The United Arab Emirates (UAE) flagship carrier, Emirates Airline, has launched a joint project with U.S. Crop One Holdings, to build the world’s largest vertical farming facility.
An impression of a vertical farming facility
The facility would be near Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport, Emirates said in a statement on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.
“Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC), the flight catering division of Emirates, and Crop One, a leading global vertical farm operator, will co-invest $40 million in the large project,’’ the statement said.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Emirates, said the massive investment “aligns with the UAE’s drive for more agricultural self-sufficiency.’’
“The introduction of ground-breaking technology at the facility also enhances Dubai’s position as a global innovation hub,’’ he added.
When complete, the vertical farm facility will cover an area of 12,077 square metres with an output equivalent to 3.64 million square metres of farmland.
“Our proven business model has demonstrated profitable commercial production longer than any other major vertical farmer,’’ Sonia Lo, Chief Executive Officer of Crop One Holdings, said.
According to the statement, at full production, the facility will harvest 2,700 kilogramme of high-quality, herbicide and pesticide-free leafy greens daily, using 99 per cent less water than outdoor fields.
The construction of the facility is scheduled to start in November and will take around one year to complete.
The first products are expected to be delivered to EKFC’s customers, including 105 airlines and 25 airport lounges, in December 2019.
The spread of Ebola seems to have been stopped in Congo, less than three months after the outbreak of the deadly disease was declared, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.
An Ebola virus patient being attended to
“The UN agency is cautiously confident that the outbreak has been contained,’’ a spokesman told a news conference in Geneva.
The last infection was confirmed on June 6, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 38.
The outbreak has claimed 28 lives in the Central African country.
The spokesman said that Congo’s health authorities would remain vigilant since a single new case in a densely populated city could trigger a new chain of infections.
A report says after the outbreak became known, the WHO and other UN agencies raced to contain the virus, which leads to fever, diarrhoea, vomiting and bleeding.
Almost 3,300 people, who came into contact with patients, were immunised.
During the 2014 to 2015 epidemic, which left over 11,000 dead in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the WHO had been criticised for its slow response.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is set to enhance sustainable electricity access through solar in 19 West African countries and the Sahel region to promote development in the region.
Off-grid lighting in Africa. Photo credit: unep.org
Stakeholders from the energy sector in the region, therefore, gathered in Accra, Ghana on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at a regional workshop to develop modalities to implement the Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEP).
ROGEP aims to enhance electricity access in West Africa and the Sahel region through standalone solar systems, including solar lanterns, solar home systems, solar water pumps and solar mills.
The ECOWAS Commissioner for Energy and Mines, Mr Sédiko Douka, said only 40 per cent of the population within the region had access to electricity supply.
He added that the objective of the meeting was to work out modalities for the implementation of the project because close to 200 million people had no access to electricity in the region.
He said “our team at the ECOWAS Commission resumed in March and within our four-year mandate, our objective is to increase electricity access to at least 60 per cent of the population in the region.
“We have been having several energy meetings within the energy sector and on Thursday, we will have the meeting of all ECOWAS ministers of energy.”
Douka added that the project, sponsored by the World Bank, would kick-off in 2019.
He noted that the project, with an estimated overall budget of $200 million, would cover
19 countries.
He listed the countries as Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali and Niger.
Others are Sierra Leone, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad and Mauritania.
Wendy Hughes, the Practice Manager, Energy and Extractive Global Practice of the World Bank Group, said that the off-grid technology would provide “real and sustainable alternative to grid electricity.”
Hughes added that the cooperation of member countries in building “a large, unified off-grid solar market will increase access to these modern energy devices.
“Adopting common quality standards for solar off-grid products that are uniform across the entire region will in effect create a single large market that will be far more attractive to private solar companies.”
She advised member states to work together to develop a comprehensive regional standard that would identify individual country’s priorities.
The project, developed in December 2015, would be implemented by the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) in January 2019.
Mr Mahama Kappiah, the Executive Director of ECREEE, said modalities had been worked out to train local entrepreneurs in the energy sector to ensure ownership of the project and affordable energy for member states.
