IITA initiatives contribute to Nigeria food security

NaijaAgroNet:

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has declared that it contributed massively to the country’s efforts towards food security, employment generation, diversification of the country’s economy with value chain agriculture, and better nutrition.

IITA Communication Officer for West and Central Africa, Mr Godwin Atser made this assertion while speaking to newsmen and pointed out that IITA Director-General, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, has the zeal to empower the youth, hence he started a pilot project last year on how the institute can use agriculture as a tool to engage the youth corps members, empower them through training by inspiration by going into the field, writing proposal and making money from agriculture.

NaijaAgroNet gathered from Atser that about 25 graduates have keyed into the youth project and had cultivated 50 hectares of cassava using the project to meet the stem demands of farmers.  

“IITA has been very successful. If not for IITA, there would not have been cassava in Nigeria.  In the 1970s, there was a disease that was wiping out cassava in Africa.  IITA and its partners released wasps which killed the cassava bug that was killing cassava.

Atser informed NaijaAgroNet that when the presidential cassava initiative was initiated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, IITA propelled the efforts and production rose by 10 million metric tonnes and Nigeria became the largest world producer of cassava.

He disclosed that IITA’s door is open for youths who are interested in agriculture  to write to the institute on-line or on the website and advocated for the training of youth in the yam value chain, while government and other stakeholders  create more awareness about cassava flour and bread.

     

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*^{With Additional report from Tribune}

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Kogi tasks council chairmen on agriculture

NaijaAgroNet:

 The Special Adviser to the Kogi State Government on Youth and Women Affairs, Mrs. Temitope Sinkaye has called on the 21 local government chairmen across the State to key into its agricultural transformation agenda, NaijaAgroNet reports.

Sinkaye made the call during the commissioning of the Youth Advancement and Development for Kogi (YAD4KOGI) cassava processing Centre, in Ihima, Okehi Local Government, stressing that their coming on board the agric programme will assist in reducing unemployment in the State.

She explained that the state government intended to use the agro- allied enterprise, an arms of the YAD4KOGI to create employment opportunities for the unemployed youths, reduce rural-urban migration, stem social vices and create wealth to enhance socio- economic development in the State.

The Special Adviser appealed to the chairmen to make available 250 hectares of land for cassava production in their respective areas,  and stressed  that government has provided a ready- made market for all the products and by-products of cassava in order to avoid the challenges of post - harvest losses.

The Group Coordinator of the Evabe Cooperative Society, Mr Moses Adedaji confirmed to NaijaAgroNet that the programme has helped to take the youths off the street, and solicited for the State government assistance in providing a vehicle for the group to aid in the transportation of the cassava from farms to the production site.

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pix: Gov idris Wada of Kogi State

Fafiyebi tasks govt to provide agric incentives, engage youths

NaijaAgroNet

Dr Alabi Fafiyebi, a consultant on agriculture has tasked government to give more attention to the agric sector if the country has to develop as greater percentage of Nigerians earns their living directly or indirectly from agriculture and related services.

Fafiyebi stated this in a chat with NaijaAgroNet at Ilupeju, Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti that the agric sector apart from providing food for the citizenry and raw materials for agro-allied industries, it plays a vital role in the nation’s economy.

“ It should be accorded the deserved attention through allocation of more funds for execution of projects that will have direct impact on farmers, especially those engaged in mechanised farming,’’ Fafiyebi said.

He lauded the reform agenda of the Federal Government in revitalising the sector that has seen the rebirth of cocoa and palm trees through distribution of seedlings to farmers and called for more incentives for the farmers, especially the youth.

Fafiyebi canvassed that when the youths, especially graduates are engaged in food production it would go a long way to reduce unemployment in the country.

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pix:Minister of Agric& Rural Dev. Dr Akinwunmi Adesina

Oil Spill: Fishermen demand N250b compensation

        

           

NaijaAgroNet:

The Fishermen under the auspices of Famous Fishing Organisation (FFO) in Unyenge community, Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom have demanded for N250billion compensation from an oil company, Universal Energy Resources Ltd, (UERL).

The chairman of the organisation, Mr. Johnson Harry gave the hint while briefing newsmen on the impact of the August 15 oil spill on its members from the company’s oil field in Stubb Creek.

Harry informed NaijaAgroNet that the spill emptied about 2,000 barrels of crude into the Ede Akpa River in the area thereby destroying the aquatic life, raffia palms, fishing nets and stopping their only means of livelihood which is fishing.

“The oil flowed to Ede Akpa River where we do our fishing activities and destroyed our fishing equipment and as a result, we can no longer fish in the river again.  The oil spill also destroyed farmlands in the area, affecting the livelihood of 5,000 farmers in Unyenge community. We cannot farm, and according to international standard, if there is an oil spill, you have to wait for 10 years before you can start farming again,’’ Harry said.

