Africa: Disease and Resistance

One wonders why drugs are taken and the sickness assumes a superficial dimension of attack rather than subside. Many bacteria have become 'supermen' in the infection game. They have developed powerful resistance to drugs used against them. Tuberculosis has, especially, grown resistance to both orthodox and traditional antibiotics in Africa. Good news has emerged. A new study from Japan and Switzerland has discovered the powerbase of the resistance. Read more

Football Pride

                  
   Balotelli and Mancini                      Mikel and Mourinho

These two are same in early acts. On coming to Stamford Bridge, Mikel Obi had numerous issues with his coach Jose mourinho. He was always raising up his shoulders to the extent that his dad told his coach to whip him. Now, Mario Balotelli is doing exactly the same. While Mourinho was very understanding and capable, Roberto Mancini is rash and harsh.

Pride let Mikel down. He was a favourite after the under 20 World Cup in 2005 to the extent that FIFA President, Josef Seph Blatter remarked that he would one day be great. Blatter never said so to Messi but humility brought Messi to limelight. Balotelli is an adopted child. After his birth, he was taken by an Italian named Mario who gave him the name.

On the main fact, Balotelli should, if not for humility, remember her but everywhere he goes now, he is always having scandals. He impregnated a lady but refused to accept and take responsibility. Scandal. A child who was taken out of orphanage home ought to be humble. He needs to learn from Mikel who has realised his foolery and has become as calm as the sleeping sea.

Aftermath of the Gun Shootings

         
 Sandy Hook and Theatre 16

The two shootings that shook the United States are being gradually forgotten but with mixed feelings. While the pupils of Sandy Hook are very happy going back to school, some of their parents are in doubt. The children waved goodbye to parents amid smiles. On the other handle of the court, Americans  especially the relations of the victims of the Theatre 16 shooting are outraged upon the theatre's re-opening. Many felt it is just too early.

Minister's Press Statement

Friday, January 4, 2013

N60 billion to be spent on cellphones for farmers not true - Minister of Agriculture

                              Press statement from the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina

My attention has been drawn to the issue of 60 Billion Naira to be spent on phones for farmers, reported in some media sites and papers. The information is absolutely incorrect. My Permanent Secretary was totally misquoted out of context. There is no 60 Billion Naira for phones anywhere. As a responsible Minister, who takes public accountability and probity very seriously, there is absolutely no way in the world that I will even contemplate or approve such an expenditure. All our focus as Government is on creating jobs in Nigeria, not exporting jobs elsewhere.

Let me clarify and explain our policy.
Reaching farmers through phones:
The policy the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is promoting is to get mobile phones to farmers, as part of its agricultural transformation agenda, to connect farmers to information, expand their access to markets, improve their access to savings and loans, and help them adapt to climate change dynamics that affect them and their livelihoods. We are also rapidly modernizing agriculture, and have moved away from agriculture as a development program to agriculture as a business, so we must modernize and use new tools to reach our farmers.

The Power of information:
Agriculture today is more knowledge-intensive and we will modernize the sector, and get younger (graduate) entrepreneurs into the sector, and we will arm them with modern information systems. Whether small, medium or large farmers they all need information and communication systems. Connecting to supermarkets and international markets require that farmers know and meet stringent consumer-driven grades and standards. In today’s supply chains, the flow of information from buyers to farmers must be instant, to meet rapidly changing demands. Unless farmers have information at their finger tips, they will lose out on market opportunities.
Our goal is to empower every farmer. No farmer will be left behind. We will reach them in their local languages and use mobile phones to trigger an information revolution which will drive an agricultural revolution.

Why cell phones?
Nigeria has 110 million cellphones, the largest in Africa. But there is a huge divide: the bulk of the phones are in urban areas. The rural areas are heavily excluded. For agriculture, which employs 70% of the population, that means the farmers are excluded and marginalized. In today’s world, the most powerful tool is a mobile phone. As Minister of Agriculture, I want the entire rural space of Nigeria, and farmers, to be included, not excluded, from advantages of mobile phone revolution.

Below are some of them:
Access to inputs:
First, the mobile phones will be used to scale up the access of farmers to improved seeds and fertilizers to millions of farmers, directly. The federal government succeeded in 2012 in getting seeds and fertilizers to farmers, via the Growth Enhancement Support (GES), which used mobile phones to reach farmers with subsidized inputs. The system ended 40 years of corruption on fertilizers and cut off rent seekers and middlemen who – for decades – have entrenched massive corruption of the fertilizer sector. Government succeeded. The GES system reached over 1.2 million farmers in 120 days in 2012.