He said: “One way we are trying to make energy affordable through this project is using our local entrepreneurs, not foreign entrepreneurs or those who call themselves expatriates and pay themselves very high salaries we have to pay for.
“We are also providing finance to these entrepreneurs and for the first phase, we have $140 million as credit line that will go to these local entrepreneurs which they can contract through the commercial banks at very low interest rate.”
Kappiah said that training had begun with 48 entrepreneurs from the 19 countries on adopting effective models to ensure the viability of the project.
He noted that the World Bank was supporting the first phase of the project with $200 million, saying that member states would not financially support the project “for now”.
“Financial support is only from a credit line scheme that we have negotiated with the World Bank that we put at the disposal of our private enterprises solely for this job.
“From January 2019, the $140 million will kick in from monies available by the World Bank,” Kappiah added.
Gov. AbdulAziz Yari of Zamfara State has said that no fewer than 500 children died as a result of lead poisoning in eight villages in 2010, as against 400 reported.
A session at the 2nd International Conference on Lead Poisoning Associated with Artisanal Gold Mining
Yari made this known during a two-day event on the 2nd International Conference on Lead Poisoning Associated with Artisanal Gold Mining in Nigeria on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 in Abuja.
Yari, who was represented by Prof. Abdullai Shikafe, the secretary to the state government, said most of the children affected were under the age of five.
He said some of the affected children that underwent treatment were still suffering memory retardation.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that lead is a toxic metal found in the earth’s crust.
It is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children, as it is stored in the teeth and bones where it accumulates over time.
Yari said the lead poisoning occurred barely a week before he assumed office as governor of the state.
He said the state responded quickly and mobilised stakeholders to sensitise communities on the dangers associated with lead poisoning.
He added that the Federal Government, relevant ministries and Doctors Without Borders also came to their rescue.
Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger State said the conference was organised to bring together key stakeholders to underscore the need for collaboration in preventing lead poisoning.
Bello commended the Federal Government and other stakeholders for supporting the state during the lead poisoning outbreak that affected two villages in Niger in 2015.
He said the state had continuously engaged in enlightenment campaigns on safer mining, and that miners and staff of ministries of minerals, environment and health were being trained and retrained on best mining practices.
Gov. Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State said artisanal mining was rampant in his state, and that youths and women dominated the illegal occupation.
Bagudu, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Suleiman Argungu, said Kebbi would continue to partner with the ministry to sensitise miners in his state on safer mining practices.
NAN also reports that there was an outbreak of lead poisoning in Zamfara in 2010, which killed no fewer than 400 people, mostly children.
In 2016, there was another outbreak of lead poisoning in Niger that also killed more than 28 children.
However, the Medicine Sans Frontiers, known as Doctors without Borders, were able to curtail the spread in the two states, in collaboration with relevant ministries and the Federal Government in terms of funding and technical support.
The cost of the first phase of remediation of lead poisoning in two villages in Zamfara was N150 million and it was funded by the state government.
The second phase of remediation in five villages in the same state cost $2 million, sponsored by the United Nations.
In 2016, the Federal government also spent N250 million to remediate lead poisoning in two villages in Niger.
Britons enjoyed sweltering heat for the third day running on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 with temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius in Wales.
Tuesday saw temperatures reaching over 30C
The temperature is possibly set to hit record June highs this week, the Meteorological Office said.
Twitter and Facebook were replete with dogs bathing in fountains and rivers, some even wearing sunglasses and hats.
The Meteorological Office said: “With temperatures into the low thirties over the next couple of days, there is a chance we could beat Northern Ireland’s all-time record of 30.8 degrees and Scotland’s June record of 32.2 degrees.”
Portmadog in North Wales was the hottest place at 30.6 degrees, with Tuesday in general only a shade below Monday’s highs, while temperatures are expected to peak on Thursday at around 32 degrees.
Britain’s highest-ever temperature for June was 35.6 C recorded in the southern port of Southampton in 1976.
