Pollution levels on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 hit alarmingly high levels in New Delhi, India with authorities considering emergency measures such as closing schools and top ministers likening the city to a “gas chamber.”
New Delhi is ranked as among the most polluted cities in the world
With an estimated population of 19 million, New Delhi is ranked as among the most polluted cities in the world, but plans to tackle the worsening ambient air quality do not appear to have worked so far.
Residents of the city woke up to a morning shrouded by thick smog as doctors warned of a health crisis and advised people not to venture outdoors unless absolutely necessary.
The levels of suspended particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5) hovered between 400 and 900 microgrammes per cubic metre from Tuesday morning, several times higher than the safe limit.
Report says the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that people are not exposed to PM2.5 levels above 10 microgrammes averaged over a year or 25 microgrammes in any 24-hour period.
WHO said the small particles can get deep into the lungs and even the blood stream.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said Delhi had become a gas chamber.
“Every year this happens during this part of the year.
“Considering high level of pollution, I have asked Education Minister Manish Sisodia to consider closing schools for a few days,’’ Kejriwal said, reacting to the high pollution.
Officials said that extra measures, such as a four-time hike in parking fees and limiting vehicle numbers, may kick in if the situation does not improve.
Weather analysts suggested the smog could be caused by a complete absence of wind, with moisture trapping emissions from the ground.
Zonal Director, National Oil Spill Detection and Remediation Agency (NOSDRA), Mr Cyrus Nkangwung, has expressed the agency’s readiness to continue to combat oil spill in the Niger Delta.
Ibuu Creek polluted by an oil spill, in Okwuzi Community in Rivers State. Photo credit: Dandy Mgbenwa
Nkangwung made the assertion at the maiden Obolo Achievers Award organised by the group on Monday, November 6, 2017 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He appealed to communities to complain about oil spill to the agency rather than drag companies operating in their areas to court.
Nkangwung applauded the recent complaint by the Ataba community in Andoni Local Government Council area which was affected by the Bodo (Gokana) oil spill.
The zonal director promised that the agency would soon adopt a quick measure to clean up the Ataba community.
Also, Mr Nkpon Ijonama, President, Andoni Youth Leaders and Stakeholders said that the youth of Obolo extraction in Rivers and Akwa Ibom needed to embrace peace to attract investments to their area.
Ijonama said they should emulate the recipients and strive toward the betterment of Obolo.
Ijonama said the group resolved to honour indegines/corporate organisations that performed meritoriously in the area with the award as part of efforts to reawaken youths of Obolo to the need for peace and development.
According to him, subsequent editions of the award would be held after every five years.
Ijonama said the award, including post-humous and honorary for individuals and corporate organisations, was initiated to encourage peaceful and productive cooperation among them and youths of the area.
He, however, condemned the recent security traits which had ravaged the economy of area and urged parties involved in any form of criminality to turn a new lease of life.
The youth leader also urged youth in the area to shun war and learn to settle disputes through dialogue.
Some of the recipients are Prof. Alice Nte (a Pediatrician), the late Maj. Samuel Ogotnte, Chief Davies Ikanya, Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante and Mr Sampson Ngerebara an engineer.
Others are Dr Silas Eneyo, Mr Jonah Gogo, Mr Anthony Nted, Mr Ikpong Etteh Verokebi Enterprises Nigeria Ltd.
The award recipients thanked the organisers and pledged their cooperation toward the development of the area.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Fund for Agricultural Development on Climate Change Adaptation and Agri-Business Support Programme (IFAD-CASP).
Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Prof. Sani Marshi
A statement by Mr Muntari Ibrahim, General Manager, Public Relations Unit, on Monday, November 6, 2017 in Abuja, said the MoU has a renewable life span of four years.
The statement noted that Prof. Sani Mashi, Director-General, NiMet, said the MoU was aimed at improving yields, mitigating the vagaries associated with climate change, and reducing the risk of crop failure.
“The key components of the MoU include prediction of rainfall establishment, rainfall variability, dry spells and length of raining season for sustainable agriculture
“Another component, is the installation of NiMet applications to CASP smart phones for real-time climate and weather information in the designated programme areas,’’ the statement said.
