The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, dismissed a suit filed by Attorneys-General of the 36 states against the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) from implementing its guidelines on the administration of local government funds.

The guidelines limited the cumulative amount that can be withdrawn from a local government account to not more than N500,000 daily.

But the plaintiffs (state governments) had argued that the guidelines were in breach of the financial autonomy of the various states as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.

Inyang Ekwo, the judge, held that the case lacked merit.

In the suit, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the NFIU and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees are defendants.

The NFIU issued some guidelines in May 2019 to guard against the overbearing influence of state governments in the administration of local government monthly allocations.

Delivering his judgement, Mr Ekwo held that the essence of the NFIU guidelines is to entrench financial transparency in government transactions at the local level.

Mr Ekwo agreed with the AGF that going by Section 23 (2) (a), Section 28 (2) and Section 31 of the NFIU Act, the “unit has the power to make the guidelines.”

The guidelines are aimed at reducing “crime vulnerabilities created by cash withdrawal from local government funds throughout Nigeria effective from June 1, 2019.”

Suit’s hearing

During the legal fireworks on March 2, the lawyer to the state governments, Omonsoya Popoola, said the state governments are not subject to the control of the NFIU.

Mr Popoola told the court that going by the operation of the State Joint Local Government Account, the states are regulated by legislation passed by the State Houses of Assembly, not the NFIU.

He urged the court to declare that the NFIU lacks the statutory powers to make guidelines for the regulation, monitoring and operation of the State Joint Local Government Accounts.

But the AGF represented by Tijjani Gazali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the NFIU has not encroached on the powers of the states or local governments.

“There is nothing wrong or unconstitutional about the NFIU guidelines as they do not usurp the powers of the plaintiffs,” Mr Gazali, acting Director, Civil Appeals at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, told the court.

Mr Gazali contended that “it is clear from the provisions of the NFIU Act, especially Section 23 (2) (a) and Section 28 (2) and Section 31 of the NFIU Act, that the unit has the power to make the guidelines.”

Similarly, counsel to the NFIU, Arthur Okafor, also a SAN, said the agency acted within its statutory powers to prevent abuse of office and other forms of financial crimes that might arise at the local government level.

Background

PREMIUM TIMES reported that in 2019, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) approached another Federal High Court judge, John Tsoho, who is the current Chief Judge of the court, to stop the NFIU’s guidelines from being implemented, but Mr Tsoho declined the request.

The guideline mandates that state and local government joint accounts be operated solely as transit accounts from which funds will be distributed directly to the accounts of the local governments.

Financial institutions were directed to ensure the full implementation of the guidelines with effect from June 1, 2019.

In March this year, the National Assembly passed a bill abolishing the state joint local government account and providing for a special account where all allocations due to the local government councils, from the federation account and state government, shall be paid.

In the bill, each local government council is to create and maintain its own special account to be called the Local Government Allocation Account into which all the allocations will be paid.

The legislation also mandates each state to pay to local government councils in its area of jurisdiction such proportion of its internally generated revenue on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly.

But for the bill to become a law, it has to receive the approval of at least 24 state Houses of Assembly.

Nestlé, IDH the Sustainable Trade Initiative, and TechnoServe announced Tuesday the launch of the Developing Inclusive Grain Value Chains project. The initiative will help 5,000 smallholder farmers earn better livelihoods by supplying high-quality maize, soybeans, millet, and sorghum to Nestlé.

The seven-month project will enable more inclusive and transparent sourcing of maize, soybeans, millet, and sorghum for Nestlé’s operations in Nigeria.

Women sorting grains

Incorporating smallholders into a value chain like Nestlé’s will not only benefit the farmers – who will see increased incomes from selling into stable and formal markets – but also the company, which will benefit from a steady supply of locally grown crops. The importance of local supply chains has been highlighted over the past year, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global shipping.

Over the last few years, Nestlé has worked with smallholder farmers and aggregators in Kaduna State, Nigeria to improve crop quality, significantly reducing rejection rates from over 30% to 4%. Abnormal rainfall patterns caused by climate change make it difficult for farmers to properly dry their grain, and therefore it is difficult to build upon and maintain the crop quality.

The Developing Inclusive Grain Value Chains project will engage stakeholders across the supply chain to address these challenges. The project will work with six small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that aggregate crops and supply them to Nestlé factories. The initiative will build the capacity of businesses all along the grain value chain: aggregators and sub-aggregators will receive training on proper grain handling, storage, and testing, as well as entrepreneurial and financial skills, while logistics partners will receive training on proper handling and storage of grain during transit. The initiative will also work with extension agents from the aggregators to provide agronomy training to farmers, with a focus on good agricultural practices and post-harvest handling.

