Tag: Africa

Basseterre, Nov. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — St Kitts and Nevis welcomed a new government in August and the new administration, led by Dr Terrance Drew, is ready and determined to usher in a new sense of cooperation, good governance, and transparency – starting with steps to improve the country’s long-standing citizenship by investment (CBI) programme.

In his address on Tuesday, 15 November, marking his first 100 days in office, Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew provided insight into the focus areas for the CBI changes, which he gave to the citizens of St Kitts and Nevis at an event held earlier today in the country’s capital Basseterre.

Since winning the snap election on 5 August, Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew has been working tirelessly for the overall development of St Kitts and Nevis and has undertaken various initiatives including the formation of a committee to combat corruption.

The new administration has presented plans for the advancement of the twin-island nation, outlining steps that will pave the way to improving the lives of its people. A large part of these plans is funded by the CBI programme which has secured foreign direct investment into the nation for nearly 40 years since it is independence.

“Our government has been relentless in our pursuit to strengthen and improve our Citizenship by Investment programme, for enhanced sustainability within a framework of integrity. We have held productive discussions with local developers and international investors alike,” said Prime Minister Drew.

“There will be much stronger oversight and leadership in the CBI Unit by a new CBI Board and Technical Committee. I will announce the detailed changes at our upcoming press conference, but I want to be absolutely clear, that our evolved CBI programme will be run with the utmost transparency.”

To help progress the economy, Prime Minister Drew highlighted that more oversight would ensure that the people of St Kitts and Nevis would also benefit from the CBI programme as it was intended. Plans are in place to support women in sectors like construction, to provide more support to small businesses, and to review opportunities for the development of the renewable energy sector, the processing of fish, as well as packaging and exports.

With promises to improve health care, provide more affordable housing and access to better education – Prime Minister Drew understands that all this will be underpinned by a stronger economy.

Speaking at the event Prime Minister Drew said that while the nation has been the benchmark of citizenship by investment value proposition, the new administration understands that in order to remain one of the most sought-after economic citizenship programmes in the world, it needs to evolve and forge a new path for itself and the industry as it responds to a changing demographic.

Through ongoing consultations with all stakeholders during the exploratory phase, the new government aims to have regular engagement with local and international stakeholders in the programme to ensure it meets their salient needs.

Prime Minister Drew also emphasised how his government is on a journey to bring clarity to locals and international investors through constant transparency and integrity. “Our ongoing work to strengthen this programme and the system must result in prosperity for all.”

Consultations with stakeholders have led to the development of committees to supervise the process and implement strengthened legislative and administrative structures to prevent “underselling” and ensure that real estate projects funded by the CBI programme are completed.

The government’s plan is to maintain a progressive programme that cements St Kitts and Nevis’ place as a leader in the CBI Industry.

The government is also seeking out reliable and trustworthy developers who are ready to put capital behind creative and strong projects that will enhance St Kitts and Nevis’ CBI offering.

St Kitts and Nevis holds the oldest citizenship by investment programme in the world – established in 1984, the programme currently allows investors to gain second citizenship by donating to a government fund or by investing in real estate.

The government fund channels investment to projects that will uplift the country and has enabled, in part, sectors such as health, education, tourism, business, and agriculture to flourish.

PR St Kitts and Nevis
Government of St. Kitts and Nevis
mildred.thabane@csglobalpartners.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8698419

Salina, Kansas, USA, Nov. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Over 70% of the food calories that feed humanity come from annual grain crops, which occupy 60–80% of global croplands. But annual grain dominance may be changing. A study in the journal Nature Sustainability reports that a new high-yielding, long-lived perennial rice with significant environmental, economic, and social sustainability impacts is now being grown in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa.

Researchers in China’s Yunnan Province developed perennial rice in a relatively short two-decade timeframe, achieving comparable yields to annual rice varieties. They were supported with scientific expertise and seed funding from Kansas-based nonprofit The Land Institute and a global network of researchers.

“I congratulate the authors for delivering one of the most important reports in modern agriculture,” says National Geographic Society Explorer Jerry Glover, whose work has focused on developing and using perennial crops. “I believe this report will catalyze a generation of new discoveries by scientists who have not yet been involved in pursuing perennial traits in staple grain crops. This research marks a distinct new line of possibilities for global food production from the nearly 10,000-year single-track reliance on annual grain crops.”

