Demand for wildlife products supplied through illegal trade supply chains continues to place significant pressure on many wild species. As international bodies recognise the need to pair demand‑side action with traditional enforcement, countries are expanding the use of behaviour‑change and public‑engagement approaches.
Within the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), “demand reduction” refers to measures that discourage and prevent the consumption of wildlife derived from illegally traded species listed in the Appendices, particularly through behaviour‑change interventions.
Participants at the CITES regional workshop in Bogotá, Colombia
These measures form a key part of a holistic approach that also includes enforcement and support for rural livelihoods. By guiding consumers toward lawful, sustainable choices, demand‑reduction strategies help strengthen broader regional efforts to conserve CITES‑listed plant and animal species.
Working sessions facilitated by TRAFFIC enabled countries to translate the Guidance’s conceptual elements into practice, while considering their specific national contexts. Participants identified the need for behaviour change interventions for timber, birds, sharks, and amphibians.
Over two days, 52 participants (31 women and 21 men) representing 20 Parties worked together to identify priority CITES‑listed species illegally traded in the region and to discuss where demand‑reduction interventions could effectively reinforce ongoing efforts to combat illegal trade. Participants exchanged national experiences and received guidance from expert facilitators on addressing complex or ambiguous issues.
CITES Secretary-General, Ms. Ivonne Higuero, highlighted the significance of these efforts, noting: “Illegal trade continues to threaten wild species, destroy ecosystems, and harm communities that depend directly on biodiversity. Its effects go beyond conservation: it fuels organised crime, undermines security, and hinders sustainable development. We also know that legal, well-managed trade can support those who make their living from nature, strengthen local economies, and provide real, sustainable opportunities. That is the balance we seek, and reducing the demand fueling illegal trade is a key part of achieving the CITES Strategic Vision and ensuring international wildlife trade is sustainable, legal and traceable.”
Mr. Luis Francisco Camargo, Coordinator of the Biodiversity Group of the Directorate of Forests, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and representative of Colombia’s CITES Management Authority, stressed the importance of the initiative, stating: “For many years, the response to the problem of illegal trafficking has focused primarily on monitoring and law enforcement actions. And these measures remain essential. But today there is an increasingly clear consensus within the international community: if we want to address the root causes of illegal wildlife trade, we must also understand and transform the dynamics that drive the demand for wildlife and its products.
“For Latin America, this meeting represents a particularly valuable opportunity. Our region is home to approximately 40% of the planet’s biodiversity, making us a key region for global conservation, but also a territory that is especially vulnerable to illegal wildlife trafficking.”
This workshop builds on efforts undertaken since the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CITES CoP19) in 2022 to promote the use of the CITES Guidelines on demand reduction. This includes the regional training seminars held in Singapore and Zambia and pilot projects in selected countries.
The lack of access to clean cooking which continues the dependence on traditional cooking fuels has substantial impact to health and well-being. Around the world, 2.1 billion people still lack access to clean cooking, with 900 million of them residing in Sub-Saharan Africa.
They – usually women and children – are at risk from bearing the severe consequences of household air pollution, which is associated with various illnesses and is responsible for premature deaths and deaths of children under the age of five.
Alternative and clean solutions that include renewable energy are available, such as improved biomass cookstoves, pellets, biogas, ethanol, and electric cooking. Renewables-based clean cooking solutions can offer environmental benefits, fuel and cost efficiency. But adoption of these solutions is still low due to affordability, as majority of those needing them are from low-income households.
Clean cooking
Scaling up these solutions to reduce the massive gap in access to clean cooking requires an annual investment of around $8 billion by 2030. However, currently only a fraction of these funds has been mobilised. During the pre-day of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)’s 16th Assembly, governments and stakeholders highlighted this issue, sharing countries’ experiences in increasing financial flows towards their clean cooking sectors.
In her opening IRENA’s Deputy Director-General, Ms. Gauri Singh, said, “It is important that we explore a wide range of finance sources and opportunities including those available domestically. External finance, especially grants and concessional loans, remain important, and its critical role should not be undermined. The key message is to consider both; pursue strategies that can increase both the domestic spending on clean cooking as well as international finance.”
Although a significant opportunity exists of raising additional capital, and some funds are already available, the target recipients have low capacity to absorb those funds due to lack of bankable projects, high interest rates, and stringent requirements. It means there are no takers of that finance, and there is a need for guarantees to reduce interest rates.
