The “Our Water Our Right Coalition”, comprising a host of national and international civil society and grassroots groups, has delivered copies of a document – “Veolia, Abengoa, Metito Cannot Be Trusted With Lagos Water” – to the Lagos State Government, asking it to halt the planned 25-year concession of Adiyan II project and a Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the Odomola project.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State
Copies of the document have been reportedly delivered to the Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Samuel Adejare; and the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC). It was also sent to the Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly and the Chairman, House Committeee on the Environment, Saka Fafunmi.
The “Veolia, Abengoa, Metito Cannot Be Trusted With Lagos Water” is said to be a response to request by LSWC, whose helmsman, Mumuni Badmus, reportedly praised the three companies and recommended them to manage Lagos water infrastructure in a recent radio interview.
Badmus is said to have challenged civil society to expose facts that show infractions by the companies if there were any.
In a covering letter addressed to the state government and signed by Akinbode Oluwafemi, Deputy Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), the groups said they are dismayed that the LSWC had decided to embark on a “costly experiment with corporations that have promoted skewed water schemes across the globe”.
In the document, Veolia is said to have been linked to the lead waster crisis in Pittsburgh, United States (US) and bribery allegations in same US, Romania and France. Contracts by a Veolia subsidiary which resulted in a spike in water rates reportedly led to protests in Morocco, which spanned weeks in November 2015.
The report details that Abengoa’s executives are on trial in Spain for filling their pockets while the company edges towards bankruptcy.
Metito, disclosed the coalition, is linked to hundreds of job losses in Rwanda where it reportedly prevented workers from unionising. The company is also said to be liable for funding projects that harm people and the planet, including the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline in the US.
Some of the recommendations put forward to achieving universal access to clean water in Lagos include Public-Public-Partnerships (PuPs) and the institution of a water trust, among others, that can be implemented by the Lagos State Government and Lagos State Water Corporation over the short and long-term to ensure a functional democratically- governed water system in Lagos, says the group.
The Our Water Our Right Coalition is spearheaded by the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Corporate Accountability International, Amalgamated Uniuon of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), Public Services International (PSI), Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Peace and Development Project, and Centre for Social Change and Citizenship Education (CENSOCHANGE), among others.
“We have said it time and again that we are eager to see the Ambode administration commit to ensuring the human right to water through a democratic, public system which will not only ensure all Lagosians can access clean, safe water but will also set an example for governments around the world,” the groups said in a joint statement.
An agriculturist, Mr Chekwube Nwana, says mismanagement of land such as harvesting too much vegetation too quickly is one of the causes of desertification.
Combating desertification: Planting some 20,000 trees to create living hedges in Burkina Faso
Nwana, the former Supervisor for Agriculture, Oji River Local Government Council, Enugu State, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thurday, December 28, 2017.
He said that, with an estimated 135 million people at risk of being driven from their lands because of continuing desertification, the world must focus more on reversing this trend.
“According to the United Nation about six million hectares of productive land have been lost every year around the world as the land becomes degraded and less fertile.
“This desertification contributes to food insecurity, famine and poverty, and can give rise to social, economic and political tensions that can cause conflicts, further poverty and land degradation.’’
He said that creeping desertification, particularly in the northern part of the country, had induced large migration movements as locals who once farmed in now arid areas seek a living elsewhere.
He said that practical measures must be taken to prevent and restore degraded land.
He advised other agriculturists to always be involved in agro-forestry as a measure of curbing desertification and also for economic gains and to prevent and restore degraded land.
“Agriculture contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions, but emerging practices in land management have the potential to curtail these emissions; and reverse much of the ecological and climate harm caused by overly intensive systems.
“We must cultivate and conserve trees through agro-forestry, which is an important climate-smart solution with many important co-benefits.’’
He said that incorporating trees had shown to increase crop productivity, improve nutrient cycling, create and change microclimates, and more.
“Because of its carbon sequestration potential, agro-forestry has been for many years considered a leading agricultural practice for reducing climate impact.
“Carbon sequestration is the process by which carbon is pulled from the atmosphere and stored elsewhere.
“Agroforestry can improve and restore soil quality in degraded land, reduce climate pressure and biodiversity, and strengthen local economies,’’ he said.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has said that it achieved a 100% investment in renewable energy in 2017, a development the organisation considers a major landmark in its commitment to clean energy and efficiency.