The project will increase traceability by working with aggregators to improve record keeping and by using assay testing kits to track the quality of grains provided by individual farmers. This will also enable the initiative and stakeholders to better tailor training to the specific needs of smallholders. To address the challenges posed by climate change, the project will work with the aggregators to provide accurate weather forecasts to farmers, helping them to make better decisions about when to dry their grains. The initiative will also engage stakeholders to pilot new, low-cost technological innovations like solar dryers.

The Developing Inclusive Grain Value Chains project is expected to improve the incomes of 5,000 smallholder farmers and increase the sales of the six aggregator SMEs by at least 10%.

Nestlé Nigeria Managing Director and CEO,Wassim Elhusseini said of the project, “At Nestlé, we are committed to building strong communities and supply chains, improving livelihoods in communities directly connected to our business activities. Therefore, we are delighted to work with IDH and TechnoServe to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and SMEs who work within our supply chain. This project will help 5,000 families apply more sustainable farming practices to improve their household income while protecting the environment for the generations to come.”

IDH Nigeria Country Director, Cyril Ugwu added, “We are excited at this opportunity of working with TechnoServe and Nestlé in our joint mission to contribute to the improvement of agribusiness entrepreneurship in Nigeria. The partnership is crucial as it not only contributes to improved local sourcing of commodities by a reputable brand as Nestlé, it also contributes to food security and the economic wellbeing of a teeming number of farmers in the region.”

“Building more inclusive supply chains is a win-win for farmers and the private sector,” said Ayokanmi Ayuba, TechnoServe’s deputy country director and director of programs in Nigeria. “We are excited to work with Nestlé and IDH on this initiative to create lasting impact for smallholders, small businesses, and the sector as a whole.”

Nestlé Nigeria is one of the largest food and beverage companies in Africa. For over 58 years, the company has been delighting consumers around Nigeria by consistently delivering high quality nutritious food. With a staff strength of over 2,200 direct employees, 3 manufacturing sites, 7 branch offices and a head office located in Lagos, the company produces and markets several iconic brands including NESTLÉ PURELIFE, GOLDEN MORN, MILO, MAGGI and NESCAFÉ.

Nestlé’s purpose is to unlock the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone today and for generations to come.

IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative is an international organization that works with businesses,
financiers, governments and civil society to realize sustainable trade in global value chains. Funded by different governments and foundations, IDH delivers scalable, economically viable impact on the Sustainable Development Goals and at the same time creates value for all parties along the entire supply chain. IDH brings together over 600 companies and governments to promote and improve new sustainable production and trade models in emerging economies.

The Developing Inclusive Grain Value Chains project is part of IDH’s Value Chain Development (VCD) program. The VCD program focuses on Africa and is aimed at creating economically viable, inclusive and resilient agricultural value chains.

TechnoServe is a leader in harnessing the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty. A non-profit organization operating in 29 countries, they work with hard-working men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. By linking people to information, capital, and markets, they have helped millions to create lasting prosperity for their families and communities.

Founded over 50 years ago, TechnoServe has been named the #1 nonprofit for fighting poverty by the Impact Matters charity ratings agency.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s has ordered for the immediate dissolution of Local Government caretaker committees nationwide.

The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, asked state governors operating caretaker committees at local government level to immediately disband such committees and restore democratically elected representatives.

According to Malami, caretaker committees were outrightly illegal and unconstitutional as they amount to a breach of the provisions of Section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution (as amended).

This is as he described the practice of some state governors dissolving elected local government councils as unconstitutional, null and void and continued disobedience of the Supreme Court judgment of 9th December, 2016 in the case of Governor of Ekiti State & Ors vs Prince Sanmi Olubunmo & 13 Ors.

Apparently identifying Oyo State as one of the concerned states, Malami had placed such request on Governor Seyi Makinde in a letter dated 14 January, 2020, reference number HAGF/OYO/2020/Vol.I/I. entitled.

“Unconstitutionality of Dissolution of Elected Local Government Councils and Appointment of the Caretaker Committee: The Urgent Need for Compliance with Extant Judicial Decisions”, addressed to the state Attorney-General, Professor Oyewo Oyelowo.

A development described as unpleasant, Malami added that the request was in upholding the rule of law and not hindering the much-needed grassroots development at local government level.

The letter read, in parts: “The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation in line with the constitutional role as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation under Section 150(1) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) has noted with dismay the continued non-adherence by some state governors and state houses of assembly to the provisions of the Section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) as it relates to the existence, administration and control of local government councils in Nigeria.

“This unpleasant development, without doubt, is hindering the much needed grassroots development expected to be put in place by the third tier of government.

“It is apt to make reference to the provisions of the 1999 constitution (as amended) under section 7(1) which states thus: ‘The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this constitution guaranteed and accordingly, the government of every state shall, subject to section 8 of this constitution, ensure their existence under a law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.’

