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Thu rsday 25 October 2012
World Food Day in Nigeria and message of agric cooperatives
Ot:.s! Is. ~ ClOIumnut. oo-rounoe,. of rhe YOUIh Comonlllm rOl' f'ro&ress and one or !hi:: propm nar.pn for Ihil fI.wnbe IncubIkJr fur SusIaIr.bIe Me! RIInII Dl:velopma1I (HISARD) lobQI@hanmbenlccna·OI'S
WOI"Id Food Day lnIdIdates bad: 10 the 1979 Confereoceollhe Food and AgriCtlhu~1 Organisation (FAO). I' ....-asinsdnnoo with the aim of rablns pobaI aWllmleSS or the ~in problems of hunger and rnaJnutrfdon and uItimalety addreMIng poYeI1y and It!lmpUcadons b the
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sunivaloOrumanbetngt.and~
J6{thedateoCFAO'slncqxion in 1945)
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T his year'llheme, -Agrlcuhural
cum:nl noality. Put differently, how am OUT 1ndMdua~ communal, and nationaJ priolilie!l be reordered 10 make lure thar. no Nigerian ever has to go to bed hwlgry1 lhe 20 12 World Food Day's an· swer to ttilii conundmm h agricul tural cooper.KiYeswhk:h. bylheirwty na~, help lndMduals to mlliFte theeITects r:J1l'\a!Ut: nuctualiom, vag;uie'I of _thel.and infril5lrucrunll" persona! and policy constraInl.5, by improving lheir aa:ess to I1!SOU1'Ce5 or iopulS. In a message IefIt to the nationontheocaslonolWorldr'OOd Oay,theso-norr:JOsunState.RaW ~ ",.,. """"",. tfye~a5the pIadonn lOr
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organisins;farmerstlJWllltbtheir~
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Improved seedlings. and ~tin8 larger ffiIIIketins opportunities wiD l'urther enhana: the apacities of the I'iumenlOpPJdln~ ~ durint! theWodd Food
Day cdebI1ltion "I the AgrIc Show Ground on the AbuJa-KdII Road, Olajumoke AkinJlde, mlnlsler of state for the Federal Capllal Terri tor)', explained that the better route
10 economk: ~powermenl of smallholder t'armm and thdr evolution 10 es:IablIshed c:ommerdaI enm:preneun was Ihrough cooperative gJoup action - as optX.l8ed to lndMdual-1llfFl approaches. 10 Ihl! end. she nOl\'!d thai her ministry had provided 80 tnKton and fann Implementll to farmer groups and IndMdilal mrponle filnt1!a5par1 of the FarmerlKhnologyEmpowement Pmgnmune She aOO noted that under
TIle better route to economic empower-
ment of smallholder farmers and their evolulion to estabUshed co01Jnercial entrepreneurs [isJ through cooperalive group action
Coopft'atk-e Key to Feedingthe\\Ukr,
was one thai partkuhllly ~ll<Iled with many Ntgmans In !he agriculnll1ll space. Aa:ordinglo UN SlRti5ticf. one In eight people go 10 bed hungry every nighL In Nlger1a. this. noatlOCka lhe gIobBlfiMndal aisisol2008/2009and the subsequent food aisIs ac:rot:5 the contioenl ~ aneered the agriadnnlmrukecec:onomy.Concemsoi an Irnpendinsf;unlneand heightened food lruecurity - dlle 10 rising food shcJrtar:e. and e:xac:et:.eod by the destruction oirannlands ttuo..'Ih fIood5 andJli&eia'sweB-knawnauodooslmportadon habits - have been raised. A question lhat has roDowed In the wake ollhlsls howlOtnOIIfffidmdyalloate and ~ ~ 10 imPJOY!' the
the Growth Enhanttment Support (GES) Progmnme. the minlsttyddlYen:d 4,000 merle tOlUol ~ed frum Inputs to 'n,l}38 flUTneB. The minl5uy, lIheadded. was "coIhtbonuingwtth MlnIsuyoi AgJicuhure lind Rural Development on other InJtia1hoatmdertheAptcultun: TI'lU'L5formation Agenda (ATA), including Nigeria Lncentl\'e-based Risk Shar1118 System for AgrIcuhu~ Lending (NIRSAL) and the development of commodilles value chalm thaI are geared Towards enSllli1l8 !!llSlainRbie ~ Iood pnxtuaion." Addressing concerns about the Impact of the Dooch on the lives of farmen. Akin Adesina, mlnlstl!r of agricultW1! and rural ~ment, allayed lean r:J a rt'SlIhant food crisis. 'hel1oodwasawa);alpcan:hesald "With. c:hanp1g weathef panems. _ must now deYdop poUcies for pr0tecting fannm: &om the impactS of dimatechange:l leconftrmedthat.lo I.hisend, the FederaI~thas aImtdy put In place a Flood RecoYfty Food Production Pliln Insupport oIthe fannelll affeaed by the Hoods which comprisedemergmcyreHdfoodand shefrerbdisplaced population 1l5 ....d1 as a flood recessfon food production Intenoentlon. whlch wm mabie fanners get back 011 their feet lIS the nODd
