Mitigating the effects of Climate Change on Water Scarcity

Water, Agriculture and Environment share a significant relationship among them. However, this relationship continues to fall out of balance resulting in increasing concerns for food and water security.  Climate change affects freshwater resources negatively, in terms of both quantity and quality. As temperatures increase, evaporation increases, sometimes resulting in droughts which in turn translate into increased crop water demand.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations report on Climate Change, “70 per cent of our water withdrawals are used up by agriculture, yet competition with other sectors for water is increasing”. Glaciers, one of the important sources of freshwater worldwide is melting at an unprecedented rate due to rising temperatures, reports state that they are in danger of drying up within the 21st century.

With the lack of sufficient, accessible water resources to meet water needs of the increasing population, the issue of water scarcity becomes one of the leading challenges of the twenty-first century.
Soils constitute the largest store of terrestrial carbon. When they are poorly managed or cultivated through unsustainable agricultural practices, soil carbon can be released into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change.

In Nigeria, water services cannot be delivered quickly enough to cope with the rapidly growing population and agriculture is mostly rain-fed. The Executive Director of Nigerian Environmental Study Action Team, Professor, Chinedum Nwajiuba expresses that the agricultural sector depends on the natural resource base and thus faces risks such as desertification, rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and sea level rise, leading to degrading agriculture and exacerbating conflict.

Given the trends in climate change, FAO predicts that by 2025, water withdrawals will increase to 18 percent in developed countries, and 50 percent withdrawals in developing countries. While increasing effects of climate change intensifies water scarcity, report asserts that the economic impact of this would fall on agriculture.

Hence this issue calls for action to harvest and recycle freshwater resources, and employ more efficient ways to use water to provide food for an ever-increasing global population.
Experts suggest that climate adaptation measures in agriculture that build on existing good management practices can increase water security, thereby contributing directly to sustainable development. Also, modern technologies derived from applied research, combined with suitable policies would be effective in reducing the effects of climate change.

To this end, FAO adopts a global framework to combat the eff­ects of climate change on water scarcity.  Under this framework, countries will develop risk management strategies for national food security policies under water constraints and economic transitions, focused investments in water infrastructure; and the development of institutional and human capacities, and Implement sound and innovative water auditing to support decision-making and management.

The report also recommends that farmers adopt Precision Irrigation Techniques, Water Harvesting Techniques, and Wastewater Management to tackle water scarcity issues.

Combating Unemployment in Nigeria through Oil Palm Production

Sustained economic development is vital for any nation to attain long term poverty amelioration for social and environmental sustainability. The palm oil industry in Nigeria represents one of the most potent means for combating poverty, ensuring food security, improving productivity and generally attaining economic stability in Nigeria.

Palm Oil, botanically called Elaeis Guineensis is a perennial crop which is said to have originated in the tropical rain forest of West Africa. It later spread to South America in the 16th century and to Asia in the 19th century. Exportation of palm kernels began in 1832 and by 1911, West Africa alone exported 157,000 tonnes of which about 75%  came from Nigeria. However, in 1934, Malaysia surpassed Nigeria as the largest exporter of the product and has since maintained the lead.  As at 2016, Malaysia and Indonesia have become the dominant powers in palm oil production supplying more than 70 percent of the palm oil consumed worldwide.

Though Palm oil cultivation has been ascribed as a way of life for many Nigerians, the country has become a net importer of palm oil. Research conducted by Sahel Capital, a fund manager and advisory firm in West Africa indicates that, the production of palm oil in Nigeria is significantly below the country’s estimated consumption of at 1.4 million tons. About 40% of palm oil is imported while the other percentage is sourced from groves and smallholder plantations rather than industrial plantations. Currently, Cote d’Ivoire is the only net exporter of Palm Oil in West Africa.

Experts stress that the declined palm oil and kernel exports were as a result of increased domestic consumption following population grown and the lower producer prices allowed by marketing boards which had a monopoly of purchase for export. They add that the ceaseless tapping of local wine from the palm tree which reduced the productivity of the palms, hence producing fruit with thinner pericarp, or husks, lowering the quantity of the oil per hectare with poor quality was another factor.

In developed economies, palm oil is used in the manufacturing of many foodstuffs, the tree also has been identified in many industrial applications such a paper, pulp and particle board production, making of detergents, greases, lubricants and candles. Palm oil formed the basis of industrial scale soap production, such as Lever Brothers (Unilever Nig Plc) sunlight soap and the American Palmolive brand. Also, this staple crop has proven to be a valuable feedstock for biodiesel and serves as an alternative to mineral oils used in power stations. Apart from local trade in palm oil, it is heavily sold on the international markets as CPO (Crude Palm Oil) and usually commands a high premium price given its vast capabilities and high demand from several industries.