An additional challenge is lack of clear information for investors. Comprehensive data allows investors to track where investments are going and the impact they make, boosting investors’ confidence and mobilising more funds for the sector.
In a new report, IRENA presents new primary data on clean cooking investments channelled by Global South governments between 2022 and 2024, drawn from IRENA surveys of the 100 largest access-deficit countries and supplemented with analysis by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee. Based on the findings, the report encourages a more cohesive and coherent assessment of international clean cooking finance flows going forward.
Using the case of Tanzania, another IRENA report shows how clean cooking investment data – including detailed information at the country and project levels – is necessary to support decision making by governments, development finance institutions, donors and private investors. The data collected for the report has mapped companies and organisations that produce and/or promote clean cooking solutions and the financial sources, identified the financing gaps, as well as the capacity gaps of the stakeholders, among others.
By understanding the gaps and needs, the report came to several conclusions which include more targeted financing towards strengthening the business capacity of clean cooking companies, as well as boosting local manufacturing and maintenance.
However, the effort to scale up investment towards clean cooking solutions must be done in parallel with investments in transitional fuels like charcoal. With 157 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still relying on charcoal as a primary fuel for cooking, it cannot be ignored entirely in the pursuit of a clean energy transition.
Ignoring charcoal in national energy planning risks undermining livelihoods and may result in policies that do not account for local realities. Therefore, the use of charcoal for cooking must be addressed strategically.
Another new report by IRENA highlights the urgent need for innovations and investments that contribute to the modernisation of charcoal production and use. The report introduces a ‘new form of charcoal’ for cooking, whose only resemblance to traditional charcoal is in the final product. It is different in its production, harvesting, processing, transport and use as they are more sustainable. Moreover, for a successful and inclusive transition, the report recommends policy frameworks to enable the creation of alternative sources of income for the charcoal producers.
This message is further strengthened by IRENA, Nuvoni Centre for Innovation Research, the Climate Compatible Growth, representatives from Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia and Ethiopia, and relevant stakeholders through a communiqué released after a workshop in Kenya. Together, they acknowledged that including charcoal into the clean cooking conversation is not about endorsing unsustainable or illegal practices, but rather taking a pragmatic step towards modernising, regulating and improving the sustainability of charcoal within the evolving clean cooking transition.
The African Development Bank Group’s Board of Directors has approved a $5.65 million reimbursable grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to pilot the Peace Renewable Energy Certificate (P-REC) Aggregation Facility, a pioneering initiative that will, for the first time, deploy renewable energy certificates as a direct funding instrument for a portfolio of mini-grids across Africa’s most fragile and energy-poor countries.
Co-financed with the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), which committed an equivalent of $5.65 million, the $11.3 million facility will be managed by Camco Clean Energy, a climate and impact fund manager, and Energy Peace Partners, a US-registered non-profit that developed the Peace Renewable Energy Certificate label.
João Duarte Cunha, Manager, Renewable Energy Funds Division and Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, African Development Bank Group
The certificates come exclusively from small-scale mini-grid projects in conflict-affected and energy-poor communities and are voluntarily purchased by multinationals looking to put their corporate sustainability spending where it drives the greatest social and environmental impact.
The facility will enter into long-term purchase agreements with qualifying mini-grid developers across 14 frontier countries – Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda.
It will provide developers with upfront cash payments in exchange for the rights to the certificates produced by the project. The facility will subsequently sell those certificates to global corporate buyers, channelling hard currency back to developers in markets where commercial financing is very limited.
Some 856,000 people across these 14 countries are expected to gain first-time access to reliable electricity as a result, roughly half of them women, through approximately 240,000 new connections and 71 megawatts of new renewable energy capacity.
The project is fully aligned with Mission 300, the joint African Development Bank and World Bank initiative to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. NDF is contributing to the ambitious energy access targets of Mission 300 through their sizable renewable energy portfolio and as a member of the Development Partner Coordination Group.
“Lack of access to capital for rural electrification continues to be a major hurdle for universal energy access in the African continent, particularly in countries experiencing conflicts and fragility. I am proud that SEFA is backing this innovative, first-of-a-kind facility testing a new climate finance product capable of unlocking new sources of commercial funding for private sector led mini-grids. This is the kind of market-making needed to advance Mission 300 objectives,” said João Duarte Cunha, Manager, Renewable Energy Funds Division and Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, African Development Bank Group.
