Gov. Ayo Fayose bans cattle rearing in Ekiti state

NaijaAgroNet:

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has banned grazing and rearing of cattle in the state, saying those interested in cattle farming should get their own private cattle ranch, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The governor, disclosed this after visiting some victims of herdsmen attack in Oke-Ako in Ikole Local Government Area (LGA) of Ekiti State, said, a bill to make the movement of cattle from one location to another criminal in the state would soon be sent to the State House of Assembly.

Governor Fayose, lamented the invasion of the community last Friday by Fulani herdsmen which resulted in the two deaths in the community and injured others, warned that government would henceforth confiscate any cattle seen anywhere in the State apart from ranch created for them by their owners.

He described the Fulani herdsmen that attacked Oke-Ako and other communities in the country as “agents of the devil that must be fished out and punished accordingly.”

For him, Ekiti citizens will not leave their lands for Fulani herdsmen and in a system “where the leadership of the country looks the other way while our people are being killed, we will have no option than to defend ourselves by whatever means.

“I have come here to commiserate with the people of Oke-Ako over the murder of two of our people by these evil Fulani herdsmen.  I am also here to assure that this will be the last time your community will be invaded by Fulani herdsmen under whatever guise.

“I have directed that cattle rearing and grazing should stop in Ekiti State and those interested in cattle farming should henceforth do so in their own cattle ranch.

“No more movement of cattle from one location to another in the State and any cattle seen anywhere in Ekiti State apart from the ranch created for them by their owners will be confiscated by the government and their owners will be prosecuted.

“A bill to this effect will be sent to House of Assembly for passage into law to criminalise cattle owners whose cattle are found moving from one location to the other in the State.

"We in Ekiti will no longer harbor herdsmen who go about killing our people, destroying our farmlands and raping our women. It is our duty to protect our people and we are going to do that without fear or favor.

The governor said the activities of Fulani herdsmen was inimical to the revival of agriculture in the country saying, “one wonders how Nigerians can go back to farming when those already in the farms are losing billions of naira worth of crops to destruction of their farmlands by the Fulani Herdsmen and the Federal Government is not doing anything about it.”

Governor Fayose, in a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet, promised to complement the efforts of the local hunters provided a Pick Up Van, raised the sum of N2.5m for them and advice the hunters to work hand-in-hand with the security personnel for the safety of the community. He also raised the sum of N2.5m for the affected families.

“I want to say it very clearly, everything you want me to do towards a safe environment, I will do. Because the moment you are not secured then I had better resigned as a governor.

“If I cannot provide adequate security for you, it is better for me to leave this office. The only reason you voted for me is because you know I am competent to do the needful in circumstances like this. Nobody will take Ekiti away from us.

The governor visited the hospital where some of the injured were receiving treatment and in the course of interacting with the Doctor realize the importance of relocating them to Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti where adequate treatment can be delivered on them and also promised to refer them to OAU Teaching hospital if need be.

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Pix: Gov Fayose with local hunters in Oke-Ako during his visit.

NCF conducts annual water bird census

NaijaAgroNet:

The Nigerian Conservation Foundationhas conducted an annual water bird census at Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands in Yobe and Jigawa States, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This,NaijaAgroNet gathered was done as part of its commitment and dedication to the conservation and management of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) within and outside protected areas reports.

Disclosing this at a capacity building workshop on effective monitoring of IBAs in Cross Rivers State, facilitated by NCF’s Ruth Akagu and Professor Augustine Ezealor, they said the purpose of the Water Bird Census which took place in six communities; Baturia, Nguru Lake, Dagona, Gsahua (new site), Katagum and Marma Chanel, was to ascertain the population of water birds.

The workshop focused on IBAs in unprotected areas and participants acquired skills in basic field techniques on bird sampling and identification, effective utilisation of the IBA form and METT framework and learned about the processes involved in establishing SSGs.

The training was funded by the RSPB (Birdlife in the UK) and facilitated by NCF with support from A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute and National Park Service.

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AATF to boost agro-productivity in Africa via Innovation

  NaijaAgroNet:

The Executive Director, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Dennis Kyetere has said that the use of technology will play a key role in addressing farmer’s constraints and enhancing agricultural development on the continent, reports NaijaAgroNet.

In line with this, the AATF has signed a memorandum of Understanding with Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) during which the Secretary General COMESA, Mr. Sindiso  Ngwenya, said that there is need for African countries to use innovation to boost agricultural productivity and trade in the region.

Also, Mr. Ngwenya said, technological interventions will help in securing Africa’s future through increased agricultural productivity, and as Dr. Kyetere said, the foundation promotes various kinds of technologies to strengthen the capacity of farmers in Africa.