With these myriads of benefits, the  palm  oil  industry  has  the  potentials of  providing  employment  for  many Nigerians.  Palm oil is one of the commodities produced in rural Nigeria whose consumption daily in the human diet and use as an industrial raw material have increased its potentials for income generation and poverty alleviation. This was acknowledged by the World Rainforest Movement that affirmed that “oil palm is indigenous to the Nigerian coastal plain though it has migrated inland as a staple crop. Cultivation of oil palm serves as a means of livelihood for many rural families and indeed the farming culture of millions of people in the country’’.

Therefore, to unlock the potentials in palm oil business, it is imperative for government and individuals to put in a more deliberate effort to cultivate modern oil palm plantations that contain selected (hybrid) oil palms with very high yields.

While the land tenure system in Nigeria may be a limiting factor against private mass production of palm oil, the local and state government should rise to the challenge by providing land areas and needed technologies to palm oil farmers.

Nigeria may consider importation to meet wheat demand

Nigeria is likely to continue relying on imports during the 2017 marketing year as a result of limited production of major grain crops.

The combined importation of cereal crops such as wheat, rice and corn are expected to reach nearly 6.8 million tonnes, with wheat, having about 4.5 million tonnes.

Report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Federal Agriculture Service (FAS) indicates that most of Nigeria’s wheat farmlands are rain-fed and insufficient to bring about increased production needed for self-sufficiency. Experts estimate that local wheat farmers will produce 60,000 tonnes of wheat.

The FAS notes that though the wheat variety produced by Nigerian farmers is high in protein content it is low in gluten, a characteristic that is unsuitable for producing the bread preferred by Nigerian consumers.

According to FAS “Bread is a major staple in Nigeria and it remains comparatively the less expensive staple eaten by majority of consumers despite a 20 per cent increase in price recorded over the past three months. However, given the falling currency and higher-than-normal market prices, consumers’ purchasing power has weakened, thereby preventing wheat millers to raise market prices to help offset production costs”.

As a result, the millers are forced to blend and adjust their wheat milling formulas to achieve bread flour that is acceptable to Nigerian bakers while maintaining favorable profit levels.

The FAS adds that while Wheat products, especially bread, will continue to be widely consumed in Nigeria as a major staple, consumption of pasta, noodles, and semolina are declining.

Nigerian Beans Export still Banned – EU Official Insists

A trade officer at the Dutch Embassy has refuted the claims by some agricultural stakeholders in the country that the EU ban placed on Nigerian beans export has been lifted.

One of these claims was allegedly made by the Director General of NAFDAC Dr Yetunde Oni in a purported speech to the Senate Health Committee. The DG was quoted as having intimated the Committee that the “ban placed on Nigeria on exportation of beans by the European Union due to its claim of being substandard and poisonous had been lifted for the next three years”. AgroNigeria made spirited effort to reach the office of the NAFDAC boss, but all such attempts proved abortive as at the time of filing this story.

Speaking to AgroNigeria  on telephone, the official who pleaded anonymity described the claims as false, adding that the ban was very much still in place.

The EU had banned importation of Nigeria’s dried beans in June 2015 on grounds of safety related to high chemical residue considered dangerous to human health. Sadly, the ban was extended by three years in June 2016.

In a bid to reverse the ban the Federal Government in August 2016 inaugurated a 26-member Standing Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee to address the rejection of Nigeria`s dry beans by the European Union. While inaugurating the Committee, Audu Ogbeh, Nigeria’s Agriculture Minister left nothing to doubt about its terms of reference: “We are here to take our destinies in our hands by finding lasting solution to the incessant rejection of our agricultural commodities, especially in Europe”.

According to Ogbeh “We need to avoid the embarrassment of further rejection in the future by strengthening our regulatory authorities to live up to their mandates. Our desire for agricultural products and non-oil exports means there will be vigorous pursuit of investment in quality control and standardization”

But sectoral watchers had applauded the Minister for taking up a key point earlier expressed by Michel Arrion, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and Head of the West African Mission, who had underscored that the rejection was a ‘red flag’ for the Nigerian consumers as well. In Ogbeh’s words, addressing the challenge entailed “working with the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service to ensure safety of what we produce and consume locally and export internationally”.

Source: agronigeria

Embrace Peace, Focus on Agriculture; Minister urges Niger Deltans

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Heineken Lokpobiri has urged the people of the Niger Delta region to embrace peace and take advantage of the potentials inherent in Agriculture towards generating wealth and promoting economic development.


Vanguard Newspaper reports that Heineken made this statement during the 20th anniversary of Nigerian Agip Oil Company’ Green River Project Farmers Day held at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Banquet Hall in Yenagoa.

