The NonProfit Press

IITA-CWMP signs agreements with 136 farmers for on-farm demonstrations

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 13:27:00 +0000

IITA-CWMP signs agreements with 136 farmers for on-farm demonstrations

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture led Cassava Weed Management Project (IITA-CWMP) is signing agreements for the setting up of 136 demonstration plots with farmers across four states in Nigeria. The for states are Abia, Benue, Ogun and Oyo states.

Under the agreements, participating farmers will make available plots of land for on-farm demonstrations. They will also ensure that adequate security is provided on the land during the research duration to prevent theft and cattle invasion.

Hence the demonstrations are farmer-led, farmers will keep records of the farm activities and share these records with the nominated authorized representative of IITA-CWMP.

They will ensure to apply all the inputs (fertilizer, herbicides, and planting materials) provided by IITA-CWMP and in the prescribed manner.

Another condition is that farmers will be responsible for all the cost of the farm operations (slashing, burning, ploughing, fertilizer application, herbicides application and harvesting of the plot). They will notify IITA-CWMP when the harvesting period is due and both parties will carry out harvesting of the crops.

The IITA-CWMP on its part will provide fertilizers, herbicides, and planting materials to be used on the on-farm demo plot at no cost. The project staff will carry out harvesting on the land in conjunction with farmers, and will be responsible for collating all necessary data on the on-farm demos.

All proceeds, except 30 per cent of cassava stems, from the demonstration plot will go to the farmers provided the farmers keep to the terms of the agreement.

Participating farmers pledged to keep to terms and conditions of the agreements which they said would foster cooperation between them and researchers.

For farmer Afusatu Akinware, the on-farm demonstrations would help the community to learn better and improved weed management practices for cassava production.

“I am glad this project selected our community to gain from the knowledge on improved weed control,” she added.

Last year, the project established 58 on-farm trials across the cassava producing zones of Nigeria.

Dr Alfred Dixon, Project Leader for the IITA-CWMP said the acceptance of the project by farmers was a welcome development.

“We see high enthusiasm from the farmers, meaning that we are addressing development needs,” he said.

Photo: A recently harvested demo plot in Oyo state with farmers in jubilation over bumper yield from an improved weed controlled plots

Agriculture is the way to become wealthy but it can¹t happen the way our parents practiced, IITA says

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 17:39:00 +0000

Developing creative messages/methods that would attract young people to agriculture could help Africa to attract youth to agriculture and end the rising unemployment in the continent, says the Deputy Director General Partnership for Delivery, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Kenton Dashiell today.

In a message to journalists to mark the 2017 Media Day— part of activities to mark the 50^th anniversary of IITA on 24 July 2017, Dr Dashiell said addressing the food insecurity question in Africa required collective efforts from the different institutions operating in Africa, stressing that “IITA cannot succeed in isolation.”

He underpinned the importance of creativity in packaging and dissemination of information on agricultural innovation in a way and manner that would attract youth into agriculture, and clear illusions about the sector.

Dashiell explained that for IITA, “our message is this—agriculture is the way to become wealthy. But this cannot happen if it is practiced the way our parents did. Fortunately, IITA has advanced technologies that if used could make farming very profitable and fun for farmers.”

The Media Day was a time for IITA to appreciate the invaluable contribution of the press to the Institute in the past 50 years. It was the first time the Institute would engage members of the press for a full day, showcasing to them its facilities, projects, and the Institute’s direction for the next 50 years.

As journalists toured the campus, stories of IITA research breakthroughs reverberated— from the fields where IITA defeated the Black Sigatoka disease on banana, cassava mealybug, and maize streak virus; to the labs where breakthroughs such as the use of Aflasafe is making maize and groundnuts safer to innovations where researchers are growing yam in the air and new technologies are being developed to control weeds in cassava.

Journalists were taken around the facilities to see research on maize, yam, cassava, cowpea, banana and plantain. IITA is also piloting the first ever Africa-wide youth in agribusiness initiative (IITA Youth Agripreneurs), which has received strong support from the African Development Bank and about 11 heads of African States.

Dr Kwesi Atta-Krah, Chair, IITA50 Organizing Committee and Director, Systems and Site Integration said that in the last 50 years, IITA had stood with the people by providing agricultural solutions that address the constraints to Africa’s agricultural development.

“And because we are truly people-centric, our goal in the last 50 years has always been to make living more fulfilling for even the poorest of the poor farming households. Even now, IITA will not stop. The Institute will continue to join hands with relevant stakeholders to do its best to transform agricultural practices to be able to transform Africa,” Dr Atta-Krah explained.

The Chair of the IITA50 Organizing Committee also announced that on 30 June 2017, a press conference will be held at IITA’s facilities in Lagos, after which IITA’s senior management team will proceed to ring the closing bell at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, officially announcing the Institute 50th anniversary to the public.

Established in 1967, IITA is a leader in agricultural research in sub-Saharan Africa. Innovations from the Institute have translated to better nourishment, food security, and livelihood-generating activities for millions of Africans.

The IITA50 celebration received financial support from IITA staff and the Board of Trustees, Dangote Group, Bovas, and Inqaba. Other supporters include Punch and the Guardian Newspapers.

About IITA, iita.org

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.

Nigerian governors endorse peer advisory mechanism to facilitate the attainment of zero hunger by 2025

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 10:08:00 +0000

Five state governors in Nigeria have endorsed a peer advisory mechanism to enable them to monitor the implementation of their state-grown agricultural plans with a view to ending hunger by 2030.

The peer advisory mechanism is a brainchild of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum (NZHF) that is aimed at reviewing, monitoring, and advising states in Nigeria on the ways and means by which the states themselves, using available resources, can achieve zero hunger by 2030.

The five pilot states which have given their endorsements include Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Ogun and Sokoto state.

“More states will be involved as we make progress,” according to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Goodwill Ambassador, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is chairing the NZHF.

According to a communique issued at the end of the maiden edition of the NZHF in Makurdi and made available today, members of the NZHF which cut across the private sector, government and development partners agreed to hold its advisory meetings on quarterly basis across the states.

The Forum also adopted a template for its future advisory meetings: The first day should be dedicated to a welcome address by the state followed by presentations of what is going on in the host state related to achieving zero hunger (challenges, successes, and lessons learnt). The next day, should be dedicated to field visits to engage with large, medium, and small scale farmer groups; medium and large scale agriculture related industries such as food and feed processors, and fertilizer blending factories, and programs to improve the health and nutrition of infants and children. The day should end with reflections of the day and a communique.

Dr Kenton Dashiell, IITA Deputy Director General for Partnerships for Delivery, who also manages the secretariat of the NZHF at IITA, explained that the peer advisory mechanism of the NZHF would encourage states to keep focus to the commitment they made towards agriculture so they could by themselves achieve their set targets.

He commended the maiden meeting in Benue state, noting that the state has the capacity to feed the country if its agricultural potential was fully tapped.

The Governor of Benue State, Dr Samuel Ortom, described the Nigeria Zero Hunger initiative as a tool that would accelerate the agricultural development of states through peer learning. He noted that through the instrumentality of the Forum the state was able to purchase fertilizers in good time for distribution to farmers.

“Again from the NZHF meeting, we have been given advice on how to handle certain areas and in some cases the former president personally made contacts through the phone on our behalf to persons who have the answers,” Dr Ortom explained.

The meeting in Benue, had in attendance Governor Ortom, Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi; Deputy Governor of Borno State, and representatives of the Governors of Ogun and Sokoto states, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), African Development Bank (AfDB), World Food Program (WFP), the private sector, farmer groups, members of Benue State Executive Council, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), the Nigeria Army School of Military Engineering (NASME), and members of the press.

The NZHF is supported by IITA, African Development Bank (AfDB), WFP and the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL).

Nigerian Finance Minister wants IITA and govt to rollout youth agric program nationally

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 15:56:00 +0000

The Nigerian Minister of Finance, Honorable Kemi Adeosun, says the country will benefit by signing up for the African Development Bank funded ENABLE Youth (Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment) Program.

Nigeria’s signatory to the ENABLE youth program will make the oil-rich country the third African country coming behind Cameroon and Sudan to benefit from funds under the AfDB Feed Africa initiative.

The ENABLE youth program is modelled after the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Youth Agripreneur (IYA) program which has seen a lot of success.

The program is expected to create business opportunities and decent employment for 1000 young women and men along priority agricultural value chains of various enterprises (aquaculture, crops farming, marketing, processing, etc.) per state, including Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, according to the Director General of IITA, Dr Nteranya Sanginga today.

Mrs Adeosun said that she was inspired and impressed with the concept and the testimonials of the young agricultural entrepreneurs.

“We came here - IITA - to assess a project (ENABLE Youth) being considered by the Federal Government. From what I have seen today, I am extremely impressed and inspired! We should work on how we can roll out this project nationally,” the Minister said during a visit to IITA in Ibadan on 10 June.

Like several other African nations, Nigeria is caught in between rising youth employment and food insecurity. In 2012, Dr Sanginga initiated a youth in agriculture program to serve as a model for African nations to emulate and prosper. Under the model, youths are trained – both in theory and practice—and mentored with a view to changing their mindsets towards agriculture. In the end, they key into startups in the agricultural value chains.

Dr Sanginga said the IYA model was a template that would help African countries tackle the challenge of unemployment on the continent and create wealth.

“We have tested it in IITA, Nigeria, and several countries and it is working,” he said.

Testimonials on how the IYA program is creating jobs, wealth, and transforming agriculture abound. For Mercy Wakawa from Biu, Borno state, the training provided by IYA through N2Africa project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 2 years ago had helped her establish a medium scale groundnut oil processing industry that provides employment for seven other youths and supports the local groundnut industry.

Ajibola Olaniyi leads a team of two other young people who ventured into catfish farming. Without prior knowledge about fish farming but with support from IITA, Ajibola and her team resuscitated four abandoned ponds and later expanded to 17 with a capacity of 150 tons of fish production per year. The expansion of the business also created jobs for short-term staff who work with the team in managing the ponds. The business is growing with clients coming from the various geo-political zones in Nigeria to patronize the products.

TOFAN Foods is a subsidiary of IITA Youth Agripreneurs. The business, which is owned by three young people who were trained under the processing unit of IYA, is producing Tidbit. The snack is made from high quality cassava flour and cowpea. TOFAN Foods has been established in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, and will be scaling out the technology learned during the incubation period in IYA.

Oyindamola Asaaju, another Agripreneur, used to serve tables at a restaurant, but after getting involved with IYA, she now leads a group of Agripreneurs in Onne, Rivers State. The group is using the IITA Station in Onne to develop new agribusiness enterprises in poultry, catfish, and micropropagation of plantain, and serve as an incubation center for young people.

