GMB: Encourage youths on agriculture – Unegbu

NaijaAgroNet:

President-elect, General Mohammadu Buhari has been called upon to set up modalities that would encourage effective youth participation in agriculture, NaijaAgroNet reports.

NaijaAgroNet learnt that this call was made by an economist, Mr. Okechukwu Unegbu, on Thursday during an interview session with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said that there is much attention given to oil, as such, ignoring other sectors which would have increased the productive economy of the nation.

“This country has so much in terms of solid minerals and agriculture but because oil was bringing in cheap money, we decided to close our eyes to those areas. The government should fashion out a course whereby we will get away from depending sorely on oil.’’

NaijaAgroNet gathered that he further advised the incoming government to speed up actions that would cub corruption in the country. Unegbu noted that corruption was one of the major causes of most of the sufferings faced by Nigerians and should be the main focus of the new government.

Daniel Nsolibe/Ed, Ops.  

 

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Sirleaf, Malac; Inaugurates Industrial Rice Processing Facility

NiajaAgroNet:

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, will today officially inaugurate  Liberia’s first industrial rice processing and warehousing facility, Fabrar Liberia Inc., in Kakata, Margibi County, alongside U.S Ambassador to Liberia, Deborah Malac, NiajaAgroNet reports.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that with financial and technical support from the U.S. Government through the USAID Food and Enterprise Development (USAID FED) program and private equity financing from West Africa Venture Fund in 2014, Fabrar Liberia Inc. was able to procure an automated rice processing plant and expand its warehouse facilities.

The USAID FED Program, NaijaAgroNet learnt is implemented in six counties: Bong, Nimba, Lofa, Grand Bassa, Margibi and Montserrado and aims to reduce hunger and promote food security by increasing agricultural productivity and profitability of food crops (rice, cassava, vegetables, and goats), stimulating enterprise development and building agriculture workforce.

As against the previous supply of rice entirely by foreign imports due to a lack of domestic supply, NaijaAgroNet gathered that, the Liberia Government through the industrial rice processing and warehousing facility and Fabrar Liberia Inc. would market rice to local consumers in Monrovia and throughout the country.

Fabrar Liberia Inc. (Fabrar) was fully incorporated 2009, as Liberian owned and run agriculture holding firm to tackle food insecurity in Liberia by improving the livelihoods of farmers and providing them with increased access to domestic and international food markets

Daniel Nsolibe/Ed, Ops.

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Geothermal energy saves cost for sustainable food production

NaijaAgroNet

Geothermal energy which is the heat energy radiating from the earth’s core  has been  discovered to provide  unique opportunities for cost efficient, sustainable food production and processing in developing countries,  according to  information released by FAO and made available to NaijaAgroNet .

According to Carlos da Silva, Senior Agribusiness Economist in FAO, “It’s an energy source that’s renewable, clean and low-cost once you’ve made the initial investment to harness it.”

Da Silva who works in FAO’s Rural Infrastructure and Agribusiness Division said that  “By using a clean energy source, you’re not only addressing cost but also the environmental impacts of food production and processing,” NaijaAgroNet reports.

Agriculture both consumes energy and emits greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Research suggests that using geothermal heating for greenhouses decreases fungus infections and cuts fuel costs by up to 80 per cent, providing significant savings to operating budgets.

In some developing economies, as much as half of all food produced is lost post-harvest – that's due in part to a lack of affordable energy for food processing, according to “Uses of Geothermal Energy in Food and Agriculture.”

“Geothermal energy for agriculture can be done even at small-scales and can significantly contribute to income generation, providing employment and improving food and nutrition security in developing countries,” adds Divine Njie, AGS Deputy Director and co-editor of the report.

Worldwide, 38 countries currently use geothermal energy for direct application in agricultural production and some 24 countries harness it to generate electricity, with Iceland, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Kenya, New Zealand and the Philippines deriving more than 10 per cent of their electricity needs from natural heat sources.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE/ED (OPs)   

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LCCI to host Expo on ICT

   ITRealms

   

Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has unveiled plans to host Information Communications Technology (ICT) Expo tagged ‘ICTEL EXPO’ which is scheduled to hold at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos between 15th and 18th of April, 2015.

ITRealms learnt that ICTEL EXPO 2015 which has the theme “Connecting Businesses, Creating Opportunities” offers four days of inspiration, innovation and information”. LCCI is an event which aims to bring together the stakeholders in the ICT industry, both indigenous and international that will last for four days.

So far, the ICTEL Expo has received the support and endorsement of most of the key industry stakeholders; National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Nigeria Internet Registration Agency (NIRA), Federal Ministry of Communication Technology (COMTECH), Computer Professionals Registration Council Of Nigeria (CPN) and Co- Creation Hub(CCHUB)

 ITRealms also reports that application for participation for the ICTEL EXPO 2015 is open for brands, organizations who want to seize the opportunity provided by the platform to give visibility to their products and services. The EXPO also promises to provide excellent networking opportunities for business decision makers, innovation mangers, enterprise solution providers, startups investors and all other stakeholders in the ICT industry.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE


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Increased public spending on agriculture to solve Africa’s food crises

NaijaAgroNet 

The World Bank has urged Africa to increase public spending on agriculture as the only solution to solving the continent’s food crises NaijaAgroNet can authoritatively report.

Addressing a business forum in Nairobi, World Bank Group Senior Natural Resources Management Specialist, Ademola Braimoh stated that low investments in agriculture have made Africa’s agricultural sector vulnerable to climate change.

“These challenges can be overcome through more investment in instruments such as the Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA),” Braimoh said during the launch of the World Bank’s report on Increasing Agricultural Production and Resilience through improved Agro- Meteorological Services, NaijaAgroNet learnt.

In the same development, World Bank Kenya Country Director, Diarietou Gaye said over 220 million people are currently food insecure in Africa and this figure could rise to over 350 million by the end of 2015 unless appropriate interventions are put in place to cope with the intensity of climate change.

Gaye said climate change is a fundamental threat to development and should be confronted in order to combat poverty. She noted that a two degree Celsius rise in temperature in Africa will trigger a 40 to 80 per cent decline in land area suitable for growing maize, millet and sorghum.

“Climate projections indicate that crop yields decline by 5 per cent for every Celsius degree of global warming,” she added. 

Cyriacus Nnaji /ED (Ops)

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