Mashi added that the MoU would also cover the development of crop calendars in line with the value chain crops adopted by the selected communities.
“It also included training of Extension Workers, Climate Change Officers and Community development associations in the analysis and interpretation of the Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) in selected CASP states.
“The programmes of IFAD are in tandem with NiMet’s core mandate, which are geared toward poverty reduction, increase in food security and accelerated economic growth on a sustainable basis,” Mashi said.
Mashi said that the collaboration was designed to improve crop yields and farming systems through adaptation to climate change in core northern savannah states adjudged to be most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
He listed the states as Katsina, Borno, Sokoto, Yobe, Kebbi, Zamfara and Jigawa.
“These states are to benefit from the IFAD/NiMet symbiotic relationship, which will reduce the losses incurred by farmers in the states over the years as a result of climate change and weather uncertainties.”
The National Programme Coordinator, CASP, Muhammad Idah, said the synergy between the two organisations across the aforementioned northern states would be downscaled to cover 104 local government areas and 727 villages.
Idah said the synergy would enable the agencies to provide climate change adaptation and resilience information to the farmers to manage and coordinate their farming practice.
The programme, according to him, was aimed at promoting climate smart agricultural production.
He commended NiMet for the recent training of CASP field climate change officers and extension agents.
According to him, the officers can confidently predict rainfall through the help of the rain gauges presented to them by NiMet.
“An action plan is to be developed to periodically assess the level of impact of the collaboration on farmers of the targeted seven Northern states,” he said.
Delegates from about 196 countries have gathered in Bonn, Germany for what has become a semblance of a yearly ritual – the 23rd conference of parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar (left); Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr Shehu Ahmed (right); and Director, Department of Climate Change in the Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr Peter Tarfa (behind), during the opening ceremony of COP23 on Monday, November 6, 2017 in Bonn, Germany
The conference holds from November 6 to 17, 2017 under the leadership of Fiji, which is the first small island developing state to hold this role.
The COP is coming at a time extreme weather events like floods, hurricanes and fires have destabilised millions of people in Africa Asia, the Americas and the Caribbean. COP 23 therefore aspires to propel the world towards the next level of ambition needed to tackle global warming and put the world on a safer and more prosperous development path.
Africa and the COP Process
At the beginning of COP 22 in Marrakech, Morocco, November 2016, the Paris Agreement era had been ushered in. Countries of the world had demonstrated commitment and the Agreement had come into force faster than anticipated. Due to this reality, COP 22 then focused on how to make Paris agreement work by setting up mechanisms and structures that would facilitate its implementation.
A year later and with with over 33 African countries ratifying the Paris Agreement, Africans are heading to Bonn with a bag full of expectations for the continent and the world.
As the region with least contribution to green house gas emissions and the most affected in terms of climate disasters, African delegates are not happy with the failure of the COP process to close the finance gap; inadequacy in pledges; delay in addressing ‘orphan issues’ under the Paris Agreement especially common time-frames for NDCs, and adjustment of existing NDCs. Others are recognition of developing countries’ adaptation efforts; guidance related to finance; and the slow pace and ambiguity in sequencing of work on the Paris Agreement Rule Book thus creating roadblocks in advancing the its formulation.
African demands
Prof Seth Osafo of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) believes that the slow progress by developed country parties towards reaching the US$100 billion goal of joint annual mobilisation by 2020 is not in Africa’s interest. Speaking at the African civil society Pre-COP workshop in Bonn, Prof Osafo said Africa’s interest lies in developed countries providing financial support to developing countries and positioning the Paris Committee on Capacity Building (PCCB) to provide support to developing countries in finance, technology and capacity building.
At the Pre-COP workshop organised by African civil society actors including farmers, pastoralists, youth and gender groups under the umbrella of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), non-state actors from the region expressed their desire for loss and damage concerns to be fully taken into consideration as the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) shifts to serve the Paris Agreement after 2020.
