The Ronald Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University, Dr. Kathryn Boor, has spurred the 2018 Cornell Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows to think of how to contribute towards addressing the challenges bedeviling food security and extreme poverty around the globe.
2018 Cornell Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows
Dr. Boor urged the 29 new cohort representing nine different countries at a reception held in the University’s main campus in Ithaca, New York while welcoming them into the Cornell community.
She told the team that CALS is established with the clear objective of helping to transform and making the world more habitable and sustainable.
“Our mission here in CALS is to leave the world a better place than we found it,” she said. “And we pour our hearts in trying to achieve this.”
This goal, according to her, has become more important particularly now that the world’s population is projected to surpass over nine billion people by the middle of this century.
She hinted that CALS is working closely with communities across the State of New York and around the world through life changing research, teaching as well as extension service to improve agriculture, food security, health and general well-being as part of efforts to tackle some of the aforementioned predicaments.
The Dean added that researchers in her College are also collaborating across disciplines and multiple areas to mitigate challenges and explore opportunities of relevance to solve some of these complicated and complex problems affecting not just New York as a city but the entire global community.
Part of this research efforts, she explained, includes finding solutions to global challenges such as reducing the consequences of climate change, enabling food security, providing sustainable energy options and understanding how to harness new tools of social media to improve science communication.
Dr. Boor disclosed that CALS international programmes, which include the Alliance for Science, are building more than 100 years of partnerships to improve food systems around the globe.
Looking into the future and predicting the next decade or two, the Cornell CALS’ chief asserts that food security and development related issues are going to increasingly dominate and shape global communities and business leaders.
She expressed concern that only few institutions in the world are better equipped than Cornell CALS to address many of the scientific and technical problems that threaten food security across the world.
The Dean submitted that agricultural transformation must be taken seriously if the global dialogue about ending extreme hunger and poverty is to be achieved.
Okon Unung from Nigeria, a Plant Breeding specialist and a 2018 Global Fellow of Cornell Alliance for Science, said that he is passionate about improving the quality of lives globally by contributing significantly to making sure that everyone around the world has equal access to sufficient, nutritious and safe food at all times to meet their dietary needs.
“As a plant breeder, one of the hallmarks of agriculture is making the right crop varieties that are commensurate with the emerging agricultural dynamics available to farmers because agricultural production system is challenged with numerous factors such as pest and diseases, the incidences of climate change reflected in drought condition and flooding, as well as other biotic and abiotic stresses that has become major challenges,” Unung said at a sideline of the reception.
The target and responsibility of every plant specialist, according to him, is to see how to develop appropriate crop varieties that can suit and meet with the emerging dynamics of agricultural production systems.
Unung disclosed that he was motivated to join the Global Leadership Fellows of Cornell Alliance for Science to boost his capacity as a scientist to demystify the complex science of biotechnology to the knowledge level of farmers to enable them access agricultural innovations and novel research outcomes of agricultural biotechnology to improve their productivity.
“This fellowship will put me in a better pedestal for effective extension service delivery considering that I have worked with farmers through extension programs for many years,” he said. “It will also help me to strategically communicate scientific innovations to the knowledge level of farmers and intended beneficiaries through effective extension programming and science communication.”
The Cornell Alliance for Science seeks to promote access to scientific innovation as a means to ensure global access to life-improving agricultural innovations that can shrink farming’s footprint, deliver food security, reduce the drudgery of field work that often falls on women and children, provide rural families with sufficient income to educate their children, and inspire young people to pursue a career in agriculture and science.
The GFLP welcomed its first cohort in 2015. With 25 graduated fellows in 2015 and 28 graduated fellows in 2016, GFLP fellows represent a total of 20 countries across South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the United States.
The fellows, who are currently undergoing training in strategic planning, grassroots organising, the science of crop biotechnology and effective communications, are expected to return back to their respective countries upon completion of the programme and become advocates of “evidence-based” decisions on global sustainability and agricultural affairs.
Farmers across Africa are reeling under huge losses linked to the devastation by an invasive specie called Fall Armyworm, also known as Spodoptera frugiperda.
Armyworm invasion
With origins in Eastern, and Central North America and in South America, the caterpillar has since 2016, found its way into 44 African countries, causing significant damage to maize crops with great potential for further spread and economic damage.