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But public serv.m15 Mve not hem the only actors 011 the scene. In IJr!lIrby lokoja. the RwaI Weallh FoundIItion 0fSi!I1I$ed a lJee-piantinS-me. /u pan of this cterdse. Ufana I fu5sdnJ. II fonnertcribe 01 the All Farmm AssodatlonofNlgerial(AFt\N~ledwdenb
of the BaptisI: High School In LokoJa to plant trees, hlghDghtlng the need 1Or)Ulllh irnoaMmenlin the effort 10 combat climate change and ~ encroachmenL 5peaJdrlflto the demographk5ll'llCtUR!r:Jthe.griru1rurai 5eCIOr and IU ~ Iir.1iladons, the
\<ice principal 01 the school Samuel Olowulosu. mcotm1ged the youths present to embrace rarmlng 115 a career as their (I)I1bibutlom 'Nne much needed to move the 5eCIOf forward. A spokeman D the 5tudcnl5,. Alfred TemJlope. an SS I S100ent, asswed thai they would assume responsibility for nunwing the tn!eS to maturity as pan olllceeffon 10 balance the~ Funher west of the country, SlUdents oIllle 0bakm1 Awo&owo University (OAU), Ue-Ife, Including the freIIows al the llarambe IncublltDf for Sustainable and RWlIl ~t rIDSARD)lI5wdas!hedeanmdQlher mrmhenol the FW:ultyolAgriculture.. the special advi.sr!r 10 tilt' governor of Osun Stale, and some apicuItura.I enlfepreneuJ1l In !.he Siale were si muitaneously oonvenlll8 00 the OAU campus 10 oeIebme the successes of srudenllilrmes In ImprtrVing the ~ IIhood5 of rural farmlng comrnunfties and dbcuss the ~y klrw.ud in !be ~ for food seroriry. In'aiIabDfty
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1'he5e acts by the N"1getll'IIl goyemmenl and cMllOdery signify !he need for a collaborative effon on various fronts cutung across age groups. p0litical pemlMions and YlUllage points,
v.Uuechainlocatlom.,and~
S111nl5. Bycolillboratingin this wayan II Yet)' fundamental ~~I - botmcing off
klra!,.lerodinge:tpertlsewhereneeded. pnMdiT18 meruonhip and ~ YOIunteerlngtimeandlaboutaeating farmer frimdlypolides - the~ of agrictiln.rlll COl¥'IItfves becorne5 aedlbleAnd. byrepllcatlngthlsprin· dpleof ro/bIborarion at thegnmruots. tlwpolernW for agriculwl"lIllI1ln5bmatlorl can be Iar&dY rt'iIli5ed
The Asian Tigers of nationalism CHRISTOPHER R. Hill Hill, lonne' US Assistanl Sacretary of Si/lle frH EllS/ Asia, Is currently Delln of the Korbal School olln/ema/lOnsl Stud· les, UmversHy of Denver. (c). P'ojfJcl Syndicate
10 make 10 h1J Interb:lI1ors_dulthe~incUedna
tionaUsm among his people. lndeed. his publlc statements and speeches during those IUTiNlent times were carefully calihrated to aYOkIflnyout right ahonatlon ' 0 naOonRlism. But it was not 10 much the words that he used as II _ the mil*, With his crafty use of code wordt and body languase 10 encountge a 5en5e of Y\c timhood among Serbs" Milcdevlc was one of the most demagogk: natlollillI!IIS Europe had 5er!flln senet'lltions. TodtIy, EastMla - espedallyOtlM - hawash Inaseaofnationalism. 1he paUemt of this age-old seourge ~
famillar, featuring national nama tlves based on a supposed record of victlml:r.ation. In China', !;lise, the narratl\l'e revulw:s IlfUUnd "Ihe cmturyofshame: when Ollna WI\.~ looweaitlodefend itselfagairnilen, CfOOchmenlll on ilSSOYeI'rignty, lInd the Idea that It 5hould never have to succumbagain. Among IlIpllnese nationalist groups, the namllM: is one 01 Crusmtlon with the wanime AD.Ies' vetskmofhistory;lIImost70)"!3l'S- and billions or dolilin in reparations and foreign 8S5istance - Ialer, Japan wouid Uke to rnaveon. awe~done apologtzing: UberaJ Democratic Party leader SbImo Abe has Aid. Whether thlsoutbreakol nationalism will end I0OI1 ~ on the wtllingnf'SS of gD\'emmenlll In the region - not)ust Otina's - to uU.e II $land and appeal 10 thm publk:s to c:eMeand~ lhesegDYftJ1lIlt'rlb need 10 enpge in • more honest dialogue wfth their dli7£ns. While histodt.al uflen shapes the Mrntt.es that fuel ruttlonal1Jm. there are cleM)y deeper and mo~ powaful al work. One of Japan', penistenl pmblr!nu in recent yean has bet"n growing dlsenchanunenl wfth the political class IUld It! inability to articulate a vhlon lor the country'. future.
