Rotary partners Rivers govt to train 100 youths on waste-to-wealth - NaijaAgroNet

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

The Rotary Club in conjunction with the Rivers state university Institute of Geosciences and Environmental Management has trained over 100 youths in Rivers state on how to convert waste to wealth.

The one day training session took place at the weekend in Oroworukwo Town Hall, Port Harcourt City Local government Area, Rivers State and saw the four Rotary clubs, Rotary club of Port Harcourt Airfield, Rotary club of Port Harcourt Eco, Rotary club of Port Harcourt and Rotary club of Port Harcourt Express in conjunction with the Rivers state university Institute of Geosciences and Environmental Management and Tilda Goes Green the organizers in attendance.

Zinox, partners to invest $250m on renewable energy in Nigeria - NaijaAgroNet

 ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Africa’s leading integrated technology group, the ZINOX Technologies Limited, has unveiled a plan to invest over $250,000,000 after years of research, test running of durable and cost efficient multifaceted renewable energy solutions for Africa particularly Nigeria, with leading renewable energy companies in China, UK, South Africa and Dubai as partners.

For 23 years, Zinox has pioneered innovative technologies and boasts of an enviable track record of efficient delivery of critical tech solutions in Nigeria and various African countries. 

India, partners IRENA on G20 energy transition - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet: ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in partnership with the Indian G20 Presidency, launched a comprehensive report today on how low-cost finance can accelerate the energy transition. 

Standard Bank partners Rhiza Africa on data-driven AgroTech - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet: 

The Standard Bank has partnered Rhiza Africa in a bid to boost Agricultural produce and increase farmers’ yield, through innovation, driven by digital intelligence, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Standard Bank’s satellite hosted-remote sensing innovation is delivered in partnership with service provider RHIZA Africa and backed by Origin Enterprises PLC and the European Space Agency.

About 60 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land presents is situated in Africa, which presents a major opportunity to meet the 70 per cent increase in global food demand expected by 2050. Africa also has potentials to grow through dramatically increasing its agricultural yields. However, Africa’s current dependence on traditional small-scale farming techniques returns the lowest yield per hectare globally.

While fertilizer, improved agricultural cultivation and livestock practices as well as better seed (biotech) can help improve yields, by far the biggest opportunity within the grasp of African agriculture lies in ‘agritech’, the intelligent use of data enabled by new digital technologies.

Data therefore presents an opportunity to further boost the yield for African agriculture. According to Abrie Rautenbach, Head, Agribusiness, Business Banking for Africa Regions at Standard Bank said: “Information is the key to realise Africa’s vast agricultural potential. Digital technologies are merely the tools that will deliver the information.” As a result of the partnership, farmers and agronomists can take advantage of digital tools developed for the agricultural sector.

Speaking on the tools, Danie Swart, General Manager for RHIZA Africa said: “Contour is an aggregated remote sensing information platform with a complete suite of farm monitoring tools for farmers, whereas GRID is a digital service for financial partners and farmers that helps them grow together.”

Using algorithms to analyse and interpret images, Contour and Grid share data on; local weather, soil moisture, field accessibility and leaf wetness, while also providing optical satellite monitoring of area planted, germination and growth progress. This enables growth stage assessments, yield prediction and ultimately yield-enhancement.

Available on mobile and desktop, Contour is a digital platform and mobile app providing precision farming tools enabling; customer creation, field mapping, agronomic planning and recording, and crop and input allocation.

“Clients can use the information to understand the health of a crop; do fertilizer and spray planning; identify flooded areas; understand ground conditions – such as soil health and moisture levels – and monitor historical weather” Swart said.

The data that Contour provides clients enables farmers to make better decisions while mitigating risks and improving yield through optimised operations. Through soil sampling farmers can also understand in-field conditions and apply inputs to accommodate the specific needs of the soil requirements using fertilizers and lime.