“Countries in Sub‑Saharan Africa facing fragile and conflict‑affected situations urgently need support and access to clean, reliable energy solutions. At NDF, we are proud to contribute to the Innovative Peace Renewable Energy Certificate (P‑REC) Aggregation Facility, which helps bring small‑scale, off‑grid renewable energy to communities with no, limited or disrupted energy access. By supporting this initiative, we also strengthen the role of Nordic climate leadership – working in partnership, through innovation and responsibility, to advance sustainable energy solutions where they are needed most,” added Satu Santala, Managing Director, Nordic Development Fund (NDF).
“PAF will provide additional low-cost, non-dilutive capital to energy access projects in fragile states. In doing so, it will provide more communities with access to the benefits of clean energy, boosting jobs, opportunities, and living standards. Camco is pleased to be working with EPP, SEFA and NDF on this important initiative,” noted Geoff Sinclair, CEO, Camco.
“The majority of people on the continent without access to electricity live in fragile and conflict-affected countries where renewable energy projects can have outsize impacts – improving health, education, safety and security outcomes. The P-REC Aggregation Facility, based on EPP’s Peace-REC label, can accelerate that transition by converting corporate climate ambition into upfront capital for renewable energy developers who would otherwise struggle to close their projects,” stated Sherwin Das, Managing Director, Energy Peace Partners.
A statement by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on environmental damage arising from the conflict in the Middle East
Escalating violence across parts of the Middle East is claiming civilian casualties, displacing communities, destroying infrastructure, and driving widespread environmental damage.
Strikes on oil facilities, including those occurring close to – and within – urban areas such as Tehran, have been confirmed via remote sensing methods.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, Inger Andersen. Photo credit: Eric Bridiers
Heavy smoke from burning oil, which includes hazardous compounds, is now being directly inhaled by people in Iran – including young children – raising serious concerns about long-term impacts on both human and environmental health. Experience from other conflicts shows that large oil fires and spills can cause extensive environmental contamination and pose significant health risks from exposure to smoke, particulates, and toxic emissions.
Pollution from uncontrolled fires may also enter soil and water, leach into groundwater, and be absorbed by crops, contaminating food supplies. Oil spills have also been reported in marine areas, further impacting the health of coastal communities.
Before this conflict began, the region was already facing severe environmental stress, especially relating to water resources. Strikes on desalination plants in several countries risk catastrophic consequences for communities that rely on them as a lifeline for water. The conflict will likely cause even greater stress on natural resources, damage marine and terrestrial ecosystems, set back efforts to enhance water and climate resilience, and impact the food chain and food safety.
Widespread use of munitions may lead to the release of heavy metals and toxic chemicals into the environment. While testing is not yet possible, modern munitions commonly contain heavy metals and explosive chemicals, all toxic even in the most modest quantities.
UNEP echoes the UN Secretary-General’s call for an immediate cessation of hostilities. This is essential to end the destruction and allow the people – and the environment – of the region to begin a process of recovery.
Civil society leaders are calling on governments and stakeholders to prioritise communities and children in climate action, warning that they bear the brunt of climate change.
Gift Numeri, chairperson of the Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC), appealed on Friday, March 27, 2026, during the closing of the 5th African Regional Conference on Loss and Damage in Lilongwe, Malawi.
“Communities are suffering from droughts, floods and food insecurity,” Numeri said.
Gift Numeri, chairperson of the Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC)
“We must ensure our climate strategies are inclusive and that they listen to the voices of our communities, especially our children.”
He urged investments in youth-led climate initiatives, climate resilience, sustainable agriculture and education to empower young people to become climate leaders.
“In Malawi, we are seeing the impacts of climate change firsthand, but we are also seeing the power of community-led solutions. Let us support these efforts,” Numeri said.
Numeri also called on governments and companies to be accountable for their role in climate change and encouraged scaling up community-driven climate projects.
Lucy Alufandika, a lead farmer from Kholongo Village under Traditional Authority in Chikwawa District, highlighted the role of local structures such as the Village Disaster Risk Management Committee in responding to disasters.
“Our district is highly affected by floods and other disasters. As a committee, we report to relevant authorities for timely solutions,” Alufandika said.
She pledged to continue sharing climate information and appealed for improved agricultural systems to address persistent food insecurity caused by recurring disasters.
The resolutions from the conference will feed into discussions at the upcoming COP32 summit, aiming to shape climate action across the continent.