Greenpeace: "The millions of people living on the African continent are on the frontlines of climate change"

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 11:01:00 +0000

Climate outcast Trump surrenders US global leadership - Greenpeace

“The millions of people living on the African continent are on the frontlines of climate change, and it is critical that polluters are held accountable for the suffering and injustice global warming is already inflicting”

Denouncing Trump’s decision to abandon the Paris Climate Agreement, Greenpeace International (www.Greenpeace.org) said the decision would cost the US its global leadership position and its share of the economic benefits of the clean energy transition.

Greenpeace Africa Executive Director Njeri Kabeberi said:

“Thursday, June 1^st 2017 will be written in history as the day the US, under the administration of President Trump, turned its back on those who needed its leadership, ambition and compassion.

“The millions of people living on the African continent are on the frontlines of climate change, and it is critical that polluters are held accountable for the suffering and injustice global warming is already inflicting. Climate change impacts are already a daily reality, and action to stop catastrophic climate change cannot be delayed. Our global community will take action, and is already taking action, with or without the US government, and it is critical that major emitters like South Africa step up and take a leadership role.”

Jennifer Morgan, Greenpeace International Executive Director, said:

“Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement will turn America from a global climate leader into a flat earth society of one. It is a morally-bankrupt decision that Trump will come to regret. Global climate action is not a legal or political debate; it is an inescapable obligation to protect people and the planet.

“Trump is surrendering US global leadership to real world leaders who are seizing the momentum to protect their country and the climate by transforming their economies to clean energy. We are witnessing a seismic shift in the global order as Europe, China and others lead the way forward.

“Almost 200 countries committed to climate action in Paris and only one has decided to withdraw. This is how far out of step Trump is with the rest of the world. It is the changing of the global guard - as the US bows out, world leaders, CEOs and people across the world can and are moving forward into the future.”

Greenpeace East Asia Senior Global Policy Officer Li Shuo said:

“President Trump is taking his administration in the opposite direction to the rest of the world. While China cancels coal power plants, Trump cancels climate action.

“Trump’s attempt to sabotage the global transition to a safer clean energy future won't succeed. It will only corner the US and present China with an opportunity to reap the economic benefits of America’s withdrawal.”

"Seeds of Renaissance" offer internally displaced persons in Nigeria's north east lifeline

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 11:54:00 +0000

The improved seeds donated by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to Borno State are lifelines for farmers, and will help rebuild the livelihoods of food insecure persons in the region.

Tagged ‘seeds of renaissance’, the 35,930 kilograms seeds comprising cowpea, maize, soybean, rice, sorghum and millet were received by the Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima on 22 May in Maiduguri.

The delivery of the seeds comes at a time when aid agencies offering food packs are hurt by funding cuts from donor agencies, and some are scaling down their operations.

Dr Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director General for Partnership for Delivery, IITA, said today in Ibadan that the seeds donated to Borno state were among the best planting materials suited for the semi-arid zone which is divided between Sudan and Sahel savannahs.

“The varieties are extra-early maturing or early maturing, meaning that in few days farmers who plant them can harvest and have food on their table. We encourage farmers to plant these seeds this year because the seeds will help in building their livelihoods, raising their productivity, and by next year these farmers should be able to share their harvest of these improved seeds with their fellow farmers for planting during the 2018 growing season,” he added.

Borno State Commissioner of Agriculture, Mohammed Aliyu Dili said the people of the state were excited over the donation, adding that a seeds are life.

“You have come to give us life…When we heard that IITA was bringing seeds to donate to us, our hearts were filled with joy because we are sure and confident that the planting materials you are giving to us will not disappoint our farmers,” Mr Dili added.

Ravaged by insurgency, the north eastern part of Nigeria in general, and Borno state in particular, is a familiar terrain where IITA and partners have been conducting research. In 2004 to 2009, IITA led a project called Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Borno State (PROSAB). That project was able to increase productivity and incomes of farmers and it reduced poverty by 14 percent in participating communities. In 2014, IITA began the training of youths under the N2Africa project to establish agricultural businesses. Many of these youths have established and are operating profitable businesses in Borno State.

Mr Dili noted that his first contact with IITA was in the early 1980s when he received improved maize varieties from IITA to plant in a farm in Borno.

“Using the varieties from IITA, we were able to realise more than 6,000 kilograms per ha as opposed to 900 kilograms per hectare using local varieties… So I am optimistic that the varieties we have received from IITA will help our farmers,” he explained.

But besides donating seeds, IITA plans to step up its operations in the northeast by strengthening its office in Borno and increasing its investment in that region.

Dr Dashiell observed that the challenge faced by farmers/IDPs was huge and more humanitarian assistance is needed to bring back normalcy.

“We will be engaging the World Food Program (WFP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the private sector and other partners to see how we can build common synergy and support the people of North East…Moreover, we are 100% confident that the intelligent, patriotic, motivated and hardworking youths of this great State that we had trained under the N2Africa project would be important participants in revitalizing agriculture and the economy,” Dr Dashiell explained. END

About IITA, www.iita.org

IITA is guided by an ambitious strategy–to lift 11.5 million people out of poverty and revitalize 7.5 million hectares of farmland–by 2020. IITA has delivered more than 70% of the CGIAR’s impact in sub-Saharan Africa and remains committed to science-driven improvement of agriculture and related food value chains.

IITA donates 35,930 kilograms "Seeds of Renaissance" to Nigeria to address humanitarian crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Mon, 22 May 2017 19:13:00 +0000

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) today donated about 35,930 kilograms of seeds to the Borno state government as part of efforts to cushion the humanitarian crisis in the northeastern part of Nigeria.

The donation, which is perhaps the largest quantity of seeds being offered to Nigeria in recent times, is an initiative of IITA management under the leadership of Dr Nteranya Sanginga to address the humanitarian crisis in the region—a region once referred to as the bread basket of Nigeria.

Delivering the seeds to the Governor of Borno State, Dr Kenton Dashiell, IITA Deputy Director General for Partnerships for Delivery, says the donation is a gesture aimed at helping Nigeria to rebuild Borno in particular and the northeast in general.

The donated seeds include improved varieties of cowpea, soybean, maize, millet, sorghum, and rice. The seeds are adapted to the climate of the region with some being extra-early, early, and intermediate, maturing. “They are also high yielding and resistant to the major pests and diseases, and other biotic and abiotic constraints in the region,” Dr Dashiell explained, adding that another 3000 bundles of cassava planting materials will be delivered to the state once the rains stabilize.

IITA Ambassador and Former Nigeria’s President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo described the donation as the most meaningful give ever given to the people of Borno state.

The IITA Ambassador pledged IITA’s commitment to support Borno state and Nigeria at large to overcome the challenging period.

“IITA and our partners including the World Food Program, the Zero Hunger Forum, and African Development Bank will continue to give priority attention to Borno state in particular and the north east in general,” Chief Obasanjo said.

Located about 850 kilometers northeast of Abuja, Borno state became the epicenter of attacks from Boko Haram—an Islamic extremist group that killed more than 20,000 since 2009, and displaced more than 2.3 million, majority of them farmers. The group has become the world’s deadliest organization according to the Global Terrorism Index in 2015.

In February 2017, the United Nations listed north-eastern Nigeria as one of the regions in the world facing hunger and devastating levels of food insecurity.

Dr Dashiell says: “The donation is being given because IITA is concerned about the plight of the people of the Northeast who, by many accounts, are very food insecure, malnourished, and need assistance to get back to normal life. We are committed to working with Federal Government and the State governments in north-eastern Nigeria to transform agriculture so that the people are food secure and earning a good living for their families. We also plan to partner with the World Food Program (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations during this 2017 growing season. It is also an opportunity for IITA as an international agricultural research-for-development institution to implement its mission to transform agriculture in Nigeria and Africa at large.”

The seeds are intended for planting by farmers of Borno State in the upcoming cropping season. The IITA seed collection is a product of joint efforts by IITA breeders and agronomists, special project managers, and scientists and the Business Incubation Platform (BIP)-GoSeed producers, and IITA Youth Agripreneurs. ICRISAT and Africa Rice also provided seeds to support this initiative which would serve as a reliable seed source.

The Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima in his appreciation noted that agriculture remains the highest employer on earth and the IITA plays a pivotal role in sustaining the sector in Africa.

“Words cannot adequately convey the depth of our gratitude to the IITA and to President Obasanjo who is an Ambassador of the IITA, for the choice of Borno as beneficiary of a remarkable intervention. Seeds, particularly at this time, are life saving for us in Borno State. In a typical conflict situation, majority of farmers end up eating up their seeds because they can't plant them. These seeds will be of immediate use to our farmers in the Southern part of Borno State which has been less affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. Farmers there are still carrying out their activities as against areas like Northern Borno,” Governor Shettima said.

On the team to donate the seeds were H.E Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and other IITA representatives including Nkeki Kamai, Coordinator, N2Africa Nigeria; Godwin Atser, Communication and Knowledge Exchange Expert; IITA Youth Agripreneur representatives from Borno State; Toyin Oke, Manager, Resource Mobilization and Protocol and External Liaison, and representatives of AfricaRice and ICRISAT.

Photo: L-R: The Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima; Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery at IITA, Dr Kenton Dashiell; and IITA Ambassador and Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo during the donation of 35,930 kilograms of seeds and 2640 kilograms of rice to Borno State government today in Maiduguri.

Orange-fleshed sweetpotato in school meals to improve nutrition and cut Nigeria's wheat imports

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Fri, 19 May 2017 04:30:00 +0000

Oshogbo, Nigeria— The inclusion of Orange Fleshed Sweetpotato (OFSP) in wheat bread and school meals is boosting the nutritional status of children and could help Nigeria to reduce its imports of wheat drastically.

Developed by the International Potato Center (abbreviated by Spanish acronym CIP) and partners, the OFSP varieties are rich in Vitamin A—a critical vitamin that is deficient in most diets in sub Saharan Africa, and remains a serious public health problem in Ghana, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso in West Africa. In Nigeria, one in three children suffer from Vitamin A deficiency (VAD)—which can lead to blindness and even death.

In the last three years, CIP has pioneered a three-year project in Osun and Kwara States of Nigeria. In Osun State, the project intervention entails inclusion of OFSP in school meals as part of efforts to improve the nutrition of children. The project, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has also trained bakers on the inclusion of 40 percent OFSP puree (steamed OFSP) in wheat bread.

Mr Fatai Ganiyu, one of the trained bakers, said the inclusion of OFSP in bread has benefits including growing Nigeria’s economy and improving the health of children in schools.