This ‘agritech’ innovation allows farmers and Standard Bank to monitor crop performance on all sizes of farms and fields in all geographic regions. Both Contour and Grid also provide monitoring on an aggregated basis across regions, enabling portfolio tracking on; total hectares under a specific crop and total tonnes of inputs used.

“It is important for Standard Bank to be able to assist farmers to improve yield through relevant information that can provide a view on plant health or development issues with a specific crop. These technologies ensure that the crop is protected and, from a bank  perspective, allows any yield (and thus income) increases to be used for either credit repayment or expansion of the agricultural business” Rautenbach stated.

While this information is of huge value in driving the efficiency and productivity of individual farmers, Contour and Grid also enable Standard Bank to identify which fields in a farming

area are the best performing. While this allows the bank to asses budgeted against actual yield predictions, it also allows the bank to aggregate this information across wide areas - and work this back to the portfolio of clients that we are supporting.

Contour and Grid also enables Standard Bank to manage the financial risks associated with delivering agricultural finance. Real time visibility of crop performance affords constant updates of all Standard Bank agricultural clients and potential clients, including detailed information on crop development. This builds trust and transparency between the bank and customers, empowering farmers and enabling the bank to correctly asses risk and accurately allocate capital and cover.

Beyond this, however, “information can also inform appetite,” says Mr Rautenbach. For example, if banks and agricultural equipment sellers, know what, of how much, is planted when and where, banks can extend loans, predict income, manage risk and insurance.

“Similarly, agricultural suppliers can target informed equipment or irrigation product offerings, at the correct time, to the right farmers at the right price,” he says.

While the current technology appears sophisticated, it is very easy to use. Rautenbach continues: “As our experience in Africa has shown, there is a big opportunity for small scale farmers in out grower programmes supplying large corporates. The corporate that has signed up for the service simply opens the service to all their small-scale suppliers.

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Samsung partners BAN to enhance e-Waste tracking - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

Samsung Electronics has partnered Basel Action Network (BAN) to enhance electronic waste (eWaste) tracking across the globe, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Since 2008, NaijaAgroNet gathered that Samsung has been a strong supporter of recycling by providing convenient and responsible takeback options for consumer electronics globally.

Also in a new initiative Samsung said its partnering Basel Action Network (BAN), by adopting BAN’s EarthEye service, which is a Global Positioning System (GPS)-based tracking system for electronic waste.

The Samsung’s Director of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs, Mr Mark Newton affirmed this development to NaijaAgroNet in a press statement.

“We are adopting BAN’s EarthEye service – a global GPS based tracking system for electronic waste,” he declared, stressing that Samsung not only aims to be a leader in product innovation but also in using innovative technologies to keep our supply and disposition chains accountable,” he said.

In addition, he said that for this reason, “Samsung will add EarthEye as part of our arsenal to maintain the most rigorous due diligence and standards for responsible recycling.”

NaijaAgroNet further reports, that Samsung promotes the responsible and convenient recycling of e-waste and supports requirements that would ban the export of unprocessed e-waste to developing countries, consistent with the e-Stewards Certification Standard and Samsung policy.

“Products and parts that cannot be refurbished are processed into raw material commodities, in such a way that material can be used again for production of a variety of new products,” he said.

This, Executive Director at BAN, Mr. Jim Puckett said they were excited with this latest development.

“We are very excited to share this link,” he said.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

9mobile partners Ignitia for farmers sake - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

Telecommunications company, 9mobile, in partnership with weather forecasting portal, Ignitia, have launched a weather forecast service, tagged Iska, to enable farmers predict weather accurately before and during the planting season, reports NaijaAgroNet.

With Iska Weather Service, NaijaAgroNet gathered that farmers in Nigeria could now predict the weather with over 80% forecast accuracy, thereby empowering them to prepare against adverse weather conditions that can impact negatively on their crops.

Also, event planners, traders, and other people whose means of livelihood or activities can be adversely impacted by poor weather, can also benefit from Iska Weather Service in planning their events or activities so they can operate optimally, unhindered by weather conditions.