He lamented that the devastation had caused untold hardship to the people of the area, resulting to acute hunger and death of some of their members and urged UERL to clean up the affected lands and waters in the area according to international standard.

The company the Public Affairs Officer of the company, Mr. Aniefiok Iwaudofia, confirmed the incident, while explaining that the cause of the spill was equipment failure from a ruptured flange on the tank outlet and assured the host community that the management would continue to engage in practice and processes designed to effectively manage the hazards of its operations.

“The quantity of crude spilled into the river was only about three barrels. It is important to note that the spill was immediately and effectively contained within the Stubb Creek well pad. The little that poured on the UERL acquired Right of Way (ROW) was scooped and the top soil excavated and back-filled with fresh sand,’’ Iwaudofia said.

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Ekiti attracts N47.5 bn in agric investment

  

NaijaAgroNet:

The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi has disclosed that his administration had attracted agricultural investment to the tune of about N47. 5 billion in the agriculture sector in the last three years.

Gov. Fayemi made this disclosure at the just concluded 2013 World Food Day held in Ado Ekiti, attributing the investment to  reputable indigenous and international agricultural institutions, including Agricultural Company (AGCO), in addition to  securing  a credit facility of N80 million and tractors worth N100 million.

According to him, these companies have also partnered with Ekiti State government for the establishment of 2000 hectares of mechanized rice, soybean, and cassava farms while new vision technology is establishing a $165 about N26, 152,500,000.00 agric city.

NaijaAgroNet confirmed from him that the state is working with Dutch Agricultural Development and Trading Company (DATCO) on the establishment of high quality cassava flour processing factory, Vegefresh has taken over the moribund Orin cassava processing plant upgrading the capacity of the plant from 10 tons to 60 tons per day production while others including Datlex, RENL, GIL, Arewa Cotton, and Spectra among others have keyed into the vision to make the state the food of south west Nigeria.

 He explained that due to the zero-tolerance status of his administration, cheques and tractors are only being distributed to beneficiaries whose operations will impact the agric sector.

He lauded the support of multilateral institutions including the World Bank, African Development Bank, UNDP, DFID and FAO for the various drives in the sector, noting that all their efforts have enabled the Youth Commercial Agriculture Development (YCAD) programme comprising 250 youths to cultivate 1,900 hectares of cassava, 53,000 cocoa seedlings, 109,560 oil palm seedlings, 60,000 fingerlings, 6,230 kilogrammes of fish and 60,000 broilers.

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pix;Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi

Plateau trains farmers on vegetable production

NaijaAgroNet

The Agricultural Service Training Centre(ASTC)  in Plateau state has trained some farmers in the production of improved variety of vegetables preparatory to go into double season cropping to address increasing demand of vegetables in the state. 

The General Manager of ASTC Mr. Oren Shaked, who made this known, said that the ASTC, through its greenhouse project in the state has trained some farmers on the use of improved tomato and other vegetable varieties for production through the wet season using the greenhouse style.

 Shaked confirmed to NaijaAgroNet that one can grow anything in a greenhouse and at any time of the year, noting that if tomato is grown in the greenhouse during the rainy season it can sell at a very high price because it is scarce in the market. 

He said one can also reduce to a minimum the use of chemicals in the greenhouse because the plants are protected from insects thereby requiring very little insecticide or fungicide, adding that a lot of consumers today look for organic crops that are grown without the use of fertilizer and chemicals.

“The climate under the greenhouse is being controlled, crops grown in the house are better than those grown in the open field and during the harmattan or dry season, the nights are very cold but in the greenhouses it is hot, the temperature is being controlled so you can get better crops,” he said.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that even though greenhouses provide better and improved ways of crop production especially to local irrigation farmers whose vegetables are exposed to harsh climatic conditions as well as pests and diseases, some of the farmers nevertheless see this advanced system of farming as mere fancy which is incapable of upstaging the conventional farming system. 

“We also harvest all those strawberries, cherry tomatoes that the White people harvest in their greenhouse but we don’t cover the place because you will be putting a farmer in difficulty if you ask him to go into that system because he won’t be able to afford it,” a farmer said.

*With additional report from Daily Trust          

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pix: Gov David Jang of Plateau state

Kenya launches first African soil atlas

                 

                   

NaijaAgroNet

The first Atlas of Africa that collects vital information on African soils has been launched in Nakuru, Kenya.

The Principal Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture Sicily Kariuki  said at the Soil Science Society of East Africa and the African Soil Science Society conference in Nakuru that the soil atlas is to raise awareness on the significance of soil as a natural resource to farmers, politicians, agricultural stakeholders and the importance of the resource and how it affects livelihoods.

“Healthy and fertile soils are the cornerstones of food security, key environmental services, social cohesion and the economies of most African countries. Unfortunately, soil in Africa tends to reach public awareness only when it fails to feed the people living from it,” states the atlas.

According to the atlas, Africa is the only continent in the world where the annual per capita food production is lower than its estimated population growth because of land degradation and soil fertility decline over time.

The atlas further explains the origin and functions of soil, describing the different types of soil, their relevance to both local and global issues linked to soil with diagrams, illustration tables and maps and this has helped readers understand the information and research work, the principal threats to soil and the steps being taken to protect soil resources.

The soil atlas is said to form the basis for a Pan-African assessment on the state of soil resources and compiles the contributions of dozens of soil experts from Africa and Europe with useful information for policy makers and researchers.

NaijaAgroNet noted that the atlas will help to create strategies and structures for better land and water management practices which will lead to increased food production that will ensure food security and environmental protection.

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UN appoints Gebisa Ejeta to scientific advisory board

NaijaAgroNet

Professor of Agronomy and Director of Purdue’s Center, Gebisa Ejeta,  for Global Food Security has been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the U.N. Scientific Advisory Board.

According to Managing Director of the Center for Global Food Security, Gary Burniske , Ejeta’s scientific achievements and passion for pushing food security to the forefront of international policy agenda distinguished him among scientists considered for the board.

 “His exemplary research on Striga-resistant and drought-tolerant sorghum has tremendous potential to substantially boost crop yields, and subsequently food security, across Sub-Saharan Africa,” Burniske said.

NaijaAgroNet  noted that the board comprised of 26 of the world’s top scientists, positioned to realize the UN’s vision of sustainable development drafted at the UN’s Rio+20 conference in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 and to provide scientific expertise to the secretary-general and executive heads of U.N. organizations.

Ejeta credits Purdue for his success, providing him with a graduate education and a professional environment to conduct his world-changing research.

He noted that Purdue has recently placed more emphasis on plant science research than ever in President Mitch Daniels’ recently announced ‘Purdue Moves’ initiative, stressing that “The liberty to do research that improves lives in faraway places is a golden opportunity for anyone who wants to make a difference in the lives of poor people. For that, I’ll be forever grateful.”

NaijaAgroNet found out that Ejeta was once a victim of the same poverty his ground-breaking research has ameliorated in much of Africa and if not for his illiterate mother’s belief in the value of education, he would never have risen beyond his circumstances to improve food security for millions.

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Rwanda youth meet to develop ICT solutions for agriculture

NaijaAgroNet:

Rwanda Information Communication Technology (ICT) students and technology entrepreneurs assembled at KLab, the Rwanda's technical hub for a 36-hour programming competition to come up with ICT solutions for the agriculture sector.

The competition organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and the Rwandan Information Communication Technology (ICT) chamber   saw the participants tasked with challenges to come up with ICT solutions that would either help with information sharing/communication between farmers and extension workers or make it possible for farmers to access financial services with ease.

Founder and Managing Director of Axis Ltd, Clement Uwajeneza, said the panel of judges was made up of managing directors of tech companies, a professor from Carnegie Mellon University Rwanda Campus and a representative of the ministry of education who looked out for the feasibility, originality and practicality of the innovations presented to see how they would solve the challenges farmers face.

NaijaAgroNet learnt from Uwajeneza that the competition also served to select the country's representatives to an oncoming regional solutions competition that will take place during the ICT4Ag conference due in Kigali from November 4 to 7.

The winning group made up of students from Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (Kist) presented a hardware and software solution, and fertiliser logic that determine the quantity of Nitrogen Phosphorus and potassium in the soil. They were awarded with a laptop, a chance to participate in the upcoming regional competition and incubation facilities to polish their projects, while the other four runners-up were also awarded with laptops.

Hillary Muramira, a member of winning group, said that being in touch with the end user of their innovation enabled them to come up with a winning project.

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Nutritionist advises farmers to invest in walnut cultivation

NaijaAgroNet:

A nutritionist, Mrs Veronica Ajayi of Global Foods Limited, Osogbo, Osun State, has called on farmers in Nigeria to invest more in the cultivation of walnut because of its nutritional values and medicinal benefits.

Mrs Ajayi gave her opinion in Osogbo and explained noting that the fruit otherwise known as ‘asala’ in Yoruba and ‘ukpa’ in Igbo languages are consumed by people without knowing its potential and valued nutrients.

NaijaAgroNet gathered from Ajayi’s statement that researchers have discovered that it contains vital nutrients that aid human growth while the leaves, nuts and trees could be used in the treatment of ailments such as dysentery, infertility and stress, among others.

 She implored farmers to invest in walnut that could fetch them more than N500, 000 annually cultivating on only one hectare land.

 With additional reports  from NAN

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