In sub-Saharan Africa, fall armyworm has instigated heavy losses to staple cereals, especially maize and sorghum, affecting food security and trade, thus upsetting the continent’s plan to feed itself.
The extent of the destructive influence the invasive pest wrecks on maize alone is estimated to be between $2.5 and 6.2 billion per year, destabilising the livelihoods of around 300 million people.
These and many more reasons spurred experts attending the 2018 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF2018) which began today in Kigali, Rwanda, to deliberate and explore ways of preventing or mitigating the next outbreak in Africa.
Fall armyworm as a global issue
Setting the scene at a session on building the resilience of Africa’s agriculture against invasive species, Dr. Dennis Rangi, Director General of the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) identified continuing globalisation through increasing trade, travel, and transport of goods across borders as one of the factors facilitating the spread of invasive species, with increasing negative impacts.
The problem, according to him, “is global in scope and requires international cooperation to supplement the actions of governments; the private sector and organisations at national and local levels.”
The recent arrival of fall armyworm in India is a case in point. The caterpillar’s leap from Africa to India confirms the global nature of invasive species and the need for partnerships to tackle the pest.
Chief Scientist at the USAID Bureau for Food Security, Dr. Rob Bertram sees it in a different light.
To him, fall armyworm is a reminder that we live in a small world that is increasingly becoming smaller and we are more connected than ever. The answer therefore, “is more global connectedness through south-south and north-south learning; strengthening research networks; national level leadership; and a coherent regional approach to invasive species,” Dr. Bertram said.
Is Africa ready for the next outbreak?
Dr Rangi believes “a straightforward, three-pronged, internationally recognised approach to addressing the problem of invasive species, namely prevention, early detection & rapid response, and lastly control will help a great deal.”
However, transforming this approach into a reality in policy and practice remains a huge challenge in Africa as African famers usually find themselves trying to address the latest invasion, when the previous invasion is yet to be cleared.
They also lack adequate information and knowledge about preventing and detecting an invasion early enough.
To overcome these challenges, the CABI DG urged African countries to create a policy and regulatory environment that promote sustainable approaches in tackling invasive species; put in place a national invasive species strategy and action plan; and a sustainable investment plan.
Dr. May-Guri Saethre, Deputy Director General, Research for Development at International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), bemoaned the fact that the burden of handling and combating invasive species on a day-to-day manner is to a large extent left to the individual smallholders in Africa.
The way forward, according to her, lies in “working together, farmers, government, researchers and the private sector as current outbreaks are wake-up calls for firm action to protect Africa’s agriculture from the destructive impact of pest outbreaks.”
To prevent the next outbreak, technologies capable of stopping pest and disease entry into Africa by pre-emptive biological controls, horizon scanning and effective early warning systems are available and must be deployed to prevent establishment of new pest through coordinated response and eradication programmes,” Dr Saethre added.
Integrated Pest Management to the rescue?
Despite advances in technology, food production in Africa still largely lies in the hands of smallholder farmers. In the event of an outbreak of fall armyworm, their immediate and predictable response is the use of pesticides which they believe can suppress the invasive specie.
Meanwhile, environmentalists believe pesticides can be harmful, particularly to the environment as they affect non-targeted organisms like bees.
Could effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) help Africa against fall armyworm?
The answer according to Dr. Dennis Kyetere, Executive Director of African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF). is a resounding yes!
A well-defined IPM programme, according to him, usually based on prevention, monitoring, and control, offers the opportunity to eliminate or drastically reduce the use of pesticides, as well as minimise the toxicity of and exposure to any products which are used. An Africa-focused IPM will therefore utilise a variety of methods and techniques, including cultural, biological and structural strategies to control a multitude of pest problems including fall armyworm,” Dr. Kyetere said.
IPM is a broad-based approach that integrates practices for economic control of pests while aiming to suppress pest populations below the economic injury level (EIL).
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) defines IPM as “the careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of pest populations and keep pesticides and other interventions to levels that are economically justified and reduce or minimize risks to human health and the environment.”
IPM emphasises the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms.
Fall armyworm as an opportunity for Africa
In all, the experts were of the view that tackling fall armyworm in Africa requires a cocktail of solutions which does not exclude any of the aforementioned ideas but comprises enabling policy environment, science and evidence-based framework, research and development that encourages private sector investment, local knowledge sharing, information dissemination and surveillance.