Germany has introduced a sweeping 67-point climate plan to cut emissions by over 25 million tons by 2030, focusing on renewable energy, electrification, and reducing fossil fuel reliance
Germany’s government on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, unveiled a comprehensive 67-point Climate Protection Programme aimed at accelerating emissions reductions and modernising the national economy. The programme targets a critical legal obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 65% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Although Germany has achieved a 48% reduction to date, projections estimate a shortfall of around 25 million tons of CO2 if decisive measures are not implemented.
German Environment Minister, Carsten Schneider
The plan focuses on key sectors such as energy, industry, transport, buildings, and agriculture. It includes an ambitious expansion of wind energy with plans to auction 2,000 additional turbines, robust promotion of electric vehicles through funding for roughly 800,000 new e-cars, and improvements in heating networks. The government has earmarked a budget of eight billion euros over the next four years for these initiatives.
Environment Minister, Carsten Schneider, highlighted that the programme not only aims to reduce emissions by over 25 million tons by 2030 but also to decrease Germany’s dependency on fossil fuel imports – projecting savings of nearly seven billion cubic meters of natural gas and four billion liters of gasoline. Moreover, the initiative supports industries transitioning to climate-smart technologies and assists farmers in adapting to sustainable practices.
Despite these measures, experts and the government’s own climate council criticise the plan for lacking a cohesive overarching strategy. Some worry the effectiveness of tools like the greenhouse gas quota may be overestimated, potentially putting Germany’s climate commitments at risk. Nonetheless, the government anticipates significant economic benefits, including reduced energy costs and increased resilience.
In a reaction, Ottmar Edenhofer, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), attempted an assessment of the programme.
He stated: “The Climate Protection Programme contains new and additional measures designed to bring about further emission reductions by 2030, to avert the impending failure to meet our targets. However, it is questionable whether they sufficiently address the fundamental challenge of restructuring our fossil-fuel-dependent capital stock.
“We see insufficient emission reductions and the risk of missing targets, particularly in the transport and buildings sectors. This is partly self-inflicted. There are not enough credible policy instruments that provide clear incentives to switch to sustainable and increasingly cost-effective climate protection technologies, such as electric cars or heat pumps.
“According to our calculations, the Building Modernisation Act will result in emissions being significantly higher – by a total of 16 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents until 2030 and by as much as 230 million tonnes in the period to 2040 – than would have been expected under the previous legal framework. It creates further technological and economic path dependencies. These could be mitigated by reducing the electricity tax and by imposing investment levies on newly installed boilers.
“The delayed introduction of the second EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the watering down of fleet limits for car producers make Germany and Europe even more dependent on oil and gas imports. Germany currently spends 80 billion euros on fossil fuel imports annually. This generates significant follow-on costs: the substantial expenditure on the rescue packages from the last energy crisis – well over 100 billion euros – still needs to be paid off.
“We must now resolutely drive forward the expansion of renewable energies and the electrification to achieve a cost-effective transition. We can rely on our European framework in this regard. The European climate targets will only be achieved with Germany’s involvement. Through European cooperation, for example in emissions trading, but also through our collective participation in gas and oil markets, we have great opportunities for effective and cost-efficient climate protection.”
Overall, officials see the 2026 Climate Protection Programme as representing a decisive step toward aligning Germany’s environmental goals with economic modernisation and energy independence, even as challenges remain in fully meeting climate targets.
A new online tool mapping the full annual journeys of an initial 89 highly vulnerable migratory bird species across the Americas was unveiled on Thursday, March 26, 2026, at the UN wildlife conservation meeting, CMS COP15, giving governments, scientists and conservationists an unprecedented view of where action is most urgently needed to protect them.
Developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the Americas Flyways Atlas pinpoints the critical breeding, stopover and wintering sites that migratory birds depend on to survive, many of which are under growing pressure from habitat loss, infrastructure and climate change.
The first-of-its-kind tool charts “invisible highways of the sky,” revealing critical habitats spanning 56 countries, offering governments a blueprint to halt bird declines
Drawing on many millions of citizen-science observations submitted through the eBird platform, combined with advanced scientific modeling, the Atlas identifies “Bird Concentration Areas” – key hotspots where high abundances of CMS Appendix I or II-listed bird species gather in large numbers at different stages of their migration.