“At the moment, I can’t meet the demand for OFSP-wheat bread. I supply the OFSP composite bread to 20 schools; part of the Oriade local government elementary schools. And the children love it,” he explained.

Wheat is among the top food imports into Nigeria with about 4.7 million tons being imported into the country according to government data.

Mr. Ganiyu said if more bakers adopted the technology, imports would be down significantly, saving the country scarce foreign exchange, but more importantly, creating jobs and better nutrition.

Researchers say that consuming OFSP can give the body needed vitamins.

“Results from a number of research has revealed that one small-to-medium boiled root (approximately 125g or 1⁄2 to 1 cup) of most OFSP varieties can supply the recommended daily amount of vitamin A for young children and non-breastfeeding women”, says Dr. Erna Abidin, from CIP and Manager for the project.

OFSP roots have a nutritional advantage over white- or cream-fleshed sweetpotato roots because they have beta-carotene, and therefore vitamin A content is higher as evidenced by the deep orange color of their flesh. Since cultivating OFSP on just 500 square meters can supply the needs of a family, farmers can still grow other crops to meet their diversified food needs at their household level.

Dr. Jude Njoku, National Coordinator, Sweetpotato program and Senior Agronomist at CIP said the project had introduced two OFSP varieties in Nigeria since 2012. “Farmers in Osun state are growing the Mothers Delight variety which is very high in beta-carotene. Its dry matter is low but school children love it since it is sweet and not too hard,” he added.

Working closely with the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) farmers now have access to improved varieties of OFSP vines. The OFSP planting materials are produced by a few smallholder farmers who have been trained on vine multiplication (also known as decentralized vine multipliers - DVMs). The DVMs then sell the vines to their neighbors for root production.

“We have worked closely with DVMs to ensure they produce good quality vines. We introduced the net tunnel technology so they produce and sell disease free planting material leading to high storage root yield,” said Mr. Ayodele Oladipo Akinpelu from NRCRI in Iresi.

Mr. Ademola Adepoju is one of 18 DVM’s in Oshogbo. From his 1.5-hectare farm in Ajebamidele village, Adepoju made 1.6Million Naira (USD 5,180) from the sale of OFSP vines which he planted in January 2017. “I have harvested my vines twice; in March and May. For root production, the Mothers Delight OFSP variety matures in only two and a half months while the local sweetpotato varieties take up to five months”, he says.

In 2016, six DVMs sold 12, 647 bundles of OFSP vine cuttings to 13 groups of storage root producers (284 farmers; 30% women). During the dry season of 2016, they grew 26.6 ha of OFSP in 12 Local Government Areas and sold 79.8 tons of OFSP roots to 17 schools, according to Souleimane Adekambi, a Monitoring and Evaluation specialist working for CIP on the project.

With the project coming to an end this May 2017, three types of markets have been developed around OFSP. First, is the school feeding program in Osun State. From a total of 8,157 pupils in 17 schools in mid-2015, the number of schools was scaled out to 186 by September 2016. To date, a total of over 41,216 students are fed weekly on OFSP from the O-Meals School Feeding Program. Second, bakery chains offer market opportunities for OFSP farmers. Mr. Ganiyu, the baker in Osun state buys a 60kg bag of OFSP roots every two weeks from Mrs. Foluke Okanlawon, who farms close to his bakery. Finally, the local market serves as an important alternative for mopping up excess production.

CIP and partners will continue working on OFSP, with the hope to scale out its many benefits to both the rural and urban community in sub-Saharan Africa.

About the International Potato Center (CIP)

The International Potato Center, known by its Spanish acronym CIP, was founded in 1971 as a root and tuber research-for-development institution delivering sustainable solutions to the pressing world problems of hunger, poverty, and the degradation of natural resources. CIP is truly a global center, with headquarters in Lima, Peru and offices in 23 developing countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Working closely with our partners, CIP seeks to achieve food security, increased well-being, and gender equity for poor people in the developing world. CIP furthers its mission through rigorous research, innovation in science and technology, and capacity strengthening regarding root and tuber farming and food systems.

CIP is part of the CGIAR Consortium, a global partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for a food secure future.

CGIAR research is dedicated to reducing rural poverty, increasing food security, improving human health and nutrition, and ensuring more sustainable management of natural resources. Donors include individual countries, major foundations, and international entities.

CIP is the lead center for the CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB), and CIP’s work related to orange sweetpotato is part of the deliverables of this program and a contribution to the achievement of the CGIAR goals in terms of poverty reduction, enhanced nutrition and food security and natural resources management, which contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

ICBA, Gates Foundation, Islamic Development Bank pioneering leadership program for Arab women scientists

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Thu, 04 May 2017 08:15:00 +0000

The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) has joined forces with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to pilot a novel leadership program for Arab women scientists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Targeting Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Tunisia and the UAE,Tamkeen is an initiative focused on addressing a wide range of challenges facing Arab women scientists, and empowering them to become future leaders in science.

As the first event under this program, ICBA hosted a seminal training course for a group of researchers at its head office in Dubai, UAE, on 23-27 April.

Delivered in partnership with the African Women in Agriculture Research and Development (AWARD) program, the course brought together participants from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman and Palestine. It helped to equip them with knowledge to enhance their leadership skills and act as change agents within their institutions and communities.

Opening the course, Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, Director General of ICBA, said: "I am extremely happy that ICBA is successfully hosting the first-ever pilot training course under Tamkeen, on which I would like to congratulate each participant and the organizers. Arab women researchers need to have more opportunities to improve their scientific and leadership skills, and network with their peers around the world. Through Tamkeen, I am confident that ICBA along with its partners will be able to help Arab women scientists to identify their strengths and become successful leaders in science."

Highlighting the importance of investing in women's empowerment in research, Zahira El Marzouki, Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said: "This pilot training course represents a significant milestone in our partnership with ICBA and IsDB to support Arab women scientists to become tomorrow's leaders in agriculture research and find solutions to some of the region's biggest food security challenges. The caliber of the participants is extremely impressive, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them as they progress through their careers."

"IsDB's approach to development is ensuring capacity development for the citizens of our member countries. By building the capacity of Arab women scientists, we are putting the right pillars for the development of our societies. This initiative will go a long way in supporting Arab women researchers to be more productive, innovative and contribute to the development of their countries," said Mr. Zaher Rebai, IsDB's Director, Capacity Development Department.

Ms. Pauline Bomett, Senior Manager, Leadership and Training, AWARD, said: "Leadership training is an area that no institution desiring growth and sustainability can afford to ignore. There is a need to intentionally prepare entry-, middle- and senior-level professionals for roles that could impact the choices and decisions made by the institutions and, indeed, entire regions. Equally, as more women take up senior positions in agricultural research and development institutions, there is a need to help them start to make an impact as soon as possible."

Speaking of the challenges faced by Arab women scientists, Ms. Heba Al Faris, a participant who heads the Department of Plant Production and Protection at An-Najah National University in Palestine, said: "Around 70 percent of the women in my country are involved in agricultural work, but you can hardly see them in leadership roles. In the scientific field, one of the main challenges faced by Arab women scientists is fundraising for their research projects. Due to their limited roles as leaders, they often feel isolated and are hardly seen as leaders or the principal investigators for a research project. To be a successful leader, a woman scientist needs to be provided with funds, tools and good research skills."

Ms. Lamiae Ghouti, another participant from the Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II in Morocco, added: "It is good that more and more women are now getting educated in the Arab countries, but at the same time the fact is that most of these women are not seen in leadership positions. The key development for our countries is to make good use of this great human resource ― women. They are capable, competent, and can contribute actively and effectively towards the economic and political development of Arab countries."

ICBA developed Tamkeen in 2016 with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the IsDB. The program aims to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality and women's empowerment by building and enhancing the capacities of a new generation of Arab women scientists and leaders. It will facilitate knowledge exchange and networking among women scientists throughout the MENA region by empowering groups of gender champions and building a critical mass of advocates for leadership of women in science and agriculture, ultimately contributing to better solutions for improved food security and nutrition.

Revised Handbook of West African Weeds to help farmers tackle weeds in farms

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 13:09:00 +0000

Ibadan, Nigeria— The revised version of the Handbook of West African Weeds is a tool that will help farmers to identify and tackle the different species of weeds in the region, researchers say today.

The new edition has 52 additional new weed species, and 53 weed seedlings, and it builds on the earlier work done in the first and second edition while filling the gaps created by the emergence of new weed species in West Africa.

The revised edition, which was put together by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture managed Cassava Weed Management Project, seeks to assist farmers, agricultural extension agents and other agriculturists as well as institutions of learning that are faced with the practical need to learn and identify common weeds in West Africa.

Launched by the Senior Program Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lawrence Kent, during the annual review and work planning meeting of the IITA-Cassava Weed Management Project; the weed book is a must-have tool for stakeholders in cassava who are confronted with the problem of weed control.

The launch of the book on 27 March 2017 was part of IITA activities to mark the 50th anniversary.

IITA Director General, Dr Nteranya Sanginga said the selection of Lawrence for the activity was part of IITA’s recognition of Lawrence’s commitment to fighting hunger and poverty in Africa.

In his forward, Dr Sanginga stated that weeds have become one of the most notorious constraints to agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa and were undermining the gains made through crop improvement.

Emphasizing that weeds limit the ability of resource-poor farmers to expand their farm sizes and expose them to ailments such as back aches; the Director General stated that the weed album is an imperative resource material that will help in weed identification for all stakeholders.

Chair of the 50th Anniversary Committee, Dr Kwesi Atta-Krah, praised the IITA-Cassava Weed Management Project for revising the book and making it relevant.

He described the book as an empowerment tool for scientists and students of weed science.

Prof Ekeleme, Principal Investigator of the Cassava Weed Management Project and co-author of the third edition of the weed album stated that the book, as a repository of weed knowledge, would go a long way to benefit schools and higher institutions where agriculture is taught.

He noted that any good weed control strategy must start with weed identification, and that “the book offers farmers and researchers alike the tool to accurately identify weeds.”

The 381-paged new edition, which was produced with funding support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has better digital photographs, two additional parts on weed seedlings and fallow species that appear as regrowth in arable and plantation crops.

IITA Cassava Weed Management Project trains 105 spray service providers in Abia state

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 10:40:00 +0000

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture led Cassava Weed Management Project has trained 105 spray service providers on herbicides application, safety and use in Abia state.

The training, which came at the onset of cassava planting season, was conducted in partnership with the National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike; National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC); and the Abia State Agricultural Development Program.