Speaking about this newest innovative service, Head Digital Media, 9mobile, Bolanle Afuye, said Iska Weather Service will provide 9mobile consumers with localised weather forecasts via SMS and USSD, with 84% forecast accuracy.

She equally said the service offers subscribers access to Ignitia’s daily 2-day weather forecast service on rainfall risk, timing and intensity, along with the monthly and seasonal outlooks once per month.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

AfDB, partners to lift 1 billion people out of hunger globally - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The African Development Bank called on global partners to join hands to lift one billion people worldwide out of hunger and said it was leading the way by investing US$24 billion in African agriculture over the next 10 years in the largest such effort ever, reports NaijaAgroNet.

“We are not winning the war against global hunger,” Bank President Akinwumi Adesina told an agriculture conference at Purdue University in Indianapolis on Tuesday, 25 September.

“We must not get carried away,” he added, referring to statistics showing a decline in the global population living on less than two dollars per day. In reality, the number of hungry people in the world had increased from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, he said citing the latest World Food Security and Nutrition data.

Adesina told the audience that included researchers, implementing organizations, business leaders, policymakers and donors that simple technical and scientific methods were already making a whole difference to farm yields and income in Africa. While such technologies to deliver Africa’s green revolution exist, they are mostly just sitting on the shelves, he said.

“The release of water efficient maize varieties now allows farmers to harvest good yields in the face of moderate drought,” he noted. “Today, rice varieties exist that can give yields of 8 tonnes per ha. Cassava varieties exist with yields of up to 80 tonnes per ha. Heat tolerant and disease resistant livestock and technologies for ramping up aquaculture exist.”

Bank experts put current comparative yields at 1.5-2 tonnes per ha for rice and 10-15 tonnes per ha for cassava.

What was needed urgently was deployment of supportive policies to ensure technologies are cascaded down to millions of farmers. “All Africa needs to do is to harness the available technologies with the right policies and rapidly raise agricultural productivity and incomes for farmers and assure lower food prices for consumers.”

The Bank has launched its Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), a $1 billion initiative to extend the use of farm technologies. TAAT is currently engaging seed companies, public and private entities, and financial institutions in 27 countries to make technology available to a total of 40 million African farmers.

Combining targeted subsidies for farmers with a market-based system for rapidly expanding access to financing for farmers and agricultural value chains is the fastest way to get many people out of poverty to a sustained pathway for economic growth, Adesina added.

The conference on “ Scaling Up Agricultural Technologies for Transformation” (http://bit.ly/2NK3XL5) marked Adesina’s fond return to his alma mater.

“It was here, as a graduate student, that I began the journey of searching for ways to get technologies into the hands of millions of farmers,” he said. Adesina was to go on to make a huge impact on the transformation of agriculture in Africa, including implementing game-changing policies in his years as Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development before taking up his post at the Bank in September 2015.

Adesina said the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa needed particularly urgent intervention due to the ravages of climate change. The International Food Policy Research Institute estimates that Africa will add 38 million to its number of hungry people by 2050 as a result of climate change.  The Institute forecasts that Africa will experience major food shortages by 2020 and beyond, while malnutrition will be on the rise over the next 20 years.

The Bank’s ongoing initiatives had the objectives of growing income for farmers, stabilizing prices for staple crops, reducing losses and stimulating multiplier effects in local economies.  With its Staple Crop Processing Zones and other initiatives, the Bank is demonstrating how this can be done.

“The African Development Bank put feeding Africa as one of its topmost priorities when it launched its Feed Africa strategy (http://bit.ly/2Q7A04c) in 2015 and is investing $ 24 billion in agriculture for Africa over 10 years – the largest ever such effort,” the Bank President said. Across Africa, the Feed Africa Strategy (http://bit.ly/2Q9GnUv) is supporting the development of policies, markets, infrastructure and institutions that will ensure that agricultural value chains are well developed and that technologies reach several millions of farmers.

 Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Sweden partners FAO to tackle dignity preservation @EMC

NaijaAgroNet:

The Government of Sweden is partnering the Food andAgriculture Organisation (FAO) and The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as well as Arab Republic of Egypt to tackle issues on “Preserving Dignity and Sharing Responsibility: Mobilizing Collective Action for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Extra-ordinary Ministerial Conference slated for March 15 at the FAO Headquarters, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, NaijaAgroNet gathered, will afford UNRWA to host the event on the oldest and largest UN humanitarian and human development programme in the Middle East, serving over five million Palestine refugees.

NaijaAgroNet equally gathered that UNRWA is experiencing the worst financial crisis in its 70 year history and may be forced to suspend services.

The Foreign Ministers of Jordan, Sweden and Egypt will co-chair the Extraordinary Ministerial Conference in support of UNRWA, which the aim to actively support a collective response by the international community to protect the rights and dignity of Palestinian Refugees and ensure that UNRWA’s unprecedented funding crisis of US$ 446 million is urgently resolved.

NaijaAgroNet the Extraordinary Ministerial Conference will include special attendance of the UN Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Federica Mogherini.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

CDC partners Lagos to unveil disability awareness ribbon

NaijaAgroNet:

The Children's Developmental Center (CDC) has unveiled the Disability Awareness Ribbon with the support of the Lagos State government in commemoration in aid of the campaign for the Developmental Disability Awareness month, demanded action against discrimination practices, reports NaijaAgroNet.

At the launch in Lagos key stakeholders in the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) space called for action by government at all levels to provide the necessary support towards the upbringing of children with various forms of disabilities.

They also expressed deep concern about the future of children with disabilities in the country where there is no clear cut policy their growth support plan and engagement that will better their lives.

In her opening remarks, Dr. Yinka Akindayomi, service director at CDC said over the last twenty years has been both a service provider and in forefront of advocating for children and adults with development disabilities and their families.

Akindayomi said in the course of the Centers intervention it has realized that the inclusion of children and adults with any disabilities can only come through a joint effort.

She noted that there must be a harmonious and strong partnerships among stakeholders for any society to grow, adding that one of the great benefits of working together is the inspiration and ideas that can result from unity, because people from different backgrounds and levels of experience can help in creating solutions to problems in the society especially where stigma is concerned.

"Personal boundaries are limits we set for our selves as individuals but when we work together, there is the motivation to push beyond those boundaries which yields results. Nigeria will be better if we work together, because unity maximizes strengths and brings out the best in its citizens. This value of unity is regularly seen in sports, culture, entertainment etc and we should endeavor to include in our everyday life, workplaces, homes and community at large", she counseled.

In her remarks, Mrs. Emmanuella Otiono, educational consultant at Center Escolar Educational, emotionally spoke about discrimination against people with disabilities, and advised that rather discourage them by attitude efforts should be made to identify those special talents in them to help them maximize their potentials.

Otiono said her center like similar others offers a continuum of services that meet the specialized needs of young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities including those with autism or other autism spectrum disorders.

"We help youth in all aspects of their lives so they can be successful at home and in school, with friends and family. We understand that no two young people are alike and consider a number of factors including their home environment, upbringing and clinical history when creating Individualized Service Plans" she said, adding that whether serving youth in foster care or providing supports in home and community settings, stakeholders should also help youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities reach new heights.

Otiono, expressly noted that youths with physical, cognitive, and emotional disabilities represent special populations at risk for juvenile delinquency, victimization, educational failure, and poor employment outcomes and that they often have multiple, overlapping risk factors.

She noted that youth with disabilities typically receive mentoring, if at all, within disability-specific programs rather than in inclusive, community-based programs.

Speaking further, Otiono stated that early childhood is the period from prenatal development and a crucial phase of growth and development because experiences during early childhood can influence outcomes across the entire course of an individual’s life.

"For all children, early childhood provides an important window of opportunity to prepare the foundation for life-long learning and participation, while preventing potential delays in development and disabilities. For children who experience disability, it is a vital time to ensure access to interventions which can help them reach their full potential.

