NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Majority of Kenyans still prefer consuming ‘dirty’ fuel like charcoal and kerosene despite the country having made advances in clean energy access.A new report says clean fuel technologies like the energy saving cook stoves have been successfully taken up by Kenyans, but more than 84 per cent of households still cling to traditional biomass for cooking and heating.According to the 2016 poor people’s energy outlook report, 69 per cent of Kenyans use firewood, while 13 per cent prefer using charcoal.This is exposing Kenyans to poor health, where over 15,000 deaths have been linked to household air pollution annually, says the report by Practical Action, an international development agency that lobbies for universal energy access.“Women are the most affected by indoor pollution since they are responsible for domestic chores,” says Lydia Muchiri, the senior advisor on gender and energy at Practical Action, East Africa. Presently, about 2.25 million Kenyans own an improved cook stove, but the poorest segments of the community still prefer using the traditional three stones set and charcoal for cooking, the study found.It links this trend to inability of the poor to afford clean energy technologies, even when some like cook stoves are subsidized by NGOs and development agencies.“Fuel should be free, cheap or easy to obtain, while cooking solutions should not cause health problems,” says the report.The Advocacy for Gender and Energy in Kenya (AGEK) lobby says the government should concentrate in creating micro and mini energy grids in rural areas to enable the poor access.For instance, the report says focusing on traditional grids to power Kenya is a waste of time and money because these connections mostly serve factories and big enterprises. “Mini and micro energy grids provide more reliable power than national grids currently do, and would be speedily deployable, swinging the balance to favour rural economies,” argues Francis Muchiri, the communication and knowledge management officer at AGEK.They can also accelerate enterprises in rural areas if Kenyans can access energy to power businesses in telecommunications, construction and agriculture, adds Muchiri.Kenya has committed to reach the 80 per cent target for energy generation through renewables.The Kenya Country Action Plan (CAP) targets the adoption of five million cookstoves by 2020. It predicts that with the same level of uptake, 58 per cent of households will be using improved cookstoves by 2030.

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - East Africa is facing a shortage of legumes due to what scientists say is because of poor soil quality and unfavourable climatic conditions.The shortage, according to experts at the Nairobi-based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), is not only likely to continue, but is set to worsen as crops compete with pests for nutrients like carbon and phosphorous, according to scientists.Dr. Martha Musyoka, a scientist at ICIPE, points out that legumes like beans rely heavily on phosphorous for nodulation and production. When the pH is low then there is a problem with phosphorous fixation, she says.“It is clear that areas that have been growing beans a few years ago now cannot,” argues Dr. Musyoka. “Even for those who still grow them, the beans will not perform as well as in the past.”A surge of new pests is also linked to the poor performance of legumes in the east African region.A study conducted at two sites in Kenya established that pests are invading crops due to low carbon in the soil.For instance, soil samples tested in one of the sites, Thika, indicated low carbon in the soil while those at the Chuka site indicated the soils are rich in carbon.AtThika, pests like termites attacked crops in the field while those in Chuka did not.“In Chuka, the pests could not go for the crop because there is enough carbon and humidity in the soil,” explains Dr. KomiFiaboe, a senior scientist at ICIPE. “In Thika, the soil dries faster, carbon level in the soil is low, hence the damage to the crop.”

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - The New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) in collaboration with three African universities is set to unveil the first curriculum tailored to address the political, social and cultural concerns that have been slowing biotechnology growth in the continent.By August 2017, University of Eldoret, University of Nigeria and the Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso will enlist the first group of scientists to pursue a Masters Degree in biotechnology and its impact on food security.Principal coordinator of the programme, Prof. Miriam Kinyua, says graduates will be able to impact positively on all aspects of food security in terms of skills, production, extension, and processing.“The curriculum aims to demystify biotechnology as genetic engineering and prepare graduates for the challenges of industry,” says Prof. Kinyua who is also a Professor of biotechnology at University of Eldoret.According to her, the curriculum is developed in such a way that after 20 years it is able to accommodate new market shifts and scientific advances.“That is why this curriculum is unique because it embraces African diversity, but it also contains the content of science that should be included in a programme,” says Prof Kinyua.The curriculum, developed with expertise from University of Gloningen in the Netherlands, is packaged into modules with a Masters degree as the baseline.But it will also award a certificate for a month in training, a course of attendance for a week and also a diploma package.“It is up to the demand. We will deliver according to the demand,” says Prof Kinyua.Prof. Diran Makinde, senior advisor, Africa Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNET) under NEPAD, says such a programme is important for Africa to build its capacity since the continent is no yet food secure.“Any technology has its own risks. But the benefits are more than the risks. We need to learn how to manage the risks. This is the purpose of this programme,” says Prof. Makinde.According to him, NEPAD invites all African countries to adopt the curriculum if the continent is to achieve the six per cent target on agricultural productivity.

“Africans can rely on the Congo Basin forests, which acts as the world’s “second lung” after the Amazon” Kaddu K. Sebunya, President, African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) Members of Parties of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership gathered in Kigali to discuss the problems facing Africa’s rich ecosystem and seed pathways to help solve them. One of these partners was the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), Africa’s largest conservation organization initiating and engaging in wildlife and wild lands projects across the continent for 55 years. According to the AWF President, Mr. Kaddu Sebunya, protecting the Congo Basin Forest, the biggest and diverse on the planet after Amazon is no easy task because the forest is increasingly threatened as development needs of member countries swells. In an interview with PAMACC News on the sidelines of the CBFP meeting, he says development and the protection of our ecosystems need not be mutually exclusive. While striving for growth, Africa must make better choices to minimize its consequences and the net impact on nature’s ecosystem Q We understand the African Wildlife Foundation is one of the international NGO’s that has been fronting activities to protect wildlife and the ecosystem in the Congo Basin region. Can you give an over view of the activities AWF has been carrying out in the field? Let me start by saying that AWF works together with the people of Africa to ensure the wildlife and the wild lands of Africa will endure forever, and we articulate and promote a uniquely African conservation vision and voice for the whole continent. We envision Central Africa’s governments and people as champions for the conservation of the Congo Basin Forest for current and future generations. Our programs in the Congo Basin include supporting the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) in implementing adequate protection and participative management in a portion of the Bili-Uele complex. AWF has been working in the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba landscape in DRC since 2003. We are working with a diverse group of partners on a holistic program to: conserve the MLW landscape through land use planning and protected area management; protect wildlife, including the bonobo and forest elephant; combat climate change through forest protection and REDD+ initiatives; stem the bushmeat trade by strengthening the scout networks on the ground; and enhance the lives of the forest dependent communities through improved agriculture and other enterprises. AWF successfully established two protected areas, the Lomako–Yokokala Faunal Reserve and the Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve, and is working to establish a third. This program is in partnership with CARPE/USAID. In Cameroon, we are working closely with the National Conservation Service in Dja (NCSD) to improve the overall management of the Dja Faunal Reserve (DFR). We signed an MOU with the Ministry of Forest and Fauna (MINFOF) for the conservation reserve we have a full-time technical advisor based in DFR. We are also working with the Service de Conservation to train and equip the rangers with Cyber Tracker to improve anti-poaching and ecological monitoring. All training is followed by technical…