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NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Kenya is one of the African countries that are keen on implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) with a hope of reducing the greenhouse gas emission by 32% come the year 2030 compared to the business-as-usual scenario The NDCs are the climate action plans and commitments by individual countries under the Paris Agreement on climate change. The main aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere, while adapting to the impacts of the changing climatic conditions. In Kenya, the NDC is extremely important because the country’s economy is deeply intertwined with climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and energy. Prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall, and rising temperatures have significantly affected crop production, food security, and livelihoods, particularly among the rural population. “In this country, climate change is estimated to cost between 3% to 5% of GDP annually – this really hampers us and makes it difficult for the country to take the opportunity to give its citizens the services they require,” said Michael Okumu of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Climate Change Directorate during a workshop a UNDP in Nairobi. So far, Kenya has developed several policies that will be instrumental in implementation of the NDC. The National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) III 2023 – 2027 for example, is the third five-year plan that presents the detailed priority actions that Kenya will embark on to address climate change in the medium-term planning period and contribute to the achievement of our NDC under the Paris Agreement. According to President William Ruto, the government of Kenya is keen to continue implementing the Climate Change Act (No. 11 of 2016), which provides the framework for compliance with the Paris Agreement, and Kenya’s (2020) updated NDC. “The Climate Change Act is central to our climate actions at both the national and county government levels,” said President Ruto in a statement. “It is important to note the progress made by county governments in the last five years in the enactment of county-level climate legislation that establishes Climate Change Funds and ward climate change committees, and provides for allocation of a minimum percentage of development budgets to finance locally-led climate actions,” he said. The National Adaptation Plans (NAP) is another policy instrument that seeks to identify medium- and long-term adaptation needs, informed by the latest climate science. Kenya’s NAP process objectives are to highlight the importance of adaptation and resilience building actions in development, and to integrate climate change adaptation into national and county level development planning and budgeting processes. The process is also used to enhance the resilience of public and private sector investment in the national transformation, economic and social and pillars of Vision 2030 to climate shocks, to enhance synergies between adaptation and mitigation actions in order to attain a low carbon climate resilient economy, and as well to enhance resilience of vulnerable populations to climate shocks through adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies. According to the UNDP, countries can utilize the NAP process…
HARARE, Zimbabwe (PAMACC News) - African policy makers, local leaders and the private sector have been asked to create an enabling environment that will help African traders and farmer folks build reliable systems for food security and resilience through territorial markets. During a week-long 2024 Africa Agroecological Entrepreneurship and Seed Festival in Harare, Zimbabwe, experts observed that persistent crises have shown the importance of resilient close-to-home ‘territorial’ markets that feed billions of people every day – from public markets and street vendors to cooperatives, from urban agriculture to online direct sales, and from food hubs to community kitchens. “For instance, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global food prices spiked by 15%, forcing policy-makers around the world to question how to reduce dependency on volatile global markets and strengthen food self-sufficiency,” said Dr Million Belay, the General Coordinator at the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA). “Further, questions have been raised about how people are actually fed, and by whom, prompting us to ask: in this century of crisis, what kinds of food supply chains and markets can build resilience, and help fulfil the right to food – nourishing people around the world more sustainably and equitably?,” paused Belay. To answer the question, experts are calling for policies and sound working environment that will empower territorial markets that promote dietary diversity and affordable nutritious foods for all, allows producers and food workers to retain control over their livelihoods, and food that is adaptable to climate chocks and emerging crises. These markets have been broadly defined as markets that are centred on small-scale agroecological food producers and business owners that produce and sell a variety of commodities, and often meet preference of majority of farmers, traders and consumers. Studies have shown that these markets play a crucial role in making food accessible and affordable, especially for low-income populations in the Global South, allowing for the purchase of small and flexible quantities of food, price bargaining, informal credit arrangements, and being located in or near low-income neighbourhoods. A new study launched on the sidelines of the Harare event that culminated into the fifth Biennial Africa Food Systems Conference, however, shows that profit oriented corporate value chains are highly concentrated in Africa’s market places The report, titled ‘Food from Somewhere,’ by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES Food) finds that just seven grain traders control at least 50% of the global grain trade, six major corporations control 78% of the agrochemical market, the top eight carriers of freight account for more than 80% of the market for ocean freight capacity and globally, 1% of the world’s largest farms control 70% of the world’s farmland. This, according to experts, amounts to a corporate capture of Africa’s food systems. The report is therefore advocating for a paradigm shift, urging governments to reinvest in local and regional supply infrastructure, relocalise public purchasing and food security strategies for a more resilient and equitable approach to food security. “The problem for smallholders is not…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PAMACC News) - A report, "Towards Africa's Prosperity: Creating Conditions