The Atlas covers an initial 89 species listed under CMS Appendices I and/or II and comes at a moment of mounting concern over the state of migratory species globally. Across the Americas flyways, which stretch from the Canadian Arctic to Chile’s Patagonia, 622 migratory bird species rely on a fragile chain of habitats spanning 56 countries. Many are in decline.
From the Arctic-breeding Hudsonian godwit to the high-Andean flamingo and North America’s rapidly disappearing Cerulean warbler, these birds depend on multiple ecosystems across borders. A single weak link – a drained wetland, fragmented forest, disrupted stopover site – can jeopardise entire populations.
The Atlas makes those links visible for the first time at continental scale.
Built to guide policy
Unlike traditional datasets, the Atlas is designed to guide real-world decisions, helping governments identify where conservation efforts will have the greatest impact.
It directly supported negotiations at COP15, where 133 Parties debated new measures to protect migratory species, including proposals to list additional species and strengthen international cooperation on habitat protection and ecological connectivity.
By giving countries a shared evidence base, the platform aims to close one of conservation’s biggest gaps: aligning action across borders for species that do not recognise them.
The Atlas arrives as pressure intensifies on migratory species worldwide – from habitat destruction and infrastructure to pollution and climate disruption, all issues high on the COP15 agenda last week in Brazil.
Among species of migratory birds covered in the Atlas are some of the most iconic and ecologically important migrants of the hemisphere, including:
Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis), a Vulnerable grassland shorebird whose population has suffered rapid declines due to habitat loss.
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla), a Near Threatened long‑distance migrant facing sustained but poorly understood declines.
Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), a Near Threatened forest songbird whose breeding habitat continues to shrink and fragment.
Andean Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus), a Vulnerable high‑altitude species dependent on increasingly threatened Andean wetlands.
Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica), a Vulnerable Arctic‑breeding shorebird reliant on a chain of sensitive stopover sites during its remarkable hemispheric migration.
These species exemplify the conservation challenges across the Americas Flyway, covering grasslands, shorelines, tropical forests, and high‑Andean lakes, and reinforce the need for coordinated international action.
Converting millions of citizen observations into action
“This atlas shows what becomes possible when millions of bird observations contributed by people across the Americas are brought together,” said Chris Wood, Programme Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Centre for Avian Population Studies and eBird. “Combined with modern modeling, these contributions become a powerful tool for conservation. By turning these observations into clear maps of where migratory birds concentrate during breeding, migration, and winter, the Americas Flyways Atlas helps governments and conservation partners focus their efforts where they can make the greatest difference.”
CMS Executive Secretary Amy Fraenkel described the Atlas as “a major step forward for international cooperation on migratory bird conservation in the Americas. By bringing together cutting‑edge science and citizen‑generated data, this tool gives countries the information they need to identify and protect the places migratory birds depend on throughout their full annual cycles. Its launch at COP15 underscores our shared commitment to strengthening ecological connectivity across borders at a time when migratory species need coordinated action more than ever.”
Said João Paulo Capobianco, Chair of COP15 and Executive Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Brazil: “Presiding over COP15 in Brazil means driving multilateral cooperation that unites shared science and joint commitments for the future of life on the planet.”
“The Americas Flyways Atlas is a milestone in this strategy because it reveals, with unprecedented precision and clarity, the routes and key areas upon which the survival of migratory birds depends. By highlighting these ecological corridors that connect the biomes of the Americas, the platform becomes an irrefutable argument for more nations across our continent to join the Convention. Without protecting these stopover sites, migratory life throughout the hemisphere will be at stake,” added Capobianco.
Statement by the Coordinator, Agricultural Initiative of the Christian Men’s Fellowship, Anglican Diocese of Okigwe South in Imo State, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, at the Farming Season Flag-off 2026 on Friday, March 27
I thank the Archbishop, His Grace Most Rev’d DOC Onuoha, Mama Blessing Onuoha, the Christian Men’s Fellowship, Chairman, Chaplain, and members. I thank all those who have keyed into this vision and everyone who has been playing positive roles.
We particularly thank the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike, the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (Imo State Chapter), other research and academic institutions, especially the University of Agriculture and Environment Umuagwo, and others I may not have mentioned by name. God bless the works of your hands.
Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba
We have done an assessment of our programmes in the last two years and we are glad to say that we are doing well. The past two editions have helped to raise interests in farming by our people. More persons have become engaged in farming. People have increased the area of land they have farmed.
