Agriculture with Jimoh

The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to revitalise the agricultural sector. The Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, said this while launching the 2016/2017 dry season farming in Chiromawa town of Garun Malam Local Government Area of Kano State.‎ Lokpobiri said federal government’s policy to rejuvenate the sector and enhance agriculture production remained unchanged. ‎He also advised farmers in the country to “go back to farm”‎. “Government will do everything possible to support farmers in order to boost agriculture in the country,” he said. ‎The minister advised citizens to embrace agriculture in order to regenerate the nation’s agriculture sector.‎ He said that the 2015/2016 Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) was marred by controversy and debt that characterised the scheme during the previous administration. “Despite the controversy that surrounded the scheme, the inherited N67 billion debt has been reduced t...

The Sokoto State Government says it plans to distribute 15,000 bags of rice seedlings and 14, 000 water pumping machines to dry season farmers in the state. Alhaji Umaru Nagwari, the Commissioner for Agriculture, spoke on Tuesday in Sokoto, when he appeared before the State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture to defend the ministry’s 2017 budget proposal. He said:’ ”The government has prioritised agriculture as a means of diversifying the economy and more resources will be committed into the sector. “As part of such efforts, we had since reserved improved seeds and equipment to enable dry session farmers get more yields. “Adequate arrangements have also been made to enhance the capacities of both dry and rainy season farmers in the state.” The Committee’s Chairman, Alhaji Dayyabu Kalmalo (APC- Illela), assured that the Assembly would support the ministry’s effort to boost food production. In another development, the Commissioner for Water Re...

Experts at the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) Ibadan, have explored the many benefits of mushrooms and its cultivation, saying it contributes to human livelihood economically, nutritionally and medicinally. The experts highlighted the importance of mushrooms in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in the Oyo State capital. A Botanist, Dr Olufunmi Idowu, said that the protein content of mushroom was almost equal to that of milk, corn and legumes, adding that it contained more protein than potato and cabbage. “Mushrooms are high in certain vitamins such as B, C and D; they contain high levels of riboflavin, thiamine and nicotinic acid. “They are also known to contain the anti-pellagra vitamin, niacin content, which is nearly equivalent to the levels found in pork and beef. “They contain iron, potassium, phosphorous, in addition to folic acid; they are rich in sodium, making them ideal for persons with certain types of ...

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)  launched two new agribusiness partnerships with Chi Farms and Niji Foods. The event highlighted USAID’s agricultural and private sector strategy using partnerships with government, local organizations and private industry to develop the Nigerian agriculture sector. Representatives from the federal government attended the event to highlight their commitment to this partnership that is helping to advance agriculture and trade in Nigeria. Through these partnerships, USAID aims to address development and business challenges to agricultural inputs and mechanization by providing quality technical advisory services and expanded market opportunities for smallholder farmers. These partnerships will also capitalize on the untapped potential of smallholder farmers and small processors to help grow agribusinesses, create secure jobs, and boost economic growth in Nigeria. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, in Lagos, ...

Yola Dr Isa Salihu, Adamawa Commissioner for Livestock Development, has confirmed that the state government in collaboration with the Federal Government is aiming to vaccinate about four million cattle this year. Salihu made this known in an interview with Newsmen in Yola Tuesday According to the commissioner, the development follows the outbreak of contagious ‘Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP)’ disease late last year in some cattle’s settlements in the state. “Adamawa has the highest number of cattle in the country with the total estimate of about 4.1 million. “The State Government in collaboration with the Federal Government targets to vaccinate about four million cattle,” Salihu said. He confirmed that as part of quick response programme, the Federal Government supplied 200,000 dosages of vaccines to curtail and control the spread of the disease. The commissioner expressed optimism that the disease was successfully control, adding that the state gover...

Cocoa grinders in Cote d’Ivoire are holding off on newinvestments after military and social unrest this month,potentially denting government plans to boost processing of the commodity in the world’s top Cote d’Ivoire has emerged from a 2002- 011 political crisis as one of the world’s fastest growing economies, attracting foreign investment into everything from the cocoa industry to breweries and shopping malls. But soldiers, mostly former rebels, seized control of the country’s second biggest city, Bouake, this month, sparking a series of smaller mutinies across Cote d’Ivoire t and exposing cracks in its post-war success story. The revolts coincided with a strike by civil servants demanding around $400 million in back wages. “The security, social and political situation these last weeks has indeed opened our eyes to the fact that there is still instability and a lack of visibility in the short to mid-term,” the dire...