for Socially Inclusive, Environmentally Sustainable and Well-Governed Continent”, to assist African countries to accelerate and ensure the successful implementation of Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 on the continent has been published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The report is a response to the call by World Leaders in January 2020 for a "Decade of Action" to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. UN Secretary-General António Guterres further emphasised this by launching 'Our Common Agenda', which focuses on foresight analysis and involves looking ahead and examining how significant change can be achieved. These calls for action came amid worsening global economic problems caused by the disruptive effects of COVID-19, the crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the escalating climate crisis. These issues have led to global hunger, limited access to essential health services, poor educational quality, gender inequality, violent conflicts, vulnerability to natural disasters, and climate change. Africa is the worst-affected region, posing a threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established in 2015. The SDGs are designed to enhance global shared prosperity and improve people's lives by 2030. Therefore, the Report aims to help African countries address these challenges and accelerate the desired implementation of Agenda 2030, which aligns with the goals of Agenda 2063 of the African Union(AU). The report assessed four major themes: Africa's economic and social conditions, a comprehensive definition of prosperity, scenario casting through a macroeconomic model on options for achieving prosperity in Africa by 2030, accelerators of Africa's development, and the role of governance institutions in economic transformation. The report identifies the critical ‘game changers’ that could accelerate Africa’s development process in achieving the key goals of Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030. Some of these include the urgent and imperative need for an agricultural revolution that would harness the continent's green resources to feed itself and become a net exporter of agricultural products and processed agricultural goods. Others include "Developing human capital," "Expanding and upgrading infrastructure and logistics," "Unleashing entrepreneurship and private sector development," "Ensuring gender equality and equal opportunities," "Harnessing the urban advantage," "Acceleration of regional integration and trade," "Mobilising financial resources," and "Ensuring environmental sustainability as a foundation for prosperity." The report suggests pathways to accelerate progress towards achieving prosperity in Africa by 2030, aligning with Agenda 2063's vision. It includes promoting inclusive political and economic governance, improving the capacity, autonomy and accountability of economic and political institutions, addressing disparities between the rich and poor, applying fiscal and monetary policies judiciously, creating incentives for enterprises, modernising technology and infrastructure, prioritising investing in technology and accessing global knowledge, and leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The report highlights that governance institutions—economic and political—are essential for sustainable development and socio-economic transformation in Africa. Key political institutions include the judiciary, human rights bodies, and participatory entities like Parliament. Economic institutions encompass national planning, resource management, and accountability…
ABUJA, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - It was a cool and breezy evening in Koba. Abou Camara sat in his reclining chair, with the gentle breeze caressing his bearded face and unveiling the palpable feeling of satisfaction and happiness emanating from his being. Abou, a renowned rice farmer in Koba, a town in the Télimélé Prefecture in the Kindia Region of western-central Guinea, is in high spirits following a recent discovery on his farm. This discovery will change his socio-economic status forever! With experience in rice farming from 1998, Abou has planted several rice seed varieties on his farm. Each year, his hope for a bumper harvest gets shattered by flooding occasioned by fluctuating weather patterns in his region. In 2016, Abou acquired and planted the NERICA L19 variety, but little did he know that the variety does not have the flood-tolerant submergence gene, and when the floods came, he lost nearly all he planted that season. In 2019, Abou participated in a farmer field school organised by Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) in collaboration with the AfricaRice Centre and some seed enterprises. He was introduced to new climate-smart varieties: NERICA L19sub1, WITA 4sub1, Mbapeya, and ROK5. Upon planting the new NERICA L19sub1 and WITA 4sub1 seeds in the subsequent season with strict observance of good agronomic practices, Abou discovered that the seeds he planted had a flood-tolerant gene. He noticed that these varieties could tolerate flooding when it occurred at the vegetative stage on his farm for a period of 10 days, and yet the crop was able to show normal growth. “Both NERICA L19sub1 and WITA 4sub1 showed high promise of a very good harvest despite the flooding in my farm. Accessing these varieties has made a huge difference in my life, and I am happy because this year’s harvest will be my biggest one so far,” Abou said. “This is something I have never experienced with other varieties. I am proud of this scientific achievement. Indeed, with science, we can overcome,” he added. To reduce the negative effects of climate change on rice production and paddy quality, the African Development Bank, through the TAAT programme, is scaling the adoption of improved climate-resilient rice varieties across Africa. This will ensure that seed enterprises and farmers can access elite rice varieties adapted to adverse weather conditions like erratic rainfall, flooding, and droughts. In this regard, TAAT and AfricaRice, working with the Africa-wide Rice Breeding Task Force, have developed varieties tolerant to key biotic and abiotic stresses. NERICA L19sub1 (submergence/flood-tolerant at the vegetative stage), aromatic ORYLUX 6 (Basmati group of rice), which are recognized for their excellent grain quality, taste, and early maturing, and hybrid ISRIZ 09 (AR051H) with excellent grain quality (long grain with firm texture) and good taste form part of the latest generation of rice varieties for Africa. These new mega varieties are suitable for rainfed lowland ecology where there is limited or no water control and irrigated ecology where water control is practiced. Yields of up…
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