Dr Rose Gidado, Country Coordinator of Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), said the new rice variety on field trial as genetically modified crop would boost food security in Nigeria. She named the variety as the Nitrogen-use Efficient, Water-use Efficient and Salt Tolerant (NEWEST) rice project in Nigeria. Gidado said this in an interview in Abuja on Wednesday. According to her, NEWEST rice and virus resistant cassava with elevated levels of iron and zinc are among the four genetically modified crops undergoing field trials in the country. She also said the genetically modified TELA maize was already on farmers’ fields…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
South Korea has reported its first two suspected cases of monkey pox, public health officials said on Wednesday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) two probable cases were found earlier on Tuesday and diagnostic tests were being conducted. Meanwhile, their identities were withheld. However, one of the individuals was admitted at the Incheon Medical Centre in Incheon, west of Seoul, at 9:40 p.m. on Tuesday, hospital officials said. The person reportedly showed potential symptoms of the infectious disease while entering the country via Incheon International Airport. The hospital has two beds designated for monkey pox cases.…
The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) says a trial phase for the new TELA Maize is ongoing in some states to understudy the variety among farmers. Dr Rose Gidado, a Deputy Director at NABDA, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday. Gidado said that farmers would start planting the crop this year’s planting season. Tela Maize is a Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) crop variety designed to resist insect pests like fall armyworm and stem-borers and to tolerate moderate drought. Nigerian government through the NABDA in 2021 granted environmental approval for evaluation and open cultivation of new…
In 2020, the Kwara State Government, launched the Kwara Health Insurance Scheme (KHIS) to make access to basic healthcare by Kwara indigents seamless. The program however hasn’t been entirely flawless. In this report, Omolola Afolabi unravels some of the inadequacies bedeviling the scheme in the state. For Sanni Amuda, a 46-year-old artisan in Awodi Gambari, Ilorin, the past few years have been akin to sprinting through the fog. His income has been irregular whilst also struggling with meeting his family’s needs. He recalls a watershed moment when the government announced the commencement of the Kwara State Health Insurance Scheme (KHIS).…
New limits for persistent organic pollutants in waste are to be introduced in the European Union after representatives of the European Parliament and EU countries clinched a deal on Monday night. The agreement was an important step toward a circular economy, cleaner and respectful of human health and the environment. This is according to the French representatives, who chaired the negotiations, on Twitter. Persistent organic pollutants (POP) are chemicals that are particularly long-lived. They can enter the food chain by accumulating in organisms and harm the health of humans and animals. According to the European Commission, POPs are no longer…
Delta state Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu has said that the state government had guaranteed the N25 billion Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) agric loan in the interest of the famers. The Commissioner in company of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Olisa Ifeajika said this at a news conference on Monday in Asaba. “The N25 billion is a CBN loan to assist farmers in the state to increase their yields, particularly in the area of oil palm production in the state. “It is normal that the state government guarantees the loan as it is done in…
Pitch competition awards cash prizes to youth technology innovators in Africa’s agriculture and food sectors The African Green Revolution Forum Summit (AGRF), Heifer International and Generation Africa on Monday, announced the launch of Pitch AgriHack 2022, marking the second year the organizations have come together to provide cash grants that accelerate entrepreneurial growth and job creation in Africa’s agriculture sector. Pitch AgriHack identifies innovative youth-led businesses with technological solutions to food security challenges, awarding the most impactful businesses with cash grants, media visibility and investor exposure. “Pitch AgriHack is about promoting digital jobs and smart technologies that appeal to the…
The federal government of Nigeria has inaugurated the Committee for the Extension Manual Review, to promote effective and efficient extension services delivery and produce a harmonised copy for evaluation and validation. This is contained in a statement by Mr Ezeaja Ikemefuna, the Chief Information Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Saturday. The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Ernest Umakhihe, while inaugurating the Committee said the initiative would facilitate the impactful practices of effective service delivery to the agricultural value chains into the current extension training manual. Umakhihe said the ministry, through Agricultural Extension Services is…
A Zambian non-governmental organisation (NGO), Dziwa Science and Technology Trust (DSaT), has observed that the debates on the national biosafety and biotechnology policies, have exposed some knowledge gap on issues surrounding Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Its Chief Executive Officer, Veronica Mwaba made the observation in a statement made available to ASHENEWS on Saturday. The Trust is championing the use of science and technology in Zambia. According to Mwaba, about 10 countries have settled for the GMO technology and research has shown that GMOs are a reality in Africa. While reiterating the need for Zambia to bring key stakeholders under one…
The Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Bishop Calistus Onaga has banned Catholics including the clergy from attending Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka’s Adoration Ministry over his recent utterances in the ministry. This is contained in a letter personally signed by the Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Bishop Callitus Onaga and addressed to ‘All the Clery, Religious and Lay Faithful in the Catholic Diocese of Enugu’ on Saturday in Enugu. Onaga banned them from having anything to do with the Adoration Ministry. The letter said, “In the light of the happenings in the Catholic Adoration Ministry Chaplaincy Enugu, capable of undermining the Catholic…