Nigerian Akin-Olugbade, joins AFAP Board of Trustees - NaijaAgroNet

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Nigerian international lawyer, consultant, and development practitioner, Dr. Adesegun A. Akin-Olugbade has been named a member of the Board of Trustees at the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) reports NaijaAgroNet.

Akin-Olugbade, NaijaAgroNet learnt, brings with him a wealth of expertise and experience in the legal and financial sectors, spanning over three decades.

How LAPO is making great impact in Nigerian agriculture - NaijaAgroNet

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Agriculture is deeply woven into the fabric of Nigeria’s history and culture and it remains a central pillar of the economy. A dominant sector in Nigeria, it consistently contributes (specific figure) to Nigeria’s GDP, and accounting for the livelihoods of almost 84 percent of households in rural communities.

However, despite recent gains, the vast majority of farmers practice subsistence farming characterized by lack of modern implements and low yields. Sadly, farming is still largely defined by the poverty of practitioners, rather than its great potentials, although an emerging generation of young farmers are trying to change the narrative of Nigerian agriculture through a focus on new techniques and technology.

Nigerian women are resilience, dogged says Senator Tinubu - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The Senator representing the Lagos-Central. State, Lagos State in the red chamber fo the National Assembly, under the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Oluremi Tinubu has described Nigerian women as resilience, powerful and doggedness, reports NaijaAgroNet.

In her message to the celebration of the International Women's Day (IWD) 2019, Senator Tinubu declare she celebrates with Nigerian women all over the world on the occasion of the International Women’s day, 2019.

"Beyond the recognition of the struggles and achievements of womenfolk, it is a celebration of womanhood – her strength, resilience, power and doggedness," she declared.

Tinubu also said that this year, there are two themes in commemoration of International Women’s Day - ‘Balance for Better’ and 'Think equal, build smart, innovate for change.' 

She noted that while both themes may appear to be at variance, they are both pointers to the way forward in the quest for the protection of rights of women and a reminder that we must devise new strategies in the pursuit of gender equity and balance.

"It is apparent that to adequately entrench the rights of women, abrogate gender based violence and ensure equal opportunities for all, men have a role to play. Conscripting men into gender based discussions and actions will enable us address issues of gender disparity, equality in every strata of life, ensure gender balance in government, employment, remuneration of employees and wealth creation," she said.

Hence, she enjoined men to speak up in support of women, stressing that gender balance will benefit humanity and nationhood generally.

In addition, she said, women must rise up and equip themselves to fill gaps in politics, public office, and management. 

"This can only be done if we are all ready to make a difference, speak up for worthy causes and impact on our immediate communities, the type of change we wish to see," she said.

Senator Tinubu went on to congratulate women all over the world and Nigeria in particular, assuring of her unwavering commitment to the empowerment of Nigerian women.

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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No safe place left for Nigerian children – UNICEF laments

NaijaAgroNet:

With the unleashing of over 135 child-suicide bombers on Nigeria northeast, and increase across the world, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has lamented there is no more safe places left for children, reports NaijaAgroNet.

UNICEF in its latest submission on the state of suffering by Children made available to NaijaAgroNet, UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes, Manuel Fontaine, said that in northeast Nigeria and Cameroon, Boko Haram has forced at least 135 children to act as suicide bombers, almost five times the number in 2016.

NaijaAgroNet also gathered that millions more children are paying an indirect price for these conflicts, suffering from malnutrition, disease and trauma as basic services – including access to food, water, sanitation and health; as they were denied, damaged or destroyed in the fighting.

Also in the Central African Republic, UNICEF said that after months of renewed fighting, a dramatic increase in violence saw children being killed, raped, abducted and recruited by armed groups.

Over 2017 in the Afghanistan, almost 700 children were killed in the first 9 months of the year, while in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, violence has driven 850,000 children from their homes, while more than 200 health centres and 400 schools were attacked. An estimated 350,000 children have suffered from severe acute malnutrition. 

In Iraq and Syria, UNICEF said, children have reportedly been used as human shields, trapped under siege, targeted by snipers and lived through intense bombardment and violence.

Children in Myanmar, Rohingya region, UNICEF said, suffered and witnessed shocking and widespread violence as they were attacked and driven from their homes in Rakhine state; while children in remote border areas of Kachin, Shan, and Kayin states continued to suffer the consequences of ongoing tensions between the Myanmar Armed Forces and various ethnic armed groups.  

For the South Sudan, NaijaAgroNet reports that conflict has seen to a collapsing economy which led to a famine declaration in parts of the country, more than 19,000 children have been recruited into armed forces and armed groups, and over 2,300 children have been killed or injured since the conflict first erupted in December 2013.