More young persons are showing interest. New crops, not just our traditional crops, have been introduced. Improved, high yielding varieties of crops have been adopted and extended beyond our immediate beneficiaries. Many of those who received cassava cuttings, seeds and seedlings have shared with friends and families even far away from our immediate area.
The idea of planting in sacks/bags has become widely adopted. We do not have to preach much about it as people have seen the benefits. Today, we shall be listening to Rev. Samuel Onyinyechi Edeh, Diocese of Okigwe south, Coordinator; Sir Senator Frank Ibezim, Agriculture Initiative, Ezeoke-Nsu Chapter, who has been successful in growing yams and other crops in sacks, etc. We thank him for accepting to share his experience.
It is well acknowledged that cassava, our main food security crop, has done very well, especially the variety we call TME419. For this variety, we are grateful to the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike. We are blessed to have NRCRI Umudike, and the support they have given us. We thank the leadership, especially Prof. Chiedozie Egesi, the Executive Director, for managing that Institute better than most institutions in contemporary Nigeria. Even their compound is the cleanest public institution in Nigeria.
On livestock, we have not achieved as much success. I am not sure we have even done much on that. The same applies to input and postharvest systems. We have to find ways to encourage these, especially now that we are encouraging our youth to be engaged with agriculture, not just farming.
For the youth engagement, we thank The Future Generations Institute (TFGI), especially for the youth segment of the event today. We thank the couple I call the Agriculture Power Couple – Dr. Benjamin and his wife Dr. Christiana Okoye – who will be assisting us with the youth today.
Please, let us not forget why we started this programme. Hunger, poverty, hardship, unemployment, and in addition confusion among our youth are some of our challenges. The traditional way of teaching the next generation of farmers by them accompanying parents/adults to farms, has collapsed for many reasons including urbanization, faulty socialisation that portrays agriculture as not good enough for the youth, and other confusions damaging and deceiving the young people.
Too many men and women seem to prefer to be idle, and our villages are busy with conflicts, quarrels, rumours and gossips. That is not who we were. That is not who the Igbo were. The condition of Nigeria seems to erode Igbo core values of hardwork, tenacity, grit, frugality, amamihe, ako na uche, ofo na ogu, and even fear of God. Stealing, begging, and killing, things that were frowned, punished and considered sacrilegious are now common among the Igbo. We have a raised people without a sense of shame and conscience, and with huge entitlement mentality. That is not who we were.
We produce very little and have to rely on food coming from far away. Even our traditional rulers celebrate new yam festivals with yams from alien lands. Women rely on the market for pepper and basic vegetables, as well as broom (aziza). Many of us depend on remittances from outside Nigeria and from other parts of Nigeria to buy food. The condition and direction of the management of the Nigeria state and economy worsen our situations. It is obvious that we have to help ourselves.
Unfortunately, the direction of the Nigeria economy is more likely to be worse for reasons within, and reasons outside Nigeria. Recent rise in domestic fuel costs, showing a weak country without internal safety measures and mechanisms to manage economic instability, has already led to rising cost of local transportation. That will be transmitted to cost of items in the market. That is more inflation.
We do not know when the war in the Middle East will end. We are not even sure that if it ends prices will fall. The Nigeria government has in the last two years responded to sharp rise in food cost as a result of the choices made in the management of petrol costs and exchange rate, allowed significant importation of food items especially rice and wheat (Bread, pastas, etc. consumed heavily in Nigeria).
Those are measures not sustainable. Farmers in the major food producing parts of Nigeria, in the North, are grumbling. That is not good for Nigeria agriculture. Insecurity in the North has adversely affected agriculture, and seems not to be relenting. What these suggest is that we need to work harder to ensure that hunger does not kill us.
Unfortunately, we have to do this for ourselves in a time of governments without governance. It would have been good to have a revived extension and input support from public services. That seems not to be of interest to them.
At our level, we farmers experience many challenges. One of this as you know is what has been happening to the weather. The experience with rainfall, harmattan, heat, etc. have been different in each of the years of 2024, 2025, and even so far in 2026. Nothing seems to be the same. We cannot plan. There is so much uncertainty.
Many of you have cleared the land this year, but not sure whether or not to start planting. The reason is that some persons who planted cassava early last year, lost a lot of their cassava cuttings to heat as a result of rains seemingly starting and stopping, and starting and stopping. You had to replace them at huge costs in materials and labour. The yam harvests last year suffered rotting, speculated as a result of heat when the harmattan should have cooled the bans. The same applies to telferia (ugu).