A high pressure system is expected to stay over most of Britain into next week and health and emergency services are offering tips on staying cool.
Police were issuing open-water warnings to stop people tempted to bathe unsafely and several wildfires were reported in northern England.
The heatwave had yet to reach Scotland’s northernmost Shetland Islands, however, where temperatures were around 15 C and skies cloudy.
Shetland Library tweeted: “Went out for an ice cream at lunchtime, to celebrate that everyone ELSE in the country is having a #scorchio #heatwave.”
The Federal Government says the National Water Resources Bill will be beneficial to all Nigerians, whenever it is signed into law.
Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources
Minister of Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, said this on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at the National Consultative Conference on Water-Use Regulations, Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement Framework in Abuja.
Adamu said that the bill would regulate the water sector in the country, adding, however, that even though water laws had been in existence since 2006, the bill was drafted in 2008.
“I have made a statement on this bill to the media some time ago.
“Also, other stakeholders in the water sector have been commenting in the media, trying to explain what this bill is all about.
“It appears that many people have not even read about the bill; they don’t understand it before coming out to comment publicly about it.
“We have said that there is nothing new about it, as we have existing water laws; there are four existing laws that we have been consolidated into the new document.
“The laws include the Water Resources Act of 2014, the National Water Resources Institute Act, the River Basin Act and Nigeria Hydrological Services Act.
“We just introduced the concept of Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management, in line with the new water resources policy,’’ he said.
Adamu said that members of the Senate had asked all the relevant questions about the bill, while the key officials of the ministry had also responded to the enquiries.
He added that the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, had already set up committees to look at all the issues presented by the ministry concerning the content of the bill.
The minister commended the chairmen and members of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Water Resources for their interest and enthusiasm in the National Water Bill.
Adamu said that the conference was apt, as it would address some of the critical issues which were also captured in the bill.
“The conference is being organised at the right time; its theme is apt; this is further reinforced with the approval of the Water Use and Licence Regulation of 2016.
“This regulation has spelt out water licensable activities and gave the responsibility of issuing licences to the Nigeria Integrated Water Resource Management Commission (NIWRMC).
“The commission has drawn up relevant criteria for the issuance of such water permits for the corporate governance of the water sector in the country.
“The criteria are to protect, conserve, control water resources for equitable and sustainable socio-economic development as well as to maintain environmental integrity.
“Also, the criteria are to ensure that public water services were supplied efficiently and economically, in accordance with standards that reasonably meet the social, industrial and commercial needs of Nigerians across the nation,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Mr Reuben Habu, the Executive Director, NIWRMC, said that the regulation of the water resources sector derived its origin and power from Section 19 of the Water Resources Act.
Habu also said that there was nothing new in the National Water Resources Bill.
He noted that the bill was already before the National Assembly, adding that it was an amalgamation of all the extant laws on water resources in the country.
He said that NIWRMC, in the course of carrying out its statutory responsibilities, observed that there were some overlapping functions and responsibilities among different government agencies.
“The commission, therefore, saw the need to bring together all relevant stakeholders to rub minds and understand each other’s distinct roles and responsibilities.
“The commission also recognised the need to synergise for improved efficiency in water sector regulation in Nigeria,’’ he said.
Also, Dr Lawrence Anukam, Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), said that NESREA was also monitoring pollution as part of its mandate in the water resources sector.
Anukam said that the effort was to protect watersheds and catchment areas by controlling activities which were inconsistent with good land management practices in vulnerable areas across the country.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference, which was organised by NIWRMC, had “Regulating Water Resources for Sustainable Development in Nigeria’’ as its theme.
Nigeria can attract more global funding to tackle the array of environmental disasters affecting different parts of the country by keying into the five focal areas of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the body in charge of all donor funds for addressing pressing environmental issues.
This was the submission of senior officials of the GEF while interacting with fellows of the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN), who are covering the ongoing sixth GEF Assembly in Da Nang City, Vietnam.
Correspondent Innocent Onoh, who is among the fellows, reports that environmental projects by countries which are executed with global funds are decided at the GEF Assembly that is held every four years.