The two-day training, which was implemented in two locations— Umuahia and Isuikwuato LGA — covered areas such as the different types of weed species, herbicides, and tips on application, calibration, and safety. A practical session on calibration was conducted to help participants understand the principles and importance of calibration.

The Program Manager, Abia ADP, Mr Bato Onyemaobi said the training aligned with the state government’s agricultural development program.

He described improved weed control as a critical component of cassava production, adding that without good weed control farmers won’t be able to make profit from farming.

Mr Nnamdi Udueze, Chairman of Isuikwuato Local Government Area also commended the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project for organising the training, and pledged to work with the team in his domain.

Located in South East Nigeria, Abia state like other states in Nigeria has embarked on economic diversification with more attention to agricultural development.

Prof Friday Ekeleme, Principal Investigator of the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project said on Thursday that the training was aimed at empowering farmers with the skills to control weeds while at the same time protecting themselves and the environment.

Prof Ekeleme noted that Abia farmers would benefit tremendously from agriculture with improved weed management, adding that “the objective of the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project is to address the drudgery caused by the use of short handled hoe.”

In Abia State, like several other states in Nigeria, the use and application of herbicides is growing as human labour for weeding gets scarce in rural communities, no thanks to rural-urban migration.

The IITA Cassava Weed Management Project, which is now in its fourth year, is tackling the weed menace using best-bet agronomic practices, use of simple motorised weeders, and the use of safe and environmentally friendly herbicides.

Godwin Atser, Communication and Knowledge Exchange Expert to the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project, said the training was timely.

“This is the beginning of the cassava season and with this training, spray service providers will be better equipped to control weeds,” he said.

NAFDAC representative, Mr Chukwuemeka Onwoasoanya, urged participants to pay attention to the training.

He pledged NAFDAC’s commitment to ensuring that only safe and environmentally friendly herbicides are used in Nigeria, and encouraged participants to always look out for NAFDAC’s registration number before buying any herbicides. END

Concern Worldwide to distribute €600,000 worth of Irish Aid relief to thousands in Somalia

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 20:40:00 +0000

International aid agency Concern Worldwide has today welcomed the 100-tonne consignment of humanitarian relief supplies from Irish Aid to Somalia and is to distribute the aid to 4,000 desperate families with immediate effect.

An airlift, worth over €600,000, landed in Mogadishu at lunchtime from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai, where Irish Aid pre-positions relief supplies for use in emergencies and humanitarian crises under Ireland’s Rapid Response Initiative.

Staff members from Concern were on standby to distribute the first of two loads of supplies comprising blankets, jerry cans, cooking sets, family hygiene kits, tarpaulins and solar lamps to 4,000 families displaced by drought, acute hunger and conflict to informal settlements located outside of Mogadishu and Baidoa and in the Afgooye corridor. A second consignment is due to arrive on Friday.

Over 6 million people, more than half of the country’s population, are in urgent need of food assistance while an estimated 363,000 children under the age of five are acutely malnourished.

Regional Director for the Horn of Africa Feargal O’Connell welcomed today’s consignment to Somalia and heaped praise on the Irish government’s efforts in preventing the humanitarian crisis from escalating further in the impoverished country.

“We are hugely grateful to Irish Aid for the 100-tonne consignment of non-food items, which will go a long way to supporting families who were forced to leave their homes with next to nothing and are now in need of shelter and other basic household items. Somalia is a country on the brink of famine and thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) including women and children are arriving at camps daily, where Concern is working, in the hope of humanitarian assistance. The need for assistance is increasing every day. The rains are also coming, so this airlift has arrived at a crucial time when vulnerable families need shelter and safety the most," he said.

“The Irish government is playing its part in preventing a famine outbreak in the country. €11 million has already been pledged to the humanitarian crises in the Horn of Africa region, €3 million of which was contributed to the UN-managed Somalia Humanitarian Fund, so other members of the international community must step up their efforts to provide life-saving assistance to those most in need. Concern, working in close partnership with Irish Aid, will continue doing everything we can to contain and alleviate what is already a dire humanitarian catastrophe in Somalia and across East Africa.”

About Concern:

Concern Worldwide is an international non-governmental humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

The public can receive regular updates online through the Concern website, www.concern.net and follow Concern on Twitter http://www.concern.net/twitter.

Concern is certified by the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) http://www.hapinternational.org/ and is a member of Charities Institute Ireland http://charitiesinstituteireland.squarespace.com

The President of Guinea Bissau visits Greenpeace ship after arrest of illegal fishing vessels

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 04:49:00 +0000

The Greenpeace ship Esperanza is currently on an expedition in West Africa to document the threat from overfishing to the marine environment and food security for millions of Africans depending on fish to survive

Four fishing vessels have been arrested in Guinea Bissau waters after joint patrols by Greenpeace (www.Greenpeace.org/Africa/en) and the Fisheries Surveillance Department of Guinea Bissau, FISCAP, found multiple fishing infringements. The findings of the joint surveillance were presented to President José Mário Vaz on his visit to the Greenpeace Ship ‘My Esperanza’ on Tuesday. The arrested vessels were brought to port, and the crew onboard as well as the owners of the vessels are now being investigated by local authorities for illegal transhipment at sea, failure to display readable names on the vessels, non-payment of fines and usage of illegal fishing equipment.

Pavel Klinckhamers, project leader onboard the Greenpeace ship, the Esperanza, said: “The fact that we managed to come across such a high number of vessels breaking the law in only a few days really confirms the alarming ‘Wild-West’ situation in the waters of West Africa. Fishing companies and crews have gotten used to exploiting Guinea Bissau’s insufficiently managed waters, and our findings show that illegal operations are most likely taking place on a daily basis. We commend the commitment from the highest level of the Bissau government to curb the ongoing situation.”

On 22 March, crew and three inspectors onboard the Esperanza caught Comoros flagged Saly Reefer doing illegal transhipment with the fishing vessels Flipper 3, Flipper 4 and Flipper 5, also flying Comoros flags.[1] Transshipment at sea has often been linked to hiding fish caught without a license. Transshipment was banned by the government of Guinea Bissau in 2015.

Shortly after the boarding and the first inspection of the Saly Reefer and Flipper 4 by Greenpeace crew and inspectors, both vessels were escorted to the port of Bissau. The ships are owned by Las Palmas based Sea Group SL, and both the owners, as well as the crew onboard the two vessels, now face legal action and a fine.

On 21 March, three Chinese flagged fishing vessels Yi Feng 8, Yi Feng 9, and Yi Feng 10 were spotted 50 nautical miles from the shore of Guinea Bissau by Greenpeace and the inspectors. The vessels had names written only in Chinese, even though all fishing vessels are required by law to carry easily recognisable names. All three vessels are owned by the same Chinese company, Dalian Zhangzidao Yi Feng Aquatic Product Company Ltd. One of the vessels, the Yi Feng 8 was arrested and sent to port, while the other two managed to escape. However, their infringements were documented well enough to ensure the owners and crew will be prosecuted.

On 24 March, Greenpeace and the inspectors spotted another Chinese vessel, the Chang Yuan Yu 05, while it was fishing off the coast of the Bijagos Archipelago. The vessel is known by local authorities, since it’s owners have failed to pay a fine for using illegal nets in September last year. The vessel was boarded, arrested and taken back to the port of Bissau, where it will be detained until the fine is paid.

Dr Cisse, Ocean Campaign Manager in Greenpeace Africa, said: “West Africa is the only region in the world where fish consumption is declining due to over-exploitation of resources by too many vessels and by illegal fishing operations. The repercussions of fish stock depletion on food security and economy in some of the most vulnerable countries in the world is extremely concerning and must be tackled. In West Africa, where people rely heavily on fish as one of their main sources of protein, it is a vital source of income and employment for nearly seven million people. That is why we strongly encourage West African governments to set up a regional fisheries management body.”

Illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in West Africa, IUU, is estimated to reduce the number of jobs in artisanal sectors by 300,000, and from 2010 to 2016 Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, lost around 2.3 billion USD annually in revenues, while a minimal amount of 13 million USD was recovered through Monitoring, Control and Surveillance, MCS. The highest number of IUU offenses in the West African region occurred in Guinea Bissau. In 2014, Guinea Bissau authorities documented as many as eight vessels fishing illegally during just one week of patrol. However, sanctions for breaking the law at sea in Guinea Bissau are either too weak or the law is not enforced properly. [2]

About the Tour

The Greenpeace ship Esperanza is currently on an expedition in West Africa to document the threat from overfishing to the marine environment and food security for millions of Africans depending on fish to survive. An expanding number of fishing operations are taking place in these rich waters, not only by foreign fleets but also by an increasing number of domestic, industrial fishing vessels. The Esperanza has already visited Cape Verde and Mauritania and now Guinea Bissau, where the joint patrol between Greenpeace and FISCAP was set up as a result of a special request from President José Mário Vaz, Guinea Bissau. The Esperanza will continue to engage in joint surveillance with local authorities in selected West African countries until the beginning of May.

Greenpeace is campaigning for the setup of a strong, regional management body in West Africa to ensure transparency, improvement of governance and positive impact on local economy and employment in all countries if this region.

Notes:

[1] Information about transshipment here: http://APO.af/VJMl3.

[2] The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concludes that the majority of pelagic and demersal fish in West Africa’s waters are either fully exploited or overexploited (http://APO.af/00a0Xx). Already in 2009, FAO (http://APO.af/gnvODA) said, the region had the highest rate of overfishing with 54% of all analysed fish overexploited.

More information about illegal fishing in the region here: Assessing the Effectiveness of Monitoring Control and Surveillance of Illegal Fishing (http://APO.af/eV3b6P) and here: The Case of West Africa (http://APO.af/eV3b6P).

Researchers to unveil techniques for controlling weeds in cassava

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 20:09:00 +0000

Researchers working under the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture led Cassava Weed Management Project (IITA-CWMP) will this week share findings and recommendations on how to tackle weeds in cassava farming systems.

The sharing of research findings is part of activities marked for a week-long annual review and planning meeting and Steering Committee meeting scheduled to hold 27-30 March 2017 at IITA in Ibadan.

“We are optimistic that the key findings from our research will help farmers to tackle the problem of weeds in cassava, with the view to having more yield,” says the Project Leader of IITA-CWMP, Dr Alfred Dixon, who is also a Director with IITA on Monday.

Declaring the meeting open, Dr Kenton Dashiell, IITA Deputy Director General, Partnership for Delivery, said the goal of the project was to take off drudgery due to weeding in cassava farming systems.

“I am happy that this meeting will share findings that will impact positively on weed control,” Dr Dashiell said.

