Agriculture with Jimoh

Agri-tech can turn African Savannah into global food basket – African Development Bank Des Moines, Iowa, 24 October 2018 – The African Development Bank is championing a new regional and global effort to transform the African Savannah from a “Sleeping Giant” to the cradle of the continent’s green revolution. “This sleeping giant needs to wake up,” the Bank’s Vice-President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Jennifer Blanke, told an audience at a 2018 World Food Prize side event in Des Moines, Iowa last week. Blanke described Africa’s nearly 400 million hectares of Savannah zones as “the world’s largest agricultural frontier,” and if a small fraction of that cultivatable land – some 16 million hectares - is transformed, it could well set Africa up to decrease dependence on food imports, feed itself and contribute to feeding the world. Africa is host to 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, but currently spends an estimated US$35 billion per year

North East: IITA and AfDB to help Taraba transform cassava in the framework of TAAT …Trains 60 extension agents The international Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) says it plans to work closely with the Taraba State Government to transform cassava in the framework of the African Development Bank-funded Technologies for African Agriculture Transformation (TAAT) program. The decision is part of a two-day visit to Taraba state, which ended today and witnessed the inauguration of the Cassava Compact—a component of the TAAT,  training of extension agents, and sites selection and validation for the establishment of cassava demonstration plots. Dr Nteranya Sanginga, IITA Director General, said the inauguration of the Cassava Compact of the TAAT in Taraba would open the door for the scaling of new innovations to cassava growers to the state and north east region of Nigeria. Dr Sanginga, who was represented by Godwin Atser, IITA Communication & Knowledge Exchange Expe

AfDB invests $24b in African agriculture The African Development Bank (AfDB) will be investing $24 billion in the African agriculture over the next 10 years to lift one billion people out of hunger globally. Dr Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB President, who disclosed this on Wednesday at an agriculture conference at Purdue University, Indianapolis, challenged global partners to join hands to lift one billion people worldwide out of hunger. The report, which was released to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, described the fund as the largest of such effort ever. The bank’s president stressed that all must come together to fight the war. He noted that the recent five UN agencies’ World Food Security and Nutrition statistics showed a decline in the global population living on less than two dollars per day. Adesina, however, said that the statistics, in reality, showed that the number of hungry people in the world had increased from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016.

“Stunted children today will lead to stunted economies tomorrow” – Adesina African Union endorses African Leaders for Nutrition Initiative By Jimoh Babatunde The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has said that stunted children today will lead to stunted economies tomorrow, adding that the impact of stunting is irreversible but preventable. He spoke yesterday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as African leaders made a landmark commitment to remove nutrition-related barriers that prevent children and societies from realising their full potential. The leaders made the commitments at the launch of African Leaders for Nutrition (ALN) − an initiative championed by the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission – in Addis Ababa, where they agreed to jointly overcome malnutrition and elevate nutrition as the driver for economic growth and sustainable development. Adesina said poor nutrition is responsible for stunting children’s

As part of the efforts of the present administration to boost food production, reduce youth unemployment and empower rural farmers especially women in agriculture, the Kano State Government is to partner with the Federal Government on the newly developed initiative of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development known as the “Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise (LIFE) program. This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources Kano state, Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna when the advocacy team of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development headed by Mrs. Karima Ibrahim Babangida paid him a courtesy call in his office recently. Dr. Nasiru said that Kano state government will always be in the front line on programmes and projects initiated by the federal ministry of Agriculture to eradicate poverty, reduce youth unemployment and empower rural farmers. He further urged the ministry to involve Ministry of Agriculture Kano state in

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), AfDB and other stakeholders on Monday in Ibadan inaugurated a programme, Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), to revitalise agriculture in Africa. Speaking during the inauguration, Dr Jonas Chianu, AFDB Agricultural Economist and TAAT Programme Manager, said that the multi-year multi-partner TAAT programme was funded by the African Development Bank (AFDB). He said it was conceptualised based on ‘Africa Feeding African’ core priority of AFDB and aligned with the bank’s 10-year strategy (2013 to 2022) for inclusive and green growth in the continent. Chianu said that the programme was aimed at revitalising Africa’s agriculture and was conceived at a high-level conference on African agricultural transformation attended by experts in agriculture, the academia, and other stakeholders in Dakar in 2015. “TAAT heralds a new dawn in African agricultural transformation because of its key bene

LOKOJA - Kogi state said its proposed Agricultural summit is aimed at showcasing the state as the hub of agricultural investment in the country. The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Kehinde Oloruntoba who revealed this yesterday said that the summit will take place in Lokoja, Abuja and Abidjan, the Côte d'Ivoire capital. Oloruntoba sad the summit will be headlined by some of the most experienced consultants in agricultural investment and will be attended by investors and companies with interests in agriculture and agro-allied businesses. He said the Lokoja event will takes place on January 26th, 2018, while the Abuja leg takes place on February 9th "Chairman of the Summit is Chief Kolawole Babalola Jamodu, who was the first Nigerian Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PZ for 10 years and has been the Chairman of Nigerian Breweries Plc since January 1, 2008. "Billed to speak at the events are Professor of Fishries and Aquaculture, Ali

Fish farmers in Delta have received N1.2 billion loans under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP). Mr Ambrose Nwabuzor, Loan Officer, Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Asaba, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency if Nigeria (NAN) in Asaba on Sunday. Nwabuzor said that the BOA secured the release of N1.2 billion to the fish farmers under the private window of the ABP. He said that the beneficiaries provided enough securities to guarantee the drawdown of the loan from the CBN. “Under the private window, we have secured the release of N1.2 billion to eight anchors that came together to form a fish farm. “Each of the anchors gave us an irrevocable post-dated cheque (security) and they profiled their farmers,” he said. He also said that the BOA was working to secure the release of another tranche of loan for the anchor off-taker in fisheries. The BOA loan officer said that the off-taker had also provided securi

CALABAR- COSS Riv3er Basin Development Authority is cultivating rice with organic fertilizer on parcels of land acquired in both in both Cross River and Akwa Ibom States to boost food production and healthy feeding habit in the country The Managing Director of the Authority, Engineer Bassey Nkposong who stated this in Calabar at the weekend while addressing staff and stakeholders of the authority stated that the Akim Akim, Etomkpe Yellow Duke, Ijegwu communities in Cross River have donated land to the authority while one hundred hectres of land has been acquired in Essien Udim, Onna Local Government Area for integrated agricultural expansion programme for rice and other crops with the use of organic fertilizer. He said research has been conducted and found that organic fertilizer is free of chemicals and friendly to the environment which makes it suitable for healthy crop growth and soil preservation and long term usage. Engineer Okposong said four dams spread across Cross