Africa Is Not Making Desired Impact On Food Security - FAO

The FAO says that Africa is not making the desired impact on food security.
The FAO Director-General, Dr Jacques Diouf, said this recently in Abuja when he visited the Minister of Agriculture, Prof Sheikh Abdallah.

Diouf blamed the situation on inadequate investment in agriculture.
He also said that farmers in Africa were not using agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and high yielding seeds, among others, in the required quantities.

He said that if the situation was not addressed, the continent might find it difficult to feed its teeming population in spite of its potential to produce enough food to feed itself and for export.
Diouf expressed concern that natural and man-made disasters such as drought, flooding and fire disaster had left 28 per cent of Africa's population under nourished.

The FAO boss criticised African leaders for not paying adequate attention to the food insecurity situation in the continent.
According to him, the allocation of five per cent of national budgets to agriculture will not address the challenges of food security.
``The agreed agricultural continental programme that will ensure the growth of the agricultural sector by six per cent has not been adhered to strictly in some parts of the continent,'' he noted.

The FAO, he said, was working towards achieving rapid and sustainable agricultural growth in the continent through smallholder farmers and comprehensive change in the agricultural system.
``Smallholder farmers the majority of them women, produce most of the continent's food, but with minimal resources and government support.

``This has meant low yields, over-reliance on food imports and food aid and entrenched poverty,'' he added.
He said that the FAO would continue to provide support to the continent to meet its food security needs.
Responding, Abdallah, said that agriculture remained a key component of Nigeria's economy and the focal point of national development.

He noted that the sector provides employment and livelihood for more than 70 per cent of the rural populace.
He expressed Nigeria's appreciation over the FAO's efforts to improve the food security situation in Africa.
Newsday repors that Diouf is in Nigeria on a three-day working visit at the invitation of President Goodluck Jonathan.

by Edoamaowo Udeme

The Minister of Information and Communications, Prof Dora Akunyili has denied that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is bankrupt.
``NNPC, from the auditor's account, is a growing concern and does not have solvency issue as a corporation. Therefore, categorically NNPC is not insolvent.

``Given the nature of NNPC, there are regular transactions between Federal Government and NNPC and as a result, there are always outstanding balances between the corporation and the Federal Government,” she declared.
The minister made the clarifications recently in Abuja after the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council
Also addressing State House correspondents, the Minister of Finance, Mr Olusegun Aganga, dismissed the insinuation that NNPC could not meet its financial obligations to the Federal Government.
He also described as false, media reports that the Federal Government was indebted to the NNPC to the tune of N1.1trillion.

``We have so many different transactions between the NNPC and the Federal Government, in some form of the balances, it maybe a daily balance and in another, it may be a trade balance, you need to make all of these things up.
``What you saw yesterday was just balances arising from two types of transactions that we have made and that was the point they were trying to make yesterday, so it is incomplete and it doesn't give you the complete picture, once reconciliation is done, payment goes back and forth between the two entities.

``The payment to NNPC we made is done regularly but as you know NNPC is a great concern, it is involved in all the joint ventures we have in the country, it is involved with all IOCs, we still have all the wells and all other parastatals related to the NNPC,” he further explained.
Meanwhile, the FEC recently approved N9.9 billion for the construction of the Zobe Water Supply Project Phase 11 in Katsina State.

Newsday reports that the Council had initially approved the completion of the Phase One Zobe Water Project in December 2009.
The water project is designed to abstract raw water from Zobe Dam to provide about 75 million litres of potable daily to Katsina metropolis and other communities in eight Local Government Areas of the state.
The Minister of Information and Communications told State House Correspondents that Council approved the award of the contract in view of the impact the project would have on the lives of the people.

``The implementation of Zobe Water Supply Project has gone very far and would need to be completed in order to save the investment which could be at risk of abandonment if not funded.
``The project has positive impact on the socio-economic well-being of over one million people within the project area,” she said.
Akunyili further stated that the project which is expected to be completed within 18 months, would be funded from the Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS).

She explained that the Council also approved the downward review of the contract for the extension and resurfacing of the runway of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, from N3.5 billion to N3.3 billion.
According to her, the review is due to change in scope of work .

``There is the need to modify the scope of work in order to accommodate the resurfacing of the second central parallel taxi-way and associated links which have failed at several portions but are very vital to the entire project.
``These were inadvertently omitted in the initial scope of works.

``The modification of the scope of work brought about a cost reduction of N249,372,600.75 from the initial contract sum of N3,560,878,534.50 to N3,311,505,933.75,” she added.