CARIBBEAN: USAID launches US$12.5 million Marine Biodiversity Program in Carriacou

In an effort to protect critical marine ecosystems and reduce threats to the region’s fisheries and tourism sectors, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a USD$12.5 million Caribbean Marine Biodiversity Program (CMBP), to promote conservation in high priority areas across the Caribbean.

The five-year  initiative seeks to improve the management of marine protected areas (MPAs); reduce threats to the environment including coral reefs, mangroves, and sea grass beds; strengthen fisheries management, and promote sustainable livelihoods for coastal residents in four seascapes across five countries.

Against the backdrop of the picturesque Grenadine island of Carriacou, United States Ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Larry Palmer, on August 21, officially launched the Grenadine Bank component of the CMBP.

In reiterating the U.S. Government’s commitment to protecting the region’s key marine areas, Ambassador Palmer emphasized, “While we appreciate the tremendous beauty of this Grenadine seascape, we are very mindful that it is currently under threat.”

He told his audience, which included government Ministers, environmentalists, and other key stakeholders, that while the Caribbean region had been described as one of the world’s most important biodiversity centers, the region’s biodiversity was being degraded “at an alarming rate,” with coral reef coverage reduced by nearly one-third since the 1980s.

“Several reef-building species are acutely endangered or at risk of extinction. These changes have had an increasingly negative impact on the ability of the reefs to remain healthy such as spawning grounds and natural barriers that protect against storm surges and sea level rise. Economic sectors like tourism and fisheries, which depend heavily upon the quality of the marine environment, are particularly affected,” noted Ambassador Palmer.

The CMBP is primarily funded through a USD$10 million investment by USAID, with an additional USD$2.5 million contribution by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which leads an NGO consortium charged with its implementation.

To read more, USAID launches US$12.5 million Marine Biodiversity Program in Carriacou

Taken from St. Lucia News Online 

Training workshop held at PMAS-AAUR

Speakers at a workshop stressed that there is a dire need to adopt Information Communication technology (ICT) for effective farming to enhance agricultural production. They urged to equip young rural girls with ICT skills and emphasized the need of changing mindset which limits women recognition and acceptance in the society.

 

They stated this while addressing at a workshop on “ICT Use of Pakistani Girls in Rural Farming Households” at Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) here on Thursday, with an aim to train those girls through young trainers about the appropriate use of ICT and maximum utilization of ICT in the field of agriculture. The workshop was organized PMAS-AAUR Department of Sociology in collaboration with University of California Davis USA, USAID, CIMMYT and PARC.

 

On the occasion, while addressing as a chief guest, PMAS-AAUR, Vice Chancellor, Professor Dr. Rai Niaz Ahmad said appreciated and encouraged the step taken forward by the eminent scholars towards in the field of merging ICT and agriculture. He further asked other guests and participants to work will full interest and zeal as it is and will be very progressive in the field of research and development. He emphasised use of ICT in agriculture sector and stressed young people to adopt farming profession for agriculture development to enhance per acre yield. Vice chancellor urged faculty to launch such programs of community participation and skill development which can ultimately transform into tangible benefits to the society.

 

Dr. Mark Bell, director, International Learning UC Davis USA, in his key note address highlighted the ICT as a tool for improving rural farming households. He stressed the importance of need-based and relevant information in the context of ICT extension. He urged the participants to implement the ICT for the dissemination of information based on easy to access and implement. He said that if the message is not interesting, it will fail to bear result. At the end he distributed certificates among the participants of the workshop.

 

Earlier, the project coordinator, Dr. Aneela Afzal, Assistant Professor Department of sociology, in her welcome address elaborated the aims and objective of the workshop.

Taken from The News

Zambia among countries hit by small ruminants’ disease

ZAMBIA needs support from stakeholders to vaccinate over two million goats and about one million sheep to avoid the spread of the highly contagious smallruminants plague in the country, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock permanent secretary David Shamulenge has said.
Peste des petit ruminants (PPR), affects sheep and goats and is a contagious transboundary animal disease and the virus has the potential to hit up to 90 percent of an animal herd.
Mr Shamulenge said through collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Government is optimistic that enhanced capacity for rapid diagnosis and control of the disease in high risk countries will help improve rural livelihoods and national food security in the affected areas.
He said this when he officiated at a workshop on, ‘Capacity building to prevent PPR introduction into Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia,’ on Friday in Kafue Gorge.
Mr Shamulenge urged participants from the three affected countries to mobilise resources and plan ahead to stop the disease from spreading further in the region.
“Let me appeal to FAO to mobilise resources from the donor community to assist Zambia in risk profiling and management of the new PPR situation to stop the disease spreading further southwards…I would also like to thank FAO for this initiative to support capacity building in PPR surveillance and control in the region,” he said.
Earlier, FAO representative to Zambia George Okech said the organisation has come up with a three integrated components to prevent the plague from spreading further in the region.
The plan will help eradicate PPR as an important objective in the global strategy, provide quality veterinary services which are indispensable for the successful and sustainable implementation of PPR prevention and control activities worldwide.
Mr Okech said the strategy will in turn create more cost effective opportunities to control other priority diseases.
“I hope that this workshop will deliberate on how collectively we can contribute to the control and eventually eradicate PPR and other priority diseases of sheep and goats to enhance nutrition and food security and livelihood along the value chain,” he said.