Grown on about 7 million hectares, cassava is a major staple in Nigeria and it has transited from a food security crop to a cash crop. However, yield per ha of the root crop is about 8 tons per ha or less than half the amount realised on research stations. One of the major factors affecting the yield of cassava is weeds. Most of those involved in weeding are women and children, often times skipping classes to assist in weeding in Nigeria.

In 2014, the Cassava Weed Management Project was conceived to address the problem of weeds in cassava. The 5-year project which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is exploring diverse weeds control methods including the use of simple motorised implements, use of safe and environmentally friendly herbicides, and the use of best-bet agronomic practices.

This year, which is the fourth, researchers, will make available findings of what has been done over the period.

Lawrence Kent of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said the findings of the project would contribute to improvement of cassava with positive impact on women and children who bear the burden of weeding in cassava.

“Our major task in this meeting is to translate research findings into recommendations that farmers can use to improve cassava farming and their livelihoods,” he said.

Dr Dixon said the project is in an exciting phase. “This is an exciting time for us… Because we are going to begin the sharing of new findings to farmers and farmers will begin to benefit,” Dr Dixon said.

The IITA Cassava Weed Management Project is being implemented in Nigeria by IITA in partnership with the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, University of Agriculture Makurdi, and the state-based Agricultural Development Programs of Abia, Benue, Ogun, Oyo; and non-governmental organisations including the Justice Development and Peace Movement (JDPM) in Oyo and Abeokuta, and KOLPING in Abia.

Greenpeace takes part in peaceful protest outside the Department of Energy in Pretoria to highlight the impacts of fossil fuels

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 11:17:00 +0000

Funeral Procession outside the Department of Energy to highlight the impacts of Fossil Fuels

Today, activists of the BREAKFREE coalition have taken part in a funeral procession outside the Department of Energy (DoE) in Pretoria to highlight the impacts that coal-fired power stations are having on South African communities. The solemn procession depicted tombstones to which activists were chained with the message “The IRP is our chance to Break Free from fossil fuels” making a call to the South African public to stand up against dangerous and polluting energy options and engage in the electricity planning processes undertaken by the DoE.

“Civil society organisations under the Break Free [1] banner reject the IRP current plans as nothing more than renewed attempts by the Department of Energy and Eskom to promote vested interests in nuclear and coal. The long awaited IRP 2016 is a rigged model that forces nuclear energy and coal into the mix, even though it is clearly not cost competitive. The base case proposes a ridiculous scenario for 20 GW of nuclear and 15 GW of new coal by 2050,” stated NhlanhlaSibisi – Climate and Energy Campaigner for Greenpeace Africa (www.Greenpeace.org/Africa/en).

The purpose of the Integrated Resource Plan, in the DoE’s own words, is to identify investments in the electricity sector that allow the country to meet forecasted demand with the minimum cost to the country. As such coal and nuclear have no place in the IRP base case as renewable energy is by far the cheapest technology and should form the backbone of South Africa’s energy mix going forward.

“What government and the majority of South Africans don’t see are the real costs associated with living with coal on a daily basis [1]. We need to break from coal dependency that has resulted in SA communities living with some of the worst air quality in the world. Children are ill, water resources are polluted, agricultural land is sterilized, all at a time when there are better solutions available through renewable energy,” stated Makoma Lekalakala – Senior Programmes Officer, Earthlife Africa Johannesburg.

Droughts, sporadic rainfall and erratic weather patterns are all indicators that governments should take immediate action to safeguard a future that will sustain future generations.

“The impact of climate change is already felt in South Africa, and it affects the most vulnerable among us. We must reduce our dependency on fossil fuels drastically, starting today. Breaking Free from fossil fuels is possible; it will benefit all South Africans and guarantee a bright future for our children. Renewable energy can supply the bulk of the energy our country needs without further damaging our environment. This shift can be done now and must guide us as we plan our energy future” added Gillian Hamilton, Branch Manager of the African Climate Reality Project.

“The government's case for more coal and nuclear is baseless, ill-considered and destructive. Cost comparisons between coal and nuclear in relation to renewable energy technologies in the Draft IRP 2016 are misleading. The DoE’s lack of political commitment towards renewable energy blocks the country climate action pathway. The urgency could not be more heightened. We are breaking free from rogue industries knowingly perpetuating climate change crisis. The latest math proves that to prevent catastrophic warming, there can be absolutely no expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure. That means no new coal mines, no new drilling, no to nuclear,” continued Ahmed Mokgopo, 350Africa Divestment Campaigner.

Break Free is a global movement making a statement to say enough is enough and lending voices to speak for future generations.

[1] Break Free is a global wave of people, communities, local and international organisations taking a firm stance against fossil fuels and calling for an end to dirty energy.

International root and tuber crops research body honours IITA researchers and others for great work on root and tuber crops in Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 18:33:00 +0000

The international body of root and tuber crops, International Society of Tropical Root Crops- Africa Branch (ISTRC-AB), on Friday presented awards of honour and recognition to 10 researchers working on root and tuber crops in Africa, out of which 9 of the recipients were either current or former staff of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.

The awards, which were presented during the close of the 13th symposium of ISTRC-AB in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania were part of efforts by the root and tuber crop society to recognise the contribution of science and technology innovation to food security in Africa.

Recipients of the awards were Dr Nteranya Sanginga, Director General of IITA; Dr Alfred Dixon, Director for Development and Delivery at IITA, and also the Project leader of the Cassava Weed Management Project; Dr Victor Manyong, IITA Director for East Africa; Dr Robert Asiedu, IITA Director for West Africa; Dr Regina Kapinga, IITA Head of Resource Mobilisation; Dr Nzola Mahungu, IITA Country Representative for DR Congo; Dr Maria Andrade, former IITA staff and 2016 World Food Prize Winner and a staff with International Potato Center (CIP); Dr Mpoko Bokanga, former IITA staff and presently the founder of AgroTEK; and Prof Malachy Akoroda, former IITA staff and now working at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. The Society also gave a posthumous award to Dr Kenneth Nwosu, the former Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike.

Presenting the awards, Prof Lateef Sani, President of the ISTRC-AB, said the awards were aimed at rewarding and appreciating hard work and the dedication of persons who have contributed to the advancement of food security in Africa using root and tuber crops.

Consumed by millions of people in Sub Saharan Africa, root and tuber crops such as cassava, potato, sweetpotato, cocoyam, yam, and ginger are major sources of calorie for people on the continent.

But like several other crops, these important crops are faced with several constraints including postharvest losses, pests and diseases, climate change, and low yields among others.

The efforts of these awardees and their colleagues have, however, helped in tackling most of these constraints, Prof Sanni said. For instance, colleagues from IITA have over the years worked with partners including the NRCRI in the development of high yielding cassava varieties tolerant of Cassava Mosaic Disease. IITA’s work in the biological control of cassava mealybug—a cassava pest— that ravaged cassava fields in Africa helped in restoring cassava fields, putting back cassava on the table for farmers and consumers alike. The development and dissemination of orange fleshed potato by CIP and provitamin A cassava varieties by IITA has helped in addressing malnutrition. Other research interventions in postharvest and improved varietal release have pushed productivity up, putting money in the pockets of farmers.

Dr Sanginga noted that the awards to both serving and past staff of IITA demonstrated the importance and contribution of IITA to Africa’s development agenda.

He pledged and restated IITA’s commitment to eradicating hunger and poverty in Africa by transforming the continent’s agricultural space.

Scientists to detail progress and challenges regarding global cassava threats at meetings in Nigeria

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 19:00:00 +0000

Gathering in Ibadan, cassava experts will report progress on efforts to shorten the cassava breeding cycle, enhance flowering and seed set, educate and train African plant breeders, and implement gender-responsive variety selection

The world’s top cassava experts will gather in Nigeria to report progress on developing new varieties of cassava with higher yield and nutritional content. The meeting will take place on March 14-16, at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in Ibadan.

“Africa produces more than half of the world’s cassava — about 86 million tons from over 10 million hectares,” said Chiedozie Egesi, IITA-based project manager of the Next Generation Cassava Breeding (NextGen Cassava) project, who also works to biofortify cassava with essential micronutrients. “But disease pathogens and climate change threaten cassava production and jeopardize the income and food security of smallholder farmers. Since 2012, scientists on the NextGen Cassava project have been working to significantly increase the rate of genetic improvement in cassava breeding and unlock cassava’s full potential.”

Cassava is a clonally propagated crop and seed set is difficult. New varieties with enhanced productivity and nutritional traits typically take up to 10 years to develop.

Scientists on the NextGen project are focused on giving breeders in Africa access to the most advanced plant breeding technologies to deliver improved varieties to farmers more rapidly.

“Partners of NextGen Cassava are using a state-of-the-art plant breeding approach known as genomic selection to improve cassava productivity for the 21^st century,” said Ronnie Coffman, Cornell professor of plant breeding and genetics, director of International Programs, who is the principal investigator on the multi-partner grant.

Genomic selection shortens breeding cycles, provides more accurate evaluation at the seedling stage, and gives plant breeders the ability to evaluate a much larger number of clones without the need to plant them in the target environment. Using genomic selection, new releases of cassava are ready in as little as six years.

“The best clones from NextGen Cassava genomic selection efforts are in Uniform Yield Trials this year and are due to be released to farmers in the next two years,” said Egesi.

Cassava is predicted to be one of the few crops that will benefit from climate change because it requires few inputs and can withstand drought, marginal soils and long-term underground storage. A cash and subsistence crop, the storage roots of this perennial woody shrub are processed, consumed freshly boiled or raw, and eaten by people as well as animals as a low-cost source of carbohydrates. No other continent depends on cassava to feed as many people as does Africa, where 500 million people consume it daily. “The purpose of NextGen Cassava project is to improve the cassava breeding process making it faster and more efficient to produce the varieties farmers need,” said Peter Kulakow, cassava breeder at IITA, Ibadan.

In 2012, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID) under its UK Aid program invested $25.2M to improve the staple crop’s productivity and build human and technical capacity for plant breeding in sub-Saharan Africa.

The five-year project, led by Cornell University, works with 10 institutional partners across six countries on three continents: Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI/USA), Embrapa (Brazil), International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT/Colombia), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA/Nigeria), National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI/Uganda), National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI/Nigeria), University of Hawaii (USA), U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, and U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute. Most recently, NextGen Cassava has expanded to include Tanzania, partnering with the Lake Zone Agricultural Research and Development Institute (LZARDI).

The partners share cassava data, expertise, and information on a publicly available website (www.cassavabase.org ).

In addition to reporting on the latest genomic information from cassava sequencing to improve productivity and yield, project partners will discuss progress on incorporating cassava germplasm diversity from South America into African breeding programs, training the next generation of plant breeders, and improving infrastructure at African institutions.