According to Mithika Mwenda, Secretary General of the alliance, parties should establish a globally supported insurance mechanism (especially for agriculture and infrastructure sectors) in line with the objectives of the WIM for Loss & Damage by 2020. “We call on Parties to establish a framework, preferably outside but complimentary to UNFCCC, for addressing liability or compensation due to losses and damages in developing countries by extreme weather events and severe impacts of climate change,” he added.
Pre-2020 commitments
Heading into the 23rd session of the Conference of Parties this year, one of the issues that have emerged as key expectation for African Parties to this year’s climate talks is progress on pre-2020 commitments.
African groups want COP23 to provide an opportunity for rich countries to revisit their commitment to undertake pre-2020 actions. The deliverables could be the concrete progress or signal with regards to the ratification of the Doha Amendment of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) to enable the entry into force of the second commitment period (for emissions reductions by developed countries under the KP) and the operationalisation of the $100 billion per year from 2020 and other resources for developing countries.
The implementation of pre-2020 commitments which cover actions to be taken before the Paris Agreement comes into force are of high importance to safeguard the future of the climate.
Rule book for Paris Agreement
Another issue of urgent African importance at this COP is progress on the work programme to implement the Paris Agreement. Negotiations on the Paris Rule Book will be critical to ensuring that the promises made in the Paris Agreement are met. Some of these promises include the commitment of governments to respect, protect and take into consideration existing human rights obligations.
To enhance the likelihood that the Paris Agreement is effectively implemented, when developing the Paris Rule Book, parties are expected to integrate human rights and the social and environmental principles reaffirmed in the agreement’s preamble, including the rights of indigenous peoples, public participation, gender equality, safeguarding food security and ending hunger, a just transition, and ecosystem integrity.
Facilitative Dialogue 2018
According to the agreement reached in Paris, a facilitative dialogue (FD 2018) is to be convened to take stock of the collective efforts of Parties in relation to progress towards the long-term goal of the Paris Agreement and to inform the preparation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
The Facilitative Dialogue is expected to ensure the linkage between policies, actions and means of implementation. It will also be instrumental to maintaining the political momentum of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goal and the need to be informed by what science indicates as necessary for climate actions and ambition for next 15 years.
The design of the dialogue as an overall feature together with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on 1.5°C, the work of the climate champions and work of non-state actors, are critical for this purpose.
Migration has been identified as an inevitable phenomenon with far-reaching advantages when done within the context of available conventions.
Participants at the Roundtable
This was made known in a communique by participants at the three-day European Union (EU) funded Media Roundtable on Smuggling of Migrants (SOM), organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in partnership with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). It held from October 30 to November 1, 2017 in Kaduna, Kaduna State.
However, they observed that these advantages and opportunities are being lost to irregular migration, which is being perpetrated by smugglers of migrants.
They also observed that Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) is not abating in Nigeria and is constituting threat to national security, economy and socio-political sanity and well-being of the country.
Stating that the rise of SOM is a consequence of improper and ineffectual information dissemination and citizen education on the phenomenon, the participants observed that there is lack of synergy between the agencies coordinating Migration Management in Nigeria (such as NIS and NAPTIP) and the media.
To this end, they recommended that government at all levels and its relevant agencies must wake up to the urgent need to tackle SOM, adding that there is an urgent need for agencies managing migration in the country to synergise with the media for effective campaign against SOM.
Stressing further, the participants, who maintained that there is need for NIS to develop a proactive information management system on migrants-related issues as well as develop a robust social media engagement strategy to counter the narratives on SOM, emphasised the need for media organisations to establish Migration Desks for effective reportage of migration and related issues.
Earlier, while declaring the meeting open, the Deputy Comptroller Immigration, Kaduna Command, DCI Jerry Adah, who noted that there is always a pull and push factor in migrants being smuggled, said SOM is a current topic and the media need to properly sensitise and disseminate information on migrants smuggling, with a view to addressing the ills inherent in the practice.
Also speaking, National Project Officer of UNODC, Mr Sylvester Atere, in his goodwill message, said the Media Roundtable was designed to ensure that Nigeria maximises the potentials of migration to deter people from irregular migration.
