KIRINYAGA, Kenya (PAMACC News) - The agriculture sector suffers some of the worst impacts of climate change. That is a statement you hear all the time, and that Africa – being a developing region – is quite vulnerable.

In fact, the Food and Agricultre Organisation reports that droughts and floods are the biggest natural disasters that Africa faces, resulting in trillions of shillings in loss and damage. Between 2003 and 2013 for instance, droughts affected 27 countries in Sub- Saharan Africa, destabilising the lives of nearly 150 million people.

These droughts cost the region an estimated 23.6 billion dollars, which translates to about 2.2 trillion shillings. This is according to a report on the impact of natural disasters on global economies, which reveals that the agriculture sector is the most impacted.

But what you don’t hear often is that although the sector is the most vulnerable, the agriculture sector is a key contributor to climate change, accounting for 17% of total emissions directly through agricultural activities and an additional 14% through land use changes.

“Climate change is going to reduce crop production by up to 40% if global warming continues. But you see the agriculture sector is plagues with inefficiencies that lead to ecological degradation,” says Dr. Richard Munang, the head of the climate change unit at the United Nations Environment Programme.

When the Paris Agreement was adopted in November 2015, it gave countries the option to decide the steps they would take to reduce their carbon footprint. Most countries, including Kenya, provided a plan that put agriculture in the centre of emission reduction, through adoption of eco-friendly farming methods. While there have been several campaigns calling for farmers to adopt climate smart agriculture, some farmers are going a step further and seeking access to the carbon market.

“Our environment is destroyed. The soil is not fertile anymore. So we as the farmers in this village of Togonye have decided to fix that by growing more trees,” Albert Mureithi says.

Togonye in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, is one of the catchment areas for the Mwea rice farms. But years of environmental degradation have destroyed the catchment, and eucalyptus trees have replaced most indigenous trees. The trees were cut down for fuel and also make room for agricultural land. The farmers have now come together to start a project they call Kirinyaga Carbons, through which they will rehabilitate their environment to improve their yields and earn carbon credits.

“There are several components of the project and also the climate smart agriculture. For instance there is integrated pest management, soil fertility management, water management and crop rotation,” says  Edward Ngare, the designer of the Kirinyaga Carbons project.

The farmers in Togonya grow mostly coffee and horticultural produce and rely heavily on irrigation - drawing their water from River Kiie. But the degradation around the catchment area and the current drought has made irrigation extremely difficult.

Water levels have run dangerously low, leading to frequent conflicts among the communities that depend on that water. The river empties into River Nyamindi, which is one of the two rivers that feed the Mwea Irrigation Scheme. But the drought has seen Nyamindi’s flow drop to just one cubic litres per second, compared to a normal flow of six cubic litres.

As part of this rehabilitation project, each farmer in the group is required to plant trees on at least 10% of the land, as well as a fodder crop that will provide some ground cover for the soil.

They work together with some scientists from the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation, who say that it will take about 4 years to fully rehabilitate the area. But once that is done, they have set their eyes on the European market for their horticultural produce, where they hope to earn carbon credits at the rate of five dollars per tonne of carbon dioxide.

“For the consumer in Europe to get the produce from here, it has to be air lifted. So in that airlifting, there is carbon that is emitted by the plane. When the consumer is preparing the food, the energy they use to cook also emits some carbon. And in total, the emissions from Europe are higher compared to here. So what we want is, instead of the airline and the consumer offsetting their emissions with other projects in other countries, why don't they offset with us instead since they bought the produce from us?” Edward says.

A carbon credit is a permit that allows a country to emit a certain amount of greenhouse gases, and then if the emissions are below the set quota, they can sell the excess to a big emitting country. Kenya is a very low carbon emitter and developed a policy on carbon trading in 2013.

In 2014, agriculture became the first sector to benefit from carbon trading in Kenya, when a project involving 60,000 farmers in Western Kenya earned the world's first carbon credits on sustainable agricultural land management. The project involved increasing organic soil matter, thereby cutting emissions by 24,788 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to emissions from 5,164 vehicles in a year. Farmers' yields also increased by 20%.

Two communities in Mombasa are also earning carbon credits by protecting Mangrove forests, which provide breeding grounds for a lot of fish species. The two communities have managed to plant at least 6,500 seedlings, cutting emissions by at least 3000 tonnes annually, earning one million shillings from the credits.

The carbon market globally is worth an estimated 144 billion dollars, but Africa only gets 3% of that market.  Kenya’s carbon emissions about 21.47 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, representing just 0.06% of global emissions.

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Plans to host the first ever Africa-wide Postharvest Congress to be held at the Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi on 28th to 31st March 2017are at an advanced stage with over 600 delegates signed up already.  