“It is to be noted that the decisions of the Court of Appeal, which underscored the supremacy of the constitution over any other law, have been affirmed by the Supreme Court in Governor of Ekiti State & ORS V. PRINCE SANMI OLUBUNMO & 13 ORS (APPEAL NO: SC 120/2013) in a judgment delivered on 9th December, 2016, wherein His Lordship, Chima Centus Nweze, JSC sated in the leading judgment at PP. 28 & 29 thus:

“Having thus guaranteed the system of local government by democratically-elected local government councils, the constitution confers a toga of sacro-sanctity on the elections of such officials whose electoral mandates derive from the will of the people freely-exercised through the democratic process. Put differently, the intendment of the constitution is to vouchsafe the inviolability of the sacred mandate which the electorate, at that level, democratically-donated to them.

“Simply put, therefore, the election of such officials, into their offices and their tenure is clothed with constitutional force. They cannot, therefore, be abridged without breaching the constitution from which they derive their force.

“In view of the final decision of the Apex court which is binding on all the 36 states of the federation, the common practice by some state governors in dissolving elected local government councils is unconstitutional, null and void. So, also, any systems of local government run by caretaker committees are outrightly illegal and unconstitutional.

“To this end, I hereby request all their excellencies, state governors and speakers of state houses of assembly, who are currently acting in breach of the provisions of Section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) and also acting in disobedience of the Supreme Court judgment highlighted above, to immediately retrace their steps by ensuring compliance with the above in the overall interest of the rule of law and our democracy.

The need to immediately disband all caretaker committees and restore democratically elected representatives to man the local governments has, therefore, become obligatory.

“I hereby request that you take positive steps to ensure compliance in your state accordingly. In the coming days, Mr. President and other relevant agencies will be advised further on compliance measures that should be taken in the national interest.”

Michael Fakhri, University of Oregon and Ntina Tzouvala, Australian National University

According to a new United Nations report, global rates of hunger and malnutrition are on the rise. The report estimates that in 2019, 690 million people – 8.9% of the world’s population – were undernourished. It predicts that this number will exceed 840 million by 2030.

If you also include the number of people who the U.N. describes as food insecure, meaning that they have trouble getting access to food, over 2 billion people worldwide are in trouble. This includes people in wealthy, middle-income and low-income countries.

The report further confirms that women are more likely to face moderate to severe food insecurity than men, and that little progress has been achieved on this front in the past several years. Overall, its findings warn that eradicating hunger by 2030 – one of the U.N.‘s main Sustainable Development Goals – looks increasingly unlikely.

COVID-19 has only made matters worse: The report estimates that the unfolding pandemic and its accompanying economic recession will push an additional 83 million to 132 million people into undernourishment. But based on our work serving as independent experts to the U.N. on hunger, access to food and malnutrition, under the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, it’s clear to us that the virus is only accelerating existing trends. It is not driving the rising numbers of hungry and food-insecure people.

How much should healthy food cost?

Experts have debated for years how best to measure hunger and malnutrition. In the past, the U.N. focused almost exclusively on calories – an approach that researchers and advocacy groups criticized as too narrow.

This year’s report takes a more thoughtful approach that focuses on access to healthy diets. One thing it found is that when governments primarily focused on making sure people had enough calories, they did so by supporting large transnational corporations and by making fatty, sweet and highly-processed foods cheap and accessible.

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This perspective raises some important issues about the global political economy of food. As the new report points out, people who live at the current global poverty level of US$1.90 per day cannot feasibly secure access to a healthy diet, even under the most optimistic scenarios.

More broadly, the U.N. report addresses one of the longest-running debates in agriculture: What is a fair price for healthy food?

One thing everyone agrees on is that a plant-heavy diet is best for human health and the planet. But if prices for fruits and vegetables are too low, then farmers can’t make a living, and will grow something more lucrative or quit farming altogether. And costs eventually go up for consumers as the supply dwindles. Conversely, if the price is too high, then most people can’t afford healthy food and will resort to eating whatever they can afford – often, cheap processed foods.

The role of governments

Food prices don’t just reflect supply and demand. As the report notes, government policies always directly or indirectly influence them.

Some countries raise taxes at the border, making imported food more expensive in order to protect local producers and ensure a stable supply of food. Rich countries like the U.S., Canada, and in the EU heavily subsidize their farming sectors.

Governments can also spend public money on programs like farmer education or school meals, or invest in better roads and storage facilities. Another option is to grant people living in poverty food vouchers or cash to buy food, or to ensure everyone has a basic income that allows them to cover their fundamental spending. There’s a host of ways in which governments can make sure food prices allow producers to make a living and consumers to afford healthy meals.

The human cost of cheap food

The U.N. report focuses on trying to make sure that food is as cheap as possible. This is limited in a number of ways.