Mr. Ngwenya further said that the partnerships should help address the entire commodity value chains from production through to the markets.

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Food security: UN, EU launch global network for joint assessments, coordinated action

NaijaAgroNet:

A new network to achieve joint global food-security assessments and joint responses to food crises, including those related to phenomena such as El Niño, was launched in Istanbul Monday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the European Union, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Global Network for Food Insecurity, Risk Reduction and Food Crises Response, NaijaAgroNet gathered, would pave the way for enhancing the impact of future responses to food crises at the global level by regularly producing, in real time, joint reports based on key analyses and containing timely response options.

According to FAO, this will prompt coordination among stakeholders and promote joint planning and joint responses to food crises, in addition, to improving learning from past crises and increase the level of transparency and availability of crucial analysis of global needs.

The "Global Network" and its outputs are public goods, available for everybody. Participation in the network will be broadened to all key stakeholders that can contribute to the analysis and/or to the response. The network’s pilot publication “Global analysis of food and nutrition security situation in food crisis hotspots 2016” is the example that a joint analysis is possible. It covers 70 countries affected by a food crisis in 2015, including chronically vulnerable countries at or above Phase 2 of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). 

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FAO heads to World Humanitarian Summit 2016

NaijaAgroNet:

The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit slated for Istanbul, Turkey has attracted the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), reports NaijaAgroNet.

The summit which commences Monday, May 23 through Tuesday, 24, 2016, NaijaAgroNet gathered comes at a time when the world is witnessing the highest level of humanitarian needs since the Second World War.

NaijaAgroNet reports that rural communities are often the hardest hit by crises and disasters, hence, FAO believes that much more must be done to ensure they have unimpeded access to food and nutrition and that their livelihoods, which are mostly based on agriculture, are protected.

Globally disasters and conflicts, FAO said, are increasing in frequency and magnitude, stressing that these are as diverse as Typhoon Haiyan, the recent Ebola outbreak, and civil war in Syria, to name just a few.

FAO said, supporting agricultural livelihoods could help reduce risks, promote stability, and drive post-crisis recovery, just as investing in agriculture is a good investment in building a future in which no one is left behind.

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Nigeria, ready for nuclear energy –FG

NaijaAgroNet:

The Minster of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has said Nigeria was ready to commence the production of nuclear energy, as she had secured the necessary certification from the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), reports NaijaAgroNet.

Stating that Nigeria had started a nuclear program 17 years ago, he also said Nigeria has also “produced 25 graduates of master’s level under certification by the International Atomic Energy Agency. He also said that we (Nigeria) are at the stage of developing a design for financing, after which we would move to the design for construction.

“If all things go well, by quarter four of next year – that is the schedule that I met – we should have started construction, so that is what I meet“ he said.

Fashola said it was important for Nigeria to focus on the gains and safety of nuclear energy as obtained in other developed countries and since the whole world was moving toward a cleaner fuel and the use of more sustainable form of energy, Nigeria could be an exception.

The minister further said that diversifying the nation’s energy mix would lead to the utilisation of the various forms of renewable energy sources in the country but the developed countries could only share the technology with countries ready keep to the standards in the utilisation of the technology. This, according to him, will ultimately make electricity cheap in the country.

“What we are thinking about is long-term solution. We need a solution that will endure for generations to come.“When you design a power solution, design it so that the next coming generations can use it,” Fashola said.

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WHEAT FORUM TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY VIA LEVIES

 NaijaAgroNet:

The Wheat forum, currently sent a request to the South African Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC), on behalf of the directly affected groups in the winter cereal industry, for the introduction and promulgation of the following statutory levies (VAT excluded), to be collected and administered by the Winter Cereal Trust, for a period of four years reports NaijaAgroNet.

This is line with the current statutory measure regarding levies on winter cereal as promulgated by Government Notice No. 38201 of 11 November 2014, which currently amounts to R17/ton (excl VAT), which will expire on 30 September 2016.

The proposed levies will be utilised for the funding of information, quality and grading, transformation, administration, capacity building, research, the Supply and Demand Estimates Committee, and pre-breeding research as opposed to seed breeding which the soon to expire levy was used for. This will result in lower amount levied.

It was gathered by NaijaAgroNet that the Wheat Forum could not reach consensus on the final amount, manner of collection and the specific utilisation of a seed breeding levy which led to industry stakeholders submitting two alternative applications for statutory levies aimed at seed breeding and technology for wheat and barley, which will be published for comments at a later stage.

It was further gathered by NaijaAgroNet that the levy funds will partly compensate for the diminished funds for research and also to make provision for new research projects to be funded.

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