Author: Théophile Niyitegeka

{The BBC is seeking a future star of African journalism for the BBC World News Komla Dumor Award, now in its third year.}

Journalists from across the continent are invited to apply for the award, which aims to uncover and promote fresh talent from Africa.

The winner will spend three months at the BBC headquarters in London, gaining skills and experience.

Applications close on 15th March 2017 at 23:59 GMT.

The award was established to honour Komla Dumor, an exceptional Ghanaian broadcaster and presenter for BBC World News, who died suddenly aged 41 in 2014.

It will be made to an outstanding individual living and working in Africa, who combines strong journalism skills, on-air flair, and an exceptional talent in telling African stories with the ambition and potential to become a star of the future.

As well as spending time with the BBC in London, the winner will also get to travel to Africa to report a story – and have that story shared across the continent and the world.

Nancy Kacungira, who worked as a prime time news presenter for KTN in Kenya, won the award in 2015.

Didi Akinyelure, a Nigerian journalist who started out as an investment banker, was the 2016 winner.

During her placement, Ms Akinyelure went to the Ivory Coast to investigate new opportunities for the local chocolate manufacturing industry.

“It has been completely life-changing for me,” she says of her experience at the BBC.
“You get intensive training in journalism – everything from presenting, to editing, to writing, to telling the story, to understanding BBC ethics.

“Whatever it is that you have may be what the BBC is looking for. So you need to take this opportunity and seriously, apply.”

She is in Blantyre to launch the 2017 prize, along with Francesca Unsworth, the director of the BBC World Service.

Ms Unsworth has reiterated the commitment of the BBC to continuing Komla Dumor’s legacy: “We have already awarded and hosted two exceptionally talented journalists, who were given the opportunity to train with us and report from Africa for our audiences across the BBC.

“It has been a pleasure getting to know both Nancy and Didi. It has also been great to learn from both our award winners, improving our engagement with local audiences.
“We’re looking forward to finding the next rising star in African journalism and welcoming them as the next BBC World News Komla Dumor Award winner.”
Applications will be considered by an expert panel: Rachael Akidi from the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme; Paul Royall, who is the editor of the prominent BBC UK TV programmes, the Six and Ten O’Clock News; and Khadija Patel, editor-in-chief of South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper.

Ms Patel spoke of her motivation for joining the award panel: “Komla’s work touched so many of us.

“He was loved by those who knew him, but he was also respected by so many more. His work remains testimony to the strength of African journalism and I’m delighted to be able to honour his memory.”

For more information on how to apply, entry criteria, and terms and conditions visit bbc.com/KomlaDumor.

Source:BBC

{Scientists warn that parts of southern Africa already hit by record droughts now face another potential food crisis because the invasion of a crop-eating pest, known as the “fall armyworm”.}

Global experts are meeting in the Zimbabwean capital Harare to come up with a plan to combat it.
{{
What is the fall armyworm?}}

The name is a bit misleading. It is not actually a worm, but a hungry caterpillar that eats crops before turning into a moth.

It is a new pest, not to be confused with the similarly named “African armyworm”, which has been present in the region for many years.

{{Where did it come from?}}

It is native to the Americas, but experts are not sure how it reached Africa.

One theory is that the eggs or the caterpillars themselves hitched a ride in some imported produce, or even made it on board commercial flights.

{{Why is it such a threat to farming?}}

It is very hungry (and not picky) – This pest targets maize (corn) and other cereal crops, like its African namesake, but it also attacks cotton, soybean, potato and tobacco crops. When it does invade, up to three-quarters of the crop can be destroyed.

Unknown enemy – Governments, communities and farmers have no previous experience of dealing with the new pest, which may be even harder to deal with than its native equivalent.

It is fast – According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), it has taken only eight weeks for the pest to spread to the six southern African countries where there are suspected infestations.

It travels far and wide – The caterpillar stage does the damage but “it’s the adult moth that migrates long distances and that’s how it’s managed to get round Africa,” says Professor Ken Wilson, an expert on armyworms.

It is not just targeting any old crop – Maize is the primary food staple in many of the areas where the pest has been identified.

It is hard to find – The fall armyworm burrows right into the stem of maize plants, concealing itself from view and preventing farmers from spotting the problem early.
Bad timing – It comes after two years of record droughts, which have already affected more than 40 million people in the region, making 15% less food available, according to the UN.

{{Where is it?}}

South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia and Mozambique are the chief suspects among southern African countries, according to the FAO.

The presence of fall armyworm in Africa was first reported on the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe in January 2016, it says.

{{Chimenya Phiri, Malawian farmer:}}

“These army worms attack the maize leaves, the flower and even bore into the stalk. And because they dig into the stem of the plant, it is difficult to notice them. It is only on close inspection that you realise almost the entire plant has been destroyed”
Other research groups have also reported it in parts of West Africa, including Nigeria and Ghana.

But the governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa are the only ones to have publicly confirmed that they have a problem with this specific pest.

{{How much damage has already been done?}}

We don’t know exactly, because many affected countries have not provided data yet.
Finding out the number of hectares affected and the intensity of the pest is one of the main aims of the emergency summit in Zimbabwe, the UN says.

South Africa, the region’s biggest maize producer, has confirmed the destruction of crops from the pest in six different provinces.

The Zambian government has said that 130,000 hectares (321,236 acres) of land have been affected, with the prime suspect the fall armyworm.

{{What can be done to stop it?}}

Insecticides. Chemicals can be used to deal with the pest in its early stages, but after that it becomes much harder, and some populations of fall armyworm have developed resistance, according to experts.

Other approaches involve digging trenches, employing natural predators, like birds, to eat the worms or even burning the crops, according to David Phiri, the senior FAO official in southern Africa.

Zambia, thought to be one of the first places hit by the outbreak, used army planes to spray affected areas with insecticides, which has enabled some crops to recover, an official at the national disaster agency told the BBC.

{{What next?}}

The warning from the FAO is a bleak one, suggesting that things will probably get worse before they get better.

“It has just started – even those countries not currently affected should prepare themselves for possible infestations,” Mr Phiri told the BBC.

Scientific institutes have also raised the alarm, describing the pest as a major threat to food security and agricultural trade in the region.

However, if there is a “co-ordinated approach” from countries across the region, then that’s where the solution might lie, Mr Phiri says.

“We cannot eradicate it, but we can find ways of managing it.”

Source:BBC

{Libya on Tuesday repatriated nearly 200 illegal migrants from Niger who had been held in detention centres in the capital, an AFP photographer said.}

They were flown home from Mitiga airport east of Tripoli, in coordination with the International Organization for Migration.

Hosni Abu Ayana, a spokesman for Libya’s office that deals with illegal migrants, said the repatriated group included 50 women and four children.

He added that more than 900 other detained migrants will be repatriated in the coming weeks.

The IOM website said that in 2016, the organisation “supported 1,589 migrants to voluntarily return to their countries of origin” from Libya, giving priority to “the most vulnerable”.

People smugglers have taken advantage of the chaos gripping Libya since the 2011 revolution to greatly boost their lucrative trade.

Most departures take place from the west of the North African country, usually heading for Italy, 300 kilometres away across the Mediterranean.

Europeans are considering measures aimed at blocking the arrival of thousands of migrants, alarming NGOs, which fear those stranded in Libya may suffer mistreatment.

In the absence of an army or a regular police force in Libya, several militias act as coastguards but are often accused themselves of complicity or even involvement in the people-smuggling business.

Source:AFP