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina
The body said in a statement made available to EnviroNews on Thursday, December 28, 2017 that power generation projects with a cumulative 1,400 megawatts exclusively from renewables were approved during the year, with plans to increase support for renewable energy projects in 2018 under the New Deal on Energy for Africa initiative.
AfDB President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, was quoted as saying: “We are clearly leading on renewable energy. We will help Africa unlock its full energy potential, while developing a balanced energy mix to support industrialisation. Our commitment is to ensure 100% climate screening for all bank financed projects.’’
According to the organisation, the share of renewable energy projects as a portion of it’s portfolio of power generation investments increased from 14% in 2007-2011, to 64% in 2012-2016.
The Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) whose goal is to deliver 300 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy in 2030 and 10 GW by 2020, is now based within the AfDB, as requested by African Heads of State and Government. The G7 has promised to commit $10 billion to support the initiative, which came out of COP21 in Paris, France and subsequently approved by the African Union.
On November 8, 2017, the African Bank Group approved its Second Climate Change Action Plan, 2016-2020 (CCAP2) as a clear message of its commitment to helping African countries mobilize resources to support the implementation of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) of Regional Member Countries, in ways that will not hinder development.
The approval of the action plan echoes discussions at COP23 in Bonn, Germany to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change and achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global temperature rises to 1.5C.
The CCAP2 is designed to incorporate the bank’s High 5 priorities in the Paris Agreement, the 2030 development agenda, the bank’s Green Growth Framework and the lessons learned in the implementation of the first climate change action plan (CCAP1), 2011-2015.
As part of its wider mandate under the New Deal on Energy for Africa, the Board of Directors of the AfDB on December 15, 2017 approved an investment of $20 million in the Evolution II Fund – a Pan-African clean and sustainable energy private equity fund.
AfDB says its investment in Evolution II Fund reflects the company’s High 5 development priorities, the agenda to light up and Power Africa, and its commitment to promote renewable energy and efficiency in Africa.
The Evolution II Fund is expected to contribute to green and sustainable growth by creating 2,750 jobs and building on the track record of the Evolution One Fund (which created 1,495 jobs, of which 20% were for women, and generated 838 MW of wind energy and 87MW Solar PV energy). It is estimated that the Evolution One Fund achieved 1,190,469 of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission savings annually.
In line with its commitment to renewable energy and ongoing institutional reforms, in the first quarter of 2017, AfDB disclosed that it appointed Ousseynou Nakoulima as the Director for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. Nakoulima, says the bank, brings global experience in developing and managing programmes and partnerships for driving renewable energy from his work at the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) says it has written to the Federal Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, asking for the inclusion of provisions of the National Tobacco Control Act (NTC Act) in the 2018 fiscal policy and other directives.
Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun
The NTCA is a network of civil society organisations (CSOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), faith-based organisations (FBOs), and professional groups working on tobacco control, human rights, public health and cancer with a view to ensuring qualitative health, sustainable development and good governance for all Nigerians. NTCA is a member of the Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA).
In the letter, dated December 8, 2017, and addressed to Adeosun, the network requested the enforcement of Part VI, Section 15 (5, 6, 7) of the NTC Act which regulates the selling of smoked tobacco in an intact pack of not less than 20 sticks so that the Nigeria Customs Service can investigate and confiscate non-compliant products at the borders even before they are introduced into the market.
The same section of the Act stipulates that smokeless tobacco products must be in minimum of 30 grams pack. Otherwise, it must be confiscated.
In the letter, signed by Board Chairman of NTCA who is also deputy executive director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Akinbode Oluwafemi, the network said that “Part XI section 31 (1) enables the police and other law enforcement agencies of government (in this case the Nigeria Customs Service) to inspect and investigate complaints and take appropriate enforcement action under the act.”
It noted that the enforcement of the provisions would ensure that tobacco products entering the country comply with the NTC Act, as well as ensuring that the intent of the law which is to protect Nigerians from the dangers of tobacco use is not compromised by unscrupulous tobacco importers.
The “WISE-UP to Climate” project, initiated in April 2014 to demonstrate that natural ecosystems are nature based solutions for climate change adaptation and sustainable development, has now ended. And the thinking among partners on the project is that they have been able to advance knowledge on how to ensure the efficiency of built water infrastructure.