Dr Isa Salihu, Adamawa Commissioner for Livestock Development, confirmed that the state government in collaboration with the Federal Government aims to vaccinate about four million cattle. Salihu, who  made this known in an interview  in Yola on Monday,said  the development follows the outbreak of contagious ‘Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP)’ disease late last year in some cattle’s settlements in the state. “Adamawa has the highest number of cattle in the country with the total estimate of about 4.1 million. “The State Government in collaboration with the Federal Government targets to vaccinate about four million cattle,” Salihu said. He confirmed that as part of quick response programme, the Federal Government supplied 200,000 dosages of vaccines to curtail and control the spread of the disease. The commissioner expressed optimism that the disease was successfully control, adding that the state government has approved N12 million for the supply ...

Over 7000 rice farmers in Zamfara State are to benefit from interest-free loans by the state government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the 2017 dry season farming. The Special Adviser to the state governor on the Comprehensive Agricultural Revolution Programme (ZACAREP), Alhaji Aminu Dankwangila, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Gusau on Monday. Dankwangila said that out of the targeted farmers, 2,300 were registered by the state government under the special dry season pilot scheme, as part of its ZACAREP programme, while about 5,000 farmers would be registered under the CBN/Anchor Borrower’s programme. According to him, all the farmers registered under the scheme would be given interest-free loans of agric inputs such as fartiliser, seeds, insecticides and cash for labour activities, with the agreement that after harvesting, they are to repay with their farm produce. He said that farmers from the nine local government areas of Bakura...

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture says it will distribute agricultural inputs to 140,000 dry season rice farmers in Jigawa through the 2016/2017 Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GEES). The Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) represents policy and pragmatic shift within the existing Fertilizer Market Stabilization Programme. It provides series of incentives to encourage the critical actors in the fertilizer value chain to work together to improve productivity, household food security and income of the farmer among others. Alhaji Labaran Adamu, Director, Green House in the ministry in the state Jigawa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Monday that the farmers would also receive 50 per cent subsidy on fertiliser and 75 per cent subsidy on improved seeds. “A rice farmer will get one bag of Urea, two bags of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) fertiliser, two litres of micronutrients and 25 kilogrmmes of rice seeds at the of N18,687,...

Some experts from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Jos, have visited Kano State to assess poultry farms affected by the recent outbreak of bird flu. Dr Shehu Bawa, Director, Veterinary Services in the state`s Ministry of Agriculture, who disclosed this in Kano on Monday in an interview , said that the federal government sent down the experts after the discovery of a new virus of Avian Influenza ‘H5N8,’ when the disease resurfaced in the state on Dec. 15, 2016. Bawa said during the assessment, the team toured some affected poultry farms in addition to taking samples from live bird markets in Kano metropolis. He said the team which had since returned to Abuja had discovered one of the samples to be positive. According to him, the team had advised the state government to increase surveillance of live bird markets in the state. He commended the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu...

ABUJA- THE Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, has expressed support to assist Nigeria control, eradicate tsetse flies and trypanosomosis in livestock. This was disclosed by the FAO Sub-regional Coordinator and Representative to the AU and UNECA, Patrick Kormawa, while centred discussion on the devastating impact of the disease in Eastern and Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nigeria, where the presence of tsetse flies and black flies has become worrisome with the Minister for Science and Technology, Ogbonnya Onu, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as it also negatively affects food security. Among the key recommendations FAO brought forward include the importance of linking livestock health and tsetse and Trypanosomiasis elimination with nutrition programmes such as that of the Nigerian school food and nutrition programme. This creates market for agricultural products. Also speaking on the disease challenge FAO representative to Ethiopia, Amadou Allahoury, said the organisation...

FAO calls for immediate response to prevent catastrophe due to severe drought  With as little as one-quarter of expected rainfall received, widespread drought conditions in the Horn of Africa have intensified since the failure of the October-December rains, FAO said today. FAO estimates that over 17 million people are currently in crisis and emergency food insecurity levels in member-countries of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), namely Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, which are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Areas of greatest concern cover much of Somalia, north-east and coastal Kenya, south-east of Ethiopia as well as the Afar region still to recover from El Nino induced drought of 2015/16; and South Sudan and Darfur region of Sudan due to the protracted insecurity. Currently, close to 12 million people across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are in need of food assistance, as families face lim...