The forum also agreed substantially with the Director General of the Rwandan Agriculture Board, Dr. Patrick Karangwa in his assertion that for Africa to feed itself, “agriculture must now be knowledge-intensive and technology-intensive.”
Indeed, the the presence of fall armyworm in Africa is both a crisis and an opportunity as a crisis is a terrible thing to waste – will Africa seize the opportunity?
The United Nations Climate Change negotiations ended in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday, September 9, 2018. The meeting was the final gathering of countries before they meet to agree the implementation guidelines for the Paris Agreement in Katowice, Poland this December.
A view of delegates at the opening of the Bangkok climate change conference
Civil society organisations acknowledge that while there has been progress on the negotiating text for the Paris Rulebook it has been uneven. Substantive issues on finance and differentiation, among others, still hang in the balance, they say.
To reach an ambitious deal in Katowice, which includes a strong rulebook, finance and stronger commitments to ambition, they insist that political leaders must talk to each in the next few months to infuse trust into climate discussions.
Thousands of people in over 90 countries on every continent came out on the streets at the weekend to demand that governments tackle climate change.
On Monday, the UN Secretary General António Guterres will make a plea to act on the climate crisis that is ravaging entire communities and hundreds of mayors, CEOs and citizens will pledge their commitment to the cause at the Global Climate Action Summit in California this week.
The IPCC Report on 1.5C, which will feed into the Talanoa Dialogue, will heighten the drumbeat for action. This, observers feel, must be loud enough to spur the Polish Presidency to lead diplomatic efforts on all fronts as hosts in Katowice.
On progress made in Bangkok, Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group, Gebru Jember Endalew, says: “While there was a greater sense of urgency from countries coming into Bangkok, progress has been slow. There remains an immense amount of work to be done and only five negotiating days in Katowice before the Paris Agreement rulebook needs to be delivered. The effectiveness of the Paris Agreement depends on the delivery of a robust set of implementation guidelines. Nearly 300 pages of text need to be refined so that textual negotiations can begin on day one in Katowice.”
A key issue in Bangkok has been climate finance.
Endalew adds: “The Paris Agreement cannot be implemented without climate finance. Clear rules need to be agreed in Katowice to support developing countries taking climate action. The failure of rich countries to deliver adequate resources has severe ramifications for people and communities in the Least Developed Countries and around the world that are already bearing the brunt of climate change on a daily basis.”
On loss and damage, Endalew notes: “Loss and damage must be taken seriously by the international community. Extreme weather events continue to increase in frequency and severity, while slow-onset events are growing in impact. The LDCs and other developing countries lack the tools and resources to cope with the devastating impacts of climate change. Addressing loss and damage is integral to an effective global response to climate change and the rulebook must reflect this to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
Secretary-General of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), Mithika Mwenda, opines that “it is becoming thicker and thicker as we head to Katowice”, pointing out that the hardline position on the evolving negative force around the US is worrying.
According to him, without quantified global goal on finance then the Paris rulebook will be immaterial.
His words: “We urge African countries and developing nations counterparts to remain steadfast on their stand regarding the Paris rulebook. Evidently, the North is not interested in any action to combat climate change. While the South is doing it’s fair share on emission reduction, rich countries want to reverse the modest gains achieved since COP21 in Paris, perhaps motivated by the US which has announced its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.”
Members of the Climate Action Network (CAN), a global network of over 1,200 NGOs working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels, also add their voices to the discussion.
Tracy Carty, Climate Policy Lead, Oxfam: “The planet’s alarm bells are ringing; just this year we’ve endured deadly heatwaves and floods, devastating wildfires, and record high temperatures. Unfortunately, climate negotiations are still taking baby steps when they should be sprinting towards solutions.
“Finance to developing countries – to both help them cut their greenhouse gas emissions and to support poor communities vulnerable to extreme climate shocks – remains a critical, unresolved issue. If developed country governments don’t step up by the time COP24 kicks off in December, they risk putting the Paris Agreement in jeopardy.”
Mohamed Adow, International Climate Lead, Christian Aid: “We have fortunately avoided going off the cliff edge. Governments have empowered the co-chairs to turn the progress made so far into a more solid basis for negotiations in Poland. It is now vital for the co-chairs to change the course of the negotiations from diplomatic doldrums towards a win-win approach and craft middle ground options that the whole world can get behind at COP24.”
