain the subsidies on basic, secondary and tertiary education, on healthcare, on jobs creation, on salaries and pensions, on creating jobs and supporting traders, on supporting displaced persons and on supporting volunteers and our armed forces in the fight against Boko Haram and lots more.

As your Governor, I assure you that all resources are judiciously put to uses that are either benefiting all citizens or will benefit all citizens in the long run.

We are determined to remain on the track of finding enduring peace in Borno State. We are determined to continue our massive construction of thousands of homes for the relentless and safe resettlement of displaced persons and refugees.

We have been able to return our citizens from refugee camps in Niger and Cameroon to safe and dignified resettlement in parts of Borno State. We will continue in this regard the same way we will continue in safely resettling IDPs.

As we have started our third year in office, we plan to build on what we already achieved with your support, goodwill and prayers. We plan to soon commission series of more projects, accelerate others particularly thousands of ongoing houses for safe and dignified resettlement of our IDPs and refugees.

Fellow citizens, in Nigeria’s democratic journey, the challenges before the Borno state government are enormous. Even as I address you, we are battling with power disruption caused by repeated attacks on power installations supplying Maiduguri and other parts of the state. We are working round the clock with relevant authorities to restore power supply, while we are making frantic efforts to actualize an intervention coming from the NPPC, which will hopefully put an end to power disruptions. I kindly call for more patience and tolerance.

We are resolutely committed to doing anything lawful and meaningful, towards making Borno safer and with greater opportunities for you the people, as we resiliently match towards our recovery, our growth, our sustained development and our shared prosperity.

Borno is ours, and Borno’s success is our success.

Happy Democracy Day, and May God bless Borno State and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Being text of Governor Zulum’s statewide broadcast to commemorate today’s democracy day (June 12, 2021) and his two years anniversary.

Survey on Milk Preference. A preliminary Report

Camel Milk and the Food Allergies

Unique Benefits of Camel Milk

Camel milk and cardiovascular diseases

….the major pathway seems to be prevention of reabsorption of cholesterol…

New review provides framework for studying food systems to address food safety and nutrition

A new review paper calls for improved food systems analysis to address food safety and nutrition in low- and middle-income countries.

New review provides framework for studying food systems to address food safety and nutrition

Experts call for increased investment in One Health to reduce the burden of neglected zoonoses

AgHealth

One Health is a concept that recognizes that the health of people is linked to the health of animals and their shared environment. A One Health approach in preventing and controlling diseases therefore involves the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines and sectors. This approach is especially useful for managing zoonoses, disease that are transmitted between animals and people.

According to the World Health Organization, at least 61% of all human pathogens are zoonotic and have represented 75% of all emerging pathogens during the past decade. There are more than 200 known zoonotic diseases. The health and economic cost of these diseases falls largely on poorer countries which bear 98% of the global burden of zoonoses.

Additionally, in poorer countries, zoonoses comprise 25% of the human burden of infectious diseases. Just 13 of over 200 zoonotic diseases cause 2.4 billion cases of illness and 2.2 million deaths annually (not including COVID-19).

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Experts review policy innovation to improve milk safety in informal markets

AgHealth

A new research report (Oct 2020) by scientists from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) reviews the status and policy contexts of informal milk markets in Kenya, Tanzania and Assam (India) to better understand the opportunities for a policy innovation based on training and certification to overcome market access barriers for sellers of informal milk by improving the health and safety practices of informal milk traders, thereby addressing policymakers’ concerns. It is based on an extensive review of available literature and a small number of expert interviews and contributions.

Citation

Blackmore, E., Guarín, A., Alonso, S., Grace, D. and Vorley, B. 2020. Informal milk markets in Kenya, Tanzania and Assam (India): An overview of their status, policy context, and opportunities for policy innovation to improve health and safety. ILRI Project Report. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.

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Thesis opportunities | Foodscapes in times of uncertainty

Rural Sociology Wageningen University

The CSPS Foodscapes cluster is looking for BSc and MSc students interested in researching emerging foodscapes in times of uncertainty.