Currently, some fruit trees such as mangoes may not have fruited as they did in previous years. It would have been good if we had active extension services to take our experiences to the researchers and return to us with advice. Here today we have invited a number of researchers. They will take our questions and provide us answers.
Then we have prizes to give out today. These are in multiple categories. Most importantly is our assessment of farmers who performed well in various categories last year. We thank our sub-committee on assessment led by Sir Caleb Ikpa who moved round last year to assess farmers on the field. I know that many of our farmers have brought things for sale. I wish to advise that you do not sell until the assessors have gone round, as we have prizes to give to the top three exhibitors.
For our youth we shall encourage them by providing seeds and seedlings, and will provide them some financial encouragement, especially for the schools and the students who study agriculture in our schools.
To be able to do these we have called on friends and associates and many have responded. We are very grateful to those who have supported the CMF programme.
We are also grateful to those who have supported The Future Generation Institute (TFGI) in the Youth in Agriculture programmes.
I ended by thanking all of you again. There is an idea that we move the hosting of this annual farming season flag-off. The All Framers Association of Nigeria earlier suggested we move this round Imo State. Please we do not want to do that for at least two reasons.
The first is that our institutional backing is the Diocese of Okigwe South of the Anglican Church which geographically is limited to three Local Government Areas of Obowo, Ihitte/Uboma and Ehime-Mbano. The second is that we wouldn’t want to be misunderstood and other motives ascribed to us. Our interest is farming, and any person outside this area may ask us for advice, and we shall willing give that.
We are however willing to experiment with moving round the three Local Government Areas, and we are considering hosting the 2027 event, God willing at Umuagu Obowo, St. Andrew’s Church School field. That is where we call Seven and Half Junction. We believe the place is easily accessible. Again, I reiterate that this is tentative and you will hear from us if that will be the venue next year.
Nigeria’s food system stands at a critical crossroads. For decades, it has largely followed a production-driven model shaped by the legacy of the Green Revolution – prioritising increased yields of staple crops like rice, maize, cassava, and sorghum through mechanisation, chemical inputs, and improved seeds.
While this approach has delivered some gains in output, it has also created a system that is deeply disconnected from nutrition, equity, environmental sustainability, and accountability. Today, Nigeria produces food, yet millions remain hungry, malnourished, and economically excluded from the very system meant to nourish them.
Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security
At the heart of the current system is a paradox: smallholder farmers, who produce over 80% of Nigeria’s food, remain the most marginalised actors. The majority are women operating in informal and rural settings, with limited access to land ownership, finance, and government support. Less than a quarter of these farmers can access formal credit, largely because financial systems are not designed to engage with the informal and cooperative structures where they operate.
At the same time, billions of naira flow annually into agricultural programmes through public budgets, concessional loans, and green financing mechanisms (most often tractors), yet these investments are rarely tracked, independently verified, or publicly scrutinised. There is little clarity on whether these interventions reach intended beneficiaries or deliver measurable impact. This opacity has enabled inefficiency, elite capture, and, in some cases, outright mismanagement to persist unchecked.
The consequences of this system are severe and multidimensional. Nigeria continues to face a major food security crisis, with over 25 million people estimated to be at risk of acute hunger. Malnutrition remains widespread, with about 37% of children under five stunted – an indicator of chronic undernutrition and poor diet quality. At the same time, the country experiences significant food losses, with 30-40% of perishable produce lost due to weak storage and logistics systems. These losses translate into billions of naira in wasted value annually, while food prices continue to rise, deepening inequality and limiting access for vulnerable households.
Health risks are also escalating. The widespread use of Highly Hazadious Pesticides and other chemcials inputs has raised concerns about food safety, environmental contamination, and long-term health impacts, including potential links to cancers, kidney failure, infertility and endocrine disruption. Weak enforcement and underfunded regulatory agencies allow unsafe products to remain in circulation. Compounding this is a lack of consumer awareness and weak reporting systems, meaning unsafe food often goes unchallenged.
Beyond agriculture itself, there is a deeper governance failure that shapes outcomes across the food system. Across Nigeria, communities and resident associations have increasingly taken on responsibilities that should be fulfilled by government fixing rural roads that connect farms to markets, providing water systems, renovating schools, and maintaining basic infrastructure. These grassroots efforts sustain local food systems and rural livelihoods, yet they are neither formally recognised nor supported. At the same time, public officials entrusted with resources for development are frequently implicated in mismanagement and embezzlement, further eroding trust and weakening service delivery.