Harjeet Singh, Global Lead on Climate, ActionAid International: “The Paris Agreement is on the brink. Developed countries are going back on their word and refusing to agree clear rules governing climate finance. If they remain stuck in their positions and fail to loosen their purse strings, this treaty may collapse. We have a mountain to climb before the next climate summit this December. Finance ministers must now step in and deliver on the promises made in Paris.”
Rixa Schwarz, Team Leader International Climate Policy, Germanwatch: “A lot of work remains as we leave Bangkok tonight. All countries will need to do their bits to lead us towards a successful COP24. German Chancellor Angela Merkel must explain by COP24 how she will materialize her promise of doubling the German climate finance and announce a contribution to the Green Climate Fund. The coal commission must deliver first results to prove that Germany is serious about mitigation action. Also, the EU must send the strong signal of enhancing the current 2030 climate target.
Gilles Dufrasne, Policy Researcher, Carbon Pricing, Carbon Market Watch: “Market negotiations have suddenly jumped forwards in Bangkok, but countries are heading into a heavy fight at COP24. Some seem to have accepted the fact that markets as they exist today cannot continue, but we’re still navigating in very risky territory. The threat of agreeing on catastrophic rules for post-2020 markets is still very real and frightening.”
John Nordbo, Head of Climate Advocacy, CARE Denmark: “The negotiation text is not exactly a piece of art, but at least we now have a basis for making much needed compromises at COP24. When ministers arrive at the COP in Katowice they must do their part of the job: increase mitigation, ambition, and make sure more finance is provided to poor people who suffer from the harmful impacts of the climate crisis.
“It is however very disappointing that no country seems to take on a leadership role and try to forge the compromises. The EU should seriously consider stepping in as the union has previously been able to play a bridge-building role. At present they don’t play this role and it creates a vacuum.”
Taehyun Park, Greenpeace East Asia Global Climate Political Advisor: “These talks have been beset with tension and parties have wrestled with reaching a balanced proposal on the Paris rulebook. Progress has slowed, leaving the heavy lifting for COP24. A leadership deficit is the root cause of this slow pace and needs to be immediately addressed. The upcoming California Climate Summit, New York UN Climate Week and Pre-COP must now be leveraged to unlock contentious issues like finance and differentiation.”
Sanjay Vashist, Director, Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA): “South Asian countries are keen to lead the revolution towards renewable energy, but the region is being repeatedly hit by disasters. With our public resources constantly diverted to coping with impacts, climate talks must provide the climate finance needed to make the transition to renewables a reality.”
Nithi Nesadurai, Regional Coordinator, Climate Action Network South-East Asia: “While this meeting in Bangkok has experienced uneven progress and challenges, it has given Co-Chairs the mandate to prepare a joint reflection note proposing text and the way forward. COP24 is a significant conference to finalise the Rulebook of the Paris Agreement and raise climate ambition. The Co-Chairs’ outputs, supported by multiple forthcoming events, including the release of the IPCC 1.5C report, must facilitate the convergence towards achieving an effective and productive outcome at COP24. This includes the provision of adequate climate finance to enable developing countries to make a greater shift to clean energy investments. There is no time to lose!”
Erika Lennon, Senior Attorney, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL): “Progress in Bangkok has been slow and significant work remains between now and Katowice. During COP24 the world will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights. Parties must take this opportunity to deliver on the vision of the Paris Agreement, that of people-centered climate action by adopting a robust set of Implementation Guidelines that integrates human rights, the rights of indigenous peoples, and gender equality.”
Alden Meyer, Director of Strategy and Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists: “The outcome of the Bangkok climate talks was uneven and leaves much work to be done over the next three months to assure a successful summit in Katowice, Poland this December. On the core issues of forward-looking climate finance and the degree of flexibility developing countries should be given on the information and reporting requirements for national commitments under the Paris Agreement, negotiators were stalemated in Bangkok. It’s now up to the incoming Polish presidency and officials leading negotiations to find ways to bridge the deep differences on these issues and to secure agreement in Katowice on a robust, comprehensive package of rules to implement the Paris Agreement.
Mark Lutes, Senior Global Climate Policy Advisor, WWF: “We leave Bangkok with agreement on the rules to implement the Paris Agreement within reach. COP24 must achieve a broader package of outcomes, including on more ambitious climate action and commitments, climate finance and addressing loss and damage from climate change. These areas are all essential to implementation of the Paris Agreement, and governments must put the pieces in place to achieve all of them by they time they convene again in Katowice.”
