By Abdallah el-Kurebe Twelve thousand four hundred and eighty-five orphans and indigent persons in Sokoto have received clothing materials and food items from Sokoto state Governor, Aminu Tambuwal. The event, which took place in Kuchi village of Kebbe Local Government, had beneficiaries drawn from 85 districts in the 23 Local Government Councils of the state. Both the food items and the clothing materials were purchased by the state government through the state Zakkat and Endowment Committee. Speaking at the occasion, Tambuwal said that each female orphan will receive a wrapper and N1000, while each male orphan will receive five yards…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed By Abdallah el-Kurebe The Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed has said that there was not presently any genetically modified organisms (GMOs) officially grown in Nigeria and therefore called on Nigerians not to panic over the issue. In a statement issued by the Minister on Monday in Abuja, she stated that the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), established in 2015 under the Federal Ministry of Environment, was charged to, among others, ensure proper regulation of modern biotechnological activities and genetically modified organisms so as to protect the lives of Nigerians. According to her, with the Act…
By Rose Gidado, PhD. In an interesting turn of events, Burkina Faso’s recently fiasco over Bt. cotton fibre length – and the decision by cotton companies to slow adoption while the issue is being resolved – is being interpreted differently in the region. Most francophone countries envy the tremendous success Burkina Faso has experienced. Yields and farmers’ incomes have risen, chemical use is down, and cotton and cottonseed oil have become major exports. Delegations from neighbouring Benin and Togo have visited Burkina to see for themselves how Bt. cotton has transformed the economy. Participants included farmers, government officials, members of…
By Abdallah el-Kurebe In preparation for the 2016 cropping seasin, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar on Tuesday began sales of subsidised fertilizers and seeds variety varieties to farmers in the state. At the sales, which launched in Silame town of Silame Local Government Area, Tambuwal announced that the state government has subsidized the cost of the Urea, NPK and SSP brands of the fertilizers by 70 percent to enable farmers enhance production. “This year, Urea brand, bought by the government at N6,859, will be sold to farmers at the price of N2,300; NPK, which…
By Abdallah el-Kurebe Following the untold hardship on Nigerians resulting from the ban on importation of essential commodities, especially rice through land borders, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state and Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar have called on the Federal government via the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to review import of in order to reduce the hardships faced by Nigerians. Both leaders who spoke at different fora when they received the Controller General of Customs, Col Hamid Ali (rtd), at the Sultan Palace and Government House, respectively in Sokoto on Monday, were unanimous on the need for Federal government to shift her…
Cassava Farm By Abdallah el-Kurebe For the 2916 farming season, the Steering Committee of the Cassava Weed Management Project, which is managed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA-CWMP) has approved the establishment of 58 on-farm trials across Nigeria. The plan, accordingly to the decision that formed part of resolutions and recommendations of the 2016 Steering Committee meeting held in IITA, Ibadan between 28th and 29 th April 2016, “is to reach, through the on-farm trials, at least 11 000 farmers with a basket of weed control options, and offer farmers the opportunity to choose by themselves, weed…
Dr. Animashaun Mufutau Animashaun holds a Doctorate degree in horticulture with emphasis on Post-harvest pathology from Writtle College University of Essex in England. He is a consultant post-harvest horticulturist, and has been studying and teaching the preservation, disease control of fruits and vegetables, for 40 years. He is a one-time Lagos state Commissioner for Agricultural Coop and Rural Development during Buba Marwa administration; former deputy Rector of Lagos State Polytechnic; Director, School of Agriculture, Ikorodu; EU Project Director, Lagos State Polytechnic; Sole Administrator, Lagos State Polytechnic Laspotech Farm and Pioneer Principal, Agric. Training Institute, LASPOTECH. He established the agricultural training institute…
A Trial field By Abdallah el-Kurebe Following a five-month progress report, the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) Project has established 137 limiting nutrient and 70 intercrop trials in a bid to crack the agronomy of cassava. A statement released by Godwin Atser, the Communication and Knowledge Exchange Expert disclosed that so far “20 limiting nutrient trials have been established in Nigeria and 117 in Tanzania,” while for “the intercrop trials, 29 cassava/maize trials have been established in Nigeria, and 41 cassava/sweet potato trials in Tanzania.” ACAI’s Project Leader, Dr. Abdulai Jalloh said that the trials would help researchers…
NBMA DG, Rufus Ebegba The journey leading to the establishment of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) started a long time ago. The quest for Nigeria’s biotechnology advancement dates back to 2001 when Nigeria adopted a National Biotechnology Policy and subsequent establishment of the National Biotechnology Development Agency in the same year. It should also be noted that other research institutes and Universities are also players in the biotechnology sector. Nigeria as a major world player is not in isolation of global biotechnological growth and Biosafety matters. It is a well-known fact that advancements in technologies are usually characterized…
By Abdallah el-Kurebe The African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE), an Agency of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and Nigeria’s Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu have organised a short training course for African policy and decision-makers on Biosafety, in collaboration with the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) and the Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA. According to the Concept Note developed by the organisers, the training is in recognition of the “opportunities and challenges that modern biotechnology offers for enhancing agricultural productivity in Africa.” Similar short courses, ABNE states, had been held in partnership with African universities including, “the…