Covid-19 has displayed many of the vulnerabilities and externalities of our current corporate food regime, such as unequal access to food, the dependence of our food supply on global supply chains, the exploitation of (migrant) workers in agricultural and food sectors and the fragility of the ‘just-in-time’ supply logistics. While the current crisis displays these vulnerabilities, also food practices and initiatives are arising that might provide seeds for ‘other futures’.

What foodscapes are emerging during Covid-19? What seeds do those emergent foodscapes provide for more sustainable, equitable, inclusive and fair foodscapes? And how can we potentially build on those seeds to make ‘other futures’ more real?

If you are interested in researching these, or related, questions, please contact Anke de Vrieze (RSO), anke.devrieze@wur.nl or Mustafa Hasanov (BMO), mustafa.hasanov@wur.nl. We…

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7 Points that Convince you of Consuming the Camel Milk

The awareness and sensitivity are increasing about the different food items among the people. The people are turning from junk to the real and natural food. The camel milk (CaM) is one of the important natural foods, enriched with super molecules, making it a food of choice for food sensitive people. CaM has unique properties, revitalizing our bodies and making us stronger and resilient against the stress and toxins of our environments. It revitalizes our bodies after sicknesses, stress, and hard work. In this article, I have tried to compile the camel milk story in 7 points to better understand this natural treasure of the food.

7 Points that Convince you of Consuming the Camel Milk

The Best Probiotic? Fruits and Vegetables. – The Atlantic

The Best Probiotics An apple contains about 100 million bacteria—a more diverse range than any dietary supplement. JAMES HAMBLIN AUG 7, 2019 CHARLES PLATIAU / REUTERS In April, researchers at Tufts University posed a nutrition riddle. They compared people who took vitamin pills with people who got the same nutrients the old-fashioned way, by eating food. Tracking […]

The Best Probiotic? Fruits and Vegetables. – The Atlantic

Camel Milk Provides Healthier Gut Microbiome

Where our Immune System is Generated? A strong and healthy immune system is now more critical than ever because of ever-increasing infections in our surroundings. There are many reasons for the widespread infections, mostly because of climate change. So need a very strong and responsive immune system to safeguard our health from such infections. Our […]

Camel Milk Provides Healthier Gut Microbiome

Lessons on tackling the growing risk of emerging infectious diseases in Africa

AgHealth

As part of a special COVID-19 series by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Bernard Bett and Delia Randolph of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and John McDermott of IFPRI write on the growing risk in Africa of pathogens that spread from animals to people and how we can learn from past epidemics to improve preparedness and response.

In their article, the scientists discuss the evolving patterns of emergence and spread of zoonotic pathogens, factors that might influence the spread of emerging zoonotic pathogens and the opportunities for controlling emerging infectious diseases in Africa.

They write: “The record thus far on COVID-19 and on past disease outbreaks shows that early, effective and sustained response is essential to winning the battle over these diseases. Innovative use of information and communication tools and platforms and engagement of local communities are crucial to improved disease surveillance and effective response. Building these…

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Food Security and Nutrition: Building a global narrative towards 2030 (NEW REPORT)

Food Governance

The latest report of the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on Food Security and Nutrition has just been released.

Key messages from the Report are:

i. There is an urgent need for strengthening and consolidating conceptual thinking around FSN to prioritize the right to food, to widen our understanding of food security and to adopt a food systems analytical and policy framework.

ii. FSN outcomes in recent years show the extent to which the global community is falling short on Agenda 2030 targets, especially SDG 2, and that food systems face a range of challenges – and some opportunities – linked to major trends in the drivers of food system change.

iii. Policy approaches and actions for FSN, in light of the diverse challenges
facing food systems, will require critical policy shifts and support for enabling conditions that uphold all dimensions of food security.

Download the full Report (available…

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Why the Camel Milk is Anti-Infectious or Immunity Booster?

New study sheds light on early intensification of smallholder backyard poultry farming systems

AgHealth

Poultry production is an important contributor to the livelihoods of rural populations, especially in low- and middle-income countries. As poultry production in these countries remains dominated by backyard systems with low inputs and low outputs, considerable yield gaps exist.

