Every week, RuralReporters.com collate reports on development issues in rural Africa and its environs.
This report includes some of our top picks from recent must-read research, interviews, blogs, and in-depth articles, carefully selected to help you keep up with global issues.
Here are some of the updates you may have missed from the previous week:
Despite the harsh criticism of the planned establishment of Ruga settlements across the country, the Federal Government is set to commence the pilot phase of the project in Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Kaduna and seven other states, Saturday PUNCH’s investigations have confirmed.
It was learnt in Abuja on Friday that the execution of the project would start in 11 states including Sokoto, Nasarawa, Kogi, Katsina, Kebbi, Zamfara and Niger.
Thousands Petition The President To Act On Rural Safety Now, Says DA
The Democratic Alliance launched the campaign last week on #RuralSafety as a result of the number of attacks on people who live in rural communities.
At the end of 2018 there were 29,000 reported cases of livestock theft in South Africa. This was costing the country billions of rand and was taking its toll on the agricultural economy. A University of South Africa study on rural safety found that R1.3 billion was lost to livestock theft in one year.
“The increased attacks on our farming communities is as a result of a lack of political leadership. The government’s rural safety strategy has been a dismal failure, because police stations in the most hard-hit rural areas are understaffed and under-resourced. SAPS [South African Police Service] is increasingly unable to protect rural communities,” Cilliers said.
UNICEF, European Union Call For Clean Water, Toilets In Nigerian Schools
According to the data from the WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASH NORM), as many as 47 million Nigerians practise open defecation, only 11 percent of Nigerians have access to complete basic water, sanitation and hygiene services and only 13 percent of schools have access to basic water and sanitation services.
Ambassador Ketil Karlsen, Head of EU Delegation in Nigeria, explains that ending open defecation and making water, sanitation, and hygiene services available to children in rural Nigeria is one of the biggest challenges in Nigeria, construction and management of which requires sustained investments and more partnerships.
The Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, T.D., today participated in the European Union-African Union Ministerial Conference in Rome.
Minister Creed stated, “This conference follows the recent publication of the Task Force on Rural Africa report, which highlights the strategic role which the European Union and its Member States can and should play in supporting the transformation of Africa’s agri-food sector and rural economy. Rural Africa faces both enormous challenges and opportunities, with its workforce set to grow by 800 million over the next 30 years”.
Africa’s biggest “digital dividend” lies in its rural areas, report
Digital innovations could transform African rural areas and agriculture while tackling many of the continent’s other emerging challenges, from youth unemployment, food insecurity and the need for further economic growth, a new report explains.
The report calls for investments targeting so-called “last-mile” infrastructure to bridge the urban-rural digital divide, including connections to the electrical grid, reliable telecommunications and internet connection. It also recommends the establishment of digital innovation hubs as well as fiscal incentives, including lower import duties initially, to facilitate market entry and the import of technologies until local markets are developed.
Village Capital Agriculture Africa 2019 is Now Open for Registration
African governments have established various policies and initiatives in crafting a steadfast foundation to facilitate farmers and agronomists alike. Namely the Maputo Declaration and their consent regarding Africa’s Agenda 2063.
Now, Village Capital announces this year’s Agriculture Africa, supported by companies such as Ceniarth and Small Foundation. As an accelerator for startups reigning in the fields of agriculture and consumable commodities, Village Capital selects twelve startups and/or businesses to participate in Agriculture Africa 2019.
For more information, visit their website here.
OXFAM Tells Nigerian Communities To Participate In Budget Processes
In view of the need to harness and deploy resources to drive development at the grassroots level, OXFAM has tasked communities in the State to mobilize and decide what development project would be included in the budget.
Community Development Planning (CDP) template, designed and identified as portent instrument, through which citizens can participate in budget formulation, implementation, and monitoring.
Olumide Ojo, OXFAM’s PROACT Project Manager, led a team of advocacy experts on a two-day campaign to create awareness among communities and Civil Society Organisations (CSO) on participatory governance.