Jennifer Tollmann, Climate Diplomacy Researcher, E3G: “Let’s face it we’re leaving this session still far off from a successful outcome at COP24. Progress on the rulebook will require progressive alliance to step up and build trust and ministers to give guidance that starts bridging the gap on political crunch issues around finance and differentiation.
“If the rulebook is the backbone of the Paris Agreement, then an ambition outcome is its heart and finance its lifeblood – let one fall into disrepair and the whole body is in trouble. To make healthy progress on any, let alone all of these issues will require a significant step up in diplomatic outreach on behalf of the incoming Polish Presidency and traditional bridge builders like the European Union.”
Amid growing calls for urgent and strong climate change action, the supplementary Bangkok Climate Change Talks closed on Sunday, September 9, 2018 with uneven progress on the guidelines that will tell the world how to implement the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The implementation guidelines are needed to unlock transparent and practical climate action across the globe.
Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UNFCCC
The implementation guidelines have been under negotiation since 2016 and are set to be adopted at the annual climate change conference, COP24, to be held in Katowice, Poland in December.
“In Bangkok, there has been uneven progress on the elements of the climate change regime that countries are working towards,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change.
“This underlines the urgent need for continuing work in the coming weeks,” she added.
The Paris Agreement’s provisions that countries are working towards operationalising include increased action to deal with the impacts of climate change and increased and transparent support for developing country action in the form of finance, technology cooperation and capacity-building.
Crucially, the provisions to be operationalized also include the goal of limiting global temperature increase this century to well below 2°C, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C through transparent and ambitious emission reductions.
“In preparation for COP24, it will be critical to achieve balance across all issues. This is important because all parts of the regime need to function together in an inter-connected manner,” Ms. Espinosa underlined.
Countries have been grappling with how to reflect the contributions and responsibilities of developed and developing countries given their different national circumstances.
Of key concern are items that relate to transparently and regularly communicating actions, as well as how to achieve full clarity on climate finance now and in the long-term.
“The Paris Agreement strikes a delicate balance to bring all countries together. We must recognize that countries have different realities at home. They have different levels of economic and social development that lead to different national situations,” said Ms. Espinosa.
“This needs to be reflected in the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement. This calls for a political solution, but time is running short. Leaders need to engage and help solve these issues well in advance of COP24,” she urged.
This year, the world has witnessed flood-related deaths, livelihoods wiped out by droughts and expensive infrastructure lost across large stretches of the developed and the developing world.
“Clearly, we need to increase climate action significantly. Clearly, fully implementing the Paris Agreement is the way to do this in a balanced, coordinated manner that leaves nobody behind. The secretariat stands ready to fully support countries towards this important outcome,” she added.
The officers presiding over the negotiations, as well as the current COP presidency held by Fiji and the in-coming Polish COP presidency have been working hard towards COP24.
“I want to express my sincere appreciation to the Presiding Officers, COP President Bainimarama and in-coming COP President Kurtyka for their strong commitment and hard work towards success at COP24,” Ms. Espinosa stated.
Negotiations on a rulebook for the Agreement lurch toward their final act despite developed countries refusing to engage on key issues like climate finance
Mohamed Adow, Senior Climate Advisor at Christian Aid. Photo credit: Scidev.net
Nearly 2 ½ years after opening, negotiations on the rulebook for the Paris Agreement enter their final stage as countries agreed a process to condense a 300-page draft into text that can be negotiated later this year in Katowice, Poland.
“We have fortunately avoided scuppering the ship,” said Mohamed Adow, Christian Aid’s International Climate Lead. “Governments have empowered the Co-Chairs to turn the progress made so far into a more solid basis for negotiations in Poland. It is now vital for the Co-Chairs to change the course of the negotiations away from diplomatic doldrums towards a win-win approach and craft middle ground options that the whole world can get on board with at COP24.”
The Co-Chairs will have to remain transparent in their process, ensure an even-handed treatment of the options on the table, and refrain from inserting new language in order to avoid a mutiny later this year. However, larger concerns remain over the role of one country – and one man in particular – in frustrating progress.
