Sagnarigu District presents ruminants to women

The Sagnarigu District Assembly under the Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) Project, has presented 130 small ruminants to 30 women in the Sorugu community in the district to serve as a source of income for their families.

The distribution of the small ruminants, which falls under the livelihood and agriculture component of the RING Project, funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is to ensure increased access and consumption of diverse quality food among targeted households, especially women and children under five.

 Improving livelihood

 The project aims to improve the livelihood and nutritional status of vulnerable households in targeted communities in the Northern Region.

The Sagnarigu District Chief Executive, Mr Alhassan Mohammed Sorogudoo, who presented the animals to the women at Sorugu on Monday, urged the beneficiaries to take good care of the animals to improve their incomes.

Mr Sorogudoo said women were at the forefront of maintaining the home, hence benefiting from the gesture to ensure a reliable income for them to take care of their families.

He described the animals as “the birds that will lay the golden eggs” and urged husbands of the beneficiary women to support their wives as they managed the animals to take care of the family.

 Appreciation to donors

Madam Tahatu Abubakari, one of the beneficiaries, thanked the donors for the support and assured them of keeping the animals well to enable them to multiply to improve their income.

Taken from Graphic Online

Minister: Agriculture in schools to get boost

Youngsters who participated in the 4H walk on Saturday. Photo: Shastri Boodan

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat says agriculture in schools will be given a boost. The minister made the statement during a walk on Saturday hosted by the Caroni arm of the National 4-H council of T&T.
Rambharat said the return of the Prime Minister’s Award for  Agriculture would see a return to agricultural exhibitions where prizes would be given to farms, farmers and schools. He said he was somewhat disappointed to see schools removing their gardens to make way for infrastructure as car parks.
The minister said his ministry would be using personnel from the Ministry of Education as part of its support network to ensure that the agricultural component of the school’s curriculum is fulfilled. Rambharat said a school’s garden competition would be announced before the end of this year. He said this would be done in partnership with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the 4H club.
Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan commended the group and its effort to sensitise the work of young people through the vehicle of holistic development. The youths marched from the Montrose Junction and headed to Saith Park, Chaguanas.

Taken from Trinidad Guardian

Grenada seeking support from T&T in a number of areas

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada (CMC) – Grenada has made an “impassioned plea” to the new Keith Rowley administration in Trinidad and Tobago for renewed negotiations with the state-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL), especially as it relates to the cargo flights out of Grenada.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell met with his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart in Port of Spain last week, and a government statement here quoted Mitchell as having concerns of the negative impact that the reduction in CAL flights was having on economic development in Grenada.

Mitchell said the reduction was not only in relation to difficulties being encountered by visitors travelling to Grenada  impacting the tourism sector, but also by the agriculture and fisheries sectors which were being negatively impacted through the inability to access export markets.

He noted that the productive sectors had already experienced sharp declines in prices and there were huge build-ups in domestic stocks of both fish and agricultural products.

“Prime Minister Rowley was extremely enthusiastic in his support for an urgent meeting among the CAL representatives and representatives from the Grenada government and Airport Authority, in order to immediately identify the options for expanded CAL services to Grenada,” the government statement said.

It said that Mitchell impressed upon his counterpart the urgency of expanding the CAL flights, even if Grenada would be required to provide a small subsidy and that officials from the Grenada Airport Authority is scheduled to begin meetings with CAL officials this week.

The meeting between Rowley and Mitchell, the first since the Trinidad and Tobago prime minister came to office following the September 7 general election there, also discussed a proposal for debt relief.

“The prime ministers exchanged their positions on the present debt levels of both countries, and discussed prescriptions for reducing the unacceptably high level of debt which impacted the national development of their respective countries,” the statement said, adding that the two leaders also “committed to assisting each other both in respect of policies, relief and other measures where possible”.

