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Kenya will host the
25th FAO Africa Regional Conference in 2008.
Kenya won the bid
to host the Conference during the 28th Regional Conference held
in Bamako, Mali on 30th January - 3rd February, 2006.
The FAO Regional
Conference for Africa is held every two years and provides an
opportunity for African countries to exchange experiences on
agriculture, environment and nutrition. In addition, countries
are able to review progress made towards achievement of relevant
international commitments includingthe World Food Summit and
Millenium Development Goals.
Kenya
delegation to the Bamako Conference was led by Hon. Kipruto Arap
Kirwa, Minister for Agriculture, and included Her Excellency Ambassador
Ann Nyikuli, Kenya's Permanent Representative to FAO as well as
Senior Officials from the Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock
and Fisheries Development and Environment and Natural Resources.
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Hon. Kipruto
Arap Kirwa (second from left) and Ambassador Ann Nyikuli with delegates
from other African countries during the 24th FAO Africa Regional
Conference in Bamako, Mali.
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KENYA
SIGNS IFAD LOAN
On 25th January 2006,
Her Excellency Ambassador Ann Belinda Nyikuli signed on behalf
of the Government of Kenya the Agreement for the Smallholder Dairy
Commercialization Programme. The Program for US $ 19.75 million
(Kshs. 1.45 billion) will be implemented in 10 districts in the
Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza Provinces and will run for 7 years.
The programme will be financed through US$ 17.49 million and US$
0.85 million IFAD loan and grant respectively, US$ 0.92 million
Government contribution and US$ 500,000 beneficiaries contribution.
The
overall goal of the Programme is to increase income of 24,000
poor rural households in the target districts that depend substantially
on production and trade of diary products for their livelihood.
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H.E. Ann
B. Nyikuli signing the Smallholder Dairy Commercialization Programme
Agreement with IFAD's President Lennart Báge |
KENYA
SIGNS THE AGREEMENT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GLOBAL CROP
DIVERSITY TRUST
On 15 February
2006 Kenya joined other 22 nations in signing the Agreement for
the Establishment of the Global Crop Diversity Trust. The Global
Crop Diversity Trust is an organization whose sole goal is the
conservation of the great worldwide diversity of agriculture housed
in dozens of gene-banks across Africa and hundreds around the
world. The mission of the Trust is to ensure the long-term conservation
and availability of crop diversity for food security worldwide.
It supports an endowment that will fund in perpetuity the urgent
and chronic shortages that face the world's most important collection
of crop diversity. The Trust also supports priority up-grading
and capacity building activities. The Trust addresses two of the
Millennium Development Goals: Goal 1 to eradicate extreme poverty
and hunger, and Goal 7 to ensure environmental sustainability.
Hon.
Kipruto Arap Kirwa, Minister for Agriculture signed the instruments
on behalf of the Government of Kenya at a ceremony held at Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Headquarters
in Rome, Italy. While signing the Agreement, the Minister noted
that many of the world's crop genebanks, especially those in developing
countries are languishing. This, he noted, could be in some instances
due to lack of funds to maintain such facilities as refrigeration.
For example, if electricity fails, so too does refrigeration and
so too the seeds being conserved. He decried the loss of valuable
and sometimes irreplaceable collections of crops such as roots
and tubers by some African genebanks. Further, he argued that
so as to avoid humanitarian disaster, African countries must have
seed banks to enable their farmers and researchers to develop
new technologies appropriate to Africa.
The
signing was witnessed by H.E. Ambassador Ann Nyikuli, Dr. Ephraim
A. Mukisira, Acting Managing Director, Kenya Agricultural Research
Institute and Mr. Joseph Mburu, Agricultural Attache'. The Trust
was represented at the ceremony by Prof. Cary Fowler, the Executive
Secretary and Mr. Julian Laird, Director of Development.
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HON
PROF. WAGNARAI MAATHAI APPOINTED TO THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF
THE CROP DIVERSITY TRUST
Nobel
Laureate Hon. Prof. Wangari Maathai has been appointed as a Board
Member of the Global Crop Diversity Trust based in Rome, Italy.
In the realization of the important contribution that the Trust
is expected to make towards achievement of sustainable agriculture
for the benefit of mankind now and in the future, our country
was among the first to sign the Agreement to the Establishment
of the Crop Diversity Trust on 15 th February, 2006. Prof. Wangari
Maathai will sit alongside 7 (seven) other renown personalities
in the Corporate, Academic and political worlds. The new Board
met in April 2007.
Her
appointment to the Board is a recognition of her tireless devotion
in conservation of the environment over the last three decades.
The
Trust's main focus is to ensure the conservation and availability
of Crop diversity for food security worldwide. Special attention
is extended to supporting natural collections maintained by developing
countries like Kenya. Indeed, crop diversity is fundamental to
defeating hunger and achieving food security.
The
quality of the Board which includes Margaret Catley-Carlson, Chairperson
of the Global Water Partnership from Canada, Lewis Coleman from
the USA is President of DreamWorks Animation, Sir Peter Crane
from UK is a Fellow of the Royal Society, and former Director
of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Jorio Dauster from Brazil is
the Board Chairman of Brasil Ecodiesel and a former Ambassador
of Brazil to the European Union, Adel El-Beltagy of Egypt is currently
the Chair of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR),
Cary Fowler, Executive Director (ex officio) was Professor and
Director of Research in the Department for International Environment
and Vevelopment Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences,
John Lovett from Australia is the Chairperson of the Cooperative
Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity, Alexander Muller
of Germany is currently Assistant Director-General, Natural Resources
and Environment Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO), Karl Erik Olsson from Sweden is a
former Minister of Agriculture and Mangala Rai of India the Secretary
of the Government of India's Department of Agricultural Research
and Education (DARE), and Director General of the Indian Council
for Agricultural Research (ICAR), is a demonstration of the importance
of issues ranging from agriculture, climate change and food security.
The
Government through the Kenya Embassy Rome, spearheaded the campaign
that successfully realized the appointment of Prof. Wangari Maathai
to the Board.
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HON.
PROF. WANGARI MAATHA
Speaking
at an event in 2007 |
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