Flood

• Today, The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation announces an extended three-year partnership and $15 million commitment to Rise Against Hunger , an international nonprofit organization.
• The commitment builds on a decade-long partnership between Kraft Heinz and Rise Against Hunger to alleviate global hunger and improve access to nutrition.
• View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240409900011/en/
  Kraft Heinz employees pack meals during the annual Packathon (Photo: Business Wire)
  “At Kraft Heinz, we aim to provide 1.5 billion meals to people in need by 2025,” said Andrea Budelli, President of The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation and Chief R&D Officer of Developed & Emerging Markets at Kraft Heinz.
• This impact includes:
  Fortified more than 127 million Rise Against Hunger meals with 21 million micronutrient sachets for school feeding and dietary supplementation programs.

• Research suggests it may have originated in South America because it has natural enemies there which have co-evolved with the plant.
• However, fossil records and ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics depicting water lettuce indicate that it may have been present in other regions for millions of years.
• Recently, water lettuce has invaded one of South Africa’s most important rivers, the Vaal River, on the border of the Gauteng and Free State provinces.
• My team and I are currently working with Rand Water on an integrated management plan for water lettuce control in the Vaal River.

The damage

• This can reduce light penetration and oxygen levels in the water, negatively affecting all aspects of aquatic life from microscopic plankton to large fish.
• The mats can also impede water flow, leading to stagnation and increased mosquito breeding sites.
• They can also damage other vegetation.

The weevil

• This Brazilian weevil species was first introduced to Africa in 1985 via Australia, following successful control of water lettuce infestations there.
• Since then, it has been used to control water lettuce infestations in Botswana, Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Togo, Mozambique and Morocco.
• Invasions at sites in these countries, no matter how extensive, were generally brought under control within a year.

The Vaal River

• However, at the end of 2023, a large infestation was noticed on the Vaal River and was reported to relevant authorities.
• Since then, the infestation has covered up to 40km of the river in the Vaal Barrage area, around the town of Vanderbijlpark, and threatens to spread downstream of the 1,200km long Vaal River.
• Thousands of weevils have already been released into the Vaal River since November 2023 from our mass rearing facility in Makhanda.
• What lurks alongside this invasion on the Vaal River, however, is the water hyacinth, which remains South Africa’s most problematic aquatic invasive plant.

Julie Coetzee receives funding from the National Research Foundation. She is affiliated with the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB).

• Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, today submitted multiple proposals for mature, transformative New England Wind projects to the Massachusetts-Connecticut-Rhode Island multi-state solicitation for offshore wind power.
• Avangrid submitted a bid for New England Wind 1, a second bid for New England Wind 1 and 2 combined, and additional bids for single-state procurements in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
• “In powering up the first-in-the-nation Vineyard Wind 1 project, Avangrid proved that American offshore wind is possible.
• New England Wind 1 will create more than 4,400 full-time equivalent jobs, and bring $3 billion of direct investment to the region.

• As Visa’s corporate foundation, Visa Foundation partners with local organizations to invest in primarily women-owned small- and micro-businesses (SMBs), creating ripple effects for the entrepreneurs and their employees, and the customers and communities they serve.
• Visa Foundation advances financial inclusion by providing SMB owners with digital and financial education and catalytic financing to women-owned SMBs, by investing in women-led funds.
• “Over the past six years, Visa Foundation has become an enabler of economic mobility,” said Kelly Mahon Tullier, Visa Foundation Board Chair.
• Through Visa Foundation Matches, Visa employees have helped raise more than $16 million in total donations.