“Under Trump the U.S. has set about renegotiating the Paris Agreement to escape its historical responsibility and get better deal for the Big Polluters it serves” saidCorporate Accountability’s media director, Jesse Bragg. “Led by the U.S., developed countries are trying to strip equity from Paris and force false solutions into the heart of the Agreement. But this type of obstruction is nothing new – the U.S. has long watered-down multilateral agreements before walking away all together. If we’re to get what the world needs from Paris, we cannot allow Trump to hold this Agreement hostage.”
Particularly frustrating for developing countries and civil society alike was an apparent refusal by developed countries, led by the U.S., to engage constructively on key discussions about finance issues such as their communication of up-front information, the process to establish a new long-term finance goal, and the replenishment of the Green Climate Fund.
Lidy Nacpil, Coordinator at the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development, warned, “the U.S.’ cancellation of $2 billion of its $3 billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund and obstruction of the Fund’s replenishment – these acts are not only denial of its responsibility for the climate crisis. These acts will bring further harm to our people and communities.”
“The U.S. has announced its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement but still negotiates as if it is a Party, weakening international cooperation by not contributing to finance and technology transfer to developing countries,” said Meena Raman, legal advisor at Third World Network.
“After contributing the most to cause the climate crisis, the U.S. now expects developing countries to clean up the mess with no help whatsoever. This Just Do It Yourself attitude risks infecting the entire process and will hinder the much-needed implementation of the Paris Agreement.”
Harjeet Singh, ActionAid’s Global Lead on Climate Change added, “The Paris Agreement is on the brink. Developed countries are going back on their word and refusing to agree clear rules governing climate finance. If they remain stuck in their positions and fail to loosen their purses, this treaty may collapse.
“We have a mountain to climb before the next climate summit this December. Finance ministers must now step in and deliver on the promises made in Paris.”
“The U.S.’ siren call appears to be working, big polluting countries are falling in behind.” said Rachel Kennerley, International Climate Campaigner at Friends of the Earth England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. “Now Australia is openly talking of scrapping its already weak climate plan and withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. And other low-ambition countries including the U.K. are hiding in the U.S.’ shadow even while claiming to be climate leaders.”
“To be a real climate leader the U.K. and other developed countries need to provide real climate finance and phase out fossil fuels as soon as possible.”
In a solidarity message delivered at the #RiseforClimate rally at the Ken Saro-Wiwa Peace Centre, Bori, Ogoni in Nigeria on Saturday, September 8, 2018, Director of the ecological think tank, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey, says its time to rise for climate, and stand for justice
The #RiseforClimate rally
The floods are coming. Our coastlines are receding. Our creeks, streams and rivers are polluted by oil spills, produced water, toxic wastes and an assortment of wastes including plastics. Deforestation continues. Desertification is not slowing down. No water to drink. No fish in our waters. Our farmlands are barren. Violent conflicts everywhere resulting from shrinking access to the gifts of nature. Our people are sick! Life has become a mist!
It is time to Rise for Climate. It is time to stand for justice.
Nigeria continues to allow routine gas flaring. Deadlines are set, and goal posts are shifted continually. Sixty-two years of unconscionable pumping of harmful elements into the atmosphere. Sixty-two years of pretending we do not know that the diseases we see around us are not strange but are manufactured by our lack of conscience and our refusal to stop the continuous poisoning of our peoples.
It is time to open our eyes, shake off the pretense and Rise for Climate! It is time to stand for justice.
Changed weather patterns. The climate crisis is here and now. Failing agriculture. Many tragic events underscore these realities, yet rather than act and, whereas we should stop digging for and burning crude oil, we give room for false solutions like carbon marketing and dream we can solve the problem with carbon capture and burial and even through geoengineering.
Together we Rise for Climate. Together we stand for climate justice.
As the Lagdo dam in Cameroon and the Kainji dam in Nigeria send huge quantities of water down stream, our agencies raise the alarm and do little else. In 2012 we lost over 300 persons and over 2 million persons were displaced. As we speak, the scenario is repeating itself. Already over sixty communities have been submerged and at least one death has been recorded.
It is time to wake up, see the horrors and Rise for Climate! It is time to stand for justice.
Ogoni remains polluted. Oil spills are going on across the Niger Delta. Soot hangs like a blanket over Port Harcourt. We cannot wait until we perish before we rise? We shall not wait until we cannot breathe before we speak up? We cannot be silent until all our lands disappear in the ocean or are covered by the desert? The labour of our hero’s past shall not be in vain? No!