Despite being more vulnerable to developmental risks, young children with disabilities are often overlooked in mainstream programmes and services designed to ensure child development", she added.

Other stakeholders at the forum expressed disappointment that these children however, do not receive the specific supports required to meet their rights and needs as children with disabilities and their families are confronted by barriers including inadequate legislation and policies, negative attitudes, inadequate services, and lack of accessible environments.

They argued that if children with developmental delays or disabilities and their families are not provided with timely and appropriate early intervention, support and protection, their difficulties can become more severe and often leading to lifetime consequences, increased poverty and profound exclusion.

Isaac Oyimah with additional reports by Yemisi Izuora/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

MeCAM partners GAIN, SBN on Nutrition Symposium 2017

NaijaAgroNet:

A media-based non-governmental advocacy group, the Media Centre Against child Malnutrition (MeCAM) has disclosed its partnering with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Scale-up Nutrition Business Network (SBN), to boost information sharing on nutrition in Nigeria, reports NaijaAgroNet.

A press statement endorsed by the Director, Outreach at MeCAM, Mrs. Julie Ekong and made available to NaijaAgroNet, said the partnership is sequel to the forthcoming MeCAM Nutrition Symposium scheduled to hold in Lagos on Friday, August 4, this year, with the theme "Malnutrition, child development and the media."

She quoted the National Coordinator of Media Centre Against child Malnutrition (MeCAM), Mr. Remmy Nweke, as saying, the partnership would go a long way in scaling up media participation in the crusade to better the lots of Nigerians on nutrition with the right and accurate information.

Specifically, he said that the partnership would benefit child development and the role of media, in a developing economy like Nigeria and beckoned on other stakeholders to emulate GAIN by partnering with MeCAM in this auspicious event.

Nweke, who doubles as the Group Executive Editor at DigitalSENSE Africa Media, also said that at the forthcoming Nutrition Symposium by MeCAM, would see to the leadership of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Scale-up Nutrition Business Network (SBN) taking discussion on “Communicating Nutrition Messages to Stakeholders: Role of the Media.”

The GAIN and SBN team, he confirmed, would be led by Country Team Lead at GAIN and coordinator of SBN Nigeria, Uduak Igbeka, and would dwell on the sub-theme with expertise and dispatch, alongside other experts with vast experiences on the subject matter.

Further, he quoted the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as recently declaring that estimated 12.9 per cent of the Nigeria’s 190m population has been projected to be among some 5 million undernourished people in the world today.

Nweke revealed that MeCAM is resolute to use this symposium to not just draw public attention to the threat that malnutrition poses to the future of the country, but to also correct the impression that this menace is restricted to the poor.

He emphasized that UNICEF had estimated, at least 2.5m Nigerian children suffer from acute malnutrition (SAM), thus posing the danger of many of them being at risk of death unless properly treated and of course with right information.

This situation, he said, represents clear and is dangerous to the socioeconomic wellbeing of the entire country.

MeCAM, he said, is peopled exclusively by journalists, and mediapreneurs to push the narratives to save the Nigerian child from the danger of malnutrition through scaling up reporting and advocacy, among others.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Kabarak partners General Electric on healthcare, provide 500-beds

NaijaAgroNet:

Nairobi-based Kabarak University Teaching Research and Referral Mission Hospital is partnering with General Electric (GE) Healthcare to develop a 500-bed, state-of-the-art, multi-disciplinary tertiary hospital to be located in Kabarak, Nakuru County, reports NaijaAgroNet.

GE Healthcare, NaijaAgroNet gathered would be the technology provider for the proposed Kabarak University Teaching Research & Referral Mission Hospital.

In addition, the project scope will comprise of a 250 bed Kabarak University Hospital Nairobi and modernization of 23 mission of hospitals under Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK).

