By Ishmael Zhou In the areas affected by Cyclone Chalane, there is a need to have data on people with disabilities (PWDs) – the type of disability, age, sex, and possibly specific challenges relating to each type of disability. There are wholesale solutions to disability but sometimes we have to have tailor-made solutions. Parents with…
By Jan Urhahn Translation by Loren Balhorn The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation promised Africa a “Green Revolution” to fight hunger and poverty. It hasn’t worked — but it has upped corporate agriculture’s profits. Local farmers are being left empty-handed, and hunger is rising. Over the last five years, the number of people around the world…
The Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), in conjunction with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the International Budget Partnership (IBP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has announced the launching of the Inclusive Budgeting and Financing for Climate Change in Africa (IBFCCA) programme, a SIDA-funded initiative, the Centurion has revealed. This…
By K Rathna (Express News Service) MYSURU: 50-year-old farmer in a village in Karnataka has shown, like Japanese farmer Masanobu Fukuoka before him, that from “nothingness” can emerge beautiful forests and farms. Krishnappa Dasappa Gowda’s farm in Bannur village, T Narasipur taluk, looks less like a typical agricultural field, and more like a forest in all…
By Joyce Mukucha Climate change is one of the 21st century human catastrophes with its impacts being felt globally and Zimbabwe has not been spared. These impacts range from increased rainfall variability, prolonged dry spells, heat waves, as well as increased occurrence of extreme weather events such as drought and flooding. The small-scale farmers in…
By Joyce Mukucha With climate and environmental impacts persisting to drastically re-shape the world, as feminists, the Young Feminist Fund (FRIDA) has come to realise that they cannot and must not separate these concerns from their struggles. Young feminist activists are organizing against some of the most rapidly changing contexts the world has ever seen….
By Joyce Mukucha The United Kingdom (UK) is preparing to host the Africa Investment Conference which will be held virtually in the new year, an event which comes one year on from the UK-Africa Investment Summit. The Conference’s key focus will be on Greener and more sustainable investment. The UK Department for International Trade has…
By Staff Reporter Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe’s parent company, Standard Bank Group, in pursuit of improving its management of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks, and contributing to the sustainable development of Africa, has published its Fossil Fuels Financing Policy. This follows the adoption in 2019 of policies on lending to Coal-fired power projects and Coal-mining…
By Joice Mukucha (Staff reporter) Action Aid Zimbabwe is at the forefront of building the country’s resilience to climate change-induced shocks and disasters that affect food and nutrition security. The institution has partnered the Government in launching the Zimbabwe Food Security Policy Brief after noticing the impacts of climate change-induced shocks such as Cyclone Idai…
The Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) has reported that an increase in food insecurity in Zimbabwe is being driven by poor harvests, reduced income and high food prices but is partially mitigated by increased humanitarian food assistance. Below, Spiked Online Media reproduces snippets from the report: Current Situation Overview (Oct-Dec 2020) Currently, 2.61 million people…
Higherlife Foundation and Delta Philanthropies this week host a 5-part virtual webinar series under the theme Catalysing Vision 2050. From 1 to 3 December 2020, the organisations bring together a cosmopolitan array of speakers for conversations on Education, Health, Rural Transformation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Disaster Relief and Preparedness and Entrepreneurship and Accessing Finance. Higherlife Foundation…
Windmill Private Limited Company’s stock-feeds are tried and tested for the local environment before they are put on the market and that is the reason why they are becoming the first choice for Zimbabwean farmers. Below, Spiked Online Media talks about Windmill products on offer: BROILER FEEDS BROILER STARTER MASH/CRUMBS (21% CRUDE PROTEIN) Feed broiler…
Mathew M. Abang (PhD, MBA) When compared with other regions of the world, Southern Africa’s GDP growth between 2011 and 2017 was higher than that of advanced economies. However, the Southern Africa region (the Member States of the Southern African Development Community – SADC) failed to maintain the growth momentum and had the lowest growth…
UNICEF Zimbabwe has appointed Nkosilathi Nyathi (17) as a UNICEF Youth Climate Advocate to advance the climate and environment agenda in Zimbabwe and mobilize other young people to join the fight against climate change. The appointment comes as UNICEF commemorates World Children’s Day on November 20, under the theme “Reimagining a greener more sustainable future,…
By Anyway Yotamu. Zimbabwe is on the right track to combating climate change by implementing agreements outlined in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Addressing delegates at the two-day Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) communication strategy validation workshop in Harare, Director of Climate Change in the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry, …