The Congress to advocate for increased investments in postharvest management programs across Africa will be officially opened by the Deputy President, Hon. William Ruto.Diverse stakeholders in the food supply chain are expected in Nairobi for the Congresswhose theme is “Reducing Food Losses and Waste: Sustainable Solutions for Africa.

The Congress,seeks to contribute to the global agenda of reducing postharvest food loss and waste and seeks to define actionable solutions to reverse the current trend where an estimated 30 per cent or 1.3 billion metric tons of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted along the supply chains. These losses resultin at least 15% lost income for over 470 million actors across the agriculture value chain. The Congress will provide an opportunity to respond to the calls for action outlinedin United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Malabo Declaration which have set a target of halving postharvest losses by 2030 and 2025 respectively.

“We are honored to host this inaugural Congress, the first of its kind to be held in Africa. The Congress will provide a platform for delegates to learn, share information and build strategic partnerships with the overall objective of identifying effective interventions to reduce food loss waste on the continent,” says University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor, Prof. Peter Mbithi. “This historic gathering is very timely because like many other countries in Africa, Kenya continues to experience huge food loss and waste as a result of poor post-harvest management practices.”

He adds: “To reduce food waste and loss in Africa there is need for concerted efforts from all stakeholders in the food supply chain and this Congress provides a great convergence point for players in the industry including leading global champions in the food supply chain including farmers, innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, development agencies, civil society and policymakers.”

The Congress is being hosted by the University of Nairobi in partnership with a consortium of Kenyan universities, Research and Development Organizations, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries in conjunction with the World Food Preservation Center (WFPC).  The lead strategicpartner in this great initiative is the Rockefeller Foundation. The initiative is also supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), African Union Commission, Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), East African Grain Council (EAGC), East Africa Trade and Investment Hub (USAID),Postharvest Education Foundation, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Horticulture Innovation Lab (USAID), Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) among others.

A key highlight of the Congress will be the inaugural “All-Africa Postharvest Technology Challenge 2017” which aims at identifying top ten scalable innovations and technologies in the continent. The competition seeks to identify technologies and innovations that can address the challenges faced by farmers and other value chain actors in postharvest management of perishable food crop, livestock, fish products and non-perishable food commodities. The competition will be judged by a panel of eminent judges from across Africa. So far over 100 people have entered their technologies in the competition.

The Chairperson of the Organizing Committee Dr. Jane Ambuko said that the competition was expected to help document hitherto unknown postharvest technologies and innovations. “Through this competition, we seek to identify the top 10 innovators in the postharvest field,” she said. “After rigorous screening by postharvest experts, we will be show-casethe winning innovations at a special pitching session of the Congress,”

“We hope that this exciting and unique competition will attract participation from everyone regardless of the sector or level of training,” Dr. Ambuko added.“We are expecting entries from a cross-section of innovators including farmers and other practitioners in the food supply chain because they have innovative ways of addressing the challenges they face at the grassroot level.”

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Eleven Kenyans who say they have been unceremoniously sacked by their boss at the Kenya-based UN Habitat have appealed to the visiting UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to intervene and reinstate them.

The workers appealed to Guterres who is in the country and met with President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday to rescue them from losing their jobs and pointed fingers at their boss Dr Joan Clos for their woes.

James Ohayo, the President of the UN-Habitat staff union noted that for many members of staff at the Nairobi Duty Station, integrity, professionalism, respect for diversity, accountability and transparency are clichés that ring hollow.

"When some of those who lead us routinely get away with glaring acts of impunity, blatant disregard for laid down rules and regulations, open violation of staff rights and privileges, reckless abuse of authority, and endemic corruption, nepotism, racism, and cronyism, our belief in the cherished core values ofour organization is severely tested," Ohayo said.

He said that this is happening at a time the Habitat III process, in which member states have invested huge resources and efforts to position and revamp the organisation in readiness for the New Urban Agenda.

"These initiatives may not yield much result as long as the current executive director who is feared and hated in equal measure remains. The implementation of the New urban Agenda will be shackled unless the current a top official  shown the way out of this vital organization," Ohayo said.

This comes at a time when the 2017 UN Global Staff survey released yesterday has ranked UN Habitat, a UN organization based in Kenya as the worst managed among its all organisations.

The survey ranks the best "UN departments and missions in which to work, which have the best leadership and in which do staff feel the most or least empowered.

Several such questions are answered in the report of the Global Staff Satisfaction Survey 2017, in which 4,000 of staff took part last week, representing ten per cent of the UN staff.

According to the survey findings, UN-Habitat polled among the worst and by most unethical.
 

"The agency performed well above expectations and enjoyed donor confidence and support until 2011 when it's financial and human resources began a precipitous plunge that up till date has greatly negatively impacting its normative and operational work. The bottom line is that the executive director simply failed to mobilize resources," the report says.