The $450-Million medical campus, NaijaAgroNet reports is expected to commence operations in 2020.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that Kabarak University Teaching Research and Referral Mission Hospital’s mission is to build an economically sustainable, center of excellence hospital that will deliver internationally accredited standards of care and is set to become a catalyst for strengthening healthcare services in Kenya, as well as furthering advanced research in the region.

Using the US Green Building Council’s LEED certification programme, NaijaAgroNet reports that Kabarak University will design, build, maintain, operate an environmentally sustainable, cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings, while proclaiming its motto: We Treat with God’s love.

The project which will be set on 100 hectares of land will also develop medical tourism to Kenya leveraging the specialized treatment the hospital will offer.

GEHealthcare will assist the university with infrastructure development, technology transfer, education and capacity building to support a better health system and patient outcomes. The project will be financed by US based Private Equity Sygec international among other stakeholders.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Merck partners ASPIRE

NaijaAgroNet:

Leading science and technology company Merck, through its ‘Merck More than a Mother’ initiative is partnering with Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE) to conduct a panel to address challenges and solutions to improve access to regulated fertility care in Africa and Asia, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The high level panel discussion, NaijaAgroNet gathered, would include policy makers and international fertility experts deliberating at the 7^th annual Congress of ASPIRE in Malaysia with focus on exploring opportunities to collaborate with Asian Fertility Societies in order to build cost effective and safe fertility care capacity in Africa and developing countries.

Chief Social Officer, Merck Healthcare, Rasha Kelej, said that after the success of the collaboration between ‘Merck More than a Mother’ and Indian and Indonesian fertility experts to provide practical embryology training, Merck will connect Africa with Asia to provide more opportunities for building capacity and interventions to empower infertile women and couples.

“Through ‘Merck More than a Mother’ we empower an under-privileged segment of women. Women who couldn’t bear children and for this they are discriminated and mistreated by their husbands, families and communities. In some cultures, childless women still suffer discrimination, stigma and ostracism. This is unacceptable and has to change through our campaign,” Kelej said.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Dangote partners Rice Farmers, Sokoto Government

NaijaAgroNet:

A tripartite agreement led by the Dangote Rice Limited have been signed with rice farmers and Sokoto State government expected to boost rice production, even as Dangote group has decried huge forex on rice importation, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The partnership, NaijaAgroNet gathered is expected to create some 16,000 jobs for outgrower rice farmers in Sokoto State, so as to ensure the success of the scheme to make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice cultivation.

The agreement, NaijaAgroNet  also reported, was signed during the launch of the Dangote rice outgrower scheme in Goronyo, Goronyo Local government, Sokoto State, which was witnessed by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar. Farmers were presented with rice seeds, fertilizers, nets, agro-chemicals.

Chairman of Dangote Rice Limited, Aliko Dangote said he was moved to go into rice cultivation because of the genuine interest of the Federal government to revive agriculture as the mainstay of the economy, and reduce importation of foods that could be produced locally.

He decried that Nigeria consumes 6.5 Metric tonnes of rice which costs the nation over 2 billion dollars annually, and pointed out that it is heartening that the government now has policy direction that encourages private sector’s active participation in agriculture.

“Buoyed by the policy direction of the federal government, we at Dangote decided to key into this by establishing Dan gone Rice Limited to partner with states to redress the present situation where a huge sumo forex is spent on importation of rice.

“In the next three years we want to produce one million tons of quality rice and make it available and affordable to the people. We hope to do 150, 000 ha and when we are done, Nigeria will not have anything to do with importation of rice.

“Dangote Rice outgrowers scheme is committed to creating significant number of jobs, increasing the incomes of smallholders farmers and ensuring food security in the country by providing high quality seeds, fertilizers and agro-chemicals as well as technical assistance on best agricultural practice to farmers.

“This Scheme will help to diversify the economy, alleviate poverty and reduce the nation’s import bill. The scheme has been designed as a one stop solution for the rice value chain,” he stated.

The Dangote Rice Project Director, Robert Coleman, said the Sokoto operation was a demonstration phase to familiarize the farming community with the programme, train extension workers and lead farmers as well as test modern technologies.