We succeeded because we used mobile phones to reach farmers directly and cut off the middle men and those who have cheated farmers for decades. We empowered the poor farmers, with many getting subsidized seeds and fertilizers from government for the first time ever. We brought transparency into what was perhaps the most corrupt system in Nigeria. We ended fertilizer corruption of four decades, in 90 days, because of mobile phone tools we deployed.

Revolutionary tool:
This is a revolution. Nigeria is the first country in Africa to develop such a system. The system has garnered international acclaim. Other African countries now want to learn from Nigeria. Major donors, including Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, DFID of the UK Government, USAID, World Bank, IFAD and the Africa Development Bank, want to scale up the GES system to other countries.

How we will operate:
From 2013, government intends to distribute 10 million phones, so we can reach more millions of farmers with the GES scheme for subsidized inputs. We expect to reach at least 5 million farmers in 2013 with GES for access to subsidized inputs. So, farmers who get mobile phones will be registered and we will use their biometric information to reach them with electronic vouchers for seeds and fertilizers.

Second, mobile phones will allow farmers to have financial inclusion, as financial institutions such as commercial banks and microfinance banks will be able to reach them with affordable savings and loans products. The phones will make the financial inclusion of the CBN in rural areas possible.
Third, the phones will make market price information available to farmers nationwide. Farmers lose a lot in marketing their produce. Middle men make all the profits. Farmers end up selling their products at very poor prices. This is because farmers do not have access to market price information. There is asymmetry of market price information. For many farmers their only sources of market price information are the middlemen. Mobile phones will allow us to get market price information to farmers, improve market access and empower farmers. This will allow farmers to have countervailing power in the market place.

Fourth, we will use mobile phones to provide extension information to farmers, as part of our total overhaul of the extension system in the country. With a “Farmer Help Line” it will be possible to connect extension workers, colleges of agriculture, faculties of agriculture, and other experts to provide free extension services to farmers by interactive voice mail. This will include when to plant, what to plant, agronomic practices etc. At the dial of a number, the wealth of knowlege of experts will be connected to the farmers, anywhere they are in Nigeria – free of charge. Such a “Farmer Help Line” system is already in use in Kenya by poor farmers, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Fifth, the phones will allow the dissemination of real time weather information to farmers. It will be possible to alert farmers on drought or floods and reduce vulnerabilities to shocks. In case of the floods we witnessed last year, simple alerts over mobile phones would have saved many lives and helped farmers to know what to do.

Finally, the expanded number of phones in rural areas will support the expansion of rural telephony. Presently, the rural areas are not being served well by mobile operators, and are marginalized. With the expansion of mobile phones to millions of farmers, mobile phone operators will expand the number of base stations they have in rural areas. This will reduce the digital and communications exclusion of rural areas, where agriculture is the main source of income and jobs. The cost of calls in rural areas will also decline.

How will this be financed?
The distribution of the phones will be supported through an MoU signed between the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Communications Technology and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the Ministry of Women Affairs. Out of the 10 million phones, 5 million will go to women. The Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), which supports expansion of mobile operators into rural areas, through a tax, will support this initiative, in partnership with Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. We intend to work with existing mobile operators in Nigeria through a public-private partnership.
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

Skyfall

James Bond, code-name 007's newest movie 'Skyfall' is all time unique, hitting a $1billion mark. The movie also has the second highest records of mistakes in 2012. Mistakes like 007 falling inside a pool of water and coming out without being drenched. The movie is preparing to be set in China. This will boost its mark also.

Uniting Korea

Jong Tae Se, the North Korean-born football guru has decided to move to South Korea. He is to join Suwon Bluewings from Germany's Koln. He is the Fourth North Korean to make sure move. They all have the same motive; a message to Pyongyang that they need unity but at whose authority? North or South?

Kogi Again!!!

 
           The speaker, Rt.Hon. Momoh Jimoh Lawal at a plenary session

Kogi State speaker, Rt. Hon. Momoh Jimoh Lawal was involved in a fatal auto crash. The speaker had the crash while travelling along Okene-Lokoja road. One of the policemen attached to the speaker's convoy, a constable, Akeem Lamidi driving a Toyota died on the scene.

A truck ran into the convoy of the speaker. The event occured on New Year Day just a week after the Governor of the State, Idris Wada had a colossal auto crash too. Now, the rich also cry. Maybe and still under maybe, they will fix the roads.