Agriculture with Jimoh

Though not a human health risk, Tilapia Lake Virus has large potential impact on global food security and nutrition A highly contagious disease is spreading among farmed and wild tilapia, one of the world's most important fish for human consumption. The outbreak should be treated with concern and countries importing tilapias should take appropriate risk-management measures - intensifying diagnostics testing, enforcing health certificates, deploying quarantine measures and developing contingency plans - according to a Special Alert released today by FAO's Global Information and Early Warnings System. Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) has now been reported in five countries on three continents: Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Israel and Thailand. While the pathogen poses no public health concern, it can decimate infected populations. In 2015, world tilapia production, from both aquaculture and capture, amounted to 6.4 million tonnes, with an estimated value of USD 9.8 b...

National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, on Wednesday disclosed that the devastation of tomatoes by Tuta Absoluta pest had been reduced by 40 per cent. The Acting Executive Director of NIHORT, Dr Abayomi Olaniyan, said this in Ibadan at the institute’s In-House review with the theme “Role of Horticulture in Green Alternative for Improved Livelihood’’. Olaniyan noted that some of the major achievements of the institute in the 2016/2017 period included 114 tomato lines that were collected and under screening for bacterial wilt tolerance. He said that 44 pepper lines were collected and under screening for tolerance to viral infections, adding that five new varieties of mushroom were also collected from East Africa. He also said that 50 kilogrammes of organic fertiliser were produced from a mixture of horticulture waste, while four forms of soap were produced from horticultural waste and packaged. “ One micro garden demonstration centre was established at ...

Maize farmers in the country have appealed to the Federal Government to consider compensating farmers whose farms had been ravaged by the current outbreak of armyworm disease. Dr Edwin Uche, President, Maize Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja. Armyworms are caterpillar pests of grass pastures and cereal crops; they are the only caterpillars that growers are likely to encounter in cereal crops. The pest mostly feed on leaves, but under certain circumstances would feed on the seed stem, resulting in head loss. Uche said such compensation was necessary to encourage farmers and to boost maize production, especially as most of them had lost billions of naira to the decease. “If a farmer borrowed money from a bank and goes through challenges to cultivate and at the end of the day he loses his produce to environmental or social hazard. “Such a farmer should be comp...

The Poultry Association of Nigerian (PAN) has lauded the Federal Government (FG) for approving to pay compensation to farmers affected by bird flu in 2015 and 2016. The chairman of the association in Plateau, Mr John Dasar, gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Jos. NAN reports that Acting President Yemi Osibanjo, after he had met with the national officials of PAN in February, approved the release of N1.7billion as compensation for the affected farmers. Similarly, while appearing on NAN Forum at the weekend, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Audu Ogbeh, reiterated government’s commitment to adequately compensate farmers whose farms were affected during the 2015/2016 period. The minister said that the names of the affected farmers across the nation were being computed, so as to avoid omission when the payment starts. Dasar described the move by the government to pay the compensation as “a right step in the right direction”...

The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) in Plateau, said on Monday that avian influenza or bird flu, has resurfaced in the state, killing more than 11,000 birds in one week. The association’s chairman in the state, Mr John Dasar, who made this disclosure in Jos, said six farms had so far been depopulated. Bird flu or avian flu, is an infectious type of influenza that spreads among birds. Dasar attributed the fast spread of the disease to the non-payment of compensation to farmers affected by the disease in 2015 and 2016. He said some farmers would prefer to sell their affected birds to desperate marketers instead of reporting the incident to the appropriate authorities. NAN reports that more than 130 poultry farmers were affected by the disease in 2015 and 2016 but they had yet to be compensated. “Farmers in Plateau are really going through tough times because of the resurgence of bird flu in the last one week. “In one week, six poultry farms wer...

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...

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...

The Kano State government said it would soon begin disinfection of all poultry farms and markets as part of measures to curb the spread of the recent outbreak of bird flu in the state. The Director, Veterinary services of the state Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Shehu Bawa, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Kano. Bawa said already, the state government had approved certain amount of money to the department for the procurement of more disinfectants. He said as soon as the disinfectants arrived, the department would use it to disinfect all poultry and market premises to check the spread of the disease. “ We are lucky since the disease resurfaced about one month ago, only two farms in Kumbotso Local Government Area were infected with the disease,” he said. The director said the department had also stepped up surveillance in all markets with a view to preventing people from selling infected birds to unsuspecting mem...