In Ghana as well as Burkina Faso, the WISE-UP Team used the proposed Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam (PMD) as the case study for improving the functionality of natural and built infrastructure
The research based activities of the WISE-UP to Climate project focused on river basins and was centred on the Volta Basin in West Africa and Tana Basin in East Africa. In Ghana as well as Burkina Faso, the WISE-UP Team used the Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam (PMD) as the case study for improving the functionality of natural and built infrastructure.
Studies dwelt on the benefit functions of the ecosystem, looking at the socio-economic services it provides for the people; the political economy of water infrastructure decisions and governance; and trade-offs between natural and built infrastructure benefits in the Upper White Volta.
The findings indicated that the natural ecosystem benefit functions included flood recession farming, fishing in riparian ponds, and habitat function represented by the significant population of hippopotamus for tourism. Other ecosystem functions include supporting the Bagre hydropower dam, irrigation dam at Kanonzoe and domestic water supply at Ziga all in Burkina Faso; while in Ghana there is irrigation at Pwalugu.
Proposed future infrastructure activities on this tributary include doubling of water supply from Ziga to Ouagaduogou, expanding the Bagre irrigation and the construction of the PMD. The findings showed that these activities could affect the natural flow regime of seasonal flooding and dry season flows.
Absence of seasonal flooding could reduce income of flow dependent ecosystem services for riparian communities by 20% on average and would require riparian communities to shift livelihood activities to male dominated activities such as dry season irrigation.
But, according to the findings, this situation could be averted if the facilities operate in ways that foster a mixed flow regime. So, depending on how a water facility is made to function, a win-win situation could be created.
The WISE-UP Team is therefore convinced that a project like the proposed PMD could be an example of built infrastructure that could contribute to the two countries economic and development needs while, at the same time, strengthening natural infrastructure that supports rural livelihoods.
The findings established that the efficiency of built physical water infrastructure is enhanced, when its operation is linked to the normal functioning of the natural water ecosystem. This means that the sustainable functioning of infrastructure built for irrigation, hydropower or water supply, is related to healthy ecosystems in well-functioning watersheds. Furthermore, such physical facilities built on natural ecosystems, should equip and position riparian communities to adapt to climate change, which as experts say “will only get worse and worse.”
It also means that decisions made for the building of water related infrastructure, should be based on careful consideration of not just the benefits and convenience of the facility to the nation at large; but likewise on the services that the ecosystems provide for local communities. However, arriving at such decisions may not be that simple according to the findings from Pwalugu.
It will depend on various factors, working at three levels, starting first at the top level by ensuring that key decision making, regulatory, development planning and implementing institutions main stream climate change and prioritise related issues.
Secondly, grassroots consensus should be generated on pertinent social issues and alternative interventions identified by working through District Assemblies and civil society organisations. At the third level, attention should be given to strengthening and increasing regional cooperation focusing on not just poverty alleviation, but also on the potential for economic transformation.
At the final meeting in Accra, on November 29th 2017 of the WISE-UP to Climate project, partners were reminded of the ultimate goal, which is to “introduce multi-criteria and multi-option modes of working into existing planning and decision-making processes, including consideration of ecosystem services and natural infrastructure.”
They were further reminded of the need to lead the next stage of the project by seizing opportunity for synergy offered by climate change, and additionally align with priorities of political parties, engage development partners as well as the private sector, and capitalise on the decentralised system of local administration and governance.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) head office in Switzerland’s representative on the WISE-UP Team, Dr. James Dalton, talked about the next steps. He said it will demand further research to better address the social dimension to decision making and trade-offs. He said in doing the analysis for trade-offs, partners “need not demonise water infrastructure such as dams,” and urged them to rather highlight the benefits of both built and natural infrastructure to maintain objectivity around possible trade-offs.
Dr. Dalton also touched on the proposed WISE-UP 2, which will implement activities packaged based on the research findings in the just ended now WISE-UP 1 project. He announced that WISE-UP 2 will invest in solutions and moblise additional funding for climate-resilient economic development in river basins. This will purposely support countries to among other things, deliver their Nationally Determined Commitments (NDC) under the Paris Climate Accord.
Dr. Dalton explained that WISE-UP 2 “prioritises vulnerable areas and will deliver activities to revitalise rural economies and invest directly in protecting rivers, streams and wetlands as climate adaptation solutions.” It will be implemented in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Kenya as well as in Mali and Ethiopia.