A cross-section of stakeholders who met in Calabar in Cross River State to explore inherent management opportunities have resolved to sustainably utilise fuel wood in order to add value to the commodity and ensure a healthy and pollution-free environment.
Resource persons and participants from project states at the Sustainable Fuel Wood Management (SFM) Business Forum for Woodlot Developers, Fuelwood Dealers, Efficient Woodstoves Makers and Sellers and MFIs in Calabar, Cross River State
At the Sustainable Fuel Wood Management (SFM) Business Forum for Woodlot Developers, Fuelwood Dealers, Efficient Woodstoves Makers and Sellers and MFIs held from Tuesday, June 19 to Thursday, June 21, 2018, fuelwood value chain actors listed their strategies to include preservation of forest resources, production of a variety of environment-friendly and energy efficient stoves, effective marketing of their products, and the execution of an active business plan.
The forum held courtesy of the “Sustainable Fuel Wood Management (SFM) in Nigeria”, a five-year (2017-2022) project being implemented by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), the Federal Ministry of Environment and other supporting stakeholders.
The three-day forum, according to the promoters of the project, created an opportunity for the players to interact and know themselves and exchange experiences, develop skills, and share knowledge and ideas on innovative business and financing models.
“The event focused on the: establishment of smallholder farmers-managed woodlot; establishment of sustainable fuel wood markets; promotion of energy-efficient woodstoves through market based approaches with community-based micro-credits to incentivise woodlot owners and end-users of cookstoves,” said Okon Ekpenyong, the SFM Project Team Leader and National Coordinator.
A consultant, Dr. D. O. Ladipo, in his presentation that explored the establishment of woodlots as a business enterprise, advised the practitioners to discuss business plan with support of the state coordinator and a microfinance bank.
“In the case of community woodlot, intensive discussions amongst members must have taken place. Remember to include youths and female members of community to have adequate balance on all fronts,” he said.
While listing tree species selection for the project in Delta, Cross River and Kaduna states, Dr Ladipo emphasised that location, design and components of the tree are to be considered when setting up a nursery.
He singled out the Gmelina arborea as an example of a tree species suitable for fuelwood/woodlot planting because, according to him, it is fast growing, can be coppiced easily and several times, yields high volume and has high wood calorific value.
In a presentation titled: “Business and Financing Model for Efficient Woodstoves /Woodlot in Nigeria”, Sir Daniel Ugbama of the Association of Non-Bank Microfinance Institutions of Nigeria (ANMFIN), noted that experience would be leveraged with small groups in trading and crop production financing to woodstove and woodlot financing.
Efficient woodstove, he said, implied the use of woodstoves that emit low smoke or not at all, and that the consumption of the wood is within the reach of an average family living within N500 income daily.
Woodlot, he added, involves the planting and management of trees in groups in an efficient way so that wood is extracted for the purpose of fuel particularly for the low income earners.
“Poverty alleviation will radically receive a boost if efficient woodstoves are encouraged and wood lot practice for fuel is evolved in Nigeria. Micro finance functions better in an environment where all stakeholders are up to their own responsibility, bringing a collective energy for the purpose of providing the necessary reliefs for the low income earner,” said Ugbama.
Speaking on charcoal production and strategies to enhance its sustainability, Ruth Akagu of SRPO BirdLife/CEPF RIT believes that, for charcoal production to be a sustainable enterprise, practitioners should:
Cultivate in local level institutions a greater and keen interest in the management of forests
Establish a conducive policy environment for local level institutions to manage forests
Facilitate the development of local rules and guidelines for managing forests for charcoal production
Improve the processes along the production chain to minimise waste
A paradigm shift from woody biomass to biomass waste
Step up research on adoption and use of alternative feedstock or biomass waste for charcoal production e.g., saw dust, bamboo. Anything organic can be converted into charcoal briquettes.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted prospects of thunderstorms and rains over the central states such as Bida, Mambila Plateau, Makurdi, Minna, Ilorin and Lafia axis in the morning of Tuesday, June 26, 2018.