Intensification of these backyard poultry farming systems can increase productivity, production and income. This process is relatively recent in low- and middle-income countries compared to high-income countries. The management practices and constraints that smallholder farmers face in scaling-up their production, in the early stages of intensification, are poorly understood and described.

To shed more light on these aspects of intensification of poultry farming in low-income settings, a team of scientists investigated the features of the small-scale commercial chicken sector in a rural area distant from major production centres. Their study findings are published in the journal Animal(24 June 2020). 

The study surveyed 111 commercial chicken farms in Kenya in 2016…

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Camel Milk and Addition of New Products to the Dairy Industry

Camel milk, in particular, is a very unique and healthy product with especially anti-allergic and anti-diabetic effects. Several studies have shown that camel milk has some therapeutic potential in both type-1 and type-2 Diabetes mellitus. – Dr Raziq

via Camel Milk and Addition of New Products to the Dairy Industry

Camel Milk Protein Posses Bioactive Peptides

“The results of a scientific study revealed that both caseins and whey proteins of camel milk possess bioactive peptides with significant radical-scavenging activities and thus herald a fascinating opportunity for their potential as nutraceuticals or therapeutic peptides for prevention and treatment of
oxidative stress-associated diseases. The link of the article is given below.” Dr Raziq

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405654518301082?via%3Dihub

Natural Health with the Camel Milk

A medicine for Oxidative Stress Releated Diseases

Understanding about camel milk is increasing and the latest studies are coming with very appealing results. A study about the milk proteins (Casein and whey) revealed that the unique bioactive peptides of the camel milk works as a medicine for the oxidative stress associated diseases.

Ice cream made from camel milk

Study Published in the Journal of Animal Nutrition

The results of a scientific study revealed that both caseins and whey proteins of camel milk possess bioactive peptides with significant radical-scavenging activities and thus herald a fascinating opportunity for their potential as nutraceuticals or therapeutic peptides for prevention and treatment of
oxidative stress-associated diseases. The link of the article is given below. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405654518301082?via%3Dihub

The author is advocating camel milk with the theme of camel4life and sharing the happenings in the camels’ world. This piece is just a small step to aware the masses…

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Food safety: How can consumers make a difference?

A food safety project in Ethiopia is exploring how consumer demand can contribute towards improving food safety in the country’s informal markets.

Food safety: How can consumers make a difference?

Food safety: How can consumers make a difference?

A food safety project in Ethiopia is exploring how consumer demand can contribute towards improving food safety in the country’s informal markets.

Food safety: How can consumers make a difference?

Food safety: How can consumers make a difference?

AgHealth

African food systems are dominated by informal markets, typically open-air markets found at designated sites and street corners, which often have poor hygiene and are subject to limited or poor regulation. Occasionally there are calls for these informal markets to be banned, but most consumers depend on them as they are more accessible and affordable than formal markets.

As we celebrate World Food Safety Day on 7 June 2020, it is crucial that governments recognize the importance of better food safety in informal markets. One way to encourage them to take food safety seriously is by harnessing the power of consumer demand.

Foodborne diseases cause a massive health burden and remain a persistent impediment to socio-economic development. The World Health Organization estimates that close to 600 million people fall ill and 420,000 die every year from foodborne diseases worldwide. Children under five years of age make up 125,000 of those…

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EU Farm to Fork Strategy: Collective response from food sovereignty scholars

Despite the fact that “F2F Strategy does not go far enough to ensuring diverse, sustainable and just food systems for all in the EU” Retallack (2013) was of the opinion that “Emerging evidence indicates that holistic management, aligned with agroecological principles, has a number of positive environmental impacts, including soil regeneration and carbon sequestration, fire prevention and biodiversity increases.”

Retallack, G. (2013) ‘Global Cooling by Grassland Soils of the Geological Past and Near Future’ in Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci.