This imbalance must be addressed through structural reform. If communities are investing their own resources into public goods, there should be formal mechanisms to compensate and incentivize them. Models that allow for community reimbursement or pay-back schemes, backed by law, could fundamentally shift accountability.
When citizens can demand repayment or tax credits for services, they have provided such as road repairs or water systems it creates a system where governments are pressured to either deliver or be held financially accountable. In such a system, public office becomes less attractive for exploitation and more aligned with performance.
At the same time, accountability must extend across the entire food system not just government. Farmer associations, market unions, and commodity groups must also be held responsible for the quality and safety of the food supplied by their members. Self-regulation within these groups, backed by enforceable standards, can play a critical role in improving food safety outcomes. This is particularly important in informal markets, where regulatory reach is limited but associations are strong and influential.
Consumers, too, must become active participants in enforcing accountability. Nigeria has a rapidly growing digital and social media ecosystem that can be leveraged to transform how citizens report unsafe food, poor services, and failed government interventions. Simple, accessible reporting platforms integrated with social media can enable real-time feedback, crowdsource evidence, and amplify pressure on both public institutions and private actors. When consumers are informed, organised, and empowered to speak out, they become a powerful force for change.
Transforming Nigeria’s food system, therefore, requires more than technical fixes it demands a new social contract. One where public investments are transparently tracked and evaluated; where communities are recognised and compensated for their contributions; where farmers and market actors are accountable for what they produce and sell; and where citizens are empowered to demand better. It also requires a shift toward nutrition-sensitive, agroecological, and inclusive systems that prioritise health, sustainability, and resilience.
Nigeria does not lack resources, ideas, or capable actors. What it lacks is alignment, accountability, and enforcement. Until these gaps are addressed, billions will continue to be spent with little to show, communities will continue to carry the burden of failed governance, and the promise of a food system that truly serves its people will remain out of reach.
The time to act is now not just to produce more food, or sharing bags of rice, but to build a system that works for everyone.
By Donald Ikenna Ofoegbu, Snr. Programme Manager, Heinrich Boell Stiftung; Member, Alliance for Action on Pesticides in Nigeria (AAPN)
African economies are facing mounting pressure from volatile global oil prices linked to the ongoing Gulf conflict, with analysts warning that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are bearing the brunt of rising energy costs.
Brent crude prices surged from $81 per barrel on March 3 to $112 on March 12 before easing to $98 by March 25, underscoring the instability affecting fuel-dependent economies.
Oil
Across the continent, businesses reliant on diesel-powered generators are grappling with escalating operational costs and unreliable supply chains.
The impact is particularly severe in countries where grid infrastructure remains constrained. In South Africa, for example, persistent load shedding has pushed many businesses toward diesel generation, exposing them further to international fuel price shocks.
Disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz have compounded supply uncertainties.
Fuel prices have spiked sharply across multiple African markets. In Nigeria, petrol prices have exceeded ₦1,000 per liter — a nearly 40% increase since February — while Zimbabwe now records some of the highest fuel costs in the Southern African region, with diesel averaging above $2 per liter.
Botswana and Uganda are also experiencing sustained price volatility.
Against this backdrop, energy analysts and industry stakeholders are increasingly revisiting coal as a viable alternative for power generation.
With substantial reserves across countries such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Uganda, coal is being positioned as a domestic resource that could stabilise electricity costs and reduce dependence on imported fuels.
Advocates argue that coal-fired power offers a more predictable and affordable energy source for SMEs, enabling better long-term planning and shielding businesses from global supply shocks.
“When African businesses are being crushed by imported fuel costs, using domestic coal to keep factories running and SMEs alive is not a step backward — it is a rational act of economic self-defense,” said NJ Ayuk.
The debate is expected to feature prominently at African Energy Week 2026, scheduled for October 12–16 in Cape Town, SouthAfrica.
The event will explore the role of coal within Africa’s evolving energy mix, including discussions on clean coal technologies, financing models and strategies to balance energy security with environmental considerations.
As geopolitical tensions continue to drive energy market uncertainty, policymakers are increasingly confronted with a complex trade-off: balancing sustainability goals with the urgent need for reliable and affordable power to sustain economic growth.