Whereas in Somalia, estimated 1,740 cases of child recruitment were reported in the first 10 months of 2017.

Just as in Yemen, nearly 1,000 days of fighting left at least 5,000 children dead or injured, according to verified data, with actual numbers expected to be much higher. More than 11 million children need humanitarian assistance. Out of 1.8 million children suffering from malnutrition, 385,000 are severely malnourished and at risk of death if not urgently treated.

UNICEF calls on all parties to conflict to abide by their obligations under international law to immediately end violations against children and the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals. UNICEF also calls on States with influence over parties to conflict to use that influence to protect children.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that across all these countries, UNICEF works with partners to provide the most vulnerable children with health, nutrition, education and child protection services.

Isaac Oyimah/ED, ops

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Beware! Nigerian children plan takeover on November 20

NaijaAgroNet:

Yes, beware, the World Children’s Day (WCD) is on 20 November, and they youngsters are ready for the anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This follows the planned commemoration for this year, NaijaAgroNet reports that children across the world would ‘takeover’ high-profile moments in the media, politics, business, sports, music and entertainment to raise awareness on the most vulnerable and hardest to reach children. 

Children, according to UNICEF Nigeria, would raise their voices in solidarity with the world’s most disadvantaged children.

Also, children would shine a spotlight on the most pressing challenges faced by their generation, even as more than anything else on this day, “we seek your support to make this an advocacy moment for children’s right by children themselves.”

UNICEF equally outlines some children takeovers already confirmed;

1.      Children takeover prominent roles at Hilton Hotel.

2.     Presentation by a Nigerian child at the Ted talk-like Regional African Dialogue in Accra Ghana.

3.     Children’s visit to Fifth Chukker Polo and Country Club and takeover of management and games at the Club.

4.     Children takeover broadcasts at Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria

5.     Children takeover broadcasts at Kaduna State Media Corporation

6.     Children takeover broadcasts at Ebonyi State Broadcasting Service

7.     Children takeover broadcasts at Broadcasting Corporation of Abia state

8.     Children takeover broadcasts at Imo state Broadcasting Corporation

9.     Children takeover broadcasts at Anambra Broadcasting Service

10.  Children takeover broadcasts at Cross River Broadcasting Corporation

11.  Children takeover broadcasts at Radio Bayelsa

12.  Children takeover broadcasts at Radio Rivers

13.  Children take over broadcasts at Rhythm FM

14.  Children takeover broadcasts at Inspiration FM (Radio)

15.  Children takeover broadcast at Lagos Television

16.  Children takeover broadcast at Radio Lagos, Eko FM

17.  Children takeover broadcasts at Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria

18.  Children takeover broadcasts at Nigerian Television Authority

19.  Children takeover broadcast at Breeze FM Akure

20.  Children takeover broadcasts at Positive FM Akure

21.  Children takeover broadcasts at Bauchi State Television

22.  Children takeover broadcasts and the Managing Director’s role at the Bauchi Radio Corporation

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Pix: VP Osibanjo with some Nigerian children during a visit. courtesy: premiumtimesng.com

Nigerian media tasked on family planning uptake

NaijaAgroNet:

The Associate Director, Family Planning and Reproductive Health at Pathfinder Nigeria, Dr. Habeeb Salami, has urged Nigerian media to ensure family planning uptake in the country, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Salami in his opening remarks at a one-day media parley on the 2017 fourth round survey of Performance, Monitoring and Accountability (PMA2020) as part of the Lagos Family Planning (FP) Advocacy Working group (PHSAI), and supported by Pathfinder International, said the objective of the session was to engage the media and provide participants with relevant information with regards to latest survey results.

This, he said, would avail media to better package their reportages toward advocating for improved family planning.

As said by him, the session would also encourage media to link the data from Performance, Monitoring and Accountability (PMA2020) to family planning with the anticipated outcome of reducing Maternal Mortality (MM).

He pointed out on the need to draw attention to poor understanding and the role of family planning in reducing maternal mortality.

Dr. Salami reiterated the call on the media to do everything possible professionally to make certain Nigeria continue to see increase in better family planning.