By Charles Dhewa In the face of intensifying climate change, voices calling for Africans to go back to their original food systems are getting louder. Such voices are guided by changes in the natural phenomena that once existed in several African communities and countries. Many voices are lamenting the fact that policymakers have embraced foreign…
By Shamain Nyamutswa The Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) dairy farmers are facing challenges in providing food for their cattle due to economic instability and inflation. This has left them unable to buy stock feeds leading to the high death rate of their livestock recently. Milk and milk products are being sold in local…
Mr. Munesushe Munodawafa, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality industry has said that wetland loss and degradation cost the country millions of dollars. He was speaking at the Wetlands and Policy Guidelines Sensitisation Workshop held at the Cresta Churchill Hotel in Bulawayo yesterday. “It is important to note that…
The Green Climate Fund is positioned to achieve sustainable transformation through resilience building across the agricultural and environmental management value chain. The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, and Rural Resettlement, Climate Change Department, and UNDP Zimbabwe yesterday launched the Green Climate Fund (GCF) ‘Building Climate Resilience of Vulnerable Agricultural Livelihoods in Southern Zimbabwe project. …
A Greenpeace scientific report released today reveals that extreme weather events such as heatwaves, floods and intense rain are increasing in intensity, frequency and severity across many parts of Africa, gravely threatening human health, food security, peace, and biodiversity. Weather across sub-Saharan Africa has become more extreme and unpredictable in the twenty-first century, a trend that…
By John Wilson There’s a mistaken belief that keeps re-emerging that agroecology is about going backwards. It may be a convenient way to dismiss it. Nevertheless, how do we challenge and reverse this mistaken perspective? “If we don’t deepen our relationship with Nature and reconnect to our culture and history that are deeply embedded in…
By Charles Dhewa Livestock-based development interventions in many African countries have largely focused on replacing local breeds with imported ones. This is in spite of imported cattle, pigs, goats, and chickens struggling to survive in dry regions characterized by climate-induced shocks. The fact that most imported livestock breeds survive on specially designed commercial feed makes…
Despite being confronted by the adverse impacts of climate change and COVID-19, grassroots women are united in the fight for disaster mitigation, adaptation, recovery and resilience building. This emerged today at the 2020 Grassroots Women Resilience Building National Convention organised by the Zimbabwe Parents of Handicapped Children Association (ZPHCA). This year’s edition of the Resilience…
The Chivero Challenge is an international, multidisciplinary event that is advancing environmental preservation, sports recreation, tourism, health, and wellness as well as grassroots sport and recreation development. This was revealed by Mr I. Vambe, the Director of Recreation of the Sports and Recreation Commission in a speech delivered on behalf of Hon Kirsty Coventry, the…
Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services, Hon. Dr. Jenfan Muswere commended NetOne for setting up a base station at Machongwe in Cyclone Idai hit Chimanimani while commissioning the facility on 30th October 2020. The Machongwe Base Station is set to revolutionize business, agriculture and enhance communication within the Manicaland Province and…
The Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry Hon Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndhlovu has called on stakeholders to prioritize gender inclusion in the climate change mainframe agenda. He made the remarks in his keynote address during the Opening Ceremony of the 9th Edition of the Africa Green Waste and Energy Expo and Conference (AGWEEC) in…
The African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to address persistent climate risks and scale up national disaster risk management and financing efforts. The MoU serves as a framework to facilitate cooperation and collaboration between ARC Group and the Government, and to…
They say empower a woman to empower the whole community. This statement is proving to be true through youthful female climate change champions who are doing wonders in their communities to adapt to and mitigate the phenomenon. In an interview with Spiked Online Media, Elizabeth Gulugulu Machache, the Project Manager of the African Youth Initiative…
The Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry, Hon Mangaliso Ndlovu has urged the youths to be innovative and craft ways of grabbing opportunities offered by the global threat of climate change. The Minister made the remarks at the Post Fifteenth Conference of Youth (COY 15) and the 25th Climate Change Conference of Parties…
