HISTORIC WATER SCARCITY AND DROUGHT SUMMIT.

Australia will host 200 leaders from the public and private sector, including government ministers, business and civil society leaders and leading scientists at a historic summit on water scarcity and drought on 10 October this year .


The summit will be a part of the World Water Congress and Exhibition taking place from 9-14 October in Brisbane. Hosting keynotes, roundtables and plenary discussions, it will debate effective policy and institutions, best approaches, effective technologies to reduce water demand and losses, reuse of water, desalination, replenishment and refilling reservoirs.


According to the event organisers, droughts have become more frequent and water scarcity has grown in severity in all regions of the world. This is driven both by climate change and poor water management. The World Economic Forum ranks water security as the top global risk facing societies, economies and businesses over the next decade.


International Water Association (IWA) executive director Dr. Ger Bergkamp said, “The effects of water scarcity and drought will only intensify if we do not act. The summit will launch the world’s first public-private action-agenda solely dedicated to water scarcity and drought: DroughtAction. It will enable participating countries, organisations and water-dependent companies to discuss and agree what needs to be done in order to meet key elements of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals.”


“There are many strengthening mechanisms that need to be put into place to ensure lasting change. These mechanisms include: sharing information and knowledge, spreading best practices and mobilising public and private investments. All together these initiatives will generate the momentum necessary to address water scarcity and drought,” he added. NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

THE FIGHT AGAINST SOIL DEGRADATION.

A University of Bologna coordinated scheme, co-funded by the LIFE program 2014-2020 aims to provide proper irrigation management to fight against soil degradation.

The programme coordinated by the University of Bologna, co-funded by the LIFE program 2014-2020 aims to create a user friendly system for a proper irrigation management in agro-ecosystems of Mediterranean wetlands, which are often threatened by the soil salinization. While the technology is not yet planned to go into Africa, if the programme is successful, there is no doubt that the rest of the world, particularly where soil salinization is a major issue, it will be rolled out further.

The University of Bologna press office said that "the salts present in the water accumulate in the upper layers of the soil, undermining the growth of most plants: a serious problem of soil degradation that can lead, in extreme cases, even to the desertification.

"To cope this phenomenon, Agrowetlands II relies on precision agriculture, through an innovative system of irrigation management that guarantees the preservation of the quality of soil and water, maintains productivity, as well as the biodiversity, in accordance with the objectives of the EU Soil Thematic Strategy, the EU Water Framework Directive and the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change.

"To test the new technology will be some farms of the cooperative Agrisfera, in Ravenna, few kilometers from the Adriatic coast, between the mouths of the Reno and Lamone: lands reclaimed during the 60s, where soil salinization, originated from various concomitant causes, is quite frequent.

Using information captured by a network of wireless sensors monitoring soil moisture and salinity, a Decision Support System will provide indications for proper and effective management of irrigation. The same system will be replicated at the Comunidad de Carrizales, another Mediterranean agricultural area at Elche-Alicante, in southern Spain with salinized soils." NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

US TRADE MISSION SEEKS TO EXPAND AFRICAN AGRIBUSINESS COOPERATION.

Over 40 U.S. business representatives plan to meet with senior Egyptian government and private sector officials to discuss ways to expand agricultural trade between the United States and Egypt.


A trade mission led by the Foreign Agricultural Service Deputy Administrator Mark Slupek arrived in Cairo on 2 April with over 40 U.S. business representatives who are planing to meet with senior Egyptian government and private sector officials to discuss ways to expand agricultural trade between the United States and Egypt. Coordinated by the Embassy’s Office of Agricultural Affairs, the visit will include briefings, one-on-one meetings, and site visits.


“The potential for market expansion in Egypt is great,” said Deputy Administrator Slupek. “This is the first time we’ve led a trade mission to North Africa, we’re hoping that we’re going to create some great business opportunities for the people who join us on this mission.”


The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has an international network of 93 offices covering 171 countries. FAS helps identify opportunities for U.S. exporters and builds relations with a broad range of government officials and private sector stakeholders in other countries to promote agricultural sector trade and cooperation.  NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

MOODY'S : COTE D'IVOIRE AND GHANA ARE REMAINING RESILIENT TO CREDIT PRESSURES FROM COCOA PRICE FALL.

Moody's Investors Service have produced a report on Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, stating that the nations are remaining resilient against credit pressures bought upon by the drastic fall in cocoa price .
The report states that 'the price of cocoa futures fell to a low of US$1,889/ton in mid-February 2017, the lowest price in 10 years. The current average cocoa prices reflect a drop of around 30 per cent compared to mid-2016.'


'Such a large drop will place pressures on all stakeholders in the cocoa sector, but particularly on leading global producers Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana via the current account, fiscal and economic channels.


That said, we [Moody's] expect support for the cocoa sector from the government, and minimum farm gate prices have protected farmers in Côte d’Ivoire's from the short-term fluctuation in prices, whilst Ghana's burgeoning oil sector will help to offset the impact on its credit profile.'


Moody's state four key findings from their study. First, the recent sharp drop in cocoa prices is significant but it is underpinning historically volatilities. The second is that farmers and producers are more exposed in the supply chain. Third, the credit impact on Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana will be felt via deteriorating current account deficits, fall in government revenue that could inflate budget deficits, and slowing growth via falling household incomes and finally, Credit strengths and government development strategies underpin credit profiles. NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

BIOCONTROL PRODUCT TO COMBAT AFLATOXIN IN THE GAMBIA.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has launched Aflasafe, an all-natural biocontrol product, to combat the dangers posed by afltoxin in The Gambia .

Aflatoxin is poses a big threat to Africa’s food, affecting key staples such as maize and groundnuts, which are common foods across sub-Saharan Africa. To combat the dangers posed by Aflatoxin, AflasafeSN01 has been launched in Banjul, The Gambia. Aflasafe is an all-natural biocontrol product, developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in collaboration with national and international partners.

“The Gambia is amongst the first countries to benefit from Aflasafe registration and commercialisation strategy that will guide local manufacturing and distribution and strategic interventions to enable Aflasafe’s uptake,” said Matiéyédou Konlambigue, managing director of IITA’s Aflasafe Technology Transfer and Commercialisation Project (ATTC). Apart from The Gambia, the product is currently registered in three other countries – Senegal, Nigeria and Kenya.
A situational analysis conducted in The Gambia by the African Union’s Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) in 2015 revealed low awareness on aflatoxin and its dangers on human and animal health. The assessment showed that the most significant impact of the toxin is on human health.

Speaking on behalf of the minister of agriculture, Omar A Jallow , the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Sait Drammeh, said, “The government is aware of the multidimensional negative impacts of aflatoxin. We are deeply concerned with the findings of this study and are committed to ensure the implementation of the recommendations, and the action plan informed by the PACA country assessment. We note with concern our inability to enhance our foreign exchange earnings from groundnut exports due to aflatoxin contamination,” he said.

He added that computations based on international and actual prices from 2008 to 2014 indicate a cumulative economic loss of about US$22.8mn, which translates to a loss of US$1.5mn as an annual average. “Tests conducted in Senegal and The Gambia over the past five years and two years, respectively, have resulted in an aflatoxin reduction level of more than 95 per cent, which is very encouraging. This launch comes at a time when The Gambia is ready to address the issue of aflatoxin as a whole,” he said. NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.