Rice feeds 4 billion people and is the grain most consumed by humans, and is the third largest cereal grain crop after corn and wheat worldwide in metric tons. But annual grain agriculture comes at an ecological and economic cost, compromising ecosystems and forcing ever-higher inputs of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fossil fuel energy, and labor to maintain yields. The growing perennial grain agriculture movement is shifting this paradigm to address some of the food system’s most pressing challenges.

“Since perennial rice can produce yields over eight consecutive harvests similar to annual rice, this is direct evidence that developing perennial versions of grain crops is feasible,” says Lee DeHaan, Director of Crop Improvement and Lead Scientist of the Kernza® Domestication Program at The Land Institute. “This evidence provides a clear reason to vastly increase research investment in ongoing work to develop perennial versions of crops like wheat and sorghum.”

Senior author Fengyi Hu and Dayun Tao began working with co-author Erik Sacks to develop perennial rice in 1999 in a collaboration between the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (YAAS) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Hearing of the IRRI project, The Land Institute invited Sacks to present his research in 2005. This connection eventually led to Hu and the YAAS team partnering with the perennial grain breeding experts at The Land Institute in 2007 to help jumpstart the development of a promising wide hybrid cross between annual, cultivated rice and a perennial rice cousin from Africa. Inspired by the potential for Hu’s research to develop upland perennial rice, given the catastrophic soil erosion in the hilly regions of Southeast Asia, The Land Institute provided critical funding, technical support, and mentoring and helped expand a network of global peer researchers. The University of Illinois, Yunnan University, and the University of Queensland soon joined the effort.

“The success of Dr. Hu’s group is a wonderful example of how an international network of researchers can help support, advise and advance an amazing and important achievement,” says co-author Tim Crews, The Land Institute’s Chief Scientist and International Program Director. “At The Land Institute, we are intent on working with more research groups worldwide to build on the successes of Hu and others in the perennialization of grain agriculture.”

“Almost yearly since 2009, we’ve held workshops in Yunnan, China, on perennial rice and perennial grain crops, inviting international experts, including African and U.S. rice breeders, sustainable ag researchers, international ag development leaders, and more. This sharing of ideas and building an international network of collaborators has proven invaluable for accelerating progress and achieving success on perennial grains,” says Sacks, professor in the Department of Crop Sciences, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois.

The research shows that perennial rice crops have advantages over annual rice crops:

• Long-Lived Production: Perennial rice produced grain for eight consecutive harvests over four years from a single planting
• Comparable High Yields: Average perennial rice yields were equivalent to annual rice, with 6.8 Mg ha^-1 harvest^-1 of perennial rice versus 6.7 Mg ha^-1 harvest^-1 of replanted annual rice for each perennial rice regrowth cycle
• Significant Carbon Sequestration: By switching from annual to perennial rice, soils accumulated almost a ton of organic carbon per hectare per year, 0.81 Mg organic carbon ha^-1 yr^-1
• Labor and Inputs Savings: Farmers used nearly 60% less labor and spent almost 50% less on seed, fertilizer, and other inputs for perennial rice than annual rice
• Improved Farmer Livelihoods: Farmer profits from perennial rice ranged from 17% to 161% above annual rice

“Interest in developing and testing perennial grain cultivars has grown exponentially over the last ten years,” says Rachel Stroer, President of The Land Institute. “Besides perennial rice, our work on wide hybrid crosses of annual wheat and sorghum with their perennial relatives show promise. With intensified investment in perennial grain agriculture research from global funders and partners, we’re confident that these grains and more will reach high yields with robust ecological and social benefits and move onto the landscape in the coming decades.”

ABOUT THE LAND INSTITUTE

The Land Institute co-leads the global movement for perennial, diverse, regenerative grain agriculture at a scale that matches the enormity of the intertwined climate, water, and food security crises. An independent 501c3 nonprofit founded in 1976, the organization seeks to reconcile the human economy with nature’s economy, starting with food. Its transdisciplinary team of scientists and global partners are developing new perennial grain crops, like Kernza®, and diverse cropping systems that function within nature’s limits and researching the social transformation required for a just, perennial human future.

Attachments

• Perennial Rice
• Dr. Fengyi Hu with Perennial Rice

Tammy Kimbler
The Land Institute
612-991-4747
kimbler@landinstitute.org

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8697794