Food Governance

On 20 May 2020 the European Commission (EC) released its new Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system. As scholars committed to supporting sustainable food system transformation, we commend the EC for delivering a  longer term vision, and proposing the development of a legislative framework for sustainable food systems by 2023. Binding mechanisms and coherent, integrated rights-based legislative frameworks are fundamental to ensuring compliance and meeting the proposed targets. We acknowledge that the F2F Strategy contains many positive points, but are deeply concerned that these remain embedded in an outdated framework.

The evidence overwhelmingly points to a need to move beyond the (green) economic growth paradigm. This paradigm, reified by the European Green Deal, perpetuates unsustainable lock-ins and entrenched inequalities. The Scientific Advice Mechanism[1] recently advised the EC to stop treating food as a commodity and start thinking about the implications of seeing food…

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EU Farm to Fork Strategy: Collective response from food sovereignty scholarsby foodgovernance

https://widgets.wp.com/likes/index.html?ver=20190321#

Despite the fact that “F2F Strategy does not go far enough to ensuring diverse, sustainable and just food systems for all in the EU”

According to Retallack (2013) “Emerging evidence indicates that holistic management, aligned with agroecological principles, has a number of positive environmental impacts, including soil regeneration and carbon sequestration, fire prevention and biodiversity increases.”

Retallack, G. (2013) ‘Global Cooling by Grassland Soils of the Geological Past and Near Future’ in Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci.

How planting a garden can boost bees, local food and resilience during the coronavirus crisis… #Covid19 #nutritionalsecurity

With the arrival of spring, many people have been starting to think about how COVID-19 will impact the affordability and availability of fruits and vegetables in coming months, as shortages of both honeybees and migrant workers threaten crop pollination and the food that comes with it. The current global pandemic has highlighted the many ways our agricultural systems are […]

How planting a garden can boost bees, local food and resilience during the coronavirus crisis

EU Proposes 2030 Goal to Reduce Pesticide Use by 50% and Increase Arable Land in Organic Production by At Least 17%

(Beyond Pesticides, May 26, 2020) Across the pond, the European Commission (EC) has announced plans to protect biodiversity and build a more sustainable food system, and identified the reduction of pesticide use  and the expansion of organic agriculture as pillars of the scheme. The EC expects that the initiative, which will require EU member states’ endorsement, will advance […]

EU Proposes 2030 Goal to Reduce Pesticide Use by 50% and Increase Arable Land in Organic Production by At Least 17%

#Covid19: Deaths and Infections by Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) will continue to be LOW in Africa by Prof Marte

Professor Isa Marte Hussaini, FAAS, FAS, FNAPharm, FPSN

Contrary to the projections of World Health Organization (WHO) and Western Countries, Africa will not be devastated by COVID-19. The testing levels in Africa are far below those in Europe and USA which may be responsible for the low incidences. However, the percent fatality rates are maintained between 1-3% even after 3 months of the pandemic. In Nigeria, the fatality rate was highest (3.57%) on 02/05/2020 and is now below 2.9% after 3 months (March- May). The following reasons may be responsible for the low incidence and fatality in Africa:

1. The African population is very young based on our lower average life expectancy (61 years for males and 65 for females) compared with Asia, Europe or North America. In West Africa, it is 56 years (2019). The ages below these averages of life expectancy have relatively good immune systems and low numbers of patients with co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus, asthma and heart diseases compared with those over 70 years. This strongly suggests that the African Governments should focus and protect the few elderly citizens (above 60 years) and those with co-morbidities who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.
2. Africans have more Vitamin D3 than Caucasians and Asians because of abundance of sun light in the continent. Vitamin D3 is an immune booster which protects Africans from coronavirus disease. Few Africans with low Vitamin D, require additional intake of D3.
3. In Africa, the frequency of exposures to bacteria and viruses is very high because of the poor hygiene conditions. This may lead to generation of specific antibodies (IgG) in Africans to different diseases, including coronaviruses (SARS CoV-1 &2) which may make the African immune system much stronger than that of a Caucasian or Asian. This is an excellent research area for African Scientists to find out whether there is antibody cross- reactivity between SARS-CoV 1 and 2. Can antibody against SARS-CoV-1 protect patients from COVID-19 caused by SARS CoV-2? There is information in the literature that antibody against Mitogen-activated kinase (MAPK1/2; erk1/erk2) cross-react with both proteins.

