Africa Science News

Why the green economy is a wrong path to restore the equilibrium with nature

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Written by Pan-African Alliance for Climate Justice

Twenty years after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992, the environmental crisis continues to worsen. The unsustainable development model that gained dominance in the world resulted to grave loss of biodiversity, melting of polar ice caps and mountain glaciers, alarming increase in deforestation and desertification and the looming danger of an at least 4ºC increase in temperature, which will threaten life as we know it. Science is saying that we are approaching a point of no return that will change the way our planet has behaved over 650,000 years”.

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New alliance to boost seed industry in sub-Saharan African countries

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Written by Henry Neondo

In a bid to boost war against food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa, the 19 members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern African Countries, COMESA in partnership with the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) on Thursday launched an alliance that would galvanise players in the seed industry.

According to Justine Rakotoarisaona, Secretary General of AFSTA, the Alliance for the Seed Industry in East and Southern Africa (ASIESA) is to develop a viable, competitive and sustainable seed industry that ensures farmers have affordable, timely and reliable access to high quality seeds and planting materials that would boost yields for food security.

Speaking in Nairobi during the launch, Rakotoarisaona said the USAID-funded ASIESA was started out of a felt need by the seed industry for concerted efforts to urgently address the numerous factors impending the growth and expansion of seed business within the region.

The alliance, he said, will develop the seed industry in the region by improving capacity and competitiveness of seed companies to develop new high-yielding seeds and market them to improve agricultural productivity in the sub-Saharan African region.

The alliance also hopes to improve communication with farmers by leveraging various approaches and best practices such as product demonstrations, field days, extension, educational posters, media articles tours and exhibitions to demonstrate the benefits of planting high quality seeds to farmers but also provide them with adequate, accessible and relevant and timely information.

ASIESA has also received initial funding from Croplife International and Sygenta Foundations to help in the project design and setting priorities for the initial eight target countries namely, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

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Fight against homophobia Aids body boss says

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Written by Kevin Wafula

Lois Chingandu, the executive director of the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) Thursday urged the global community to fight stigma and discrimination perpetrated against the, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people. In a statement issued to mark the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, the director said “this day reminds us as a people that we must reach out to another without for the betterment of our African communities and countries”.

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