According to Mr Atere, migration is a timeless issue, hence, it is very important to build the capacity of media practitioners to be on first hand understanding of the issues of migration, in order to promote its better management.
The German government opened the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn by announcing an additional €100 million to support developing countries in climate change adaptation. The Federal Environment Ministry has pledged €50 million to the Adaptation Fund and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development is contributing another €50 million to the Least Developed Countries Fund which provides targeted support in climate change adaptation to the poorest countries.
Federal Environment Minister of Germany, Barbara Hendricks (left), with COP23 President and Fijian Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama
Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks commented: “With this pledge of support we are sending a clear signal that Germany stands in solidarity with those people and countries particularly affected by climate change. I hope that this pledge will lend good momentum and inspire a constructive atmosphere for the negotiations. Having contributed a total of €240 million to date, Germany is now the largest donor to the Adaptation Fund. Our objective is to make the fund an integral part of the financial architecture of the Paris Agreement.”
Federal Development Minister Dr Gerd Müller stated: “Droughts, cyclones, floods – developing countries have contributed the least to the problem of climate change, but they are carrying the heaviest burden. Ongoing global warming is jeopardising development achievements and is becoming a matter of survival for these people. With this contribution we are providing targeted support for the poorest of the poor.”
Together with the 1.5 degree target, financial support and simplified access to multilateral adaptation finance instruments are the most important demands being made in negotiations by Fiji, the small island states and the least developed countries group (LDC).
The Adaptation Fund finances, among others, measures for coastal protection and switching to new cultivation methods in agriculture and is managed equally by donor and recipient countries. The fund has launched 67 projects in 63 countries to date with funding of approximately $450 million. It is financed by levies on projects on the international carbon market. Due to the low prices on the carbon market however, these revenues are considerably lower than expected. In spite of growing needs and recognised good work by the fund, it is underfinanced and relies on voluntary contributions such as those made by Germany. The 10th anniversary of the Adaptation Fund will be celebrated on November 16 in Bonn in the Old Town Hall.
The Least Developed Countries Fund (LDC Fund) finances measures for adaptation to climate change in the least developed countries which are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The projects include adaptation measures in the areas of agriculture, development of climate information systems, coastal zone and disaster risk management, and health and cultivation of natural resources.
For instance, the rural population in Sierra Leone is being supported in its efforts to deal with climate risks such as floods. In Nepal, local authorities are being strengthened in order to adapt agricultural and forestry plans to climate change and its risks.
With a total contribution of 265 million euros, Germany is the largest donor. The fund has launched 195 projects in 49 countries to date with a funding of around $1.15 billion. Approximately two-thirds of the funding has been invested in projects in Africa and a further 30 percent in projects in the Asia-Pacific region.
The UPS Foundation, which leads the global citizenship programmes for UPS, announced on Monday, November 6, 2017 that it would award more than $2.6 million in grants to non-profit organisations focused on environmental initiatives that align with its new sustainability goals to increase reliance on renewable energy sources and reduce absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from global ground operations.
Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation
A significant grant will support The World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organisation that provides continued programme support for the development of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the Science Based Targets initiative, and the sustainable use of Renewable Natural Gas.
According to UPS, these protocols and targets were used to help establish its 2020 and 2025 emissions, energy, fuel, and vehicle environmental goals. The UPS Foundation’s funding of WRI has reportedly helped produce many of the GHG Protocol Standards and Tools that companies are using to set and measure their emission reduction goals.
Grants will also be awarded to UPS partners The Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Both organisations are said to have played an integral role in the UPS Global Forestry Initiative, a programme designed to plant, protect and preserve trees in urban and rural areas and forests worldwide.
By the end of 2017, 2.6 million trees will have been planted as a part of the programme. The UPS Foundation’s goal is to fund the planting of 15 million trees by the end of 2020. At the end of this year, 9.7 million trees will have been planted during the last five years which equates to reaching 65 percent of the goal.
