Gov. Tambuwal inspecting the Fertilizer Plant By Abdallah el-Kurebe Construction of a N250 million organic fertiliser plant that would produce 15,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser annually as well as provide over 20,000 jobs has begun in Sokoto. Inspecting the progress of work done so far at the site, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said 100 percent of the raw materials to be used in the production of the fertiliser will be sourced locally in Sokoto. “Apart from opportunity for wealth creation, this factory serves as part of our wider vision to partner with willing investors at home and abroad to explore…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
Integrated systems research approach in agriculture is key to sustainable transformation in Africa with benefits including increase in yields and livelihoods improvement of resource-poor farmers, according to the Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dr Nteranya Sanginga. The systems approach places the farmer at the center and develops an understanding of the farm-household, the environment in which he/she operates, and the constraints he/she faces; together with identifying and testing potential solutions to those constraints. It also involves the dissemination of the most promising solutions to other farm households facing similar problems. Dr Sanginga threw his support to systems…
PUNTA CANA: At an international workshop organised by the Smart Villages Initiative and the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic there was unanimous agreement on the potential of renewable energy in its various forms—solar, wind, biomass and mini-hydro—to play a major role in both rural development and enhancing the climatic resilience of off-grid communities in Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. According to Dr. John Holmes, Co-Leader of the Smart Village Initiative, the workshop exceeded expectations: “While our main initial focus was on how off-grid solutions could help the over 10 million people in the region without any electricity access,…
By Abdallah el-Kurebe The Director General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Ebegba has declared that Nigeria’s Biosafety regulation of modern biotechnology and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) was crucial for safety assurance and confidence building for Nigerians. He stated this at the 2nd National Biosafety Conference (NBC), which held in Abuja on November 10th. According to him, “the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), an Agency under the Federal Ministry of Environment, came into being on the 18th April, 2015 with the aim to provide a regulatory framework, institutional and administrative mechanisms for safety measures in the application of…
By Abdallah el-Kurebe > The large multinational companies’ quality and range of seeds, if available and affordable, could help boost yields.” – TASAIndex > “As the value of each seed increases, farmers look to get the most from it and protect that investment. This means planting earlier to hit that optimum window…” – Martin Faerber, Syngenta Seedcare Generally, seeds play important role in agriculture and food security. It is the primary pride of farmers, followed by fertilisers. This explains why government and other stakeholders should ensure timely seeds accessibility to farmers. If smallholder farmers’ access to modern seed varieties is improved, we could…
By Abdallah el-Kurebe The Minister of Environment in Nigeria, Amina Mohammed has assured that the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) was adequately equipped to carry out risk assessments on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), which are currently under trial in the country. Mohammed, who gave the assurance at the just concluded Second National Conference of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) on Thursday in Abuja, explained that the agency had capable biosafety regulatory personnel as well as equipped to carry out risk assessments on GMOs. “NBMA has personnel who are trained within and outside the country to effectively carry out its regulatory…
By Abdallah el-Kurebe Ahead of the 2016 farming season and in order to give farmers enough time for proper land preparation and planting, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its partners have so far distributed seeds and agricultural tools to about 200,000 vulnerable farming households, which benefitted about 1.1 million people in South Sudan. A statement issued by the Organization revealed that many families had exhausted their seed reserves because they were unable to plant last year, had low harvest or were unable to replenish their reserves by buying seeds in local markets. “In some…
Amira Gornass, CFS Boss By Abdallah el-Kurebe One of the Goals of Sustainable Development is to “End hunger, achieve food security and adequate nutrition for all, and promote sustainable agriculture.” Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa number around 33 million, representing 80% of all farms in the region, thereby contributing up to 90% of food production in some sub-Saharan African countries. These facts state the importance of this group of farmers in ensuring food security in Africa, especially if the regional governments could provide incentives, education, farm inputs as well as favourable policies that would strengthen their efforts towards mass food…
FAO DG, da Silva By Abdallah el-Kurebe More than 30 countries, including the Europion have formally deposited their instruments of adherence with FAO to enforce the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), the world’s first international treaty designed specifically to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, globally. Adopted by FAO members in 2009, the treaty marks a big step beyond self-regulation of the seafood sector, from which illicit activity siphons off up to $23 billion a year. Now in force, the PSMA, according to Jose Graziano da Silva, the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United…
By Abdallah el-Kurebe The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has disclosed that as at June 2016, 4.6 million people were severely food insecure in the Lake Chad basin with 65 percent located in Northeast Nigerian states of Borno and Yobe States. FAO further disclosed that the impact of displacements and insecurity on Agriculture in the region was estimated at USD 3.7 billion as a result of livestock losses and reduction in agricultural production. According to FAO, “Massive population displacements and insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin are putting livelihoods and food security at high risk. In North East Nigeria alone,…