Agriculture with Jimoh

 Small-holder rice farmers lament as Spring Field Agro plans to boost production    MANY people might not have been to the sleepy town of Ofada in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, but once Ofada is mentioned they link it to the Ofada rice enjoyed by many in Nigeria and beyond. Ofada is a generic name used to describe all rice produced and processed in the rice producing clusters of South-West Nigeria. But all that might be a thing of the past if care is not taken as the people of the town are gradually abandoning rice cultivation due to the challenges of urbanisation, quality planting materials, seed and markets. For Taoreed Sowewimo, a rice farmer in Ofada , born into rice cultivating family and has been cultivating rice for the past 30 years, the rapid urbanisation that is catching up with the area is depriving many access to land as many families see no reason why they have to cultivate rice that will earn them little or nothing w...

The potential of agricultural biotechnologies in assisting family farmers Tools to help fight hunger and to improve food systems - FAO symposium 15 February 2016, Rome - Much more must be done to ensure that family farmers, especially those in developing countries, have access to agricultural biotechnologies that can make their activities more productive and sustainable in the face of major challenges such as climate change and population growth, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today. Opening the FAO-hosted international symposium "The Role of Agricultural Biotechnologies in Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition", Graziano da Silva stressed the need for "a broad portfolio of tools and approaches to eradicate hunger, fight every form of malnutrition and achieve sustainable agriculture." "As a neutral forum, FAO has been promoting debates, dialogues and exchanges of information in order to enhance our knowledge of these tools and appro...