DAILY TRUST
_211
Monday, March 26, 2012
Business
UN links food security to water management msuring fOod and nulnlion
security fOr aII ....ill depend on UNITED Nations (UN) S«:r~l .. ry(;~nerJ.18an KJmoon says utile.." then' is incre:ast' in (hi ' c.. ~cily of
usmgWllICTwNdv,it would be imrostiblc
0
end rising
gl~lhunger
Spnkingdurlng threel ehralion oflhl' W,nid Water
Daytaggtd, ·Watcrand Food Securit( in Abuta, Thur$doIy. the UN chlC'f!aid doors w'Ould bt- CIpC'J1 too drought. filllllne iIJId political i!1Slililit)' unless f'C'O\ Ie usc loI.'ater
\rlsdy In agrioJll'r'c 10 fight hungff
Rtprumtcd b)' the Coun try ~t'lhc of 1M UN Food and A;.;ricultural
Orgarusahon (F \0), Dr. Louise Xtshwado, Ki-moon QidaboulOnebill'on propIt ilO'OSS
the "''Or~llre hungry
while 5OfT\C 801 nllllion 5tlU lad U(t$S I'J rrl'Sh ...."ler. He gjd -hi tile" COffiUlg dccadn, fecdlllg a growIng gIob;Il porulltkln and
increasing food production. iJl many parts of Ihe ....orld. water scarcity b increasing and rates of growth in agri. cultural production haVt:'
been slowing. -At the same lime, cit· male change is cxaccrb.1ling nsk and unpredictability for farmen. espttially ror poor fafmm in low income
countries who are the mosa ndncrabk and Ihe least able toadape" l-Iecalled for go\-erJlment policies in the area of food s«urity and the entrenchment of -stronger gender equaJitl prxticcs as .....d.Il5 in\-c:slmmtln the walCTS«' tor to tackk the global chal· lenge of hunger and access to rresh water This, he said. ....ould require the strong commItment of all seeton and actors, im~ and transfer of technologies as wdl as the empowerm ent and
enlightenment ofsmall food producm. "It will require policies that promote water rights for all, -stronger regulatory apadlyand gender equality. Investments in water infrastruclwe,runId~opment
and water resourCt'$ mana~menl wt!l be: essential In RiO' ....'e need to connecl the dots bm.'een .....al« ~unty and food and nutritinn securityin theconlexlofagreen economy. Water will playa central. role in crealing the future we wan!: he said. Minister o f Water Resources. Mrs. SaOlh Ochekpc, sara despite abundan! surface and underground water rnources available in the country, th ere are still chal lenges in the SKtor She said it has become so import ani that Nigerians use the scarce resourceeffi· cientl y and .... isely to man· age government investments in the .sector.
Stakeholders
Group wants speedy meet on passage of soil science export of institute bill agric produce or
EXPERTS under Ihe umbrella Soil Science Sodetyof Nigeria have calla:! on the Nalional Assembly to pass the bill for theeslabUshment of a Soil Sdt'na Institule currently before it into bow. They madethealllhrough the:irpresidcnt. ProfcssorV"tctor Otude, rKendy at the: 36th Annual Conference of the Assodation in Nsukb, Enugu State. A ttatemenl signed by Chude says the eslablishmmtof lhe institute would ensure strict adber-ence to the etMcs of the profession by pnctilioners Kn)I.S the OOU1Itry as ~1Il.'i promote thcsustainabilityofhighqualityofsoil. He said apart £rom regulation of the practice of the profession for soil.scientists. the establbhment ofSai! Science Institute would also ad\l3rtce eduation, .sciena, lechnoJogy and the art of soil science. crop production as .....dl as educate the public on soil.sciena activitia. among others. He appealed lO the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Oe\'dopment to involve his .sociely in soil survey projects 10 tap rrom the vast knowledge and wealth or aperience of soil scientists. Responding.Minisler of Agricultureand Rural Devdopment, Akinwumi Adesina aprcued readiness to work with thesdenUstsaswdll5push fortbepassageofthe bill into law. He said such. bill holds alolofbeneGu in dnl'ing the agrkulturaI tnrufonnation agenda of the present adminis· (ratIOn. Adesina, who commended the efTortsofthe .society, said the bill, if giVt:'n the necessarybacking. would boosllhesdenUncknov.·kdgeneededtosuJlPOrtsoundagriculluraldevd. opmentstr.ltegiesand a1sopromlsed to work with theAfrican SoU Information OigitaJ System progrtmmeunder the global digital soil mapping programme. L _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _- '
STAKEHOLDERS in the agricultufal 5«lor have met in Ahuja tostrategiuon how 10 Increase Nigeria's aport on agricultural commodities and the gains that would come with il_ Executive Director of ACIOE Associates Limited. EkeDem Lslchie said Nlg-rtIS curunt earnings from the major aport commodities -cocoa, cotton, groundnut and palm oil- stand at SS40 m iUion (about N8S billion) d~ite the natIOn's fallen fortunes in the sector He Aid that if Nigeria had maimained hn- market share in the tOlde of these respective commodities, the country ".-auld have earned dose 10 SIO billion In 2008 alone -T1usdedinein the ~hare ohhe nation'suport rdative totheworld market huoon attributed to iruufficient investment in the agneul . ture 5C'Clor. deterioration in the quality of infrastruclure and poor human capacity: he said.
BAUCH I INVESTMENT CORPORATION lBlCJ MICROFINANCE BANK LTD. NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) TO THE SHAREHOLDERS.
HMD
NIGERIA
ClFA. .,=,
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN Ihal lhe Annual General Meeling of SIC Microfinonce Bank Umrfed will be held of Ihe Bank Conference Hall 01 37, Abdulkad. Ahmed Road, lnveslmenl Hause, Bauchi on Ihe 16" day 01 April 20 12 01 100m to Ironsocllhe following business: (II To receive Ihe reporl of Ihe Direclars and Ihe Audited Financial Statements and Balance sheet of the company for the years ended 3' " December 2009 and 201 Owilh Ihe Audilors' reporls Ihere on. (21 10 elecl/re·elecl and railly Direclors appainlment. (3110 appainl Audilors. (-4) To authorize the Directors to fix the remuneration of Auditors
A member of the Company is entitled 10 eflend and vote at the Annual General meeting and is allowed to appoint a proxy.
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BY ORDER OFTHE BOARD -'''C I ''''YY~''
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Saleh M Bokoro SECRETARY
Dated Ihis doyof 23" Morch, 2012
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