Taken from Zambia Daily Mail

Europe’s agriculture could be transformed by the internet of things

Waterford’s TSSG is bidding to lead a €30m EU-wide pilot focused on how smart technologies and the internet of things could transform Europe’s agricultural landscape.

Waterford Institute of Technology’s TSSG, as part of the eDIGIREGION project, is leading and hosting a major Agriculture 4.0: The Internet of Things Boosting Regional Innovation workshop at ICT 2015 – Innovation, Connect, Transform in Lisbon in late October.

This is the biggest ICT event in the EU calendar and all the big names in the global ICT market will be present.

TSSG will also be making its pitch at the Lisbon event to lead a €30m EU-wide pilot on the internet of things (IoT) and its potential impact in agriculture.

The Irish contingent feels its track record in the sector gives it a distinct competitive advantage. TSSG plans to put together a consortium at the Lisbon event to make a strong case to lead the pilot.

The TSSG-led session will see key delegates discuss current, unsolved challenges and identify where ICT and the interlinked, data-sharing elements of the IoT have the greatest opportunity to stimulate innovation, capacity and growth within all the regions of Europe.

“Leveraging advances in ICT in traditional industries is a frequently untapped source of value added that has the potential to give those who grasp it first a real, global advantage,” said TSSG’s workshop host Brian Foley.

“Such a potential is clear today in agriculture, where ICT advances are enticing businesses to rethink their processes along the full value chain – from farm to fork – and consider a vast array of innovations.

“ICT also has the capability to boost food security and food safety, energy efficiency, overall efficiency and sustainability of resources. We are only at the beginning of realising the potential of ICT in agriculture. It is a hot topic internationally. New investment in agritech is passing out clean tech and fintech.

“Working together and working smarter we can make better use of limited resources, achieve higher standards, guarantee food chain traceability and achieve better outcomes for the farmer, the industry, the consumer and those regulating the industry,” Foley said.

Taken from Silicon Republic

Rowley: Laptop initiative failed

Leader of the Opposition Dr Keith Rowley says a report prepared by the UWI Faculty of Social Sciences on the role of the Government’s multi-million dollar laptop initiative failed to significantly assist the students in their overall performance.

Rowley said so during a meeting of the PNM in Maloney on Wednesday night.

The programme was introduced by the People’s Partnership Government, led by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, over the past five years to all students entering secondary schools, 

He said the findings showed the project “has had no statistically significant impact on the students’ performance.”

Rowley said the report showed staff and student groups “indicated a relatively high dissatisfaction with the provision of Internet service and overall structure and implementation of the programme.”

The report recommended a strategic plan be formulated and implemented for ICT in schools in the wider curriculum.

Rowley said that was a clear indication that the Government had introduced the programme “with no proper planning.”

He said the report identified weaknesses in the existing system, which included inadequate teacher training in the use of ICT in classrooms, insufficient IT technical staff and no alignment to school curriculum in the T&T context.

However, Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh questioned yesterday why Rowley would proffer the report of one researcher to make his claim.

He said the matter should be determined after the work of several researchers worldwide were looked at.

“I think he should familiarise himself with the overall picture of where ICT has been carried and its successes. You cannot take one research paper findings and give a dominant statement on that,” Gopeesingh added.

The minister was responding to questions on the issue during yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.

Taken from Guardian Media

Uganda: Use of Modern Technologies Will Boost Agriculture

While a number of challenges exist, there are several opportunities in using modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve farming operations.

This was the general agreement at the Vodafone Power Talk, which was held in Kampala last Thursday July 30.

A good mix

The event, which was the second in a series of such engagements organised by Vodafone Uganda, attracted farmers, representatives of farmers' organisations, entrepreneurs, decision makers, academia, as well as agricultural and ICT experts.

The mix of speakers tackled the issues involved or encountered and best practices to adopt in improving agricultural value chains and agribusiness.

While the first Power Talk covered how small and medium enterprises can use the internet to grow their business, the theme for the second one was "Enhancing Agricultural production through ICT".

Organised to ensure as much as interaction as possible, there were presentations by the panellists interlaced with moderated questions-and-answers sessions.

The main speakers were: Robert Kintu, the managing director, FIT Uganda, Ronald Katamba, from Afrosoft IT Solutions, Stuart Oramire, the director of operations, Agency for Transformation, Maggie Kigozi, the former executive director, Uganda Investment Authority, and Victoria Sekitoleko, the chairperson, Uganda Agribusiness Alliance and also a former Agriculture minister.

Leverage ICTs

In his presentation on the topic, Production data influencing growth in the agribusiness sector, Mr Kintu covered the importance of data collection and produce tracking in farming as a business, the use of mobile and online applications and the role of mobile network operators in agriculture.