“UPS set aggressive environmental goals that require innovative solutions for today’s global sustainability challenges,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer at UPS. “The UPS Foundation helps us partner with organisations that help meet those same challenges. From helping build standards and tools to measure progress, to increasing reforestation efforts, we continue to fund projects that deliver impact for the environmental issues we face on a daily basis.”
In addition to The Nature Conservancy, the WRI and the WWF, The UPS Foundation awarded environmental grants to eight other organisations:
DonorsChoose.org, backing environmental education classroom projects submitted by public school teachers in rural communities in the U.S.
Earth Day Network, for the Trees for Communities project that will plant more than 500,000 trees in Mexico, India, Cameroon, Uganda and the Boreal Forest in Canada.
Earthwatch, to support an education and research workshop as part of UPS’s Climate Ambassadors Programme.
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., to fulfill local tree planting grants and beautification projects, advance community education and engage UPS employees through volunteerism.
National Arbor Day Foundation, for continued help with reforestation programmes of Canada’s Boreal Forest, planting 50,000 trees.
National Park Foundation, to extend reforestation efforts in reclaimed mining land at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Penn.
Student Conservation Association (SCA), for assistance with its National Conservation Internship Programme for college students interested in environmental stewardship careers.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development, to support public private partnerships to enhance environmental sustainability.
The 2017 UN Climate Change Conference kicked off in Bonn on Monday, November 6 with strong, unified calls to hold to the path of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, making a presentation during the opening ceremony of the conference
The opening of the conference – the 23rd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the UNFCCC – takes place against this year’s background of destructive hurricanes, fires, floods, droughts, melting ice and impacts on agriculture which threaten food security.
The conference will come to a close on Friday, November 17.
“All over the world, vast numbers of people are suffering – bewildered by the forces ranged against them. Our job as leaders is to respond to the suffering with all means available to us,” said newly elected COP23 President, Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama. “This means to meet our commitments in full, not back away from them.”
Mr Bainimarama said that Fiji is working to build a “Grand Coalition” throughout the year between governments at every level, civil society, the private sector and faith-based organisations.
At COP23, the COP President intends to meet with as many non-state actors as he can who are part of this coalition.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, said: “Together with the Sustainable Development Agenda, we have a clear path forward to truly address climate change and sustainable development.”
Ms. Espinosa outlined the work governments will be looking to address in Bonn – above all to take the next essential steps to ensure that the Paris Agreement’s operating system is completed in time and ways and means to implement it are strengthened.
This is essential so that the ultimate goal of the Paris Agreement can be achieved – to hold the global average temperature rise from pre-industrial time to well below 2 degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees.
Ms Espinosa underlined that immediate progress was urgent. “We need to move forward to fulfil the commitments that are due in 2020. In this regard, finance and pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions are key,” she said.
Whilst Fiji has the Presidency of COP23, the Government of Germany is providing the substantial and generous logistical resources.
German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks reiterated her countries support for the UN and pointed out that as the home of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, Bonn is evolving into a global center of climate action and an international hub for sustainable development.
The German Minister also had some good news with regard to finance for developing countries. She announced that Germany would support the UN’s Adaptation Fund with an additional 50 million Euros in 2017.
During COP23, the city of Bonn will not only host the conference, but many cultural events that will help bring climate action closer to people in the city.
Many Bonn citizens are engaged as volunteers. And Bonn schools are on board, including the school children who sang along with artist Bernadette La Hengst in the COP23 song “I’m an Island”, produced with the help of Germany’s Development Ministry.
As the 23rd round of climate change negotiations (COP23) kick off in Bonn, Germany, the chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) has called on negotiators to prioritise funding and support towards implementation of the deal agreed upon in Paris in December 2015.
Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group, Gebru Jember Endalew
“COP 23 is an important opportunity to bridge the widening finance gap, (which is) a serious barrier to ambitious climate action worldwide,” said Gebru Jember Endalew, Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group.
The Paris Agreement set a vision for an ambitious global response to climate change that will keep warming below 1.5°C, in a fair and equitable manner that promotes sustainable development.
