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 ...

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has been granted a permit to carry out Confined Field Trials (CFT) of genetically modified cassava (AMY3 RNAi Transgenic lines). This is contained in a statement signed by IITA Head of Communication, Mrs Catherine Lopez, and made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Ibadan. The statement said that the research, carried out in collaboration with ETHZ Plant Biotechnology Lab in Zurich, was aimed at reducing starch breakdown in storage roots of cassava after pruning the shoots, prior to harvest of the crop. It also said that the objective was to obtain storage roots with lower post-harvest physiological degradation, without any loss of the nutritious starch. It noted that cassava was an important starchy food crop in sub-Saharan Africa as well as other tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. The statement said that one of the challenges facing cassava farmers in the country was the high lev...

ABUJA- THE Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, at the weekend disclosed that Nigerian Agricultural trade has hit N261. 92 billion in second quarter of 2017, which represents 4.60 per cent. Ogbeh made the disclosure at the launch of Nigeria Agribusiness Resource Centre, NARC, in Abuja, for agricultural investment and sponsored by Africa Lead. The Minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Buka Hassan, said agricultural export from the country was 0.9 per cent out of the total exports in second quarter of 2017. According to him destinations of exports in the second quarter include Asia- 66.38 per cent, Europe -24.98 per cent, Americas- 4.37 per cent, Africa -3.88 per cent and the Oceania- 0.39 per cent. Agricultural commodities exported were cashew nuts, which worth N13.5 billion representing 45.4 per cent of the total agriculture exports and 1.37 per cent of total exports. "Cashew nut export to Vietnam wa...

The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, said that the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had recorded tremendous achievements in agriculture. He disclosed in Abuja that the feats of the party in agriculture were, however, not adequately reported. He berated some media houses for always making headlines with negative stories while ignoring such success stories. The President of the Senate noted that in the area of rice farming and processing, Nigeria under the APC government, had risen to a point where it would soon be completely self sufficient. “You can see what the APC government is doing in agriculture but this is something we don’t talk about, the success that the APC government has made is tremendous. “Am sure in a few years time we will be self sufficient in rice and that is a major achievement for a country that is always importing rice to now get to the stage where we no longer have to import rice. “But how often do y...

Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), in collaboration with the Embassy of the Peoples’ Republic of China, has sensitised market men and women to mycotoxin contamination of agricultural and food commodities. A report signed by Dr Chigozie Nwodo, Head of Press and Media in NAQS, in Abuja on Monday said that the awareness activity took place in Kano, Benue and the FCT between May and June this year. Mycotoxins are produced by moulds or fungi growing on agricultural commodities and allied products under some favourable environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. Mycotoxins can be found in nuts, cereals, Oilseeds, tubers, seafood, spices, fruits, livestock and poultry, agro-allied products. When humans are exposed to mycotoxin, it consequently contaminates their urine, blood, semen, breast milk, serum, among others. Dr Vincent Isegbe, the Coordinating Director of NAQS, said that that the objectives of the workshop were to educate, infor...

Kano State Government says it has trained 60 fulani youths on artificial insemination for livestock breeding including dairy cattle to boost milk and meat production. Dr Nasiru Gawuna, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, said this while speaking with newsmen in Kano on Wednesday. Gawuna said the training was aimed at replacing some of the animals that were killed at the height of terrorist activities in the state. “The youths have been trained in artificial insemination. It is another area where the governor is giving so much attention. “It has to do with livestock production and particularly milk and meat production. “We took 60 Fulani youths to Turkey where they learnt skills on artificial insemination. “They are back now; most of them are gainfully self-employed. “Some of them have gone to other states. “We have put aside two AI (artificial insemination) centres in the state – one in Makuda Local Government Area and...