For more information see www.nextgencassava.org

New report by Concern Worldwide highlights the contagion of violence in Syria

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 18:51:00 +0000

International aid agency Concern Worldwide is today calling on UN member states and donors to urgently increase protection funding and facilitate humanitarian access to help alleviate the suffering of displaced people living in Syria.

Ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Syrian conflict on March 15, the agency has launched a new report, which highlights civilians’ increased exposure to violence in Syria, not only from the onslaught of war, but from a variety of everyday threats in a society traumatised by conflict. Concern is also highlighting the $180m shortfall in protection funding for programmes and calls on wealthier governments to do more to help vulnerable Syrians at risk.

The report entitled - Shattered Lives: Protecting civilians in war-torn Syria, a shared responsibility - exposes the contagion of violence that has infected all aspects of Syrian society, resulting in ordinary civilians not feeling safe in any environment be that at home, school, work or on the streets.

The report was launched this afternoon at Twitter EMEA offices in Dublin by Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, Mr Joe McHugh T.D.

Speaking at the launch, CEO of Concern Dominic MacSorley said: “After six years of war, violence is all pervasive in Syria. It is not confined to the bombing, missile attacks and wanton destruction of cities like Aleppo that we witness through news reports, it has seeped into every aspect of Syrian life to the point where Syrians do not feel safe in any environment, not even in their own homes.

“Despite an increasing recognition that protection must form a central pillar of humanitarian response, it remains drastically underfunded with a gap of over 75% of requirements in each of the last two years. The vast shortfall leaves ordinary Syrians more vulnerable to increased levels of violence in their everyday lives.”

Access, Mr MacSorley added, remains the greatest obstacle to carrying out humanitarian assistance inside Syria.

“Without sustained access, humanitarian organisations can only provide limited assistance to people in desperate need. Concern calls on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and allow full and unimpeded access to civilians inside Syria.”

Mr MacSorley also stressed that humanitarian aid cannot be used as a “substitute for failed diplomacy” and said diplomatic solutions must be found now for the 13.5 million people in Syria who require humanitarian assistance, particularly the 6.3 million people, who remain displaced inside the country.

“Steadfast diplomacy is needed at this moment more than ever. Right now, it may seem like the prospect of an end to the bloodshed in Syria is impossible, but the recent disarmament process in Colombia and, closer to home, the peace process in Northern Ireland, has shown us that solutions can be found in even the most seemingly intractable of conflicts,” he added.

In 2016, the greatest number of people in need was in the protection sector, yet protection was one of the least funded sectors. Of the $236 million required for protection in the UN’s Humanitarian Needs Overview, only 24% or $56.5 million, was received, leaving a shortfall of $180 million. Mr MacSorley pointed out that Ireland has already provided €70 million to the Syrian crisis and said that: “Other much wealthier governments can and must do more, in particular the permanent five Security Council members who hold greater influence and responsibility for the continued conflict.”

The Concern report spoke to 65 individuals from Northern Syria over eight discussions, where they expressed their main protection concerns and proposed initiatives that could mitigate the risks. Approximately 52% were females and 50% of the participants were under 18 years of age and an average of eight individuals attended each discussion.

As the world marks International Women’s Day today, the report, unsurprisingly, finds that women and girls are the most vulnerable to domestic and sexual abuse, harassment and forced marriage and provides first-hand testimony from women and young girls of the violence and sexual harassment they are exposed to on a daily basis.

Key recommendations in the report include:

Greater access to education and raise awareness through social media to prevent children from joining armed groups
Enhanced transparency and accountability to beneficiaries
Greater focus on providing psychosocial support for girls and women and increase safe spaces, where they can express themselves freely
Improve the livelihoods of households so that children aren’t forced to work in hazardous environments to support families
Provide more education, vocational training, and psychosocial support for separated and unaccompanied children

Speaking at the launch, Minister Joe McHugh said: “It is particularly poignant for me to be here just days after undertaking my first official visit to Lebanon and Jordan. During my visit, I spoke directly with the Syrian refugees whose experiences you will encounter inside this report. My time with these communities was deeply impactful. I was struck by their resilience and their capacity to deal with the most challenging and traumatic circumstances in order to achieve safety and security for themselves and their families.

“During my visit I had the opportunity to visit Concern’s projects in Lebanon and I commend Concern’s critical and effective work in Syria and the region. I particularly welcome this report, which provides crucial insights into the lives of Syrian refugees that can inform the ways in which we provide our humanitarian support and how we can advocate on their behalf.”

To read ‘Shattered Lives: Protecting civilians in war-torn Syria, a shared responsibility’ click on https://www.concern.net/press-releases/contagion-violence-syria-highlighted-new-report-concern-worldwide

With support from key donors including Irish Aid, USAID, DFID, ECHO and others including generous donations from the public, Concern has been responding to the crisis in Syria for over four years and is also working with refugees in Turkey and Lebanon.

Smart Food show to promote healthier lifestyles in Kenya

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 14:30:00 +0000

A Smart Food Reality Show will be launched on television this coming Sunday 5 March. This is the result of a unique collaboration between scientists and media with a new approach to popularize healthy and drought tolerant foods.

Promoting the health benefits of drought resilient crops could be one answer to the country’s devastating drought situation. This year 2.7 million people are affected according to the International Red Cross, and the government has declared a national disaster. Droughts have become an annual problem in Kenya and a more sustainable way of living will benefit both farmers and the general population. Crops such as millets, sorghum and legumes are highly drought resilient while also being highly nutritious, which will help combat malnutrition among children and the most vulnerable in society.

The Smart Food Reality Show is an initiative of the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), an implementing partner of the Feed the Future Kenya Accelerated Value Chain Development Program funded by U.S. Government's global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future through the support of United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“Smart Food is the smart way for the future and our aim is to take this awareness campaign to a global audience. Crops such as millets and sorghum can tolerate higher temperatures and use a lot less water. So these crops are usually the last ones standing during times of drought. We need consumers to realize their benefit, go out and buy more of them, so farmers can confidently grow more and earn sustainably. It’s a win-win situation,” said David Bergvinson, Director General of ICRISAT.

“The Feed the Future Kenya Accelerated Value Chain Development Program is supporting the ICRISAT Smart Food initiative because it is part and parcel of the technologies to increase the productivity of drought tolerant crops in value chain. We aims to promote farming as a business, improve food security, incomes and increase access to more nutritious foods to Kenyan communities,” commented Dr. Romano Kiome, Chief of Party of the Feed the Future Kenya Accelerated Value Chain Development Program.

The TV program will be aired on Kenya Television Network at 5pm on Sunday 5 March. The 13 episode show is a reality and drama series that highlights the use and importance of smart food, through a cooking competition. The show takes a competitive format as 9 cooking enthusiasts battle it out for the big prize in a dramatic cooking challenge.

The winner walks away with a full scholarship to the prestigious Strathmore Professional Culinary Program 2017. Each group takes a cooking challenge every week and eliminates the lowest performing members as the rest proceed to the next level. The show does not only supply nutritional and culinary education on smart food but is also laced with emotional scenes as contestants deal with real teamwork challenges.

Smart Food includes grains like sorghum, millets, pigeonpea, chickpea, cowpea, greengram and groundnut. We have branded them as Smart Food because they fit three criteria.

Good for the consumer: They are highly nutritious and healthy. High in protein, vitamins and micronutrients. For example millets are highly digestible and are gluten free. Legumes on the other hand are an affordable protein. Escalating levels of diabetes can be avoided or managed by sorghum and millets because they have a low glycemic index. They are high in antioxidants – fighting against heart diseases, life style disorders and cancer.

Good for the planet: These crops are critical in the drylands as they survive the harshest of environments and are most resilient hence climate smart crops. Millets, for example, are the last crop standing in times of drought. Smart Food crops have close to the lowest water and carbon footprints of all the crops.

Good for the farmer: The climate resilience of these crops means they are a good risk management strategy for farmers. Legumes have an important contribution to soil nutrition and when rotated with other crops, even increase the water use efficiency of the entire crop rotation. Their multiple uses and untapped demand means they have a lot more potential. Unlike the other crops they have not yet reached a yield plateau and have great potential for productivity increases.

The Smart Food initiative takes on two different approaches targeting two key audiences.

1. Promoting dietary diversity and utilization of smart food in rural communities in 6 counties in Kenya – Busia, Siaya, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kitui, Makueni and Tharaka Nithi.

2. Promoting utilization of Smart Food targeting consumers nationwide through a social media campaign and the TV reality show.

The overall goal of the campaign targeting urban consumers, is to promote utilization of Smart Food for better nutrition of consumers as well as to create a demand pull for smart food thereby benefiting the smallholder farmers.

About AVCD

The Feed the Future Kenya Accelerated Value Chain Development program seeks to widely apply technologies and innovations for selected value chains in order to competitively and sustainably increase productivity, contributing to inclusive agricultural growth, nutrition and food security in the country. The program’s main goal is to sustainably reduce poverty and hunger in the Feed the Future zones of influence in Kenya. Focusing on the livestock, dairy, staple crops root crops and staple drought tolerant crops value chains in 21 counties in Kenya, the program aims to lift 326,000 households out of poverty, making them food secure and enabling their transition from subsistence to market-orientated farming.

About ICRISAT

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid tropics have over 2 billion people, and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT innovations help the dryland poor move from poverty to prosperity by harnessing markets while managing risks – a strategy called Inclusive Market-Oriented Development (lMOD). ICRISAT is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana, India, with two regional hubs and six country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a member of the CGIAR System Organization.

About ICRISAT: www.icrisat.org; For ICRISAT’s scientific information see: http://EXPLOREit.icrisat.org

CGIAR is a global agricultural research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research Centers who are members of the CGIAR in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. www.cgiar.org

InterDrought-V calls for modern agriculture technologies to combat drought

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 14:53:00 +0000

Harnessing modern tools is critical to help farmers overcome the devastating effects of drought. This was the key message from Sri Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Karnataka at the InterDrought-V conference held in Hyderabad, India.

Every year, drought related disasters affect vast regions that impact food production. The most immediate consequence is a drop in crop production due to inadequate and poorly distributed rainfall.

“Given the severity of drought, a central challenge for researchers and policy makers is to devise technologies that lend greater resilience to agricultural production under this stress. Therefore 942 participants from 315 organizations from 56 countries assembled here to address this important issue,” said Rajeev Varshney, the Conference Organization Chair and Research Program Director, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

In the inaugural address, Dr Rob Bertram, Chief Scientist, Bureau of Food Security, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said, “A combined approach including crop improvement, agronomic practices and irrigation needs to be used for mitigating drought stress in developing countries.”