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.on:es
Many young Japanese are alienllled from thdrcountry's polltia. Although thls Is hardly lin e:w:duslYely Japanest' phenomenon, Ihe narrowness of the political elite has made the problem more ICUte tllEm elsewhere_ }apanlsmpldlybeoomlngolJr!ofthe world', oIdesll"l8tions. I laving already passed Itll population peak. It wm, In the continued absence of slgrti6cant Immigration, begin an Increa.slngly rapid slide down the demog.-aphlc CUl'Ye.beaxnlngacountrythalhmuch II'I1a1Ie than It btoday_And aun.. has been II mlltar 1OUta: of angst for Japan.. becaUJe. historically, there hM sekIom beenadmewhenbothaJUntriesrouJd be SlJOng. Thus. in the hienm:hk:al understanding of ~ thai ~ In East AsIa. trOllna Is up. Japan surdy mllllbedown_
But JiIpIln rmudmoneaftheworkfs mOSlculnlndlyaophl!tbted lIOdetieI.. And. JlUt IS the British made the transition from "Rule BriUlnnlll" to "Cool Brinumla: lapan" 100. can engage In an Internal process to define better Its klentlty as a vibrant ~ cultwe fn the context of s\obftIiz.Rdon_ lapanese: cuJmre has global reach. and much 10 be proud of, besides II c.le:sUltory and unproductive droa te about vtctirnIz8tm and rock-strewn islands. lhe problem InO\Jna Is moreserlDOl. 0Una Is mOYiJ18 toward another
leadership Inlruiltlon, matMly adm by the Slandards of other powers. where electlons sometimes take on thtl chantcterio;tiCll of political WIIrlale. Otina's poUtkaI r1valrfes do not pl~ Out in lela'ised nlltlonal deblltes; rath~ they pI:~ OUI in the shadows, leaving the public 10 gue!S whlll Ihe cuunay'lleadeBhlp has in store. As Otlna', r!Conomy slows, Iht' publlcsdrs. and Itsconfideoce in nonelected leaden WllneL While.90RJe or thtl critk:ism caJis for more openness and accountability In ~mmt, much of It b )ess Inspfring 10 the re5I ofU5. 1hecritiolask- often Inpointed terms - what th.e~t isdolng to safquard the COWltty'S economk
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In democratic countries.. IUch critia woukI.woup ~ into
some kind of polltlcallllOYement, uilimlllely creating an opposilion panythaL lhmugh thedialectical pmcess 01 demoaacy, wouid innuence
poIkymaking by the party In powa. Ollna. ~ lacks the institutional framework needed 10 chllnnei this senlimentinto the polItlcal process. 1h1J doe,: nOl mean thRt opposltion disappean. milch less moderates 1!Self; mther.ltsimmersandinc\lbale5
ceding economic nationalism 10 IUl Intemel-bllset! PflJlO-opposition. Afler 1111, mpld ecooomlcgrowth lies althe hean of the CO", rai<;on d'etat, 10 It embraces economic national Ism, whether In dlspu1es with Japan. the Solllhe!l~t Asian countries. or the United Stale&. China ..-Is 10 rein in thest' I'I'Dcessa IloweYe It Is donl! (....1tich is for the Ot.inee to figure OUI), Ot.ina has no choice but to embl1KZ II world order based on st.able ~Iationships among COWltriet: - Including lIS own nrighbors.lndeed, whethrrnationaJbas l1ke It M not. this h the fum"" thai (]Una has, In eff«1. alrutiy chosen. OUn:l" ~ need lOstand upand lIfticuIate' rn<n dearly to the couotty'11l.'StM: pubtk: this vision 01 mem benhipln an Interdqlendent wodd. RegRrdiess of whf'ther It charu a com~e tOWllm a brighler or darke!: ruture, a country', l'oIltlcalleadership by ddlnilion plays the cenU1ll rule al the helm. ~ofboth China and Iapan need toaccepl their position in Ihls~lLnd,aboYeaU,notWnply
ride on the &uth of CUrTem e"\'en1S.
-lLndpthesst'rf!;ngth...
Mllllnwhlle, the Chinese Communist Party has no Intention of
St:tId rue lions 10: commeTIl@tMinessdIo)'onllnt,.t:OITI