One, two or all three of the stated facts may make the African continent hostile to SARS-CoV-2, the causative virus of COVID-19. As a precaution, the African Governments should not be complacent in taking proactive and preventive measures to stop the spread of the virus. The use of face masks, sanitizers, washing of hands as well as social distancing should be encouraged during this pandemic. In addition, Governments must also strengthen contact-tracing committees in various states to act immediately and quarantine all contacts once a COVID-19 case is confirmed. This will put a break to community transmission of COVID-19.

Research and Development (R&D) in Africa.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the poor state and unpreparedness of most of African Healthcare Systems. The lack of capacity of R&D in most African countries is also apparent except for Senegal and South Africa. The African Governments should now think outside the box and build the continent’s R&D capacity instead of relying on foreign vaccine development and treatments for diseases. The continent has smart and intelligent people who are well-trained and positioned to develop vaccines and drugs for diseases. All the African Researchers need is the enabling environment and funding.

We have successfully used the following combination to prevent and treat COVID-19 patients. Some of the patients tested positive and were in the isolation center when the preparations were given to them. The quarantined patients were all discharged and did not develop any symptoms of COVID-19. The prophylactic use of the preparations was also successful. The dosage and usage are:

• Black Caraway (Nigella sativa) Seed Oil 1 teaspoonful 3 times daily (immunity booster, Anti-inflammatory, anti-histaminic, anti-bacterial and anti-viral activities). We have determined the safety level of Black seed oil at this dose level and is very safe.
• Vitamin D3 1000 IU daily (Immunity booster, anti-inflammatory and prevents clot formation).
• Aspirin 75 (UK brand) or 81 (US brand) mg daily (prevents clot formation). Aspirin at this dose level selectively blocks the formation of thromboxane A2 in platelets without affecting the production of prostacyclin by the endothelium. This selective inhibitory property of low dose aspirin prevents platelets from aggregation and sticking together to form thrombus, which is recently found in COVID-19 Patient’s.

The three preparations were given for 10-14 days for treatment of COVID-19. On a personal note, I have been taking Vitamin D3 and aspirin 81 mg for the past 10 years to boost my immune system and prevent thrombus formation.

The study we have carried out involved in both prevention and treatment has a sample size of 30. There is the need to increase the sample size. It is now up to the Ministry of Health and NAFDAC to finance and carry out multi-centre Clinical Trials involving thousands of COVID-19 patients for this treatment regimen.

May mankind be saved from this terrible pandemic. Ameen

Professor Isa Marte Hussaini, FAAS, FAS, FNAPharm, FPSN

The FG €995m Agric MECHANISATION Facility To Help Nigeria Attained Food Security And Diversify Economy

Reduction of #PostHarvestLoss and Farmer education should take center stage of any form of sustainable investment in Agriculture

“This is meant to tackle the primary issues of post-harvest losses commonly suffered by smallholder farmers as well as to domesticate efficient supply chain operations where factories or aggregation hubs are closer to sources of raw material.”

Mr. Kwasari, also disclosed that three years from now, Nigeria would be food secured for the various plant and livestock-related commodities identified to be supported by the programme across the states. –

The relevance of agroecology, territorial solidarity and the right to food for the EU Farm to Fork Strategy

Below is the highlighted under the sub-heading ‘Vulnerable Food System· Certainly there are lessons for Nigeria 🇳🇬 to draw from this.
19 has exposed even more limits and dysfunctions in our globalized food systems: from our reliance on under-paid farm and food sector workers operating in poor working conditions (most often women and migrants), the risks associated with intensive animal farming, including zoonoses, to barriers facing small-scale producers when trying to access local markets, to gender inequalities and the additional risks faced by people with pre-existing diet-related health conditions.

