Addis Ababa – African leaders for nutrition launched a continental accountability scorecard as an instrument for better advocacy and accountability to achieve nutrition security in Africa.
The Continental Nutrition Accountability Score Card was developed to measure progress made by the AU member states to achieve nutrition security, the AU revealed on Wednesday.
King Letsie III of Lesotho was awarded as Africa’s champion for nutrition by the AU.
Letsie said that the endorsement of the African Leaders for Nutrition by the assembly of AU “marks an important landmark that holds promise of great growth and renewal for nutrition in Africa.”
Welcoming the launch of the nutrition scorecard, King Letsie III also emphasised full cognisance of the centrality of nutrition to unlock the full potential and future of African economies.
AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Amira Elfadil, also noted that the continental nutrition scorecard would provide data and information toward facilitating dialogue with African leaders for new financial and policy commitments on nutrition.
According to Elfadil, the continental nutrition scorecard will help “to deliver the socioeconomic returns that are most needed by our people”.
The AU commissioner also highlighted the effects of conflict, hunger and malnutrition on the continent, with particular emphasis attached to the need to silence the guns by 2020 and to make progress with establishment of a continental free trade area.
President of the African Development bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, also commended the AU, the AfDB and partners for their efforts in developing the Continental Nutrition Accountability Score Card.
Adesina also stressed the need to shift the debate from nutrition as a social development issue to one that shapes economic growth and development of African countries.
In another development, Kenyan researchers have formed a team to spearhead establishment of open data to generate information and services for smallholder farmers in agriculture and nutrition.
Joseph Mureithi, Deputy Director-General in Charge of Livestock at Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), said this at the launch of the team in Nairobi on Wednesday.
“Open data will provide advice and warning to farmers to enable them to take precautions and avoid making unnecessary losses,” said Mureithi.
Mureithi noted that making data more open, easily available and accessible accelerates innovation and generates economic and social benefits.
He added that openly available weather data could provide farmers with early warnings against adverse farming conditions.
The group that is composed of agricultural researchers, information, communication and technology (ICT) experts, weathermen and Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), plans to integrate weather data and agricultural research data using ICT tools and techniques.
According to Boniface Akuku, ICT Director at KALRO, limited technical capacities of data producers, data managers and data consumers have hindered effective generation and utilisation of data products and services in the country.
Akuku said that Kenya currently had rudimentary weather data and agricultural research data that do not provide well informed agronomic advisories to farmers.
He observed that even though a lot of agricultural information, agricultural statistics and weather information are produced and provided, they are not downscaled for on-farm application.
“The information, therefore, cannot sufficiently meet the aggregate demand that the farmers require from the resource,” he added.
Akuku observed that the proposed open data will incorporate adequate skills and ICT platforms to analyse large amounts of open data on crop, pasture, soil and climate. (Xinhua/NAN)