The New Executive Director of the Volta Basin Authority (VBA) Robert Yaovi Dessouassi commended WISE-UP for initiating measures that are improving the natural resources infrastructure of the basin and addressing poverty among the people. He urged the beneficiary countries to utilize the scientific knowledge generated so far, “to address problems in the area, overcome persisting challenges, and chart a path for our sustainable development by leveraging our own resources.”
The former Executive Director of the VBA, Dr. Charles Biney, who was Chairman for the meeting, described WISE-UP as “the project that has drawn our attention to the potential and usefulness of our natural resources and infrastructure, and has demonstrated that it is profitable to include natural infrastructure in development activities in our countries.”
The Acting Director of the Water Research Institute (WRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr. Kwabena Kankam praised WISE-UP for a good work done so far and said, “our institute is proud to be associated with this project.”
The implementing team in Kenya earlier on held a similar end of project meeting.
WISE-UP is the acronym for Water Infrastructure Solutions from Ecosystem Services underpinning Climate Resilient Policies and Programmes. It is a global partnership involving Ghana’s WRI; the African Collaborative Centre for Earth System Sciences (ACCESS) of the University of Nairobi, Kenya; and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Others are the UK Overseas Development Institute (ODI); the University of Manchester; the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) and IUCN.
In doing its work, the partnership assembled a wide variety of expertise including resource scientists, engineers, computer modellers, governance and political economists, water managers and climate change specialists. The International Climate Initiative (ITI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) funded WISE-UP 1 and is likely to finance the phase two as well.
The project is focused on river basins, because team members are of the view that basin ecosystems provide an environment, where optimum outcomes can be achieved for poverty reduction, ecosystem management, economic growth and climate resilience.
The project acknowledges that water security is vital for a sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. Therefore, countries make investments in water infrastructure for storage and flood control, water availability and accessibility, and to reduce disaster risks. However, the fact still remains that these investments and their benefits are not always equitably distributed, especially in developing countries.
Consequently, the project was designed and seeks to advocate investments that combine natural and built infrastructure in the areas such as water, food and energy security; and industrial development and wealth generation.
The point being made is that benefits are enhanced when ecosystem services are linked more directly into water infrastructure development. Upstream natural infrastructure services include flow regulation, soil and slope stability, groundwater recharge and provision of river habitat. The downstream ecosystem provides services including river fisheries, floodplain grazing, flood recession agriculture, floodplain fisheries, estuarine fisheries and coastal sediment supply. While the built infrastructure provides services such as energy production, drinking water supply, irrigation, reservoir fisheries, and flood control and protection.
Montenegro on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 deposited its instruments of ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, making the Balkan country the 172nd Party to the global treaty.
Filip Vujanović, President of Montenegro
According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Montenegro’s ratification will come into force on January 19, 2018.
Previously, DR Congo (171st), Syria (170th), Nicaragua (169th), Switzerland (168th), the Czech Republic (167th), Dominican Republic (166th) and Cape Verde (165th) had deposited their instruments of ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Before this, Liechenstien (164th), Ecuador (163rd), Myanmar (162nd) and Bhutan (161st) had also ratified the treaty.
The Paris Agreement was adopted on December 12, 2015 at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris, France from November 30 to December 13, 2015.
On December 12, 2017 governments and representatives from all over the world gathered in Paris at the instance of French President, Emmanuel Macron, to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement at the One Planet Summit. The Summit presented an opportunity to reaffirm global climate commitments to combat climate change and to emphasise the transition from negotiation to implementation of the Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement entered into force on November 4, 2016, 30 days after the date on which at least 55 Parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55% of the total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Depositary.
The Paris Agreement builds upon the Convention (UNFCCC) and – for the first time – brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so. As such, it charts a new course in the global climate effort.
The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change. To reach these ambitious goals, appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework will be put in place, thus supporting action by developing countries and the most vulnerable countries, in line with their own national objectives. The Agreement also provides for enhanced transparency of action and support through a more robust transparency framework.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has advised air travelers, road users and the public to exercise caution in their operations to avoid negative effect of the current adverse weather condition.
Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Prof. Sani Marshi
NiMet’s Weather Alert on Wednesday, December 27, 2017 in Abuja, said the prevailing dust hazy weather would lead to flight delays and cancellations, and urged travelers to always show understanding with the airlines.