“This COP is a vital step on our journey to setting out a clear rulebook that will fully implement the vision laid out at Paris,” he said, observing that COP 23 is the final round of negotiations before the work programme of the Paris Agreement is to be finalised. “We must (therefore) hope to leave Bonn with a draft negotiating text that can be fleshed out over the coming year.”
The United Nations climate change negotiations kicked off in Bonn on November 6 and will end in two weeks time. Hosted by Fiji, the negotiations are a key milestone towards finalisation of the rules that will govern implementation of the Paris Agreement.
The impacts of rising global temperatures continue to worsen. In the lead up to COP23, there was historic monsoon flooding, resulting in over a thousand lives lost and the displacement of over two million people in South Asia; the impact of consecutive seasons of drought in Africa; historic rainfall (with Hurricane Harvey setting a single-storm rainfall record in the United States, causing tens of billions of dollars in damage); and historic windspeeds laying waste to many Caribbean island territories (with Hurricane Irma recording the highest windspeed on record for the open Atlantic Ocean).
The catastrophic impacts of these extreme weather events, according to Endalew, underlie the urgency of substantive progress and action in Bonn.
“LDCs will be pushing to deliver a Paris rulebook that catalyses greater ambition to correct our current trajectory and put the world on track to keep warming below 1.5°C. This means robust frameworks for reporting, implementation and compliance, and gauging progress across all facets of the Paris Agreement and climate Convention,” said the LCD chair.
“As the 47 poorest countries in the world, the LDCs face the unique and unprecedented challenge of lifting our people out of poverty and achieving sustainable development without relying on fossil fuels,” he said.
Endalew observed that global solidarity and the support of the international community is essential for LDCs to achieve our ambitious climate plans, and protect the people from devastating impacts of climate change that are already taking their toll.
At COP23 the LDC Group is calling on developed countries to rapidly accelerate the delivery of climate finance, with a particular focus on public finance. Both the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Adaptation Fund need to be replenished continuously and as soon as possible.
Clear guidelines and adequate technological and capacity building support is also vital to enable the LDCs carry out actions to adapt to climate change and cope with losses and damages that threaten the survival of poor and vulnerable LDC communities.
Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, on Thursday, October 26, 2017, made a major pronouncement in support of safe biotechnology in Nigeria, during a visit to one of the Bt. Cotton Multi-locational Field Trial (MFT) farms located within the premises of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Umar Musa Yar’adua Way, Lugbe, FCT Abuja, where he affirmed that ‘’there is no substitute to scientific research’’.
Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe (right), with Director General, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Prof Lucy Ogbadu, during the visit
The minister’s statement, made after listening to explanations from researchers from the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) Zaria, NABDA and Monsanto, who are jointly managing this field trial which is one of the 17 MFTs locations in Nigeria, represents a major Federal Government key policy position in support of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in Nigeria.
In an expression of satisfaction of what he saw and was told at the research centre, Ogbe said, ‘’We cannot change anything without serious work.’ When asked for his personal opinion on the project by Prof Lucy Ogbadu DG NABDA, the minister replied: “I am so happy seeing this now because there has been large talk on Bt. Cotton risk and people’s yearning’’. He thanked the IAR, Monsanto and NABDA for all their efforts and promised that he will be more involved in the monitoring of developments with the trial project.
Ogbe was told about how resistant materials are being assessed for adaptation to different ecologies of the country. Among those who gave explanations to the Minister was Prof. Onu, a scientist from IAR Zaria, who explained that recourse to biotechnology was necessary for the improvement of local varieties which are vulnerable to insect infestation. He regretted that Nigeria has been witnessing a significant production drop in the cotton sector which used to be a major contributor to GDP and national growth in the past. He recalled that the sector used to be the greatest employer of labour more than any other sector in the country but, ‘’for various reasons ranging from socio-economic to biotic and abiotic factors, it is now as good as dead’’.
Onu stated that the biotic factors which has contributed to the unavailability of seeds that are resistant to the major vagaries affecting cotton production is the area that the field trials are trying to address. He pointed out that the main objective of the project is to carry out field trials to check: the field performance assessment; growth performance; reaction to pests, challenges and problems and their adaptability to various ecologies of Nigeria. After putting together sufficient data from these assessments, recommendations can then be made to the National Variety Release Committee, presenting the most suitable variety for release for commercial production and use in the cotton system in Nigeria, he concluded.
