38-VanglYrd,. MONDAY, APRIL 9 . l012
•
FinancialVa~rtf
BRIEFS Worid food prices rise further, ra ising fears of unrest
G
loba.l food prices rose
in March (or a tbird straight month with mom hikes
to come, the UN's bod agency said on ThUf5daYl adding to fears of hunger and a new wave of social unrest in poor countries. Reoord high prices (orSlarle food!'; last yeacwere one 0 the mAin 'actors that contributed to the Arab Spring uprisings Ul the Middle East and North Ahica, as well as bread riots in other-parts of the world. The cQst 01 food bas
risen again tbis year aJter
n
one
of
the
Agric most
I ambitious efforts ever
undertaken on behalf of an orphan crop like yam, the International Inslitute of Tropical Agriculture (lITA) and II. host of parlners announced during the week II. landmark new initiative to dramatically boost yam productivity and double the
incomes of three million yam farmers in West Africa. The Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West AfTica (Yll FSWA) project. which is supported by a U5$12 million grant from the 8iIJ & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be led by )ITA in collaboration with the governments of Ghana and
Nigeria. the UK's Natural Resources Institute (NRI). the
coming down from I!I February 20 t t record peak. The FAO
Alliance
Inde.x, whi( h measures monlhly price chan~es for a bas.ket of ['en'als, oil seeds, dairy. meat and sugar, averaged 215.9 points in Mart:b,; up,from ill revised 215.4 pom" In Febru"",. the U .Hed NationS' Food nnd ~culture Organisation (FAO) said Although below Fe ruary 2011 peak. of 237. • the index is still .higher th during a food pdceoisls Ul 2007-08 Ihat raised global aLann
and Catholic Relief Services ICRS) . The YIIFSWA project will focus on increaSing yields
1
UK donates $25 million to improve agricultural statistics
for
II.
Green
Revolution inAlrica (ACRA),
through better seed tuber
supply and improving markets Cor this underground, edible tuber-some of which are as smaU as a fist, others
as tall as a man. Yams were Iiss1 domesticated by African farmers 7 ,000 years ago _Today, 48. 1 million tons of yanis are produced annually across 4.4 nullion hectares of land in West Africa's ''Yam Bell"-wh.ich extends from Cote O'lvoire to Nigena, representing over90 pet cent of the global productJon Yams provide the DlOst important source of dietary calones in Nigeria and Ghana . And for many people in lbe region, they rank above meat aS'a SOUIce of protein .
'From Left: The Director, ReseOIch for Development (We$1 Africa). llIlemotionaJ In5titule of lIopkoJ Agricullure (IlTA), Dr. Robert Asiedu; Program Officer. Agricultuml Development. Bill & Melinda Gate$ Foundation, Dr. Regina KDpinga. and Oirec/or·Generai, IffA. Dr. Nleronyo Sanginga, during the launch of the Yom Improvement lor Income and Food Security in \.Vest Africa (YIIFSWA) project in lbodon recenUy.
US$12 million to boost yam production in Ghana, Nigeria By J)MOH BABATUNDE wlU, ageng reporl3
Ya1nS are deeply tied to the Uvelihoods and cuJtures in West Africa and among Africans in diasporas, yet their fate hangs in the balance .as a vanety of pests and dJseases have now depressed YIelds to III mere 14 per cent of potential harvests. Bul yam sCientists at IITA and tbe national researchers are already developing a host of Dew yam vaneties that can liv~
address these challenges and are confident that with additional mveslmenls, there is t.remendous potential to rapidly boost producbon and incOme [rom yam. "Right now, most farmers cultivate yants mainly for household consuruplion, but if we can increase Yields . while also improving marketing condlltons. then many of these farmers should be able to earn a s teady income [rom growmg yams," said L1TA's DiIector· General.
Agric. minister promises to revive Imo poultry T
he Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, bas expressed dismay allbedecayofthe Iroo Modern Poultry in Avutu, Obowo Local Government Area of the state and bas promISed to ensure the farm enlerpnse is resusotated . He disclosed this during II working visit to lmo Stale recently when he was conducted through a 20 square kilometre poultry estate where billions of naira worth of facililles are abandoned and overgrown Wltb bush The minister bas also pronused to help boost the lmo 011 Palm Industry, k.nown before as Adapalm. Dr. Adesina, while visiting tbe oil palm plantation at
Egbema. promised to help expand the estate with 'new plauLings 01 up to 3,000 hectares,' in addition to the exisltng 4,000 hectares of farrnJand, where he described the palm trees as 'old.' ''¥k will help the state witb tenera seed.imgs for 3,000 bectares." be promised The minister praised the eHorls of the slate's Commissioner for Agriculture. Mrs. Adaora Ijezie, who, he said, persuaded him to embark on a VISit to see what is bemg done on agriculture in lOla Slate . Dr. Adesina promised to revive and upgmde the five cassava SME projects in the state as weU as eslaij!..ish there one of the new 18 large scale High Quality Cassava FlODr (HOCF) plants. The one for the state is
expected to process 72.000 metric tons and might start operation HI the next 12 to 18 months. According to hIm. 60,000 hectares 01 land is anticipated for c1eanng and 3.6 million bundles of cassava stem planting matenals wouJd be made available. "lmo State is the thud largest cassava prodUCing stale in Nigeria," the Minister pointed nut, underscoring the importaoceofthestale. which he described as 'agranan.· He said that 12,000 farmers of cassava will be ta.rgeted while 60,000 hectares of land will be planted with improved varieties. He added thai nce milling quality is essential and that audit bas already been done a.nd upgrade of lacwl:Jes will be carried out LD April.
Dr. Nteranya Sanginga. "Yam prices have been ming in recent years because there is a strong demand lor the crop in Africa. and even in places like Europe and the United Slates, where rapidly growing West Afncan lmmlgrant communities still have a big appetite lor their traditionally preferred staple." 'T"\'Ie YlIFSWAproject is an 1. amhibous. muJtifaceted five· year effort with a visioD of doubling the incomes of three million smal1·holder farming families. The mltiaj focus of the prOject is on 200.000 smal1holder farm families in Ghana and Nigeria - 90 per cen t of whom cultivate less than two acres. A key priority is to ensure that affordable pest . and disease·lIee seed yams are available to farmers, along with storage and handling technolDgies Ulat can reduce post· harvest 1055 . Yam breeders will develop and widely disseminate new, higher·yielding, disease· resistant varieties. The private sector partners are expected to playa key role by providing certified seed and working closely With e fforts to link small·holder farmers. particularly those in remote areas. to markets where a strong aDd steady demand lor yams should allow them to rea.bse the economic benefits of Increased productivity. This will be coordinaled by AG~s Farmer Organisation Support Centre in Africa (FOSCA) programme.