New research highlights that mostly focusing on cheap prices can promote environmental damage and brutal economic systems. That’s because only large corporations can afford to compete in a market committed to cheap food. As our research has shown, today and in the past, people’s access to food is usually determined by how much power is concentrated in the hands of the few.

One current example is meatpacking plants, which have been coronavirus transmission centers in the U.S., Canada, Brazil and Europe. To keep prices low, people work shoulder-to-shoulder processing meat at an incredible speed. During the pandemic, these conditions have enabled the virus to spread among workers, and outbreaks in factories have then spread the virus to nearby communities.

New international standards allow factories to continue to operate, but in a way that protects workers. In our view, governments are not adequately enforcing these safety standards to stop the spread of the virus. Globally, four corporations – Brazil’s JBS, Tyson and Cargill in the United States, and Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods – dominate the meat-producing sector. Studies have shown that they are able to lobby and influence government policy in ways that prioritize profit over worker and community safety.

Our work has convinced us that the best way for governments to make sure that everyone has access to good food is to view a healthy diet as a human right. This means first understanding who has the most power over food supplies. Ultimately, it means making sure that the health, safety and dignity of people who produce the world’s food is a central part of the conversation about the cost of healthy diets.

This article was updated to correct the figure for predicted undernourishment.

Michael Fakhri, Associate Professor of International Law, University of Oregon and Ntina Tzouvala, Senior Lecturer in International Law, Australian National University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

South Korea’s approach to agriculture involves both old century’s traditions and techniques that belongs to the same time. They adapted to the changing times and modified their traditions and techniques according to environmental conditions and climate change. We can learn from them and do the same to future proof our food production.

Various countries have hailed South Korea as a model in handling COVID-19 crises, but they are also playing a vital role in finding solutions to the long-term problems of climate change and agricultural production with its agricultural techniques and traditions.

How South Korea can be an ideal example for agriculture in the recent times:

In Chuncheongnam province, there is a town called Geumsan. It is the heartland of the country’s most famous crop Ginseng, also locally known as Insam. They apply their knowledge of Korean landscape management techniques and uses transition areas between different types of landscapes, known as ecotones. The crops of Ginseng are planted at greatly precise places depending on wind and sun exposure and also temperature, direction and rainfall. Centuries of plantation have taught these farmers that Ginseng grows best on 25-30 degree slop in mountain valleys and from east to south direction. This helps in maximizing sunlight, ventilation and water drainage. The structures of wood and cloth are angled specially to make sure that methods of farming are adapted to environmental conditions.

This is how the farming of ginseng has adapted to Chuncheongnam’s mountainous topography using hill forest to its advantage. The forests serve as green walls and windbreaks, controlling sun and wind exposure for the crop to grow to optimum yields.

Enhancement of soil fertility:

The management and usage of land reflects developed Korean farming combining intercropping, multi-cropping, crop rotation, and resting periods, all rolled into one dynamic system. The traditional knowledge about nitrogen-fixing plants, micro-organisms and soil bacteria and the relation between all to increase soil fertility, boosting crop health and reducing pest infestations.

An area allocated for vegetables in this system will intercrop two or more plants such as cabbage, pepper and radish, followed by a plot intercropping barley, beans, corn or rye, and finally a plot for rice.

Here farmers make their own natural fertilizer and pesticides by using their Korean traditional knowledge of soil nutrients. They do this by culturing and multiplying micro- organisms, bacteria, fungi to enhance fertility of soil without the need of livestock waste.

Water management:

The island of Cheongsando is a region of severe water scarcity. Yet, the famers here are planting rice, a crop which is highly water dependent. By using an agricultural technique that is 500 years old farmers have adapted to the water scarcity of the area and have built terraces for rice.

Basically, the farmers here use underground aqueducts to irrigate rice fields on top. Farmers lay a flat stone and stack rocks. After that they put a layer of red mud and finally arable soil for the rice. The rice grows in the soil, while the red mud retains and controls the amount of water, with any excess dripping between the stacked stones and into the rice terrace below.

The high rate of water drainage and thin layer of soil results in high loss of nutrients. To tackle this farmers apply traditional fertilizers made up of mixture of grass, leftover animal feed, human manure to supplement. For controlling pests antiseptic leaves from the silk tree are used.

This whole process helps in maximizing the use of land without adverse effects on the surrounding environment. The aqueducts simultaneously serve as a home to diverse aquatic flora and fauna.

Some parts of South Korea witness regular floods, farmers here have developed an Agroforestry system. For 1200 years they planted and cultivated diverse tea trees in that areas. Now long adapted to the ecosystem, the trees themselves serve as barriers to the flooding of villages, and bring in revenue for this region that accounts for 20 per cent of South Korea’s domestic tea production.

The climate change crises is growing on intense level and it is the farmers who can be change makers and push through by adaptations responses as they are the one who are on the front lines of climate change. They are vulnerable as their livelihoods can get directly impacted by this.