But farmers will have to convince the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) that the pest free zones being established in Counties are succeeding in weeding out the mango fruit fly, according to Esther Kimani, the managing director of at KEPHIS.
To win the confidence of importers for instance, plastic traps set up in pest free zones must be able to prove that no single fruit fly has been caught there for days.
“When we get to that level where the trap does not capture anything, that is when now we can write to our trading partners and tell them that we have established a pest free area for mango production,” says Kimani.
Kenya lost the lucrative EU market for mango exports between 2010 and 2014, forcing farmers to hawk their fruits locally for as low as two Kenya shillings due to overproduction.
Still, the pressures of climate change like prolonged drought and floods has affected mango production in the country, with experts linking extreme weather to the rapid multiplication of the fruit fly.
“The mango is the second most produced fruit in the country after the banana. But fruit fly infestation led to the ban on exports to the EU market,” says Makueni County governor, Kivutha Kibwana, adding that the pest causes between 40 to 80 percent of mango losses in Kenya.
Data by TechnoServe indicates that about 49,098 hectares of land are under mango plantation in Kenya, producing 779,147 metric tonnes of the fruit valued at Ksh. 11.9 billion.
Only six counties in Kenya, Keiyo, Marakwet, Tharaka Nithi, Tana river, Makueni, Kilifi and Kwale, have established pest free areas for mango farming.
A pest free area can reduce post-harvest losses due to fruit fly infestation by about 50 percent.
“We want to make the culture of good agricultural practice a way of life for our farmers,” says Kimani.
PRESS RELEASE
The National Initiatives for Sustainable and Climate-smart Oil Palm Smallholders (NISCOPS) has been launched by Solidaridad in Accra, Ghana. NISCOPS is a five year strategic programme aimed to among others Enable governments in key oil palm producing countries to support and work with farmers towards more sustainable, climate smart palm oil production as well as contribute to Paris Agreement, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)objectives and the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).
The programme is being implemented in Africa (Ghana and Nigeria) and Asia (Indonesia and Malaysia) with the initial funding support from the Government of the Netherlands. The programme has an inception year (2019) with the implementation phase I from 2020 to 2023 and implementation phase II from 2024 and beyond.
The Regional Director, Solidaridad West Africa, Mr. Isaac Gyamfiduring the launch of the programme in Accra, Ghana and the inauguration of the programme National Advisory Committee (NAC), says, “We make bold here to saySolidaridad is in term with the current global and local realities especially on climate change and agriculture and we are now using our over 50 years’ experience of both foot and brain on the ground through our works to contribute to shaping practices and policies at local, districts, national and global levels”
Solidaridad has been in Ghana’s Oil palm landscape since 2012 promoting yield intensification at both the farm and mill levels through introduction of Best Management Practices (BMP) and improved processing technology respectively. The organization have also supported the revitalization of the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana (OPDAG). Solidaridad have also played a role in the establishment of the Tree Crops Development Authority. These have been implemented under our Sustainable West Africa Oil Palm Program (SWAPP).
Analysis from SWAPP shows that an average farm yield of at least 12tons/ha/year for existing farms coupled with oil extraction rate of 18% will make Ghana self-sufficient in Crude Palm Oil (CPO) production. This can only be realised when among other interventions such as BMP, great attention is paid to the impacts of climate change on the sector as well as the contribution of the oil palm sector to climate change.
In his presentation during the event, Dr. Samson Samuel Ogallah, Solidaridad Senior Climate Specialist for Africa and the NISCOPS Technical Coordinator stated that the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of the programme is built on the three pillars of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) of Productivity, Adaptation and Mitigation.
Dr. Ogallah added that the programme in addition to its contribution to the NDCs and SDGs of the four countries,aimed to further buildcapacity of smallholders(organizations) and local institutions to improve performance as well as support development of landscape level mechanismsto operate in ‘vulnerable’ landscapes prone to deforestation.
In her speech at the event, Katja Lasseur, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ghana, expressed the commitment of the Government of the Netherlands to the programme and call on other partners and stakeholders to come on board in order to achieve the laudable objectives of the programme.
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto in his speech which was delivered on his behalf stated that Agriculture is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy.Achieving sustainable food security in a world of growing population and changing diets is a major challenge under climate change. Climate change will have far-reaching consequences for agriculture that will disproportionately affect poor and marginalized groups who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and have a lower capacity to adapt.