He noted that they would have 25,000 ha cultivated by nearly 50,000 outgrowers in 2017 in addition to hundreds of jobs expected to be created by the end of that year.

In his remarks, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal expressed delight at the event, saying the coming of Dangote to invest in the state was as a result of his sustained effort towards inviting prospective investors to the state.

He said the state under the scheme, just as it had done with the federal government, would distribute nets, water pumping machines and fertiliser T subsidised prices to help the farmers have good yield.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Umar Tambuwal, disclosed that the scheme would cover 10 local governments in the stated and that the state government is committing several millions of naira to support the famers in the scheme.

According to him, “the farmers participating in the 5000 ha pilot scheme, the state government is giving out free nets to fight against queue a birds during production which is costing the state N48 million. The state will release and sell 5000 units of water pump worth N170 million at a subsidised rate of N10, 000 each.

“We will also distribute 5000 bags rice seed (Faro 44) worth N32.5 million while fertilizer will be sold 50 per cent subsidised rate to complement the outgrower farmers.”

Sultan Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar however, commended President Buhari for his diversifying efforts, urging Nigerians to pray for him.

He commended the Sokoto State government for the encouragement and support being given to the outgrowers scheme, saying it is a thing of joy that the state is also involved by way of giving the famers some of the inputs needed so that the scheme could succeed.

The National President of Rice Farmers Association, Alhaji Aminu Goronyo described the scheme as one of the potential means of making rice available and at low cost to the people because the farmers are encouraged to put all their best into it.

He said he has no doubt the scheme would success because it a private sector driven and that given the pedigree of the Alhaji Dangote in business, he was sure there the scheme would be sustainable and sooner than later other states will key into it.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Sky Bank nurtures over 200 SMEs for growth

 NaijaAgroNet

 

More than 200 customers and business partners in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) recently attended the Southeast edition of the Skye Bank’s SME seminar at Onitsha, Anambra State, NaijaAgroNet reports.

According to a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet , this year’s edition with the theme,“Nurturing Businesses for Growth,” the bank  explained, was part of its contributions towards developing the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector of the Nigerian economy.

While delivering his remark, the bank’s Regional Director, South East I, Dr. Charles Udogu said MSME remains an important growth driver in any economy, warning key economic players in the nation’s polity not to neglect the sector NaijaAgroNet learnt.

Dr. Udogu said, “Having identified the gap in the SME sector, Skye Bank organized this seminar to bridge this gap through the Bank’s business seminar series.”

NaijaAgroNet also gathered that among those who spoke in the same vein, was Mrs. Ayo Olojede, Head, Small Business Group, Skye Bank, who disclosed that the Bank was coming up with solutions that would help to minimize the cost of doing businesses for small business owners.

Also, the Managing Director, Dilimson Holdings Limited, Mr. George Umobi, charged participants to confront challenges faced in the course of growing their businesses and charged them to seize the opportunity Skye Bank presented to them and make the best of it, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Non-Smoking in Public: Lagos hosts advocacy meeting for stakeholders

NaijaAgroNet:

The Lagos State government and partners Tuesday hosted a one-day advocacy and sensitization campaign for stakeholders at a meeting in Ikeja-Lagos, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This, NaijaAgroNet also gathered was in compliance to the recently introduced non-smoking law in public places in the state.

Some of the speakers include Dr Yewande Adesina, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Public Health, Engr. Rasheed Shabi, General Manager/CEO, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and Mr Sola Dosunmu, Head, Regulatory Affairs, British American Tobacco (BAT), West Africa.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE 

... Linking agrobiz, people & technology
L-R: Dr Yewande Adesina, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Public Health, Engr. Rasheed Shabi, General Manager/CEO, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and Mr Sola Dosunmu, Head, Regulatory Affairs, British American Tobacco (BAT), West Africa at a One-Day Advocacy and Sensitization Campaign/Stakeholders' Meeting on Lagos State Non-Smoking in Public Places Law, in Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday.