Agriculture with Jimoh

A consortium of farmers, environmentalists and civil society groups have urged the Biosafety Regulatory Agency to stop the planned commercial introduction of Genetically Modified (GM)  Maize and Cotton. Monsanto Agricultural Nigeria Limited has applied to National Biosafety Management Agency (NABMA) for field trial of two varieties of GM maize varieties in multiple locations in Nigeria.  The firm is also seeking approval for the release and placing in the market in Zaria and surrounding towns of GM cotton.  Nnimmo Bassey, an environmentalist in a statement yesterday said over 100 groups are opposing attempts to introduce GM cotton and maize into Nigeria’s food and farming systems.  The consortium, according to the statement, is representing over 5 million Nigerians, comprising of farmers, faith-based organisations, civil society groups, students and local community groups.  Bassey stated in a petition submitted to NABMA, that the groups have cit...

 Mr Christopher Batai, the General Manager, Plateau State Environmental Protection and Sanitation Agency (PEPSA) has said that the law banning the planting of maize and tall crops in residential areas was still in force. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Jos that tall crops in residential areas served as breeding sites for vectors such as mosquitoes and rodents like rats. He said that ``with the commencement of the rains, we have discovered that people have started clearing the little spaces in their compounds to start planting. ``PEPSA is advising the public to desist from planting tall crops in their compounds and in residential areas as the law prohibiting the act is still in full force and the Agency will prosecute defaulters.'' He further cautioned residents within Jos-Bukuru metropolis to desist from the act of dumping waste in the drains, and from building along waterways as the acts posed health threat and could lead to floods. ...

 The governor of Benue, Dr Sam Ortom has expressed his state government’s commitment to partner with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), to ensure agriculture produces from the state are certified for export. The governor made this intention known in the course of standardization campaign which held in Makurdi recently. He said certification of produces would boost their export value and also help checkmating the rejection of Nigerian export produces in the international market. Ortom said the state was blessed with abundant natural resources that could serve as back bone for the industries and for export According to him, the state was ready to partner with relevant agencies of the federal government especially the SON towards helping value addition and to producing to achieve wealth creation and jobs for Nigerians. He also applauded the current SON leadership for embarking on a noble initiative of building the capacity of operator of micro, small and medium...

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in collaboration with Ekimiks Nigeria Limited and L.A consult are organizing a 5-day agribusiness training for youth in Nigeria and other African countries under the framework of IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA). The training is a follow up to the first phase of training on Agripreneurial and Business Management organized by Ekimiks Nigeria Limited for IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) in 2015. The training is part of efforts by IITA and partners to engage youths in agriculture as several countries on the continent are turning to agriculture because of the burst in commodity prices especially crude oil. Tagged ‘Developing Strategic Skills for Agribusiness,’ the training will commence on the 29th of March to 2nd of April 2015, with an address by the Director General of IITA, Dr Nteranya Sanginga at the Conference Center of IITA in Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria. The training, which is to sharpen the skills of the...

The Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, has disclosed that the government is poised to ensure availability of good quality fertilizer products that conform to the provisions of existing legal and regulatory framework. He noted that some unscrupulous people in the fertilizer sub-sector have been ripping off farmers the benefits accruable to them for their investments. The minister disclosed this while inaugurating the National Fertilizer Technical Committee (NFTC) in Abuja yesterday. He tasked members of the committee to work assiduously in ensuring that the draft Fertilizer bill at the National Assembly is passed into law. Ogbeh disclosed that  the committee members  include scientists drawn from some Agricultural Research Institutes, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, Fertilizer Industries and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development. Chief Ogbeh explained that the  resuscitation of the National Fertilizer Technical Committee (NFTC) which  w...

The Lagos and Kebbi State Governments on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the establishment of a commodity value chain. Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State said at the signing of the MOU in Ikeja that commodities such as rice, sorghum, maize, groundnut, sugarcane, fish and beef would be cultivated under the partnership. Ambode said the commodities would be cultivated in Kebbi and packaged in Lagos State. He said that the partnership followed a clarion call by President Muhammadu Buhari on the need for the country to diversify its economy from oil. Ambode said that Kebbi State was blessed with vast arable land that was suitable for the cultivation of the commodities. "The people are traditionally rice farmers with average land holding of about 10 hectares and presently have over 50,000 metric tonnes of paddy in store produced from the last two planting seasons," he said. According to him, the joint venture will be implemented using...

At leading EU agriculture meeting, FAO Director-General stresses need for collaboration beyond traditional silos 22 March 2016, Rome -- The international community needs to find new and innovative ways of working together if it is to meet the goals laid out in the UN's new Sustainable Development Agenda -- and eradicate hunger and poverty, in particular -- FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said at the Forum for the Future of Agriculture in Brussels today. Speaking at the annual event focused on food and environmental security, the FAO Director-General called on government ministries and international agencies to break through traditional silos and embrace more creative approaches to tackling today's development challenges, embodied by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) "The SDGs are interlinked and call for new combinations in the way policies, programmes, partnerships and investments should pull together to achieve common goals and produce...