The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) says the agency is poised to achieve greater heights in biotechnology research this year in spite of the challenges of 2016. Prof. Lucy Ogbadu, the Director-General of the agency Ogbadu, who  made this resolve in an interview on Thursday in Abuja, specifically mentioned the turbulence of anti-GMO crusaders in 2016, saying that the agency was able to weather the storm. “ 2016 was a year when the agency faced its fiercest opposition on the account of people and organisations opposed to genetically modified foods but the agency has come out stronger. “In view of the extreme care and caution with which the GMO technique is conducted, there are no risks or hazards resulting from products that emanate from GMOs. “Genetically modifies products are not new to mankind as it includes the yogurt that is consumed without fear and vaccines that is administered for healthcare. “I reiterate that these products though ...

Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu ordered the air force on Thursday to join other government agencies in an emergency operation to contain the spread of pests that have invaded maize fields in many parts of the country. The armyworms, which feast on young maize plants and are capable of wiping out entire fields, have been spotted in about six of Zambia’s 10 provinces, Agriculture Permanent Secretary, Julius Shawa said. The Zambia Air Force began airlifting pesticides to the four worst affected provinces and will team up with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) in responding to the crisis, presidential spokesman Amos Chanda said in a statement. The air force will not carry out aerial spraying of the insecticide, however. Zambia’s maize production rose to 2.87 million tonnes in the 2015/2016 crop season from 2.60 million tonnes the previous season due to better than anticipated rainfall and early delivery of fertiliser and seed to f...

The Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA) has appealed to the Federal Government to encourage flexible agricultural policies to boost cassava production in the country by 2017. Mr Segun Adewumi, the National President of the association, made the appeal while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday. Adewumi said that such flexible policies should eradicate the non-acceptance of agricultural lands as collateral security for loans by Nigerian banks to encourage more farmers in the business. According to him, the refusal has denied both foreign and local investments in the cassava value chain. The national president emphasised that agricultural commodities, which required industrial use, needed to cost less for its products to be accepted at the international market, hence the need for the policies. “We need to devote five million of the 84 million hectares of the arable land in Nigeria to cassava development and that will yie...

The Kebbi State Government said on Thursday that it had vaccinated over 871,347 livestock in the state against suspected anthrax from the neighbouring Benin Republic. This is contained in a statement signed by Alhaji Umar Gulma, a Deputy Director in the state Ministry of Information, which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Birnin Kebbi. It said the state Ministry of Animal Health had embarked on the livestock vaccination in three local government areas bordering the Republic of Benin. “We have embarked on the livestock vaccination campaign as a measure to ward off the suspected anthrax in Benin Republic. “We considered the fact that we have Arewa, Bagudo and Dandi Local Government Areas that border Benin Republic,” it said. The statement said that so far, about 449,573 cattle and 421,774 sheep had been vaccinated in the exercise. It said over N11million was spent on the procurement of the vaccines, adding that an additional N10 ...

The Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Ibadan, on Sunday said it had trained farmers on control of armyworm which recently invaded maize farms in the South West. Dr Oluwakemi Odeyemi, Entomologist at the institute, who disclosed this in Ibadan,   said the pest, called Spodoptera Frugiperda, was the first of its kind in West Africa. She said the insect, which ravaged maize fields at an alarming rate, also affected farms in other parts of the country. She said the pest, which attack crops during evening hours, caused leaf tattering and damaged maize tassels and cobs. ``This lead to high cost of production, yield reduction and sometimes total crop loss,” she said. The entomologist advised farmers to maintain good field hygiene, regular monitoring, burning of crop residues as well as to allow ploughed fields for at least a week to expose the insects to heat and birds. ``Farmers should also plant resistant material; adopt biological controls such as t...

 The Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, has trained maize farmers on the control of armyworm which invaded farms in South-West re

JOS: Prof. David Wonang of University of Jos has recommended the use of organic manure to tackle ``root-knot nematodes, a disease affecting roots of crops. Wonang gave the recommendation on Thursday at the 80th Inaugural Lecture of the university in Jos. The lecture is titled: ``Root-Knot Nematodes (Meloidogyne species) Farmers Silent/Unseen Enemies: Implications on food Security and Stability in Nigeria.’’ Wonang described root crop disease as a major cause of food shortage in developing countries. ``It has been generally difficult to quantify the amount of economic losses caused by root-knot nematodes, especially in developing countries where crops are rarely grown as mono crops. ``Nematodes remain a principal factor in disease complexes due to their predisposing role in such complexes. ``Nematodes feeding create open wounds that provide entry to a wide variety of plant-pathogenic fungi and bacteria,’’ he explained. Wonang, who gave symptoms of root-knot nemat...