The highlight of Mr Katamba's presentation was the Jaguza app. It is a mobile phone and online application which allows farmers to automatically monitor their livestock, that is, cattle, goats, pigs, rabbits and sheep. It has real-time reporting of disease outbreaks and health condition of the animals and monitoring things like feeds.

Taken from AllAfrica.com

To read more, Uganda: Use of Modern Technologies Will Boost Agriculture

Sargussum Seaweed in Tobago, Leads Authorities to Take Action

Various stakeholders in Tobago are discussing the ongoing sargassum sea weed problem affecting several of the island’s beaches.

The Agriculture Division of the Tobago House of Division is intensifying efforts to rid affected beaches of the sea weed.

Some fisherfolk have indicated that the proliferation of sea weed is impacting on their livelihood.

Agriculture Secretary, Godwin Adams, speaking at the recent post executive council media briefing confirmed that the Assembly to collaborate with other stake holders in cleaning the affected beaches.

-See more at: Sargussum Seaweed in Tobago, Leads Authorities to Take Action


Taken from Power 102 FM

Good parasite control is critical in sheep and goats

It is not just the livestock and the grass that have been growing this spring in response to the un-Texas like rains.

Parasites have been a major cause of death and disease in our small ruminants (sheep and goats) this summer. The two most common parasites in our region are the barber pole worm (Haemonchus contortus) that sucks blood, and Trichostrongylus or Telodorsagia worms that cause diarrhea.

Both types of worms cause weight loss and poor production in a herd or flock. The adult worms live in the stomach and the larvae live on the grass. It takes 21 days for larvae eaten by a sheep or goat to develop into adults and start laying eggs that pass out in the feces. The time it takes for larvae to develop from the eggs and crawl up the grass to about 2 inches (the maximum height that they reach) depends on the weather. Warm wet weather is preferred by the larvae as they use a dew drop to retain moisture during the warm part of the day.

There are only three major groups of anthelmintics (or dewormers) available to kill the worms. Historically, it was recommended that frequent deworming (every month) and rotating dewormers would kill more worms, and prevent dewormer resistance. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Every time we use a dewormer, at most it only kills 95 percent of the worms. This means that 5 percent of the worms are resistant to that dewormer. If the same dewormer is used frequently it does not take very long for the worm population to have enough resistance that the dewormer no longer is effective. Rotating dewormers causes resistance to develop in all of the products used in the same amount of time.

So how do we prevent resistance from developing? The current recommendations are to practice sustainable parasite management. This takes the emphasis away from routine deworming and instead relies on monitoring for worms in the animals themselves. We can monitor for parasites by performing FAMACHA (FAffa MAlan CHArt) scoring, body condition scoring or weighing, fecal egg counts and monitoring fecal consistency.

The goal is to identify those individual animals that are mildly parasitized and treat them before there are major production losses or deaths, and not treat those animals that do not have a high parasitic load. By not treating all animals with dewormer, the sheep and goats that are not treated dilute out any resistant worms on the pasture with susceptible worms. FAMACHA scoring was developed to monitor the level of anemia of sheep with Haemonchus worms. It involves examining the inner eyelid color and comparing it to a standardized chart.

Taken from The Eagle

To read more, Good parasite control is critical in sheep and goats

Experts seek e-governance to check graft

Information communication technology (ICT) experts have urged the adoption of electronic or e-government at all levels to prevent the stealing of public funds.
Speaking during a two-day E-Government Summit 2015 held in Abuja, the said government officials should not be allowed to deal with physical cash.


The conference, which ended yesterday and brought together experts from different sectors of the economy cutting across financial services, ICT, agriculture, among others, was organised by the E-Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), in collaboration with the Financial Services Strategy (FSS) 2020 and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).


Speaking on the occasion, Anambra State Governor, Dr. Willie Obiano, said the adoption of e-government in Anambra, especially in the area of tax collection has raised the state’s Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) from less than N1 billion to its current N1.1 billion monthly with the ultimate objective to increase it  to N3 billion monthly.


“In Anambra, our aggressive pursuit of a vision and mission strategies through an efficient use of ICT has attracted an inflow of investment to the tune of N2.4 billion to Anambra State in the past one year."


“The whole idea is to use government machinery to channel private sector interest to the advantages of the citizens by making the environment conductive through efficient use of ICT to achieve this.”


Deputy Governor, Operations at CBN, Alhaji Suleiman Barau, said the introduction of electronic transaction policies by the apex bank was meant to ensure efficiency in financial transactions and curb financial corruption in the system.


He said while the federal government and its paratstatals have also embraced a number of ICT-related initiatives in recent past in their services, with resultant cost-saving and ability to plug the leakages in its financial dealings, “there is an urgent need to popularize wider and holistic embrace of e-government in its totality.”


He noted that with the passage of three major bills relating to electronic transactions in Nigeria by the sixth National Assembly, the coast is now clear for e-payment landscape in the country to exhibit increased sanity.


To read more, Experts seek e-governance to check graft


Taken from BIZTECH AFRICA