Ken Saro-Wiwa said “to be silent is treason.” He also urged action, adding “We shall do this peacefully, and we shall win!” Today we pledge to take real Climate action wherever we are. Today we pledge to stand with our peoples and fight climate criminals. Today we rise for climate and demand action. Today we rise for climate and demand justice.
Key stakeholders in Africa’s agricultural sector today identified partnerships for sustainable agricultural technology delivery as a critical factor in Africa’s quest to feed Africa.
Dr. Mpoko Bokanga, Head of the TAAT ClearingHouse
This came out strongly at a breakfast session that heralded the presidential summit of the 2018 African Agricultural Revolution Forum (AGRF) which ended on Saturday, September 8, 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city.
Organised by the ClearingHouse of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), an initiative of the African Development Bank’s Feed Africa Strategy that aims to achieve major agricultural transformation in Africa, the session had in attendance, African agriculture ministers, scientists, representatives of multilateral development banks, donor partners and the private sector.
Mpoko Bokanga, Head of the TAAT ClearingHouse, in his opening statements traced the programme’s history to the October 2015 Dakar High Level Conference on Africa Agricultural Transformation Agenda which led to the adoption of four goals and 18 action points to transform African agriculture.
With a focused approach on integrated development of agricultural value chains, Dr. Bokanga highlighted the main objective of TAAT which is to “take proven agricultural technologies to scale in a commercially sustainable fashion through the establishment of a mechanism to facilitate partnerships.”
“These partnerships will not only provide access to expertise required to design, implement and monitor the progress of crop, animal and aquaculture, they will also contribute to ending extreme poverty by eliminating hunger and malnutrition; and making Africa a net exporter of agricultural commodities,” Dr. Bokanga said.
Innovative approach in partnerships
TAAT, according to Dr. Bokanga, isn’t an addition to Africa’s long list of agricultural initiatives but an innovative programme that serves as a clearing house for sustainable agricultural technology delivery.
Through its components, the programme will promote an enabling environment for technology adoption; establish a regional technology delivery infrastructure to accelerate delivery; and raise Africa’s agricultural productivity by deploying proven agricultural technologies at the agro-ecological and country levels in strengthened agricultural value chains.
The Togolese Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Ouro-Koura Agadazi, was full of praises for the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) for this well-thought-out programme, which according to him, “carries the prospects of transforming Africa’s agricultural landscape.”
“Togo has benefitted from several of IITA path-breaking agricultural solutions and it is our hope that TAAT will not be any different,” Agadazi added.
Joseph Mwanamvekha, Malawian Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, commended the partnership between IITA as the executing agency and the over 10 research institutes and centres driving the implement of the TAAT programme.
Also underscoring the imperatives of partnerships for sustainable agricultural technology at the breakfast session were representatives of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the IITA.
Technologies for Africa
Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) is a knowledge and innovation-based response to the recognised need to scaling up proven technologies across Africa.
Already being implemented in 31 low income Regional Member Countries of the AfDB, TAAT supports AfDB’s Feed Africa Strategy for the continent to eliminate the current massive importation of food and transform its economies by targeting agriculture as a major source of economic diversification and wealth, as well as a powerful engine for job creation.
The initiative will implement 655 carefully considered actions that should result in almost 513 million tons of additional food production and lift nearly 250 million Africans out of poverty by 2025.
The Kogi State Government has set up temporary camps for victims of flood in Lokoja, as more houses get submerged in the confluence city.
Displaced Lokoja flood victims
According to Mr Sanusi Yahaya, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, camps have been opened in Wada Estate and Old Poly Quarters in the state’s capital city to accommodate the flood victims.
“We are already collaborating with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that relief materials and other essential facilities are provided in the camps.
“We had challenge of water supply yesterday (Saturday, September 8, 2018) because the borehole is not functioning, but we have been able to resolve that by providing alternative water supply sources.
“Light and clinic are also other challenges because the camp has not been connected to the grid, but since it is an emergency, we will solve the problems as they are being identified.
“The accommodation is adequate for the number of people currently displaced. We can still accommodate more people.
“Already, NEMA officials have visited the camps in Koton-karfe. As we speak, they are on their way to Lokoja with other teams sent by the federal government to assess the situation,” Yahaya said.
