A team of researchers working on the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture-managed Cassava Weed Management Project (IITA-CWMP) have said findings from the 5-year project will respond and address the problems of weeds especially in cassava farming systems. The challenge of weeds on Nigeria’s agricultural productivity was brought to the fore at the meeting of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum (NZHF) held in Ebonyi State, southeast Nigeria. The Director General of IITA, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, said with cassava featuring as one of the top priority crops in most states of Nigeria, the IITA-CWMP would provide innovations to help the government to…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says it has disbursed N55 billion to more than 250,000 farmers within two years of implementation of the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP). The Acting-Director, Corporate Communications Department of the Apex bank, Isaac Okorafor confirmed the figure on Wednesday in Abuja during a media briefing on the implementation of the programme launched by President Buhari in November 2015 in Kebbi state. He said that the programme was designed to create economic linkages between farmers and processors, not only to ensure increased agricultural output of rice and wheat, but also to close the gap between production…
The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) on Wednesday in Lagos inaugurated a Renal (Kidney) Transplantation Centre that would carry out kidney transplants for residents. The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Hospital, Prof. Adewale Oke told newsmen that the programme was in collaboration with Apollo, an Indian-based Hospital. He said that LASUTH started renal transplant in 2015 and had conducted five transplants with its indigenous doctors carrying out the surgeries. “We are partnering with Apollo Hospital in order to improve on what we have. Our arrangement is such that they will come, work with us, look at our patients,…
The World Bank Group on Tuesday in Abuja said there was need for government to strengthen laws that govern the agricultural sector in the country. The Programme Manager at the Bank, Mr Farbod Youssefi made the appeal at a workshop on Enabling Business of Agriculture (EBA, 2017) report for Nigeria, organised by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in partnership with the World Bank Group. According to him, Nigeria has weak laws and regulations in areas that deal with seeds production, marketing and transportation of agricultural products. “There are other areas such as finance, fertilizer, machinery where the scores…
The Chairman of the Technical Committee on Yam Export, Prof. Simon Irtwang has said that yam exporters were finalising processes to export another consignment of yam in the first quarter to United Kingdom and United States of America. Irtwang told news men in Lagos on Tuesday that the committee was going round major yam markets, especially in the South-West to inspect the quality of yams there. “Not all species of yam are good for export. So, yam farmers and traders need to know the species that are good for export. They also need to know how to select, store and preserve…
Thousands of smallholder farmers across Latin America are set to benefit from smart phones, a technology that will help them deal better with the effects of climate change. A three-year agreement will see farmers receive vital information such as weather forecasts and early warnings via their smart phones, as well as online training and equipment to help improve water usage. “There are 70 countries in the world today that have no access to weather information,” said José Graziano da Silva, director general of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). He was speaking after signing the agreement on Monday…
HarvestPlus says it is targeting 1.2 million households with vitamin A cassava and maize in Nigeria in 2018, with increased delivery activities in expansion states. Its Country Manager, Dr Paul Ilona who disclosed this to news men in an interview on Monday in Ibadan, said that the expansion states would include those in the Northeast, Northwest and North central. He added that HarvestPlus planned to deliver three million bundles of vitamin A cassava, 2,000 metric tonnes of vitamin A maize and bring over 50,000ha of land under cultivation to bio-fortified seeds. “This delivery target is in addition to the awareness…
The Programme Director of Development Communications Network (DEVCOMS), Mr Akin Jimoh has disclosed that Lagos accounts for 24 percent of Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in Nigeria. Jimoh who made the revelation when he visited the Lagos Operations of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at Iganmu, Lagos on Thursday, called for collaboration with the media for improved maternal and child health to reduce the high burden of maternal deaths in Nigeria. According to him, “It is regrettable that a large proportion of women still lose their lives to pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. In Lagos State alone, statistics show that 555 women out…
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have disclosed that food insecurity or lack of access to enough food has continued to worsen in 16 countries torn by conflict, highlighting further that is was of “extremely critical importance for humanitarian support of the affected countries. The agencies listed the countries monitored to include Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. The others are Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. The countries are classified as most affected by acute hunger. Conflict…
Following a rigorous selection process, Dr Denis Chopera, Programme Executive Manager of the Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence (SANTHE), based in Durban, South Africa, has been selected as an Aspen New Voices Fellow. The Aspen Institute announced the 2018 class of this ground-breaking programme on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018. It is designed to ensure experts from the developing world have a voice in the global development discussion. “I am so excited to join fellow global development experts from the developing world,” said Chopera. “What a great opportunity to contribute to dialogue on development issues affecting the African continent!”…