It, however, advised road users to avoid over-speeding especially during the early morning period when horizontal visibility is most impaired.
“The expected reduction in visibility due to harmattan dust haze will cause cancellation and delay of flights; this is for the safety of air travelers.
“Thick dust (visibility less than 1000m) is observed over Kano, Potiskum, Gombe, Nguru, Bida, Enugu, Asaba, Uyo, Jos, Minna, Ibadan, Lagos, and Port Harcourt.
“Most parts of the northern cities such as Katsina, Maiduguri, Kano, Gusau, Damaturu, Nguru, Bauchi and Zaria are expected to experience a slight improvement in the horizontal visibilities to 1000m-3000m in the next 24 hours.
“However the visibility over the north western parts especially Sokoto and Yelwa are expected to remain poor; less than 1000m,” NiMet predicted.
The agency further disclosed that a reduction in visibility was expected over parts of the central cities such as Abuja, Bida, Lafia, Jos, Makurdi and Lokoja.
It added that the reduction in the visibility would be in thick dust haze condition with visibilities around 1000m or less in the next 12 hours or less.
NiMet further predicted that the southern cities including Owerri, Enugu, Asaba, Ibadan, Lagos, Akure, Owerri and Port Harcourt were expected to remain under the influence of thick dust haze in the next 24 hours.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a number of flights had be delayed or cancelled across the country due to the adverse weather situation. (NAN)
According to the agency, the harmarttan dust haze has its attendant health implications.
It advised those that were allergic to dust to take necessary precautions and take their medications to alleviate its effect on their health.
The Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), initiated by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has contributed $37.2 million (about N13.4 billion) to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Youths involved in farming: the programme is said to have facilitated the establishment of group seed production enterprises by youths. Photo credit: smeonline.biz
Mrs Vera Onyeaka-Onyilo, IFAD Communication Officer, recently disclosed this in a document presented to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
The document, titled “VCDP Summary Progress’’, noted that data on the 2016 wet season farming and 2016/2017 dry season farming indicated that VCDP also contributed 58,376 tonnes of rice and 184,378 tonnes of cassava to the national food basket.
The Federal Government is implementing VCDP, which became disbursement-effective in January 2015, in Niger, Ogun, Taraba, Benue, Ebonyi and Anambra states.
The completion date of the programme, whose goal is to reduce poverty and accelerate sustainable economic growth, is Dec. 31, 2019.
Onyeaka-Onyilo explained that from the revenue of N38.5 billion and the implementation cost of N14.7 billion, the income-investment analysis, inclusive of overhead costs, indicated a benefit of N2.5 for each N1 invested from the sale of produce alone.
She said that going by the review, the overall achievements indicated that the VCDP had made appreciable progress in the last two years of effective implementation.
“The programme is planned to increase agricultural income by at least 25 per cent for 45,000 smallholder farmers.
“It is also expected to indirectly benefit up to 320,800 people from the production of rice and cassava along the two value chains,’’ she said.
Onyeaka-Onyilo said that the specific programme development objective was the enhancement of the incomes and food security of rural poor households that were engaged in production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava on a sustainable basis.
She noted that the programme had continued to invest in group and cluster development schemes as a viable value chain business model.
“It has strength working with the private sector to facilitate service delivery to smallholder farmers, identifying viable business opportunities within the commodity chains for the youth.
“It has also ensured arable land development to boost women and youth access to land, while sharing innovative agronomic practices with farmers to enhance their productivity and youth engagement in agriculture,’’ she said.
Besides, Onyeaka-Onyilo said that some of the participating state governments had adopted some aspects of the value chain to enhance their service delivery to smallholder farmers.
She said that the VCDP had also influenced strong state government ownership, which was reflected by the governments’ payment of counterpart funds and policy support in land development to enhance the access of youths and women to land for dry season farming.
“The programme has also facilitated an innovative Commodity Alliance Forum (CAF), which empowers smallholder farmers to engage and transact businesses with major private sector players in each state.
“The forum involves farmers and key private sector operators who meet quarterly to review the stakeholders’ engagement in the selected commodity,’’ she added.
Investigations by NAN revealed that the CAF, which had been empowering smallholder farmers and restoring confidence between off-takers and farming communities, was considered a key pillar in the sustainability of VCDP.