“By using a holistic approach, organizations like ICRISAT need to work together and contribute to this important international food production constraint to feed the world. Prime Minister Modi has laid before us the challenge to double the income of farmers. It will be essential to enhance crop production and link farmers to markets,” said Dr David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISAT.

“Farmers need to be placed at the centre of research and developing activities related to drought so that they can have more produce and better incomes,” said Sri S Pattanayak, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.

“Drought research needs to be handled from different angles. We need breeding, physiology, biotechnology, agronomy to make the crops resilient,” said Dr JS Sandhu, Deputy Director General-Crops Sciences, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Dr Francois Tardieu, Research Director, INRA-Montpellier and Chair, InterDrought V, highlighted that this conference is in continuation of earlier InterDrought Conferences held in France (ID-I, 1995), Italy (ID-II, 2005), China (ID-III, 2009) and Australia (ID-IV, 2013), and invited all participants to the next conference in 2021.

He further added that from one year to the next, weather variability was identified as the critical risk to farming. This needs urgent solutions, and the conference served as an important call to action.

The chief guest for the closing session, Sri Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Karnataka, India, thanked ICRISAT for hosting the conference. He stressed that he is heartened by the community of scientists collaborating on one of the most important issues affecting farmers — with agriculture in India being dependent on the ‘wager of monsoons’.

He told the audience that 160 of 176 blocks in Karnataka were currently declared as drought-affected. He looked forward to technologies and solutions to be developed by scientists to tackle the problems faced by farmers due to greater variability.

A Climate Smart Agriculture workshop, held during the conference co-chaired by Dr David Bergvinson and Dr RS Paroda, former Director General ICAR has come up with a declaration on Climate Smart Agriculture. This will be circulated widely to donors and policy makers.

InterDrought-V conference was held in Hyderabad from 21-25 February, 2017. The conference had 23 invited, 26 contributory presentations across 8 sessions. In addition, 55 presentations were delivered in 8 workshops. Young scientists from developing countries interacted with eminent scientists and policy-makers during the event.

Photo: Chief guest Sri Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Karnataka, addresses the participants at InterDrought-V as conference chair Francois Tardieu, chief organizer Rajeev Varshney, ICRISAT DG David Bergvinson and DDG Research, Peter Carberry look on.

About InterDrought-V

InterDrought conferences serve as a platform for presenting and debating key issues and strategies relevant for improving drought and other stress tolerance in crops. The main mission of the conference is to explore the possibilities of scientific and technological applications in crop improvement. ceg.icrisat.org/idv/

About ICRISAT

About ICRISAT: www.icrisat.org; For ICRISAT’s scientific information see: http://EXPLOREit.icrisat.org

CGIAR is a global agricultural research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research Centers who are members of the CGIAR in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. www.cgiar.org

IITA Cassava Weed Management Project empowers cassava farmers in economic recession

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 12:25:00 +0000

When a Nigerian novelist, Florence Nwapa (1931-1993) wrote about the importance of cassava in her poem—Cassava, not many people may have appreciated the importance of cassava in national and food security. Nwapa’s article was inspired by the events that occurred during the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970) and how cassava was able to save lives, guarantee food security, and provided incomes to farmers. The four stanza poem went thus:

We thank the almighty God

For giving us cassava

We hail thee cassava

The great cassava

You grow in poor soils

You grow in rich soils

You grow in gardens

You grow in farms

You are easy to grow

Children can plant you

Women can plant you

Everybody can plant you

We must sing for you

Great cassava, we must sing

We must not forget

Thee, the great one

Today, cassava is playing a similar role as Nigeria navigates out of economic recession. According to farmer Julius Kpenkpen, “If not cassava, many of us would have died of hunger… But thank God, cassava was handy to save the situation.”

Kpenkpen is one of the farmers who is participating in the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture led Cassava Weed Management Project. His farm is located in the Benue State, North Central Nigeria—a zone that is often described as the bread basket of the country. Last year, he harvested some of his cassava, and with the help of his wife processed to gari for sale and household consumption.

Returns from gari sales were used in paying his children’s school fees and meeting other needs in the home, he explained.

Like Kpenpken, several farmers in Nigeria smiled to the banks in spite of the country’s economic recession. Prices of cassava based products such as fufu, gari, and chips have more than doubled as the country looks inwards to meet its food demand. The naira, Nigeria’s currency, has lost its value by over 50% against the United States dollar since June last year, raising the competitiveness of locally produced food products.

A local measure of gari in south western Nigeria called Kongo has risen from N100 early last year to N250, causing major pain to consumers.

In Nigeria, about 4.5 million people are involved in cassava farming but yield of cassava is below 8 tons per ha (FAO, 2014). One of the principal limitations is poor weed management, which often limits farmers’ farm sizes and undermines yield.

Farmer Aba Dapo who is also participating in the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project’s onfarm trials is optimistic about increasing his farm size having learnt new techniques for weed control.

Farmer Dapo helped manage one of the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project’s onfarm fields in Oyo State, South Western Nigeria where he cultivated both cassava and maize on the same plot. On a plot of less than an acre, he harvested maize and sold for $100 and hopes to harvest his cassava later this year. On another field, he harvested cassava and sold for $400.

“Last year was good for cassava farmers. Previously, I could hardly realise $70 from cassava… cassava is helping in a great measure,” he said.

For farmer Dapo, the knowledge he gained from the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project is a valuable asset that will help him transform his farming practices.

“The knowledge you gave to us on how to control weeds is very useful. With this knowledge, I hope to increase my cassava farm size,” he said.

Another farmer, Hajia Misirat Olomitutu said the onfarm trial had given her the knowledge, confidence and tools to expand her farm.

She commended the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project for bringing the knowledge on weed control to her community, adding that it would reduce the burden faced by farmers to control weeds.

In the last three years, the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project screened environmentally friendly and safe herbicides, and explored agronomic factors and motorised mechanical options for weed control in cassava. Best-bet recommendations for each of the components were pulled together in a package and applied on farmers’ fields. For instance, researchers found that increasing the population of cassava from 10,000 to 12,500 at a spacing of 1mX0.8m gives a better result than the current practice of 1mX1m. Cassava variety TME 419 competes better with weeds than other varieties, and ridged cassava performs better than cassava on flat soil. Researchers also found that herbicides application in cassava incorporated in the agronomic package is effective in weed control.

Photo: One of the farmers’ field days organised by the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project in Iporin in Oyo State to share knowledge on weed control in cassava

Kids for Kids accounts for every penny!

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 12:18:00 +0000

KIDS FOR KIDS – SEE WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED IN

DARFUR - ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING REGIONS OF THE WORLD

DARFUR, in the far west of Sudan, is one of the most isolated and deprived regions of the world. Global warming is a reality as the Sahara Desert advances. Surface water dries in the searing heat of summer, yet there can be dangerous floods when the rains come. People survive in the most basic conditions, with virtually no infrastructure – water, electricity, health care, even roads. Following the outbreak of violence in 2003, and despite the presence of UNAMID, insecurity continues to threaten daily existence. The absence of the aid agencies has led to incalculable hardship and the deaths of many children from treatable conditions. Malnutrition is pandemic in villages. Those in the camps are seeking permanent homes but are afraid to return to their own villages.

Kids for Kids is one of the few organisations still in Darfur. Our unique package of simple grassroots projects, appropriate to the region, has been transforming countless lives long term for the past 16 years. There are now 82 Kids for Kids’ villages where we work closely with the communities for the first two years, training democratically elected committees to run the projects. Once a village demonstrates the projects benefit the whole community, they qualify for further assets, such as Health and Veterinary Units, a community forest or even a Kindergarten. “It is important to know that what we provide is sustainable” explains Patricia Parker MBE, Founder and now Chairman and CEO of Kids for Kids “I have seen buildings provided by well-meaning donors left neglected, as no one has been responsible and, in the hardship of daily life in Darfur, they have become an added burden.”

Kids for Kids training for village leaders in bookkeeping and accountability enables the community to take ownership, including holding Annual Review meetings to report on all the activities. Patricia says “This results in extraordinary, and sometimes unexpected, long term benefits. For example, we provide the raw materials and parents at the Kindergartens dig the latrines – often the first in a village. Their commitment continues – ensuring the children use them, which has a massive impact on the children’s health. We have PTAs at the Kindergartens and our first PTA at Abu Nahla (a school built thanks to support from Prince Charles) has set up a bursary scheme for the poorest children.”

Our key sustainable project is our Goat Loan – named the “best microfinance project” ever by the Wali of North Darfur not only because of its immediate impact on the health of the children but also the livelihood it gives to mothers. In 2016, we have provided emergency help to communities which had lost their total harvest during the year. It was a year of severe drought across sub Saharan Africa. Darfur was hardest hit. We also provided emergency fodder where mothers had been unable to store sufficient to see their animals through what are known as the ‘hungry months’ until the next harvest.

REPORT OF ACHIEVEMENTS 1^st January – 31^st December 2016

Emergency fodder - 523 families in Hillat Kharif, Goz Byna, Dor Fazy, Deshma, Kulkul, Mireikhis, Kamala Kira, Hillat Adam Bakhit, Alsahil, Kerati

2,546 Mosquito Nets (2 per household) Mugrin, Hillat Minair, Arab Bashir, Aefin, Um Ajaja, Abu Debeisa, Bisharya, Farrdal, Geleidat, Kungur,, Tunjur, Um Judoul, Um Mineikhir, Arid Osmano, Um Keddada, Armal, Armdyat, Godood Makheit, Hillat Abbassa, Hillat Osman, Karkra, Taftuo Albastan, Wama, Um Slilo, Um Kerri, Hillat Hamid Janoob, Shawat Maki, Tabarona, Tura, Um Shijir, Derma, Um Assal, Elkiber, Hajar Sari

Water: 8 Hand pumps - Hillat Kharif, The Hazel Oberst Hand Pump. Amar Gadid, The Tom Neale Handpump. Azagarfa, The Alex Neale Hand Pump, Dor Fazy, The Gill Neale Handpump. Abu Digeise, The International School of Brooklyn Handpump. Hillat Hassan, The Cheam School Handpump. Byna, The Mary Mallin Handpump. Kindro, The Umda Aldouma Adam Abud Alrham Handpump.

3 Hand Pumps - awaiting confirmation from Khartoum that water is potable:- Um Ga’al, The Bruce & Diana Hayllar Handpump, Mugabil, the Betty Mallin Handpump, Abu Nahla, The Kids for Kids Handpump.