The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, has called on youths to take advantage of the Agriculture-Finance Bill recently passed by the 8th Senate to further their engagements in the agriculture business. Saraki made the call on Sunday in a statement released by his Special Assistant on Print Media, Mr Chuks Okocha, when the executive members of the Tomatoes and Orchid Producers Association of Nigeria (TOPAN) visited him. According to him, youths should take advantage of the recently passed Agro-Finance Bill by the 8th Senate and access the benefits of agriculture on the small and medium scale financing and agro allied jobs. He, however, expressed his happiness that youths had begun to take to agriculture as a means of livelihood instead of waiting endlessly for non-existing white collar jobs. “This Bill, if properly harnessed by the youths, would create jobs and ensure food security for the country and help grow the economy, especially, in the time of re...

The Federal Government has denied that it had imported and flooded the nation’s markets with Genetically Modified rice. The Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr Rufus Ebegba made the position of government known at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that an online news platform had alleged that the Federal Government through a firm had flooded the nation’s market with poisonous GM rice. Ebegba said that there was no iota of truth in the report, noting that no GM rice had either been imported or released officially into the country. According to him, `no GMO rice has been commercially released anywhere in the world. He said that the Federal Government had banned the importation of rice and there was no indication that the ban had been lifted. Ebegba described the online report as a falsehood and imagination of the writer, who “probably used a fake name.’’ He added that th...

Bauchi- The Bauchi Fadama III Food Security and Livelihood Support Project said that it would assist Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), currently taking refuge in the state with farm inputs worth $5 million US dollars (about 1.53bn). The State Project Coordinator, Dr Ali Garba, said this in Bauchi during an interactive session with newsmen. Garba said that the project facilitators had earlier assisted the IDPs in drawing up a Community Action plan towards the implementation of the programme. 'The project would supply the IDPs with hybrid seeds, fertilizer, water pumps and other farm inputs, to enable them to execute the programme" "It would also assist the beneficiaries with rural infrastructure such as construction of culverts, access roads, water facilities and other farm implements" he said He said that IDPs who were interested in fishery, poultry farming, as well as rearing of ruminants, such goat and sheep, would also be assiste...

Nigerians have been urged to see agriculture as the country’s immediate lifeline, considering the inconsistency in the price of oil and the recession hence the call to massively engage in agriculture and agro-related activities. Rector of the Federal College of Horticulture at Dadin Kowa, in Gombe state Professor Fatima B. J. Sawa made the call at the weekend during the graduation ceremony of the 900 women and youths trained under the Honourable Yakubu Dogara’s Zonal Intervention Project for Women and Youths in Agricultural Products and Practices. “We all know what is happening in the country, agriculture is our only lifeline for now because we cannot depend on crude oil again due to the instability in prices, and even the production and the crises in the production region. “We are blessed in Nigeria with vast agricultural land which, if we put into use effectively, we will feed ourselves very well and even export our produce to other countries. “But we have relegated agri...

 Mr. Damisa Enahoro, Commercial Manager Tractor & Implements; Mr. Antti Ritvonen, Country Manager/CEO; Mrs. Mirian Deinde, Company Secretary, Head Legal & Compliance/HR and Mr. Humphrey Otalor, Marketing Communications Manager, all of Dizengoff Nigeria, during a press conference to announce Dizengoff as the exclusive distributor of CASE tractors in Nigeria. Dizengoff  Nigeria, Number one agricultural solution provider, has announced an international partnership with CASE IH, a global leader in agricultural equipment manufacturer during a press conference in Lagos. The announcement was made by the CEO/Country Manager of  Dizengoff  Nigeria, Mr. Antti Ritvonen.  Speaking at the announcement ceremony, Antti Ritvonen said “We are very excited to be partnering with Case IH in the area of providing quality tractors to the Nigerian farmers, as we intend to improve farming substantially as well as revolutionize the Nigerian agricultural sector thr...