Mrs Laadi Ngbegha, one of the beneficiaries and a rice farmer in Iye Community, Guma Local Government Area in Benue State, said the off-taker arrangement had strengthened the use of value chain action plans (VCAPs) by participating field officials (FOs).
She said that the FOs were those officials facilitating cashless credit services on farm inputs for farmers in Benue and Niger.
Ngbegha said the programme had facilitated the establishment of group seed production enterprises by youths via a partnership with Africa Rice Centre, National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
“It has introduced the use of private sector extension schemes to promote good agronomic practices and enhance farmers’ productivity.
“The VCDP has demonstrated that value chain is a sound economic investment model for Nigeria,’’ she said.
Some of the beneficiaries in Benue noted that smallholder rice and cassava farmers were now having new market opportunities.
They said that the development marked the farmers’ first steps out of poverty through a contract farming scheme in which farmers were guaranteed markets for their crops.
They emphasised that the VCDP had been able to link over 3,603 rice farmers in Benue to Olam International, an agribusiness company, to buy paddy from rice growers.
“Last year, Olam International bought around 997 tonnes of paddy from rice farmers in Benue; the rice was later processed and sold in the Nigerian market.
“Olam also provided the farmers with necessary inputs; certified seeds, fertilisers, and agrochemicals with a guaranteed ‘buy-back’ of the produce at prevailing market prices at the end of the season.
“Olam International extended financial credit to farmers to meet their equity contribution to the VCDP matching grant through a commercial bank,’’ they said.
Michael Afune, a young rice farmer in Omor, Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra, told NAN that empowering young people through agribusiness was a success story.
He said that in line with the Federal Government’s commitment to reducing youth unemployment and poverty, the VCDP had been creating a new generation of young farmers in Anambra, with sound training in techniques that could generate new economic opportunities and boost income.
“I have been cultivating rice for years with poor yields, but learning modern methods of rice farming through the VCDP has led to better yields and better incomes,’’ Afune said.
Eze Michael Ogbonnaya-Ukwa, the traditional ruler of Igbeagu, Izzi Local Government Erea of Ebonyi, noted that the VCDP had constructed 134.5km roads in the six benefiting states.
He said the newly constructed road and bridge in Igbeagu community, for instance, had positively impacted on the social and agribusiness activities of the residents of the community.
“The primary purpose of the road, constructed under the VCDP, is to create access for farmers to transport produce from their farms.
“The road is also facilitating the efforts of large-scale produce buyers to reach farm gates to buy produce directly from the farmers.
“Prior to the construction of this road, our farming experience had been horrendous and we couldn’t do much. We are happy that the road has eased our burden,’’ Ogbonnaya-Ukwa said.
A rice processor, Hadiya Hajara Mohammed of the ZokoYegborolo Multipurpose Cooperative Society in Bida, Niger State, said that the VCDP had significantly increased the quantity and quality of the rice produced in the neighbourhood.
She said the “false bottom’’ parboiling technology was introduced by the VCDP to enhance the quality of locally grown rice and make it to compete favourably with imported rice.
“More than 1,623 participants across the project six states were trained on the use of ‘false bottom’ parboiling technique and it has changed how we process rice.
“We’ve been in rice business for more than 20 years, with nothing to show for it, but within one and half years, IFAD-VCDP has made us rich.
“We are now expanding our business and employing people to work and get paid,’’ she added.
In a nutshell, IFAD-VCDP has been supporting smallholder farmers in the six benefiting states of Benue, Anambra, Ebonyi, Taraba, Niger and Ogun in rice production.
It has also signed 1,106 agreements with major off-takers in rice and cassava value chains, while supporting farmers to increase their production, in efforts to improve Nigeria’s food security.
Mr Samuel Adeogun, Ogun State Coordinator of VCDP, said: “There has been increase in the number of people having access to land, especially women and youths.
“Land development has also provided room for farm mechanisation. We believe that the use of farm mechanisation increases efficiency; reduces cost of production and improves farm yield.”
Mrs Folashade Arijogbade, a cassava farmer in Aiyetoro community in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun, said that through the VCDP intervention on land development; her group now owned a 30-hectare farmland, up from the previous 0.5 hectares.
She said that the land development scheme of the VCDP required land owners or communities to sign a land-leasing agreement for a minimum of 10 years.
“The lands are sourced from either the communities or the government.