BiAnnual Review Meetings – Um Ga’al, Hillat Hamid, Kindro, Byna - rewarded prizes to the best beneficiaries, goat loans, + footballs, basketballs, scarves & t-shirts to the Children’s Shepherds Committees.

37 Village Midwives trained – including provided uniforms, leather sandals, crossbred donkeys, mobile phones, medical equipment, secure metal storage boxes.

5 Health Units constructed - 2 rooms, wall, trees, latrines, tables, screens, beds, chairs, towels, cupboards, framed photographs, water, tree seedlings - Um Ga’al, Mugabil, Amar Gadid, Majoub A, Wara

Introduction of Kids for Kids to 4 village communities– Aefin (1500 pop), Hillat Minair (1185 pop), Shawat Maki (1050 pop), Um Keddada (2505 pop)

3 Inception Meetings – leaders and whole community – provided Project Implementation Manual

Training – leaders, committee members (elected democratically), volunteer Midwives, Paravets, First Aid Workers, Children Shepherds Committees

Crossbred Donkeys and mobile phones for Village Development Committee (VDC) leaders

144 local bred donkeys

14 Paravets trained – 14 volunteers (2 per village)

Animal Welfare Drugs (preventive) in 7 villages adopted in 2015 – Alsahil, Deshma, Hillat Adam Bakhit, Kamala Kira, Kerati, Kulkul, Mireikhis - for 1558 goats, 292 donkeys including Tetramisole powder, mineral salt licks and vaccines.

Veterinary Drugs, Revolving Scheme - 7 villages (see above) 11 drugs for the most prevalent conditions, including anti worm, mange, bloat. Also rucksacks for Paravets.

Medical Drugs, Revolving Scheme - 10 villages - including antibiotics, Panadol, antiseptic ointment, eye ointment, cough treatment, malarial pills for adults and children, bandages and elastoplast for use by the Kids for Kids’ Village Midwives and First Aid Workers

Sorghum Seed - replacing crops destroyed by drought and pests

Additional equipment for 4 Kindergartens – additional toys including colouring pencils and games

5 Veterinary Units constructed – Hillat Kabir, Elfaki Ali, Lawabid, Selei, Kheirban B – provided tables, cupboards, chairs, towels, iceboxes, water carts, tree seedlings

Innovation hub opens for agri-tech entrepreneurs

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 12:08:00 +0000

A creative space where agricultural tech entrepreneurs, scientists and technology experts can collaborate to innovate cutting edge ideas across the whole agriculture value chain for smallholder farmers, was inaugurated at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

The innovation Hub (iHub) was opened by Telangana IT Minster Sri KT Rama Rao and Agriculture Minister Sri Pocharam Srinivas Reddy.

“This is a very important opening for the welfare of farmers. We have to enhance the farmers’ incomes. Seventy per cent of people in India are in agriculture. I want to see farmers able to reduce their investments and increase productivity so they do not have to go for loans every year,” said Telangana Agriculture Minister Sri PS Reddy.

The Telangana IT Minister Sri KT Rama Rao talked about how technology and science can help farmers. “I think the convergence of technology with the distressed sectors like agriculture, is the key to empowering our farmers and to improve productivity. Science cannot be for the sake of science and unless it changes things on the ground for the common person we cannot say that we’ve been able to make a social and economic impact.”

To enhance and strengthen the strategic vision for iHub, a high level advisory council has been set up including; Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary for IT in Telangana; Anil Bhansali, Managing Director of Microsoft, India; Rama Iyer, senior Vice President of T-Hub; Dr Praveen Rao, Vice Chancellor of Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University; Mr. Parthasarathi, Principal Secretary, Agriculture in Telangana; David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISAT and convener Ram Dhulipala, Lead, Digital agriculture and youth at ICRISAT.

iHub includes a spread over 10,000 sq. ft., located at ICRISAT, India and will include a 40-seater accelerator facility.

“Entrepreneurs with passion are the ideal individuals to tackle problems using innovation and drive conversations at the intersection of agriculture, finance and IT. Promoting such intense collaborations between entrepreneurs and ICRISAT scientists is at the heart of the idea of iHub. We have already launched an international Agricultural Innovations Program with T-Hub and many AgriTech startups have shown interest in collaborating with us,” said Dr David Bergvinson, Director General of ICRISAT.

Agriculture in India is a $370 billion sector, but there is little application of technology to improve productivity and lift millions out of poverty. Farmers face a multitude of problems like water shortage, declining soil fertility, effects of climate change and rapid decrease of fertile agricultural lands. Innovation is imperative if agriculture has to feed a rapidly growing population with fewer resources.

About ICRISAT

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT) is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid tropics have over 2 billion people, and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT innovations help the dryland poor move from poverty to prosperity by harnessing markets while managing risks – a strategy called Inclusive Market- Oriented development (lMOD). ICRISAT is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana, India, with two regional hubs and six country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a member of the CGIAR Consortium.

About ICRISAT: www.icrisat.org; For ICRISAT’s scientific information see: http://EXPLOREit.icrisat.org

The CGIAR System Organization is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research Centers who are members of the CGIAR in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. www.cgiar.org

Photo: Sri PS Reddy, Telangana Agriculture Minister, Sri KT Rama Rao, Telangana IT Minister and Dr. David Bergvinson, Director General of ICRISAT open ICRISAT’s new iHub facilities in Hyderabad, India.

ACAI makes good progress and sets up 563 trials in Nigeria and Tanzania to solve cassava agronomy puzzle

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 13:18:00 +0000

The African Cassava Agronomy Initiative in 2016 established 563 trials across Nigeria and Tanzania to help unlock the agronomy of cassava. The trials were part of the broader initiative by the research community led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) with its international and national partners to increase the productivity of cassava and improve the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers.

Researchers are hoping that the trials will resolve the puzzle around fertilizer recommendation, best planting practices, intercropping, and scheduled planting of cassava to ensure all year cultivation and harvesting of the root crop.

Although widely cultivated in Africa, cassava yield per hectare has remained low on the continent compared to Asia. Nigeria and Tanzania have continued to report yields per hectare of less than 8 tons per hectare as opposed to Asian countries such as Thailand where yield of more than 22 tons per hectare has being reported (FAO, 2014).

This yield disparity puts African cassava farmers at a disadvantage as they can’t compete globally especially in terms of exports.

Dr Bernard Vanlauwe, Principal Investigator of the ACAI Project and the Director of IITA Central Africa Hub, said the importance of cassava was not in doubt.

“It is one of the most consumed staples in Africa and a source of income. The question is how can we reduce the yield gap… this is where the science of ACAI comes in,” he said during the Annual Work Review and Planning in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Over the years, research on cassava agronomy in Africa has been site specific and in what may be described as pilots. The ACAI project aims to take agronomy to scale by researching and making recommendations that could be widely adopted on large scale.

Researchers who are heading the four components of the ACAI project otherwise known as use cases—fertilizer recommendation and blending, best planting practices, intercropping, and scheduled planting—say they are working towards developing decision support tools for site-specific scenarios covering nutrient management best planting practices, intercropping, and scheduled planting.

Dr Abdulai Jalloh, Project Leader of ACAI believes that the project is a game changer for cassava in Africa.

“Our farmers are yet to realize the potential of genetic improvement because of poor agronomy,” he said.

“To harness the full potential of the crop, farmers must adopt the use certified seed of suited varieties and nurture it with good agronomic practices,” he explained.

The Chair of the Project Advisory Committee of ACAI, Dr Linley Chiwona-Karltun described the work done so far as impressive. She commended the leadership of the ACAI project for an excellent job.

For more information, please contact the Communication & knowledge Exchange Expert, Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org

For more stories, visit: www.cassavamatters.org

Smart Food selected as a global LAUNCH Food innovation

noreply@blogger.com (Peter) — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 16:28:00 +0000

‘Smart Food’, an initiative which will initially focus on popularizing millets and sorghum, has been selected by LAUNCH Food as one of the winning innovations for 2017. The global recognition and mentorship support of LAUNCH Food will help Smart Food to achieve major impacts globally by promoting the demand for millets and strengthen the value chains while ensuring that smallholder farmers benefit.

The Smart Food initiative is founded by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT) and aims to build food systems where the food is good for you (highly nutritious), good for the planet and good for the smallholder farmer.

LAUNCH Food is a global competition where 11 innovations are selected each year for mentoring and linked with high level experts and organizations to accelerate the innovation. This year there were 280 submissions from 74 countries. The LAUNCH Food innovators will attend an event in San Francisco in March to present and discuss their innovation with key industries and investors.

LAUNCH was founded in 2009 by NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of State and NIKE, Inc., who joined together to identify, showcase and support innovative approaches to sustainability challenges. LAUNCH Food is supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“Millets, including sorghum, are the first Smart Food we are focusing on. They are highly nutritious, have a low water and carbon footprint, and have so many multiple uses that are yet untapped,” said Smart Food initiator and leader, Joanna Kane-Potaka, Director Strategic Marketing and Communication, ICRISAT.“ They have been traditional foods across India and many countries in Africa but with low investments their value chains are significantly underdeveloped which makes it more difficult for the farmers to invest. Over time they have become labeled as an old fashioned food. We plan to take a different approach and drive demand by first creating a new image and buzz around millets.”

Smart Food will be taken forward as a partnership and many organizations have already teamed up to popularize millets. In India, this includes the Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR), the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). In Kenya, work has started under the USAID Feed the Future Program focusing on the Smart Food – millets, sorghum and selected pulses. Efforts have been initiated in rural areas to integrate Smart Food into messages by health workers and encourage new creative ways to cook with these crops. A social media campaign has been launched and a Smart Food reality TV show started as a competition to develop modern recipes using Smart Food. Processors are also being engaged to develop healthy convenience Smart Food products.

About ICRISAT

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT) is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid tropics have over 2 billion people, and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT innovations help the dryland poor move from poverty to prosperity by harnessing markets while managing risks – a strategy called Inclusive Market- Oriented development (lMOD). ICRISAT is headquartered in Patancheru, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, with two regional hubs and six country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a member of the CGIAR Consortium.

About ICRISAT: www.icrisat.org; For ICRISAT’s scientific information see: http://EXPLOREit.icrisat.org

CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research Centers who are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. www.cgiar.org

About LAUNCH Food

LAUNCH Food is showcasing and supporting innovations with the potential to transform food systems and the behaviors they drive to promote health and prosperity for all people while respecting the planet’s resources. The challenge calls for supply– and demand– side innovations that will ultimately impact people’s food choices, whether in the home, market, street, restaurant or community. We’re excited to be supporting such a variety of high quality innovations from across the world. Learn more at www.launch.org

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