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has described as embarrassing the downgrade of Nigeria in the global cocoa business. To revive the industry, however, the Minister has disclosed that a re-launch will be done early this year as part of activities to bring cocoa back to public consciousness. Moreover, he has said that millions of cocoa trees will have to be planted, beginning this year.   “This year’s activity,” Chief Ogbeh noted, will start with “the relaunch of cocoa.” In his words: “It is an embarrassment that Nigeria fell to the seventh place. We are re-launching cocoa. We are targeting 15 to 20 million trees a year and we are rehabilitating the existing ones and improving upon agronomic practices, and processing and all the value chains that need to take us to number one.” Despite hurdles, agric fared well in 2016, kept faith on rice – Ogbeh -            As he inaugurates co...

ABUJA- THE Federal Government, yesterday, declared that there would not be famine in the country, especially in the North-East region, but admitted that the Borno and Yobe states may likely experience a shortage in the supply of food and possible hike in food prices diue to insurgency attacks it suffered over the years. This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, in his address of welcome at the ongoing Retreat for Directors of the Ministry in collaboration with Synergos, a non profit organisation. Ogbeh said neither the devastation in the northeast States nor the farmers and herdsmaen crisis in Kaduna state will likely to lead to famine and starvation in the country. He said: "The prediction of famine is one that people have liked to inflict on the country, saying there will be famine . We must not be a country that is always wishing for the worst. Famine is very unlikely. "There will be trying ...

An agriculturist, Prof. Godfrey Nzamujo, on Thursday urged the three tiers of government in the country to adopt the Songhai model of agriculture to boost food security and fight poverty. Nzamujo, speaking in Abuja, said that the Songhai model, which involved integrated farming, should be adopted because of its capacity to boost agricultural productivity considerably. He said that the government should change its approach in its efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adding that it should adopt the Songhai model, which relied on the use of God-given resources, to accomplish this target. He said that the Songhai model had demonstrated that with deliberate investment in agriculture, Nigeria would be able to increase its revenue and reduce its dependence on petroleum as its sole foreign exchange earner. Nzamujo said that the Songhai model was an innovative approach that could be used to tackle challenges, such as food insecurity and poverty, enviro...

Some farmers strongly believe that organic farming is capable ensuring food sufficiency in Nigeria, following the global debates on the sustainability of organic agriculture and the need for Genetically Modified foods (GMO). Although organic farming is new in Nigeria, Mrs Oluyinka Odusanya, National Secretary, Organic Network in Nigeria is optimistic that its sustainability would boost all sections of farming. Odusanya, popularly called ‘Lady organic,’ told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday that over 85 per cent of Uganda’s farming production was organic because farmers had embraced it. “Organic Agriculture is sustainable, right now in Uganda, 85 per cent, cutting across all farmers are into organic farming. “If we want it to be sustainable in Nigeria everybody must be involved,” she said. Speaking on the process of organic fertiliser, Odusanya told NAN that farmers were yet to understand the formation, adding that the more the manure, the faster th...

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday said it had begun distribution of rice seeds to farmers in Lagos State for dry season farming. The state Director of the ministry, Mrs Olufunmilola Olusanya, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the distribution was being done under the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS). Olusanya said that some farmers had been contacted via text messages to visit any of the three redemption centres in the state, including Imota near Epe. “The GESS scheme for dry season farming rolled out last week, and some farmers have been contacted through texts to go to any of the three centres in the state to collect rice seeds. “The scheme is not only for rice farmers; it will cut across other dry season crops,’’ she said. The director said that 25kg bags of rice seeds and fertilisers would be given to farmers to mitigate their costs of production. Mr Temitope Odetola, President, Associatio...

Agatu and Gwer West local government areas of Benue on Thursday agreed to provide 40,000 hectares of land for the Humanitarian Environmental Project Company (HEPC) project. The move followed the signing of a 400-million-pound Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for mechanised agriculture between the Benue Government and HEPC in November 2016. Traditional rulers from the local government areas, therefore, took the decision during their meeting with officials of Bureau for Lands and Survey, chaired by its Special Adviser, Prof. Jonathan Uever. N During the meeting, the HEPC, represented by Prof. Joseph Alakali, told the traditional rulers that the company intended to introduce international advanced system of agriculture value chain by customising it to suit the Benue system. Alakali explained that the project included open field and green house, livestock value chain, water treatment plant and renewable energy generation, social housing, kindergarten, primary school a...

The Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Jigawa, Alhaji Mai Unguwa Jaga, has said that cluster farming has yielded positive results in the state. Jaga disclosed this in Dutse on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He stated that the current grouping of farmers to produce varieties of crops under a cluster scheme is a welcome development. The chairman said that the state government had provided fertilisers, improved seeds, chemicals and other farm inputs to farmers on loan basis, and at subsidised rates. Jaga said the farmers, after the harvest, were to pay back to government what they collected in cash. He said farmers in the state were able to cultivate large hectares of land through the scheme with good yields. The chairman thanked Gov. Muhammadu Badaru for making farmers to change from subsistence farming to profit-oriented farming.

The Port-Harcourt Glorious Cooperative Society has decried the inability of its members to mill 2016 rice produced in the state. The President of the society, Mr Amos Ogbu, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Wednesday. Ogbu said the state-owned milling machines were grounded due to lack of use for many years, adding that the state Ministry of Agriculture was making efforts to repair the miller. The president added that his association planned to carry their products to Ebony for milling if the facility failed to function, noting that this would cost money and reduce their profit margin. He said the transportation would cost between N50,000 and N100, 000, excluding milling cost. Ogbu, the Pastor of World Harvest Assembly, Port Harcourt, said the cost of milling a bag of rice at Ebony was N2,000. He said the cooperative had planned to brand the product “Rivers Rice”, but expressed regrets that the state was not e...

ABRAKA – THE Federal Government has been advised to invest in cassava farming as it is the goldmine capable of creating job opportunities and wealth creation for Nigerians if properly harnessed. This is just as the plan by the federal government to diversify the economy from oil has been described as a welcome development and an opportunity to reposition the agricultural sector in driving the nation’s economy as a pivot for industrial activities. The charge was given by a professor of Breeding /Environmental Physiology, Delta State University, DELSU, Abraka, Prof. Sunday Akparobi during the university’s 55th series of the inaugural lectures. In his paper presentation, the university don explained that cassava remains a goldmine for Sub-Saharan desert because it is a drought surviving crop which is easy to grow and adapts to every part of the region with little care before harvest time. According to him, “The Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest pro...

The Nigeria’s Zero Hunger Strategic Committee says it is targeting the reduction of post-harvest losses in a bid to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) number two by 2024. A report signed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Chairman of the committee, in Abuja on Wednesday, said the target would be achieved through the use of post- harvest handling technologies. According to him, the reduction will also be achieved by training farmers and processors, appropriate equipment supplies, commercial credit and improvement of marketing channels. Obasanjo said that the measure would boost productivity in small scale farming to meet household food needs and produce marketable and exportable surpluses. The former president said that the target would be achieved in collaboration with major agriculture stakeholders, adding that curtailing post-harvest losses was a key component toward achieving zero hunger in the country. Obasanjo said the committee w...

The Sokoto State Government says it will establish more agro-allied industries in 2017 to create more employments and boost internally generated revenue. Alhaji Aminu Bello, the State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, disclosed this in Sokoto on Wednesday. He spoke when officials of the ministry appeared before the State Assembly’s Committee on Commerce and Industry to defend the ministry’s budget proposals for 2017. ”The state government is highly committed to ensuring that all the people, especially the unemployed, are fully engaged. “It is only when they are engaged that they can also contribute their quotas to overcome the current economic hardship in the country. “This is by encouraging their standard of living through various industrial activities as such more of agro-allied industries are proposed in the 2017 budget to achieve the aims,’’ he said. Similarly, Hajiya A’ishatu Hassan, the Director-General of Sokoto Small and Medium Ent...

Prof. Victor Olowe, President of the Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria (AOAPN) says proper and adequate agriculture research funding will improve organic farming technique and knowledge of healthy farming. Olowe made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja. “Agriculture Research Council and other related agencies of the country should include funding of organic agriculture research in their activities. “They should also establish Organic Materials Review Institute of Nigeria to coordinate and support organic integrity by developing clear information and guidance about agriculture materials. “This will help producers to know which products are appropriate for organic operations just like the Organic Materials Review Institute of USA,’’ he said. He said that the Agriculture Research Institute of Nigeria (ARCN) should partner with the AOAPN to identify and address major research priorities...