According to the Minister, “I appeal to the people of the Niger Delta region to embrace peace and focus on agriculture, stop the destruction of oil and gas pipelines, which only served to destroy the country’s ecosystem and economy”.

Lokpobiri said Nigeria spent an average of $22billion annually on wheat, rice, sugar and fish imports.
While there was an abundance of land available for cultivation to meet the demand of about 170 million consumers in the Nigerian domestic market and the entire West Africa sub region, Nigeria only utilized 10 per cent of the estimated 84 million hectares of arable land, he noted.

He however expressed that the Federal Government was focused on redirecting attention to agriculture in its totality while empowering Nigerians in a productive and sustainable manner, adding that the process which entailed treating agriculture as a business to create wealth and provide employment, will transform Nigeria into a self – sufficient nation, with surplus for export to earn foreign exchange.

ORGANIC FARMING METHODS

No matter how much a man progresses, agriculture is an occupation that was, is and will always be undertaken since it suffices one of the most important basic needs of the population – Food. Hence, technology is added in this field to find ways to increase agricultural production in order to feed the ever growing demand for food due to the drastic increase in population. Therefore, many new ways and methods are being introduced in this field to harvest and cultivate the best quality crops.

Organic farming can be explained as an agricultural method wherein the following techniques are used:

• Crop Rotation: A technique to grow various kinds of crops in the same area, according to different seasons, in a sequential manner
• Green Manure: Refers to the dying plants that are uprooted and stuffed into the soil in order to make them act as a nutrient for the soil to increase its quality
• Biological Pest Control: A method in which living organisms are used to control pests, without or with limited use of chemicals
• Compost: Highly rich in nutrients, this is a recycled organic matter used as a fertilizer in the agricultural farms

The reason why organic agriculture is enforced in many nations is because it minimizes the use of various harmful chemicals that have hazardous effects on crops in the field. Here, there is more focus on using natural ways to enhance the quality of soil and the cultivated crops. Organic agriculture is nothing more than a modernization in agriculture. It is a combination of science, technology and nature. Following are the different methods that combine together to form organic agriculture:

Crop Diversity

Earlier, Monoculture was the only practice used in the agricultural fields wherein only one type of crop was harvested and cultivated in a particular location. However, in the recent world, Polyculture has come into the picture wherein different kinds of crops are harvested and cultivated in order to meet the increasing crop demand and produce the required soil microorganisms.

Soil Management

After the season of cultivation has been conducted, the soil loses its nutrients and becomes less in quality. Rather than using harmful chemicals to enhance this soil, organic agriculture focuses on implementing natural ways to not only increase the health of soil but also keep the nature and human health unharmed. One of the best examples of natural ways to enhance soil is the use of bacteria that is present in animal waste. This bacteria help in making the soil nutrients more productive; much higher as compared to the chemical containing liquids.

Weed Management

“Weed”, in simple words, is nothing but the unwanted plant that grows in agricultural fields. However, in organic agriculture, there is more focus on suppressing the weed rather than eliminating it completely.
The two most widely used weed management techniques are:

• Mulching – a process wherein plastic films are used in order to block the growth of weed
• Mowing and cutting – wherein there is a removal of weeds’ top growth

Controlling other organisms

While certain organisms prove to be beneficial to the health of the agricultural farm, there are many others that hamper the field. Hence, the growth of such organisms needs to be controlled to protect the soil and crops. Out of the long list, following are the three most commonly used and important ways of controlling other organisms in organic agriculture:

Encouraging ladybugs, minute pirate bugs and other such predatory beneficial insects that feast on pests and fly away from the farm.
Using herbicides and pesticides that are natural or contain less chemical
Proper sanitization of the entire farm in order to keep it free from pests
Livestock

There can be no better place for the pet animals to get fresh air, food and a great exercise than the green farm. Since everything is preferred to be in a natural way, just like the animals were used as labor in the earlier times for plowing, organic agriculture encourages the use of domestic animals to increase the sustainability of the farm.

Genetic Modification

Since organic agriculture encourages the use of natural ways to enhance the farm, crops and soil; there is a discouragement of genetically engineered animals and plants. Hence, genetic modification is kept out of this agriculture. However, there is an argument keeping in mind that the pollen present in such modified crops are present in the stock of seeds used for organic agriculture, making it impossible to keep this completely out of this agriculture.

Organic agriculture is being conducted by many countries with the rejection of using techniques and chemicals that harm animals, crops, soil, environment and even the human health. Hence, such a process of agriculture should be encouraged since it acts as a protection shield to all the main factors that form the planet.

biological pest control
compost
crop rotation
green manure
Methods
Organic Farming
Harmful Effects of Molds

The presence of mold in our homes and work places can have serious negative effects on the health of humans. People of any age and state of health can react with allergic reactions to the presence of molds. However, those who already suffer from respiratory ailments have an even greater sensitivity to molds that can cause an increase in the severity of reactions.