The statement said that Rowley “pledged his commitment to assisting Grenada with the treatment of its bilateral debt to Trinidad and Tobago” and asked St George’s “to provide a brief and start the follow up process with Trinidad and Tobago’s Finance Minister, Colm Imbert, who was also present at that meeting”..

In their discussions, the two leaders reiterated that the trading relationship between the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries “was too significant to be taken lightly, and needed to be advanced through such mechanisms as a deepened commitment to the CARICOM Single Market and the Economy (CSME)”.

The statement said that the two countries are developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in relation to healthcare and that while they discussed the relatively advanced state of the medical services in Trinidad and Tobago continuing to be available to Grenada “it was important to determine clear procedures for Grenada to access these services in Trinidad and Tobago”.

The two leaders also agreed that the draft MOU on Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) would be examined with a view to finalizing the arrangement in the shortest time frame.

Mitchell, who has responsibility for ICT within the quasi CARICOM cabinet, said he firmly believes that ICT constitutes a key development driver and thus, it is an area to which he had accorded significant attention.

Taken from Jamaica Observa

Govt to set up 254 e-agri information centres

Aiming to expand e-Krishi (e-agriculture) in rural areas, the government has taken an initiative to set up 254 ICT-driven Agriculture Information and Communication Centers (AICCs) in 254 upazilas for disseminating agricultural information among farmers, officials said.

National ICT Infra-Network for Government Phase II Project (InfoSarker) under ICT Division has chosen 254 farmers' clubs based on communications facilities, availability of electricity and clubs' own houses from 14,000 farmers' associations to turn those as ICT-based AICCs.

AICCs are expected to go into operation in December next.

As part of initiative, InfoSarker Project is going to organise a workshop at the auditorium of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) on Wednesday to build the capacity of farmers to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

“ICTs can play very important role in bridging information gaps, and that's why the government is going to set up 254 more AICCs to expand e-Krishi in rural areas,” said State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak.

The minister said agriculture is becoming increasingly knowledge-intensive and the government has been promoting ICT use to provide information to farmers, and has focused on ICT innovation for improving agricultural production and enhancing value chains.

Farmers will require increased information to make complex decisions on their land use, selection of agricultural commodities they plant, choice of markets to sell their agricultural produces and other necessary decisions that impact livelihoods of their families and society, Palak said.

He said the members of farmers' clubs will play the role of 'smart farmers' through providing agricultural information that will contribute towards boosting the country's farm output.

According to sources, with establishment of 254 AICCs by the InfoSarker Project, total number of AICCs will rise to 499 as the government earlier set up 245 AICCs.

Taken from: The Daily Star

NACTA Poll: Voters reserve judgement on Budget

THERE are split feelings on the national budget, according to a poll conducted by Dr Vishnu Bisram of the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA).

According to the poll, voters were supportive of some aspects of the measures contained in the People’s National Movement Government’s first budget presentation, namely the reduction of VAT; increase in pension; raising the personal allowance in tax returns; waiver of various fees for seniors; and relocation of Agriculture Ministry but were displeased with others such as the removal of the gas subsidy; reduction in allocation to farming and cancellation of laptop program.

A plurality of voters reserved judgement on the budget viewing it as an interim plan that will be recalibrated mid-year.

The poll interviewed 410 voters reflecting the demographics of the population with four (4) percent margin of error.

The poll found almost everyone were displeased with the government’s handling of crime and approved of the increased allocation to Ministry of National Security.

Asked if they approve of the budget, there is an almost equal split among those who approve (32 percent) and are opposed (33 percent) with a plurality (35 percent) reserving judgment saying the budget will be revisited mid-year, according to NACTA.

Imbert praised for ‘fair’ fiscal package Many PNM supporters, NACTA added, praised Finance Minister Colm Imbert for what they described as a “fair and workable budget” given the time constraints in preparing it.

Some 80 percent of the nation opposed the removal of the gas subsidy.

“There is a psychological feeling (real and imagined) that cost of living is going up. People complain they are already feeling the pinch in prices of almost every item (including transportation) going up,” NACTA noted.