Dr. Akoto added “I am happy to note that the overarching goal of NISCOPS is to contribute towards Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contribution of the Paris Climate Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals through;
Building the climate resilience of smallholder oil palm farmers and oil palm processors; Promoting use of energy efficient cook stoves at the artisanal processing level and; Implementing community led adaptation and livelihood diversification programs.
I wish to assure you of Government support to create the enabling environment for the successful implementation of the programme in selected vulnerable communities in order to replicate it in other sectors of the economy to mitigate the impact of climate change”
A nine-member National Advisory Committee (NAC) to advise the programme was inaugurated. The NAC members comprised ofPublic and Private sector representativesfrom the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana, Oil Palm Research Institute, Ministries of Food and Agriculture; Trade and Industry; Local Government and Rural Development; Land and Natural Resources; Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (Environmental Protection Agency and Forestry Commission).
NISCOPS is implemented by Solidaridad in Ghana and Solidaridad in partnership with IDH in Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria.
PRESS RELEASE
The National Initiatives for Sustainable and Climate-smart Oil Palm Smallholders (NISCOPS) has been launched by Solidaridad in Accra, Ghana. NISCOPS is a five year strategic programme aimed to among others Enable governments in key oil palm producing countries to support and work with farmers towards more sustainable, climate smart palm oil production as well as contribute to Paris Agreement, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)objectives and the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).
The programme is being implemented in Africa (Ghana and Nigeria) and Asia (Indonesia and Malaysia) with the initial funding support from the Government of the Netherlands. The programme has an inception year (2019) with the implementation phase I from 2020 to 2023 and implementation phase II from 2024 and beyond.
The Regional Director, Solidaridad West Africa, Mr. Isaac Gyamfiduring the launch of the programme in Accra, Ghana and the inauguration of the programme National Advisory Committee (NAC), says, “We make bold here to saySolidaridad is in term with the current global and local realities especially on climate change and agriculture and we are now using our over 50 years’ experience of both foot and brain on the ground through our works to contribute to shaping practices and policies at local, districts, national and global levels”
Solidaridad has been in Ghana’s Oil palm landscape since 2012 promoting yield intensification at both the farm and mill levels through introduction of Best Management Practices (BMP) and improved processing technology respectively. The organization have also supported the revitalization of the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana (OPDAG). Solidaridad have also played a role in the establishment of the Tree Crops Development Authority. These have been implemented under our Sustainable West Africa Oil Palm Program (SWAPP).
Analysis from SWAPP shows that an average farm yield of at least 12tons/ha/year for existing farms coupled with oil extraction rate of 18% will make Ghana self-sufficient in Crude Palm Oil (CPO) production. This can only be realised when among other interventions such as BMP, great attention is paid to the impacts of climate change on the sector as well as the contribution of the oil palm sector to climate change.
In his presentation during the event, Dr. Samson Samuel Ogallah, Solidaridad Senior Climate Specialist for Africa and the NISCOPS Technical Coordinator stated that the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of the programme is built on the three pillars of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) of Productivity, Adaptation and Mitigation.
Dr. Ogallah added that the programme in addition to its contribution to the NDCs and SDGs of the four countries,aimed to further buildcapacity of smallholders(organizations) and local institutions to improve performance as well as support development of landscape level mechanismsto operate in ‘vulnerable’ landscapes prone to deforestation.
In her speech at the event, Katja Lasseur, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ghana, expressed the commitment of the Government of the Netherlands to the programme and call on other partners and stakeholders to come on board in order to achieve the laudable objectives of the programme.
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto in his speech which was delivered on his behalf stated that Agriculture is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy.Achieving sustainable food security in a world of growing population and changing diets is a major challenge under climate change. Climate change will have far-reaching consequences for agriculture that will disproportionately affect poor and marginalized groups who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and have a lower capacity to adapt.
Dr. Akoto added “I am happy to note that the overarching goal of NISCOPS is to contribute towards Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contribution of the Paris Climate Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals through;
Building the climate resilience of smallholder oil palm farmers and oil palm processors; Promoting use of energy efficient cook stoves at the artisanal processing level and; Implementing community led adaptation and livelihood diversification programs.
I wish to assure you of Government support to create the enabling environment for the successful implementation of the programme in selected vulnerable communities in order to replicate it in other sectors of the economy to mitigate the impact of climate change”
A nine-member National Advisory Committee (NAC) to advise the programme was inaugurated. The NAC members comprised ofPublic and Private sector representativesfrom the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana, Oil Palm Research Institute, Ministries of Food and Agriculture; Trade and Industry; Local Government and Rural Development; Land and Natural Resources; Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (Environmental Protection Agency and Forestry Commission).