By Anyway Yotamu The National Climate Policy recognizes that climate change is a real threat to the country’s socio-economic development with a potential of reversing hard-earned developmental gains achieved over the past decades hence the government urges the private sector to work closely with the responsible departments and apply for grants for the Green Climate…
The Global Landscapes Forum Biodiversity Conference will be held under the theme, ‘One World—One Health’ and will run on 28 and 29 October 2020 from 9 a.m. Bonn (UTC/GMT+1). WHAT: Halting biodiversity loss is essential to tackle the climate, food and global health crises, but how to turn ambitious green recovery pledges into concrete solutions that are feasible…
By Anyway Yotamu. The government has procured equipment to increase the national capacity for illegal wildlife trade control, integrated wildlife, anti-poaching, and woodland management of the Protected Area network under the Zambezi Valley Biodiversity Project. The government has procured various equipment for the project worth USD$12 million from the Global Environmental Fund (GEF) and the…
By Charles Dhewa While mobile phones and related technologies are being touted solutions to the absence of agricultural data in developing countries, such technologies are just tools not knowledge. Tools by themselves will not provide strategic solutions without knowledge. In fact, in the wrong hands, the tools may increase socio-economic inequalities in ways that further…
• In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and the mounting threat of climate change, forests and trees are vital for the rural poor in countries around the world• However, the poor are rarely able to capture the bulk of benefits from forests• A global science assessment analyses how forests can realize their potential to…
By Anyway Yotamu The Communist Party of China (CPC) has been hailed for its work in promoting the eradication of poverty and a massive decline of impoverished rural areas through government support methods. Addressing delegates at the International Seminar on Poverty Eradication and Responsibility of Political Parties hosted by the Communist Party of China virtually,…
By Transparency International We take forests for granted. We forget they’re the reason we breathe, until they burn. We don’t know of all the ways they keep us safe, until we’re sick. We ignore how our way of life threatens them, until they’re gone. Forests are not spared by corruption: illegal logging, illicit wildlife trade, land grabbing and drug…
The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres has said he was delighted by the decision of the Nobel Committee to award this year’s Prize for Peace to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The World Food Programme is the world’s first responder on the frontlines of food insecurity. Mr. Guterres said in a world…
Bernard Marr Tackling carbon emissions is one of the biggest challenges faced by the world today. For big business, this means making a strategic and managed move towards increasing the use of renewable energy sources, as well as creating efficiencies across all aspects of their operations. It’s a difficult task to manage alone, even for…
Concerned about the destruction of the environment and a dip in tourism around Lake Chivero, Gary Stafford, the Managing Director of Kuimbashiri Bird Sanctuary has come up with the Chivero Challenge to give a lifeline to the tourism giant in Zimbabwe. Introducing the concept during a press conference at Kuimba Shiri today, Stafford reminisced on…
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) yesterday commenced cash disbursements in the scale-up of the Urban Social Assistance programme thanks to funding from the United States through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID’s support will provide relief for vulnerable families in eight urban areas across Zimbabwe struggling to meet their daily…
The African Risk Capacity Limited (ARC Ltd), the commercial subsidiary of African Risk Capacity Group (ARC Group), has announced a partnership agreement with Pula to deliver best-in-class agriculture index insurance products to protect African farmers from climatic risks. Every farming season, African farmers are exposed to a wide range of climate risks including drought, excessive rainfall, pests…
The Zimbabwe Plant Breeders Association (ZPBA) and Agritex are promoting the “Good Quality Climate Smart Seeds and Blitz Soil Conditioning under the famous Pfumvudza/Intwasa Demonstration” program being spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture. On 17 September 2020, the Zimbabwe Plant Breeders Association (ZPBA) and AGRITEX hosted a field demonstration event in Ward 4, Mhondoro District….
By Anyway Yotamu Zimbabwe is a low-income country whose economy and livelihoods depend hugely on natural resources with an ambition to leapfrog it to a middle-income economy by 2030. The backbone sectors namely mining, manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism rely heavily on forest, land, and water resources for inputs to the production of goods and services….
The Bank is extending the funding under its Africa Disaster Risk Financing (ADRIFI) program to enable the country to take out a drought risk index-based insurance policy The African Development Bank’s (www.AfDB.org) Board on Wednesday approved a grant of $2.1 million to boost the country’s resilience against climate-related shocks and food insecurity. The funds, sourced…
