Reports reaching Africa Daily News, New York has it that The Economic Community of West African States Commission (ECOWAS) in the face of the issue of food security in the region has demanded that a State of emergency be declared.
At the conclusion of the meeting in Guinea Bissau, the Parliament charged the ECOWAS Commission with convening member nations and announcing food security as a national emergency. They contend that this will increase political commitment on the part of the governments to deal with the situation.
Hon. Oghene Emma Egoh, a committee member and member of parliament (MP) from Nigeria, reviewed the draft report of the conference on representative of the joint committee. She added that the meeting also suggested that the ECOWAS Commission work with the Nigerian government to guarantee that fertilizer manufacturing firms in Nigeria market to the region’s poorest nations first before supplying in large quantities to other regions.
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The chopping of trees for firewood and charcoal, however, was condemned by the legislators, who emphasized how it significantly reduced the number of forest resources.
‘‘The cutting down of the trees to use as firewood and charcoal is greatly depleting our forest resources.’’
‘‘Research and investment should be carried out to develop alternative sources of energy such as gas, solar and other biodegradable materials for use in domestic cooking and other household requirements.’’
They urged local, state, and regional officials to work together to enforce laws prohibiting unlawful mining and other operations from contaminating rivers and farmland.
Additionally, they urged member nations to create and implement information and education programs to raise public awareness of the need to combat climate change. They suggested that governments should collaborate with members of civil society and parliamentary bodies to promote education and information circulation.
The MPs encouraged the ECOWAS Commission to collaborate with countries to develop a creative plan for raising money to carry out activities to combat climate change that improve farming growth and production.
Furthermore, they urged national governments to raise money to establish agricultural development banks, which would lend money to farmers for investments in land purchases, input purchases, and equipment purchases for more advanced and sophisticated farming and agriculture.
They further suggested that the ECOWAS parliament should cooperate with national legislatures to implement direct elections for members of parliament and that members of parliament must make sure that the agriculture sector receives 10% of the annual national budget.