NaijaAgroNet notes that PMA2020 and media parley also had supports from the Federal Ministry of Health, National Population Commission, National Bureau of Statistics, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health (Johns Hopkins University) and was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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PMA2020: Olaolorun recommends more training for Nigerian family planning care providers

NaijaAgroNet:

The co-Principal Investigator for the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020, Dr. Funmi OlaOlorun has recommend more training support for the private health care providers in the provision of family planning in Nigeria, and particularly in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of the country, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking to  NaijaAgroNet during a media parley on the fourth round survey of Performance, Monitoring and Accountability 2017 in Lagos, Dr. Olaolorun said that support for more training for private healthcare providers will improve the provision of injectables, implants among others for the purpose of effective family planning for the country.

According to her, support increases supply of Long Acting Methods (LAM), greater choice and avails provides training and retraining opportunities in order to be up-standing to their call of duty.

Dr. OlaOlorun who doubles as a Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant at College of Medicine, University of Ibadan - ‎College of Medicine, University of Ibadan disclosed that the latest survey under PMA2020, witnessed in Lagos, more women obtaining method of choice and would return to providers in the nearest future, with likelihood of referring a friend.

She stressed that the survey noted increase in the use of long acting methods, especially implants, just as stockouts persist, especially in the private hospitals and clinics.

The PMA2017 cum Lagos-round four survey, she noted was conducted by the Centre for Research, Evaluation Resources and Development (CRERD) and Bayero University Kano (BUK).

The project, she said, was collected data from Anambra, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Nasarawa, Rivers and Taraba States.

With support from the Federal Ministry of Health, National Population Commission, National Bureau of Statistics, Lagos State Ministry of Health , Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health (Johns Hopkins University) and was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in addition to partnership with Pathfinder International.

The purpose of the survey, Dr. Olaolorun said, was to monitor family planning progress with a set of core indicators and was conducted between April and May this year.

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops
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Nigerian Army plans cattle ranches nationwide

NaijaAgroNet:

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai has revealed that the Nigerian Army would be raising up cattle ranches in such a manner that in almost all the divisions, and all the brigades, cattle will be reared, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Gen. Buratai who was represented by the Chief of Army Logistics, Major General Patrick Akem, made this disclosure, Tuesday at the Commissioning of Mogadishu Cantonment New Mammy Market (former Abacha Barracks) in Abuja.

He also disclosed that in keeping up with modern cattle rearing tradition, he sent officers of the Army to Argentina to look at how cattle were reared.

“Argentina has a population of 41 million people, but it feeds about 400 million people around the world with its beef. To take it to the next level, we want to adopt a system where the cattle are not just free ranging coming from Sokoto to Port Harcourt, thereby making their meat tough to eat, the products will soon be coming from our own farms and ranches,” Buratai said.

He pointed out that the Army has created the Barrack Investment Initiative as platform that affords Army family members the opportunity of raising up fishing ponds, vegetable gardens, fruits, livestock, chicken and their eggs.

As said by him, the intention of the Nigerian Army was not just to secure the country, but to contribute in growing the economy of the nation.

“We want to tell our wives that they can live beyond the salaries of their husbands, so we are trying to empower the women in the barracks to be able to form co-operatives, so as to access loans and to a large extent be able to fend for themselves and their families, even without the salaries of their husbands,” he said.

Equally speaking, the Commander Army Headquarters Garrison, Major General John Malu said that the formidable shopping edifice had over 2000 shops, 27 warehouses and a printing press owned by the Nigerian Navy. He added that the services of a reputable private security firm was contracted to handle the security of the market.

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Low sperm count, goat meats to rescue

NaijaAgroNet: 

A Nigerian professor of Applied Zoology, Stephen Oluwagbemiga, has revealed that low sperm count could be boosted by consumption of goat meats, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking at the annual lecture of the National Association of Zoology Students (NAZS), University of Ilorin in Kwara State, last Friday, Prof. Oluwagbemiga said that people with low sperm count should consume more goat meats and foods that contain different nutrients to boost their fertility.

Oluwagbemiga who is a lecturer at the Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, and dwelt on “Relevance of Zoology in Contemporary Nigeria” at the lecture, also warned Nigerians against feeding too much on junk foods, pointing out that the advice on low sperm count booster, became necessary because of the increase in the number of infertility in the country and people with deficiency in calcium.

He stressed that insufficient calcium in the body could adversely affect how peoples’ hearts and other parts of the body function, highlighting the need for people to increase their calcium in-take by eating crayfish, snails and biscuit bones.

Oluwagbemiga further said zoologists had been proffering solutions to some of the nation’s health challenges, including guinea worm infection, sleeping sickness and mosquito bites.

Equally speaking, the Kwara State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Alhaji Mahmud Ajeigbe, commended the students for organising the lecture and urged them to face their studies, and reading widely.