In his contribution, the Principal Investigator, Dr. Sadiq, from IAR, explained that there are six seed varieties of cotton on the NABDA trial farm; four of which are supposed to contain some resistant material for resistance to certain insects, specifically the cotton bollworm and the other two are the local varieties that do not contain resistant gene for bollworms. ‘’Bollworms,” he noted, “are the insects that devastate cotton in the farm if proper care is not taken by the spraying of certain chemicals to deliver harvest.”
Dr. Sadiq also explained that the two varieties are planted side by side and that the two sets are exposed to two treatments; one set for controlled bollworm and other insects and the second set; for uncontrolled bollworm and control for other insects to assess the viability of these resistant materials in the Nigerian ecology.
He asserted that, despite the control, observations will show that the local variety looks haggard, due to insect infestations and dissipation of nutrients that was supposed to be transferred to the fruiting points leading to reduced size and in some cases outright dropping of balls which amounts to huge loses to the farmer and impacts very negatively on the national economy.
Another significant difference in the varieties, he noted, was that there were more sympodia (that is fruitful branches) which can give yield of about 80 to 120 balls per plant. This suggests the reason for their high adoption rate globally due to their high yield, which makes the transgenic, that is modified varieties, more prolific as compared to the local hybrid. He explained to the Minister that the attack of the insect on the local materials implies that the farmer needs to spray at two weeks interval for a reasonable harvest. He explained that this would mean that the farmer will have to use more chemicals which are more costly and unhealthy to the farmer, the crop and the environment as the chemical targets all insects; thus very high farming input.
The truth is that the Bolgard, which is the transgenic variety, is resistant to the Lepidopteran insects. Therefore the hybrid cotton variety that has assumed resistance to insects would have reduced the amount of chemicals that would have been applied, thereby protecting the farmer, the farm and the environment and leads to reasonable harvest from the farm and facilitate industrialisation towards a sustainable economy and development.
Dr. Rose Gidado, Country Representative of Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), in her contribution emphasised the cost and health benefits due to the reduction in the pesticide use. She stated that farmers were losing about 80-90% yield to insect infestation before the technology of modification of transgenic varieties. She maintained that science is a driver of change and there is no way you can move various sectors like agriculture, health and economy forward without science. She applauded the Minister’s visit, stating: ‘’The Minister has seen that science is practical and evidence-based.”
After these explanations, the Minister wanted to know whether these resistant materials are for short staples or long fibre. Prof. Onu again clarified this by stating that the long staples are more suitable for ecologies with longer rainy seasons which are typical of the southern part of the country and cited the field trial at Abeokuta as one of locations for long staples.
The Minster in his response thanked the researchers for their efforts which he described as being in line especially with some of the interventions Nigeria is looking for now to cut down import and increase export.
‘’I am happy with what I have seen today because this is the issue. The farmers keep asking for the seeds, and the cotton growing is literally varnished. The textile industry is as good as dead in Nigeria and it is very disturbing. In fact the President is extremely concerned about this. If this can continue and result in the revival of the textile industry, then we have a major achievement. We appreciate what you are doing because the ministry alone cannot do so much. It is what is going on here that matters to really develop the agric sector as Nigeria consumes more textile than any other. As we are slowly coming out of recession, there are still serious challenges ahead. The population is still galloping at 3.2%. So, the economy still need to perform at 6-7% to be able to talk about growth otherwise there is no growth. If we are heading to 200 million population in the next three to four years and 450 million by 2050, that is so scary. Whatever we are doing now is very little compared to what we need to do,” he concluded.
Prof. Ogbadu thanked the Minister for the visit and reassured him that the visit shall encourage the scientists in their various research activities for the safe application of modern biotechnology in agricultural practice for growth and development in Nigeria.
By Edel-Quinn Agbaegbu (Secretary, National Biosafety Biotechnology Consortium; Executive Director, Every Woman Hope Centre)