NISCOPS is implemented by Solidaridad in Ghana and Solidaridad in partnership with IDH in Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria.
MADRID, Spain (PAMACC News) - A new study that was recently published in the Nature scientific journal shows that groundwater is one of the most climate resilient natural resources especially for the African continent. This is contrary to the earlier understanding by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Fifth Assessment Report , that groundwater was susceptible to climate change in dryland areas.
Though it was not a big subject for major discussions at the 2019 UN Conference of Parties (COP25) on climate change in Madrid, experts believe that groundwater will be at the centre of climate adaptation particularly for African countries.
Richard Taylor, a Professor of Hydrogeology from University College London (UCL) and one of the lead researchers of the Nature study explained to IPS why groundwater should be a focal point for climate discussions.
Q. How important is groundwater to climate change adaptation especially in Africa?
A. Groundwater plays a fundamental role in enabling communities in Africa to adapt to climate change. As our world warms, rainfall becomes less frequent but more intensive resulting in longer droughts and worsening floods - changes that occur most strongly in the tropics.
Adapting to this greater variability in water resources relies on the ability to draw water from stores such as groundwater or to store water in dams for example.
Groundwater, which comprises 99 percent of the Earth’s liquid water, amounts to more than 100 times that of annual river discharge in Africa.
For cities in Africa that have recently experienced severe droughts such as Cape Town and Dar es Salaam, groundwater has played a critical role in enabling residents in those cities to adapt to water scarcity.
Less frequent rainfalls also reduce crop yields. Increasing cropland irrigation is a critical strategy to improve food security in Africa under climate change. As smallholder farmers account for the vast majority of food production in Sub-Saharan Africa, distributed groundwater supplies are often the most cost-effective and sustainable sources of water for irrigation.
Q. How resilient or vulnerable is groundwater to climate change?
A. Groundwater resources are generally resilient to climate change. Recent evidence from a pan-African study shows that replenishment of groundwater occurs preferentially from heavy rainfalls so that changes in rainfall brought about by climate change favour groundwater replenishment. Alas, these same changes in rainfall reduce soil moisture and lead to greater and more frequent flood events.
Q. Why do you think this subject has not been able to attract the attention of climate change negotiators for the past 25 years of negotiation?
A. That is a good question. Groundwater is often called the hidden or invisible resource as it lies unseen beneath our feet. Limited understanding of groundwater by both policy makers and engineers means that it is often considered mysterious or unknowable.
The impact of climate change on groundwater resources has been largely ignored by the climate change community until last year when it was captured in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report.
This is surprising in light of the critical role groundwater plays in sustaining rivers, lakes and other aquatic ecosystems during low or absent rainfall.
Q. What do you think should be done to bring the groundwater subject to the helm of climate negotiations?
A. There is need for raising awareness of the critical role of groundwater to improving the resilience of water and food systems in Africa in relation to climate change.
It is in that regard that scientists from different parts of the world are issuing a Call to Action this week, through a statement published in the Nature journal, which argue that we are not doing enough to protect and manage global groundwater resources, which will have long-term effects on the planet’s drinking water, food production, and adaptation to a rapidly changing climate.
This statement focuses on the global role of groundwater in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Framework for Action on Groundwater Governance, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
It builds on previous important declarations and statements, including the Valencia declaration on Intensive Groundwater Use (2002), the Kampala statement on Groundwater and Climate in Africa (2008), ISMAR9 call to Action on Sustainable Groundwater Management Policy Directives (2016).
This call has so far been endorsed by over 700 scientists and practitioners in over 80 countries and is timed to coincide with the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Madrid (COP 25) and the beginning of the Decade of Action on the UN Agenda 2030.
Q. What kind of policies should African governments put in place in order to ensure sustainable use of groundwater?
A. African governments could do two things. One, they could increase investment in understanding their groundwater resources through the training of staff and the monitoring and evaluation of their groundwater resources.
Two, they could integrate groundwater into its evaluation and governance of water resources more holistically that is currently dominated by concern for surface waters.
In light of the central importance of groundwater to adaptation to climate change, African governments could use support under the Green Climate Fund to finance the implications of these policy recommendations.