Thunderstorms
NiMet’s Weather Outlook by its Central Forecast Office in Abuja on Monday, June 25 also predicted day and night temperatures in the range of 23 to 32 and 16 to 23 degrees Celsius respectively.
It added that chances of thunderstorms and rains were likely over Abuja, Minna, Lafia, Lokoja, Jos and Mambila Plateau later in the day.
The agency predicted that the Southeastern states such as Enugu, Awka, Owerri, Abakaliki and Obudu would experience morning thunderstorms and rains with day and night temperatures of 29 to 32 and 22 to 23 degrees Celsius respectively.
It also predicted prospects thunderstorms and rains over southwestern states like Lagos, Abeokuta, Iseyin, Akure, Ado-Ekiti, Shaki, and Osogbo throughout the forecast period with day and night temperatures of 27 to 30 and 21 to 23 degrees Celsius respectively.
NiMet further predicted morning thunderstorms and rains over the south-south cities like Benin, Calabar Uyo, Yenagoa and Portharcourt with day and night temperatures of 29 to 30 and 22 to 23 degrees respectively.
According to NiMet, Northern States would experience chances of thunderstorms and rains over Maiduguri, Potiskum, Yelwa, Nguru, Dutse, Gombe and Bauchi during the morning hours while other cities are likely to remain under cloudy conditions.
“However, Sokoto, Kano, Yelwa, Dutse, Gombe, Yobe, Katsina and Bauchi will have prospects of thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours with day and night temperatures of 29 to 32 and 21 to 25 degrees Celsius respectively.
“There are prospects of thunderstorms and rains across the country within the next 72 hours,” NiMet says.
The Federal Ministry of Water Resources has given priority to irrigation and water supply sector in its 2018 budget of N155 billion, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources
President Muhammadu Buhari had presented the budget to the joint session of the National Assembly for consideration since Nov. 7, 2017.
Mr President had also on Wednesday, June 20 signed into law the 2018 budget of N9.12 trillion, after being passed by the National Assembly.
A look at the budget showed that the Zobe Water Supply Project in Katsina State has N1.8 billion toward the completion of the phases 1 and 2.
The Partnership for Expanded Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) project, which is aimed at scaling up access to water and sanitation, has N1 billion for its execution.
Over N53 billion was, however, budgeted for provision of water supply, rehabilitation of dams, and irrigation projects nationwide.
In their reactions, some stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector opined that full implementation of the budget should be pursued with vigour.
Mr Victor Olaomi, Coordinator, Alliance for Water and Sanitation, an NGO, said it was important for all tiers of government to implement policies and programmes that would improve citizens’ lives.
According to him, the group will set up machinery to monitor the implementation of the budget in the sector.
“We call for the full implementation of the provisions of the 2018 budget in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, this is crucial for development to be felt at all tiers of government.”
Mr Benson Attah, National Coordinator, Society for Water and Sanitation in Nigeria (NEWSAN), wondered why the ministry allocated N1 billion to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector in the 2018 budget.
“The 2018 budgetary allocation to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources could be likened to a situation where a parent would just get any playing object for a weeping child in order to engage the child’s attention to enable him/her go about other more important issues.
“In the document prepared by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources on the over view of water, sanitation and hygiene, the ministry claimed that Nigeria requires $2.74 billion annually to achieve 100 per cent access to basic water supply and sanitation services by 2030.
“How then would the Federal Government justify its allocation of N1 billion to PEWASH in the 2018 budget?
‘‘This is grossly low and far away from reality and not to even talk about commitment to improved WASH service delivery.
“NEWSAN hereby call on the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the Federal Government to remedy this gross mistake or gross over sight, government should not forget that this is a contradiction to the earlier provision.”
Attah added that this could not be attainable following the value of the current exchange rate to be over N900 billion.
He said the Federal Government ought not to come up with a defence that the state would contribute the balance.
He buttressed his position with state governments’ failure to honour commitments entered into with their development partners.