“By this, they will be able to recoup their investment on the lands because land development is a capital intensive venture which is beyond the capacity of smallholder farmers,’’ she said.
NAN learnt that the land development project of the VCDP has facilitated improved mechanisation among the farmers, while creating services for farmers and jobs for farm mechanisation service providers.
It has also developed 1,292 hectares in the six participating states and provided mechanisation at a 50 per cent subsidy to boost farmers’ participation.
In the programme that has a budget of $104.4 million; IFAD is providing $74.4 million, while the Federal Government is contributing $9.9 million.
The state governments are contributing $10.4 million; the local government councils are providing $4.3 million; the complementary financing is $2.8 million, while the beneficiaries are contributing $2.1 million.
The Managing Director of Premier Seeds Nigeria Ltd., Prof. Abraham Ogungbile, has advised farmers to use high-quality, improved seeds for their crop growing so as to generate bumper harvests.
In northern Nigeria, farming is among efforts meant to curb desertification and drought
Ogungbile gave the advice on Wednesday, December 27, 2017 in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
He said that access to good-quality, improved seeds could be the most important effective ingredient in plans to boost farmers’ productivity.
According to him, significant increases in farm yields can boost the economic empowerment of farmers and facilitate poverty alleviation.
“In all plant-based agricultural systems, seed is the most important input, as it determines the upper limit of yield potential; it also determines the ultimate efficacy of other inputs such as fertilisers and agrochemicals.
“Seeds are the carriers of the genetic potential of crops; no crop can yield more than the potential which its seed carries,’’ he added.
Ogungbile, however, stressed that hitch-free access to quality seeds could only be achieved and guaranteed, only if there was a viable seed supply system that could distribute seeds in sufficient quantities to farmers.
The seed expert underscored the need for farmers to obtain quality seeds from reputable seed supply agencies or seed industries, while seeking advice from agricultural and seed experts.
He said that if the farmers adopted such a tradition, they would be able to obtain good-quality, improved seeds for their cultivation and thus, boost their productivity.
Ogungbile said the production and distribution of improved seeds in Nigeria, regulated by seed laws, were handled through the various activities of the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), the agency that was authorised to certify seeds in the country.
He said that if the Federal Government could aid seeds companies to supply high-quality seeds to farmers at subsidised rates, Nigeria would be able to attain self-sufficiency in food production, while the living standards of its citizens would improve.
Researchers warned that high humidity will magnify the effects of rising heat from South America to India, affecting people’s ability to work and even survive, unless greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are substantially cut in coming decades.
GHG emission from a coal-fired power plant
According to U.S. researchers, heat remains underestimated as a threat by governments, aid agencies and individuals, and muggy heat is even more oppressive than the “dry” kind, because it stops people from sweating which takes away excess heat.
A study from the Earth Institute at Columbia University found areas along the coast and others that experience humid-weather patterns will be most affected by higher temperatures unless governments curb greenhouse gas emissions that can raise temperatures and put in place measures to tackle the heat.
The areas likely to be affected include the Amazon, southeastern United States, western and central Africa, parts of the Middle East, northern India and eastern China.
Current and projected “wet bulb” temperatures, which reflect the combined effects of heat and humidity, found that by the 2070s, high wet-bulb readings that now occur maybe once a year could prevail 100 to 250 days of the year in some parts.
“The conditions we’re talking about basically never occur now, people in most places have never experienced them,” said lead author Ethan Coffel at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
“Failure to adopt both mitigation and adaptation measures is likely to result in suffering, economic damage, and increased heat-related mortality.”
Rising temperatures may make low-latitude developing nations in the Asian subcontinent, the Middle East, Africa and South America practically uninhabitable during the summer months, another report earlier this year noted.
With muggy heat, the air is already heavy with moisture, so sweat stops evaporating, halting a process to cool the body.
If there is no air conditioning, organs strain and can start to fail.
According to the new study, this can lead to lethargy, sickness and, in the worst conditions, death.
The study projects parts of the Middle East and northern India may hit 35 wet-bulb degrees Celsius by late century, equal to the skin’s temperature, and the theoretical limit at which people will die within hours without artificial cooling.
“It’s not just about the heat … it’s about how many people are poor, how many are old, who has to go outside to work, who has air conditioning,” said Alex Sherbinin at Columbia’s Centre for International Earth Science Information Network.