Covid-19 is also set to aggravate other shocks (e.g. crop failures or abrupt changes in food prices due to climate change and other extreme events), and threats (e.g. biocultural erosion, degrading soil fertility, ageing farm population, land concentration, lack of farm renewal). These shocks and threats reveal the fragility of the European food systems, which the SAPEA report makes clear is even more vulnerable due to its interdependent nature and the fact that the EU imports large quantities of food and feed from third countries, while also being a major exporter of food”

Food Governance

On 14 May, the Nyéléni Food Sovereignty Movement in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) sent a letter to the Executive vice president of the European Commission (EC), Franz Timmermans, who is leading the European Green Deal.

A week before the release of the new Farm to Fork Strategy and EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the letter called on the EC to address the need to transform the food system. Sent with the letter was an Academic Brief written by Jessica Duncan, Marta Rivera-Ferre and Priscilla Claeys. The Brief reflects on insights from the recently published Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) and Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) reports on sustainable food system with a view towards key objectives of the Nyeleni ECA movement.

—

Academic Brief                                                 May 13, 2020

The importance of Food Sovereignty for the Farm to Fork strategyand the New Green Deal. Insights and limits…

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How unintended consequences unraveled a legendary agricultural achievement

DESERTIFICATION

THE WASHINGTON POST –

By Erin Blakemore – April 18, 2020 – https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/how-unintended-consequences-unraveled-a-legendary-agricultural-achievement/2020/04/17/b62f0f04-7ff0-11ea-8013-1b6da0e4a2b7_story.html

In the 1960s and 1970s, a single farm scientist became a public hero, credited with ending famine in much of the developing world. Norman Borlaug’s Green Revolution, an agricultural method born of the high-yield crops he pioneered, was almost universally lauded.

But were his well-intentioned methods a good deed — or a dangerous trap? “The Man Who Tried to Feed the World,” on PBS’s American Experience series on Tuesday, tells the story of how unintended consequences unraveled a legendary achievement.

It’s easy to understand why Borlaug’s ideas held so much promise: The variety of wheat the scientist created resisted rust, a fungal disease that was responsible for devastating crop epidemics in the developing world. With the help of Borlaug’s hybrid wheat and plentiful water, pesticides and chemical fertilizer, farmers could produce enormous yields in places…

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Comparisons of organic and conventional agriculture need improvement, say researchers

DESERTIFICATION

Phys. Org. – MARCH 18, 2020 – by Chalmers University of Technology –
https://phys.org/news/2020-03-comparisons-conventional-agriculture.html

The environmental effects of agriculture and food are hotly debated. But the most widely used method of analysis often tends to overlook vital factors such as biodiversity, soil quality, pesticide impacts and societal shifts, and these oversights can lead to incorrect conclusions on the merits of intensive and organic agriculture. This is according to a trio of researchers writing in the journalNature Sustainability.

The most common method for assessing the environmental impacts ofagricultureand food is the life cycle assessment (LCA). Studies using this method sometimes claim that organic agriculture is actually worse for the climate because it has lower yields, and therefore uses more land to compensate. For example,a recent study inNature Communicationsthat made this claimwas widely reported by many publications.

However, three researchers from France, Denmark and…

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Access to water and improved water use efficiency are essential to reduce the vulnerability of rural communities to climate shocks in West Africa

DESERTIFICATION

Water scarcity is one of the major challenges of the 21st century and drylands are the most affected, including West Africa.

By News Ghana – Nov 4, 2019
https://www.newsghana.com.gh/access-to-water-and-improved-water-use-efficiency-are-essential-to-reduce-the-vulnerability-of-rural-communities-to-climate-shocks-in-west-africa/

Dirty Water

West Africa and the Sahel region is among the most vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity in Sub Saharan Africa. In West Africa, the number of undernourished people reached 51.6 million in 2018, while the prevalence of severe food insecurity in the total population reached 17.6% (SOFI 2019)

The region is characterized by harsh climatic conditions with strong climatic variations and irregular rainfalls, which are a serious obstacle to food security and poverty reduction in the region. The high variable rainfall patterns (with an average of 100 to 600 mm a year) is one among the many complex and interconnected challenges that face the region.

The majority of farmers rely on unreliable and erratic rainfall and rain fed agriculture…

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