The report faults the Executive Director Dr Joan Clos for on numerous occasions admitting that he is unable to raise funds (a core requirement for success of a UN agency) but refusing to admit that he has failed to lead the organization.

"Compared with seven years ago, the organization can today be described as a pale shadow of its former self as it continues to suffer from among others: huge donor confidence crisis, loss of staff, more than 50 per cent of UN Habitat staff has been lost, corrosive demotivation due to poor and nepotistic leadership and the replacement of competent staff with consultants at the expense of in-house expertise," the report says.

The report's findings also faulted current plans to further sack staff since the conclusion of Habitat III unless there is a direct intervention by member states.

"Recently, 11 staff members have received notification of contract termination on various dates around March 2017. This prompted an alarmed workforce to raise the matter with Clos on the effect of the diminishing staff levels on the implementation of the mandate of UN-Habitat which he always assures is on course despite facts to the contrary," the report said.

The report accuses Clos of mistreatment of staff members and victimization of staff, who at times hacks and reads emails of staff members, a practice contrary to UN's individual privacy rules and in direct violation of the rights of staff.

"Most staffs are unsure how safe their private thoughts are and are apprehensive of the future when such violations are carried out with impunity. So far about three senior staff members that is known have now been under the surveillance of Clos' office; a very frightening development to say the least.

The leadership of UN-Habitat rather than give comfort to its staff constantly puts them in fear," the report says.

Kenya is the only country with UN headquarters outside the industrialised West. Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and other centres are regional headquarters. If the headquarters is closed or relocated, Kenya will lose a major source of revenue big time.

The 2015 report of the Office of the Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) also cast a picture of an incompetent management which has caused the organization dwindling fortunes.

ACCRA, Ghana (PAMACC News) - Ghana’s Centre for Climate Change and Food Security (CCCFS) has launched a project to help minimize the misuse and waste of food among the populace.
 
Dubbed "Campaign Against Food Waste and Overeating", the project is to encourage Ghanaians to make judicious use of available food at their disposal.
 
Though there is no readily available statistics, it is believed that most Ghanaians waste more food than they consume.
 
The two key components of the project are to reduce food waste and over-eating which contribute to about 20 percent of the world food being lost.
 
At the launch of the project, Executive Director of CCCFS, Mahmud Mohammed-Nurudeen, enjoined the citizenry to eat less animal products, and help reduce the global growing trend of food insecurity.
 
He said students particularly have a pivotal role to play in the prevention of food waste to help prevent damage to the environment.
 
"If we continue to throw away food and litter around, then we are just preparing a dangerous environment for the future generations," he said.
 
The project is also part of efforts to reduce the billions of tonnes of food lost to ensure everyone has access to a safe, affordable and nutritious diet.
 
According to scientists at the University of Edinburgh, the world population consumes around 10 per cent more food than it needs, while almost nine per cent is thrown away or left to spoil.
 
The researchers at the University examined ten key stages in the global food system including food consumption as well as the growing and harvesting of crops to quantify the extent of losses.
 
According to the research, almost half of harvested crops or 2.1 billion tonnes are lost through over-consumption, consumer waste and inefficiencies in production processes.
 
They found out that, almost 20 per cent of the food made available to consumers is lost through over-eating or waste.
 
Livestock production is the least efficient process, with losses of 78 per cent or 840 million tonnes, the team found. Some 1.08 billion tonnes of harvested crops are used to produce 240 million tonnes of edible animal products including meat, milk and eggs.
 
This stage alone accounts for 40 per cent of all losses of harvested crops, researchers say.
 
Dr. Peter Alexander, of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences and Scotland's Rural College, who led the study, said: "Reducing losses from the global food system would improve food security and help prevent environmental harm. Until now, it was not known how over-eating impacts on the system. Not only is it harmful to health, we found that over-eating is bad for the environment and impairs food security."
 
The Centre for Climate Change and Food Security has therefore taken upon itself to educate young Ghanaians, especially students, on the need to avoid food waste and overeating.
 
The project was launched as part of the Centre's seminar on the theme: "Today's Climate, Who Should Be Concerned?" held at the University for Development Studies UDS, Wa campus in the Upper West Region.
 
Ghana Bureau Chief for ClimateReporters, Kofi Adu Domfeh encouraged students to show more concern in the protection of the environment.
 
He said the students can be agents of change in educating Ghanaians about the effects of the changing climate.
 
He cited an instant where a farmer at Atebubu in the Brong Ahafo region lost all his crops due to prolonged drought.
 
Mr. Domfeh also challenged the students to begin a campus campaign on environmental tidiness.
 
CCCFS has been recommending and implementing policies to safeguard the environment and protect farmers’ livelihoods.
 
The Centre also embarks on research works that seek to address issues of climate change, food security and agribusiness.