The poll also noted almost everyone approved of the 2.5 percent reduction on VAT but opposed the re-application of the VAT on items that were previously exempted.

“Many feel there is no net gain from the VAT reduction since they are paying VAT on previously VAT-free items,” NACTA said.

Little support for Rapid Rail The poll further noted, voters were divided on the proposed rapid rail transit system with 41 percent opposed, 37 percent supportive, and 22 percent had no opinion. “Many voters feel a rapid rail is not feasible and the population is too small to make it economical,” said NACTA.

Almost everyone supported the relocation of the Agriculture Ministry to Central Trinidad and while many viewed it as a politically expedient act, they also felt the move will better serve the national interest.

Respondents were also said to be impressed with the performance of Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat. ‘Farmers are pleased with his policy of engaging them.

However, a majority of voters (55 percent), including almost every farmer, feel the Agriculture’s budget allocation is insufficient to realise goals,” NACTA noted.

Point Fortin highway not a priority The pollsters also reported that most voters said they did not consider completion of Pt.

Fortin Highway as a priority but did not want it to be neglected.

“And they are not very pleased with the decision to end the free lap top programme saying it can be re-organised.

Questioned about the election petition before the court, voters are almost evenly divided (on party affiliation) on whether the election results will be set aside with a significant 22 percent of respondents saying “not sure”.

Many voters display lack of awareness on the petition process.

On approval ratings, NACTA said it was too early to render judgment on the performance of the government, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Attorney General Faris Al Rawi, but noted that persons polled did indicate that they liked “the new (calm and soft tone) Rowley”.

‘The remake of his image has done wonders garnering praise even among PP supporters,” NACTA noted.

Taken from, Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday

‘Need to have value for money when we spend’

TRINIDAD and Tobago is suffering from Dutch disease and the only cure for this ailment is diversifying away from the energy sector.
But according to the Unit Trust Corporation’s executive director Ian Chinapoo, this diversification cannot come overnight and it requires more than physical infrastructure and money.
“Diversification is not a near-term thing. I have seen people say five or ten years, when actually, most of the people who I respect, say it takes a generation. A generation is up to 30 years. Why? Because diversification does not only require physical infrastructure and money, it requires cultural and behavioural changes,” Chinapoo said last week during a post-budget discussion hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, Mt Hope.
He raised concern that over the years successive governments have touted the need for diversification into various areas including tourism, agriculture, ICT and the creative industry but the fact remains that Trinidad and Tobago is still heavily dependent on energy revenues.

Taken from Trinidad Express Newspapers

CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR DEVELOPMENT & GOVERNANCE

Would you agree if we say that the day wouldn’t be complete without that daily dose of social media? Some say that it has the power to change governments. Your likes, dislikes, your thinking patterns, your friends, what you eat and everything else about your life is chronicled in 1s and 0s thanks to social media.

The previous week, we were at the Water’s Edge to attend a workshop on social media. It was aimed at increasing awareness and enhance capacities of members of parliament, government leaders, policymakers, GCIOs and other officers from various agencies and ministries of the Government on how to utilize social media for development and governance. Social Media for Development and Governance, a five-day capacity building program was co-organized by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) and the United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for ICT for Development (UN-APCICT).

The first day was dedicated for Government Chief Information Officers. With Mr. Sameera Jayawardena a Project Manager – ICT HR Capacity Building, ICTA welcoming the participants and the resource persons, the workshop officially commenced. He invited Dr. Hyeun-Suk Rhee the Director, UN-APCICT to make the opening remarks. She spoke about the importance of social media and the work that APCICT does. Here, she mentioned about the Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders Module 11, Social Media for Development. She also spoke about the WIFI (Women and ICT Frontier Initiative) program, an initiative of APCICT that aims to develop the capacity of women entrepreneurs in using ICT.

To read about each session: CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR DEVELOPMENT & GOVERNANCE