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Agroecology Panacea To Climate Change, Food Crisis – Experts

Published

4 years ago

November 27, 2021

Agroecology has been identified as solution to climate change, food crises and other elements threatening farming and its produce in the country.

This was made known in a two-day training organised by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) for over 50 farmers in Edo State with a view to exposing them on how to improve quality of their farm lands and have a healthy farming system.

INFO DAILY reports that the training also addressed the issue of climate change, land
degradation and conservation of our ecological systems.

In the training organised recently in Benin, farmers were informed that ecological farming alternatives were money saving, simple to implement and simple to share generated knowledge.

Speaking at the training, Programmes Manager, HOMEF, Joyce Brown, stated that essence of the training was to highlight the challenges farmers face and to train them on how to produce and use organic farming
inputs.

According to her, chemical intensive agriculture is not only harmful to the soil, but
contributes to climate change and endangers the health of farmers and the environment.

She noted that, on the quest to increase soil fertility and boost yields with the use of chemicals, farmers unknowingly endanger their economic future and further sign into a lifetime of health problems.

“Frequent exposure to chemical pesticides can cause cancer and other neurological, immunologic, respiratory and reproductive diseases.

“The use of harmful chemicals and Genetic Modified Organism (GMOs) do not solve the problems we have faced with food scarcity, rather it damages the soils and beneficial organisms.’ Natural fertilizers do not pose any harm to the soil, rather they nourish the soil,” she noted.

On his part, Deputy Director of an NGO (Women Environmental Programme), John Baaki, noted, “agriculture production has suffered intensive use of chemicals which is poisoning the environment,
contaminating the air and water bodies as well as the health of
farmers.’’

He continues, ‘’By teaching farmers to go organic, we are addressing the problem of chemical pollution in Nigeria’s agricultural
sector.’’

In her presentation, Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, Deputy Director, Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria, urged farmers not be excited when they receive unknown seeds or while using certain fertilizers which have proven to be harmful.

“We are encouraging the use of organic methods. Let us begin to ask some questions. Are we sick because of what we consume? Farmers help to protect nature, environment and our health. We need to consciously grow our foods in manners that are healthy and that do not inflict harm on the soils. To our farmers in Nigeria, we plead that we go back to our roots and say no to GMOs,” she stated.

Some farmers during the training, shared stories of having short-term and chronic sicknesses
arising from the use of chemicals on their farmlands.

Frederick Ekrebe-Thomas, a cocoa farmer shared his experience from both methods, saying, “The cassavas in my farm went bad after spraying with
pesticides and herbicides.

“When I tried it on separate farms, I noticed that the one with chemical all went bad but the one I used natural methods produced greatly. I have seen it from experience that a farm that is cultivated with organic inputs produces more than those using chemicals. We farmers do not always admit that chemicals are harmful to
us.

“I have been trained in the past on the harmful use of chemicals and
I appreciate this training because it has further opened my eyes and
added to my knowledge.”

Angela Victor, a rice farmer who expressed her excitement over the
training said, “I have been into local rice farming. The government once gave us rice which they call “sparrow 44” with fertilizers to make it grow.

“At the end instead of making profit, I lost much. At the next planting
season I decided to go back to my old rice seeds and method of farming before now. I have learned a lot from this training and I will put the knowledge to use.”

Farmers in training session

Also sharing his testimony, James Osarobo-sehende, who claimed to have always been into natural methods of production, stated that he will continue to remain in that method of farming.

“I used chicken dropping when I planted pumpkins. The growth
rate was impressive. I use machine to clear weeds not the chemical to
clear like the others and I have seen the difference in our farm lands.”

The farmers urged government to support farmers by providing indigenous seeds rather than contaminating GMOs and chemicals that would destroy
their soils and harm their economies.

They also asked for improvement of rural infrastructure which will enable their products get to final
consumers and also improve their farm gate prices.

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Headline

Trump Threatens To Unleash ‘Hell’ On Hamas

Published

20 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump has given Hamas until 2200 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, warning the Palestinian militant group faced “all hell” if it did not agree to the terms.

The US leader set the deadline — which would fall at 1:00 a.m. Monday in Gaza — after an official for the Islamist movement told AFP earlier on Friday that the group still needed time to study the proposal to end nearly two years of devastating war in the Palestinian territory.

“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

The proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

That would be followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

“Hamas is still continuing consultations regarding Trump’s plan… and has informed mediators that the consultations are ongoing and need some time,” the official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

On Tuesday, Trump gave Hamas “three or four days” to accept his plan, which has been welcomed by world powers, including Arab and Muslim nations.

Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in a statement Friday that the “plan has points of concern, and we will announce our position on it soon.”

As Hamas mulled Trump’s peace plan this week, a Palestinian source close to the group’s leadership told AFP on Wednesday that the Islamist movement wanted to amend some clauses, including the one on disarmament.

Hamas leaders also want “international guarantees” for a full Israeli withdrawal and that no assassination attempts would be made inside or outside Gaza, the source added.

