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Agroecology Panacea To Climate Change, Food Crisis – Experts

Published

2 years ago

November 27, 2021

Editor

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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Kenya Deports Nigerian Captured On CCTV Assaulting Woman In Wheelchair [VIDEO]

Published

16 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Editor

A Nigerian national who was caught on CCTV camera assaulting a Kenyan woman confined to a wheelchair in Nairobi has been deported.

In the footage that went viral on April 26, 2024, the Nigerian man identified as John Nwankwo Noko, is seen clobbering a helpless Ms. Pauline in the head before two other ladies looking on intervened to stop the act.

In a statement signed by State Department of Gender Principal Secretary Anne Wang’ombe, Nwankwo was deported on Saturday, May 4, 2024, for assaulting his partner, Ms Pauline.

He is accused of physically assaulting his partner, a Kenyan woman confined to a wheelchair, raising concerns about cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

“The act of violence has not only violated the rights of an individual but has also highlighted the broader issues of gender-based violence, that is rampant in our society,” Orwoba said in the statement.

The case was first brought to the attention of the police by Nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba on Wednesday, May 1.

Orwoba, acting on the video that first went viral on social media on April 29, visited the woman at her home, who confirmed that her life was in danger.

She [the woman] claimed that her Nigerian partner “had been threatening to kill her and her two domestic workers if they outed him,” Orwoba said.

Senator Orwoba then reported the matter to Karen Police Station, after which it was picked up by the offices of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kindiki Kithure, and that of Immigration PS Julius Bitok.

“Mr Nwankwo Noko has been arrested and processed for deportation,” Gender PS confirmed.

The nominated senator, who has continually advocated for violence against women has since demanded an end to the rising cases, saying they not only leave women with physical and emotional damage but also tear the moral fabric of our society.

“We strongly condemn such behavior and we shall continue working towards creating a safer environment for women, free of fear,” Orwoba added.

Watch footage below:

John Nwankwo, a devil, assaults woman in wheelchair in Kenya…
Criminal:
John Nwankwo Noko
Crime:
Nigerian man by the name of John Nwankwo Noko was captured on CCTV assaulting a woman in a wheelchair. In the footage, the ruthless man is seen raining kicks and blows on the… pic.twitter.com/COGgqaFEzd
— CitizenOlu (@jagabanolu) April 26, 2024

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Woman Wins $1million Lottery For Second Time In 10 Weeks

Published

17 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Editor

Christine Wilson of Attleboro recently claimed a $1 million jackpot, the Massachusetts State Lottery announced on Wednesday, May 1.

Amazingly, it marked the second $1 million prize she’d won in just 10 weeks.

Wilson’s latest winnings came from playing the 100X Cash $10 instant ticket game. The scratch game involves matching any of the player’s numbers or bonus numbers to any winning number.

In February, Wilson claimed her first $1 million lottery prize after playing the Lifetime Millions $50 instant ticket game.

When she won her first prize, Wilson said that she would use some of the money to buy an SUV. Now she plans to put her new winnings towards savings.

As with her first jackpot prize back in February, for her latest win, Wilson opted for the cash payout option of $650,000 before taxes.

And it’s not just Wilson who is reaping the rewards for her latest jackpot. The Family Food Mart that sold her the ticket will receive a $10,000 bonus.

Wilson joins other lucky folks who have won a lottery jackpot twice in the last year. In February, a Michigan man won a $110,000 prize by playing the state’s Fantasy 5 Double Play drawing. Six months earlier, the man had also netted $110,000 via the same game.

Meanwhile, in October 2023, Jennifer Minton of Gloucester, Virginia, won $50,000 playing that state’s Safari Quest online game. A week later, she won again, netting a $1 million prize.

And in March of that same year, a couple from Australia scored two $1 million prizes on separate tickets in the same drawing for Australia’s Monday & Wednesday Lotto game.

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70 Passengers Fall Ill, Vomit Bug During Flight From Mauritius To Frankfurt

Published

17 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Editor

About 70 passengers fell ill with a vomiting bug mid-way through their flight from Mauritius to Frankfurt.

According to Mail Online, Condor airline Flight DE2315 was travelling on Thursday, May 2, from Mauritius to Frankfurt when it became clear that many passengers on board were suffering from the bug.

The aircraft landed in the German city at around 5.33pm where it was greeted with a large contingent of emergency services.

Crew had called ahead to alert officials on the ground of the unfolding emergency.

It was found that 70 of the 290 passengers onboard had suddenly reported symptoms including nausea and vomiting.

A spokesperson for the Germany airline confirmed the incident to the country’s Bild tabloid, adding that the crew was not affected by the illness.

‘She [the pilot/crew] is also educated and trained for special situations like this,’ the statement to the newspaper said.

‘After carefully examining the overall situation, the flight continued. The aircraft landed safely in Frankfurt, where medical professionals were available to care for the affected guests.’

The airline, however, did not confirm the cause of the sudden illness, but noted that the food onboard would have been prepared in Mauritius.

‘Condor has already initiated an investigation into the case to get to the bottom of the cause and to derive possible measures from it,’ the spokeswoman added.

‘Condor is working closely with all responsible partners and authorities. There is currently no result available.

‘We generally do not participate in speculation about the cause, for example about individual menus on board that were prepared in Mauritius,’ the statement added.