Isaac Oyimah with additional report from TheEagleOnline/GEE

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Farmers urged to embrace corporatives, technologies

NaijaAgroNet:

Bank of Industry (BoI) has urged Nigerian farmers to embrace corporatives and technologies to boost agric-business development in the country, especially cassava so as to make it profitable, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Managing Director, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, represented by Group Head, Agro Processing Unit of BOI, Mrs. Kadafa Lolo Ruth made this call at a one-day stakeholders consultative meeting in Lagos.

BOI also noted that lots of farmers are individualistic and seldom come together as a team to have a registered corporative or association which could enable them to access loans from financial institutions.

“Many farmers come to the Bank of Industry to seek for loans but they do not have any tractable sales record or evidence of market sales, they cannot present convincing workable proposals or a clear thought-out business frame work that could enable them secure loans,” Olaoluwa said.

He, therefore, charged farmers to integrate and collaborate with like-minds, utilize technological tool to improve the quality of the produce and package them as premium brands that consumers will be willing to pay for.

Equally speaking at occasion, Sales Director for Bosch West Africa, Mr. Francis Omoniyi said, “Bosch will be giving one year free service maintenance to customers that purchase any of their tools and educate them on how to fully utilize the equipment” stressing that Bosch wants to assist in boosting the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by structuring agric business via capacity building.

 

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Buhari urged to increase allocation to agriculture

  NaijaAgroNet

The president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) has been advised by a concerned Nigerian to ensure that agriculture received a good chunk of budgetary allocation to boost food security, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Mr. Seyi Adebowale, an agriculturalist and the Director of Sophix Farms, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, made this call during an interview with news men in Omu-Aran.

In his word, "The incoming government led by the President-elect, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, needs a strong political will to take decisive steps to develop the agriculture sector. The challenges of inadequate budgetary allocation and lack of awareness on viability of agriculture to solve our domestic food crisis are issues requiring priority attention," he said.

NaijaAgroNet further learnt that the agriculturalist also faulted the negative disposition of government officials, bankers, entrepreneurs and investors to agriculture, adding that, "The major stumbling block against development in agriculture today is as a result of the wrong mind-set that government officials, bankers, entrepreneurs and investors have about the sector.”

He stated that he had heard bankers and investors saying that they cannot invest in agriculture because of the risk involved and noted that such trend remained a stumbling block to develop the sector.

Adebowale expressed the urgent need for a re-ordering of priorities by stakeholders in the nation's economy towards embracing land policy to boost agricultural production, NaijaAgroNet gathered.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

 
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P&G unveils Ariel Automatic in style

 NaijaAgroNet

 

The Procter & Gamble (P&G’s) flagship laundry brand, Ariel on Sunday in the city of Lagos, consolidated its number one foothold on Nigerian detergent market with the introduction of Ariel Automatic which is specifically designed to be used in washing machines, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The Managing Director of the company, George Nassar, in welcoming guests to the grand launch which took place at Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos, said that since the official launch of Ariel in Nigeria in 1998, the brand has continued to be the number one stain remover.

He disclosed that Ariel Automatic has more stain fighting ingredients than its competitors, adding that the philosophy behind Ariel automatic is to improve laundry experience in Nigerian homes while also adding that Ariel Automatic is endorsed by LG, the number one laundry manufacturers in the world.

Explaining further to NaijaAgroNet the Communications Manager, Ariel, Sub-Saharan Africa, Jeanne du Plessis said that Ariel Automatic is designed, not just to clean the fabric but also to protect and enhance it. She maintained that Africa is “incredibly important to P&G.” She went on to add that Ariel Automatic offer user good smell that offers them the self confidence they require.

Ahinomen Anekabor, Commercial & Brand Director, P&G, on her part told NaijaAgroNet that besides being NAFDAC certified, Ariel Automatic preserves the life of washing machines, saying that every fashion requires a detergent for its wash, adding that Ariel Automatic was developed at Brussel’s Innovation Centre, Brussel, Belgium, maintaining that it is customer inspired and that behind every successful person there is an Ariel.

NaijaAgroNet reports there were several demonstrations to convince the audience that Ariel Automatic cleans, protects and enhances washing experience besides taking care of itching which people normally experience with their fabrics.

With ink and motor oil mixed and used to stain white fabrics in the same degree and soaked with 

Ariel Automatic on one hand, and another competing detergent on the other, NaijaAgroNet observed that it was Ariel Automatic that removed all the stains leaving the fabrics as white as snow.

Ariel continues to be a leading innovation brand in detergents, driving both product performance and sustainability across the widest spectrum of markets and consumers in the globe.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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