The most common reactions to mold exposure include respiratory problems such as sneezing, coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, nose and throat irritation, burning or watery eyes, runny nose, skin rash, headache, or fatigue. Exposure to mold may cause what seems like a constant cold or allergy symptoms. Prolonged exposure to mold can weaken the immune system, thus leaving the body vulnerable to infections.
If the smell of mold exists or those living in the home experience mold related symptoms, track down and remove the source of moisture and the mold itself as soon as possible. Serious mold contamination may require professional removal.

Specialized Landscape Companies

Many homes, offices, hotels, factories and commercial premises have a garden attached to them, which is a place for relaxation and also adds a touch of greenery to the surroundings. Many home owners and commercial premises spend large amounts on designing and developing the interiors of the offices and homes. To complement these homes and offices, the property owners would like the garden to be suitable designed with plants and garden accents selected appropriately. Since most homes and businesses lack the necessary in house expertise for landscaping their premises, they hire the services of specialized landscape companies

Climate change action needs to focus on small-scale farmers

 

  Investing in small-scale farmers pays off (Photo: CC0)

More efforts to support small-scale farmers are needed if we want to achieve food security in a changing climate. This was the message of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) at the UN climate conference COP22 which concluded on Friday in Marrakech. According to IFAD president Kanayo F. Nwanze, small-scale farmers are not only responsible for the bulk of food production in developing countries, but also face some of the worst threats to their own food security. „Where do the poorest and hungriest live? In developing countries. Which areas are the most abundant agriculturally? Rural areas.

What is their main activity? Smallscale agriculture,“ Nwanze said in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian. „We are looking at about 500 million small farms worldwide catering for up to 3 billion people on our planet. So, if you want to achieve zero hunger you must focus: these people are our clients.

They are also often neglected and forgotten.“ Although the Paris climate agreement recognises the importance of food security for the first time, and the Marrakech Action Proclamation calls on all parties to „ensure food security and to take stringent action to deal with climate change challenges in agriculture”, farming and small-scale farmers in particular, did not take centre stage at the Marrakech climate talks.

Thomson Reuters Foundation reports that development agencies had hoped for the establishment of a work plan on agriculture that would include concrete assistance measures for small-scale farmers. However, such a plan was put off. José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, was also disappointed: „This lack of progress on agricultural issues puts at risk efforts to help farmers adapt to climate change and meet a global goal to end hunger by 2030, the FAO chief was quoted by Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A recent IFAD report showed that investing in climate adaptation for smallholder farmers would also pay big financial returns. For each dollar invested in smallholder agriculture, farmers could earn a return of up to $2.60 over a 20 year period by applying climate change adaptation practices. The report, released by IFAD on 9 November, demonstrates that widespread adoption of agricultural practices in the production of major staples could help farmers adapt to climate change, increase food security and reduce emissions. Among the most promising agricultural practices outlined in the report is alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in rice production. AWD consists of repeated interruptions of flooding during the season, causing the water level to decline as the upper soil layer dries out, before subsequent re-flooding. This practice increases the efficiency in water usage, offers stable yields and brings a significant reduction in methane emissions, the report said

2000m²: Take a look at your share of gobal food and land!

If we were to divide the total global surface area of arable land by the number of people living on the planet, each person would get 2000m². It is on this piece of land that everything Mother Earth supplies you with must grow: wheat, rice, potatoes, fruit, vegetables, oil, sugar… not to mention all the animal feed that does not stem from meadows and pastures. Visit the website of this new ARC2020 project to find out what your 2000m² would look like if they were to represent the global situation and to learn how much tomatoes, cabbages, carrots, wheat and potatoes could be grown on your field. www.2000m2.eu

Agroecology: Voices from social movements

 A movement is growing. While agroecology has been practiced for millennia in diverse places around the world, today we are witnessing the mobilisation of transnational social movements to build, defend and strengthen agroecology as the pathway towards a most just, sustainable and viable food and agriculture system. Created as part of a research project at Coventry University, explores the meaning, practice and politics of agroecology from a social movement perspective.

Food experts urge global shift towards agroecology

Input-intensive crop monocultures and industrial-scale feedlots must be consigned to the past in order to put global food systems onto a sustainable track, according to a team of experts on food security, agro- ecosystems and nutrition. The solution is to diversify agriculture and reorient it around ecological practices, whether the starting point is highly-industrialized agriculture or subsistence farming in the world’s poorest countries, they argue. The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), led by former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, published its findings in the report From uniformity to diversity. The authors call for diversified agroecological systems. We have summarised the main messages of the report.