Another source familiar with the negotiations told AFP that the group was split over Trump’s plan.

Structurally, the group’s leadership is divided between officials based in the Gaza Strip and those abroad, particularly in Qatar.

Much of Hamas’s leadership has also been wiped out in Israeli attacks throughout the war.

The source told AFP that “the first (opinion) supports unconditional approval, as the priority is a ceasefire under Trump’s guarantees, with mediators ensuring Israel implements the plan”.

“The second has serious reservations regarding key clauses… They favour conditional approval with clarifications reflecting Hamas’s and the resistance factions’ demands,” the source added.

Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said “ultimately it’s not just about convincing Hamas leadership in Doha, but also the leadership in Gaza, as well as Hamas members and fighters in Gaza.”

“Additionally, Hamas must then be able to convince other factions in Gaza,” he added.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

Headline

Israeli Forces Strike Gaza Despite Trump’s Ceasefire Call

Published

20 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Saturday that Israel carried out dozens of attacks on Gaza City despite US President Donald Trump’s appeal to end bombardments after Hamas accepted a ceasefire deal.

“It was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump’s call to halt the bombing,” civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

Bassal, whose agency is a rescue force which operates under Hamas authority, added that 20 homes were destroyed in the overnight bombardments.

“The situation is very serious in Gaza City,” Bassal said, adding that his teams were not able to reach all the casualties due to the “presence of tanks and the ongoing bombardment”.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was “checking” reports of overnight bombardments on Gaza City.

Gaza City’s Baptist Hospital said in a statement that it received casualties from a strike on a home in Tuffah neighbourhood, including four dead and “several wounded”.

Nasser Hospital in south Gaza’s Khan Yunis said two children were killed and eight people were wounded in a drone strike on a tent in a camp for displaced Gazans.

The peace plan for Gaza, presented by Trump this week and backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas said on Friday it was ready to release hostages held in Gaza under the Trump plan, but wanted negotiations on the details and a say in the future of the Palestinian territory.

AFP

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Prosecutors Seek 11-year Sentence For Diddy, Citing ‘Lack Of Remorse’

Published

1 day ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Prosecutors urged a federal judge Friday to sentence Sean “Diddy” Combs to more than a decade behind bars for his conviction on two prostitution-related counts, saying the music mogul had shown a lack of remorse.

“This is not a person who has accepted responsibility,” prosecutor Christy Slavik told the New York court at Diddy’s sentencing hearing.

“His remorse was qualified. It’s as though he thinks the law doesn’t apply to him,” Slavik said in arguing for an 11-year prison sentence for the 55-year-old hip-hop innovator. ” “His respect for the law is just lip service.”

Combs’s lawyers have asked the judge for a 14-month sentence, which would effectively be time served.

Slavik said Combs had booked speaking engagements in Miami next week in anticipation of a light sentence, which she called “the height of hubris.”

Judge Arun Subramanian for his part said federal sentencing guidelines suggested a prison term of between six and seven years although he has the latitude to impose more or less.

The judge also noted an apparent lack of remorse, saying Combs has “challenged his factual guilt full-throatedly.”

Combs was expected to address the court at the sentencing hearing after submitting a letter to the judge on Thursday pleading for mercy and saying he had “lost my way.”

Following two months of often searing testimony, jurors in July rejected the most serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering against Combs, sparing him the prospect of life in prison.

Combs’s mother and six of his children were in court on Friday and have submitted letters to the judge in his support.

In his plea to the judge, Combs apologised for his conduct, saying he was “scared to death” to be away from his family and vowing he “will never commit a crime again.”

“I lost my way,” he wrote. “I got lost in my journey. Lost in the drugs and the excess.”

Combs’s former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, asked the judge in a letter of her own to consider “the many lives that Sean Combs has upended with his abuse and control.”

– ‘Humbled and broken’ –

Ventura, the 39-year-old singer known as Cassie, testified for days while heavily pregnant.

She described in wrenching detail physical, emotional and sexual abuse she suffered while in a more than decade-long relationship with Combs.

Ventura and another woman, identified as Jane, said they were coerced into performing so-called “freak-offs”: sexual marathons with hired men that Combs directed and sometimes filmed.

“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak off in 2016,” Ventura wrote.

“People watched this footage dozens of times, seeing my body thrown to the ground, my hands over my head, curled into a fetal position to shield me from the worst blows,” she said, noting she has nightmares and flashbacks “on a regular, everyday basis.”

Ventura said she and her family had left the New York area for fear of “retribution” from Combs if he is released.

The defense didn’t deny Combs’s sexual activity but insisted it was consensual.

They also didn’t deny Combs’s years of violence against both romantic partners as well as employees — but they said it didn’t meet the legal threshold for the grave charges he faced.

Jurors took their side.

The conviction on lesser if still serious counts stemmed from a federal statute that makes it illegal to transport people across state lines for prostitution.

Combs has been incarcerated in Brooklyn for more than a year.

He said his time in prison has left him “reborn.”

“I have been humbled and broken to my core,” Combs wrote.
AFP