The commissioner advised residents of flood-prone communities to relocate to safer places to avoid loss of lives and property.
“All the indices that were in place before the 2012 flood are already here except for the Lagdo Dam in Cameroun that is not spilling water as yet.
“As at Saturday morning, the water level in River Niger was already 10.014 metres, compared to its 9.5 metres depth on Sept. 8, 2012; it is time to move away from water,” he said.
Mr James Ahmadu, Director of Relief and Rehabilitation, Kogi State Emergency Management Agency, who also spoke with newsmen, said that the flood victims had been trooping into the camps that were set up on Friday.
“Fifty-five households arrived the camp on Friday while additional 33 came on Saturday.
Mr Umar Zakari, the Camp Leader, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that victims from Adankolo Estate lost practically everything they had.
He commended the state government for the temporary accommodation and appealed to relevant stakeholders to assist the flood victims.
“We thank government for providing water, but we need food, mosquitoe nets, light and a clinic. Our children are getting sick,” Zakari said.
NAN recalls that the Kogi government set up five camps to accommodate 64 communities displaced by flood in Kotokarfe, last month.
Some residents of Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos on Saturday, September 8, 2018 lamented their loss of valuables worth millions of Naira to flood from persistent rainfall since the early hours, coupled with the poor drainage facilities in the community.
A flooded neighbourhood in the Lekki axis
Some of the residents, in interviews with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the early morning downpour left several roads and homes in the area flooded.
Mr Luqman Balogun, a member of the Community Development Association (CDA), in Ibeju-Lekki, said that it had been a long time since the community witnessed such torrential rain.
“We can neither go to the office nor stay at home comfortably now as many of our valuables are already destroyed by flood.
“I never believed we could be sacked by flood because we live in a predominantly sandy environment, due to our proximity to the ocean.
“What I have observed now is that there are no working drainage channels in Ibeju-Lekki, as we have in other parts of Lagos State,’’ he said.
Balogun mentioned some of the areas affected by the flood included Kajola, Majek first-gate area, Lakowe, Eleko, Oribanwa and Awoyaya, among several others.
According to him, the flooding has affected commercial businesses in the community, including the hospitality sector.
“I am a hotel operator. We hotel owners are also complaining of low patronage due to bad roads, epileptic power supply, the absence of a functional drainage system and other issues.
“Despite all the challenges, government is still giving us estimated taxes and ridiculous bills.
“We have not been enjoying any infrastructure in this community, yet we pay our taxes and there is virtually no serious encouragement from government,’’ he said.
Also, Mr Seyi Bakare, a resident, decried the poor condition of the Ibeju-Lekki Expressway.
He noted that the major road in the area had started to develop several portholes, thereby causing some traffic bottlenecks on the expressway
Bakare added that the journey from the Ajah axis to Epe/Ibeju-Lekki which ought to take about 45 minutes now lasts about an hour-and-a-half.
Another resident, Mr Lanre Solution, appealed to the Lagos State government to fix the Lekki-Epe expressway, which he said, was the major road linking Ibeju-Lekki to Epe.
He said that adequate maintenance of the road would enhance business activities in the area.
Mrs Bola Fadahunsi, another resident, lamented that the bad roads and flooding were causing a lot of damage to the vehicles of residents, costing them much more money to maintain them.
Visionscape Sanitation Solutions (VSS) Ltd. on Saturday, September 8, 2018 attributed the termination of appointment of 18 area managers of the organisation on April 13, 2018, to business restructuring.
Chief Executive Officer of Visionscape, Mr John Irvine
The Chief Executive Officer of VSS, Mr John Irvine, gave the clarification in a statement in Lagos, explaining that there was a cohesive change in the scope of the company’s contract, and in turn, its modus operandi.
Irvine said that the organisation had keen emphasis on performance and sustainability of the business, in the current operating environment.
He said that the waste management company evaluated every employee in all functions of the business, using individual performance assessments as a basis of decision-making.
According to him, this methodology highlights the core individuals that need to be retained, considering the resizing and right-sizing of the business.
“Unfortunately, in tandem, some employees were affected by the process. We reiterate that the decision to terminate the area managers’ employment was purely a business decision.
“This is as management reviewed the manpower requirements against the backdrop of the delivery of our current scope,” the chief executive officer said.
Irvine said that all salaries, entitlements and emoluments due to the 18 workers upon termination of employment had been paid in full.
