A Nigerian don, Dr Hemant Nitturkar has said that scientists and other experts in the agriculture sector were currently partnering to develop a sustainable cassava seed system in order to solve the problem of low productivity of the crop. Speaking on Friday at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan during the annual meeting of the project tagged: “Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System (BASICS), Nitturkar, who is the Project Coordinator noted that the initiative was to set up a sustainable cassava seed system where improved seeds would be provided for farmers. According to him, the system would benefit the…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has advised farmers in the North to plant early maturing and drought-resistant varieties of seeds so as to avoid yield loss in 2018. NiMet gave the advice in its 2018 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) in Abuja on Friday, in which the agency said farmers in Sokoto, Katsina, Yobe, Zamfara, Kebbi, Jigawa, Kano and Borno states were likely to experience severe dry spell in June. It explained that the dry spell might continue for 10 to 18 days after its onset and a moderate dry spell, which might last seven to 16 days, was expected in…
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the constitution of the Council’s membership, few days after he announced the intention of the Federal Government to establish a National Food Security Council. A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity), Garba Shehu said that the Council, which would “be chaired by the President, will be inaugurated on Monday. It will have as members, the Governors of Kebbi, Taraba, Plateau, Lagos, Ebonyi and Delta States. “Other Members are the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; the Chief of Staff to the President; the National Security Adviser and seven (7) cabinet…
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar has said that the Federal Government would exploit potential in the cotton sector by empowering producers to enhance their productivity. Speaking at the 16th African Cotton Association (ACA) Annual International Congress in Abuja on Thursday, she stressed that cotton was important to the economic development of not only the individual producing countries but also to the entire African continent cannot be over emphasised. Abubakar said that in Africa, the sector provided a means of livelihood to millions of smallholder farmers, whose economic lives revolved around the production, processing, transportation,…
The WFP Country Representative of the World Food Programme (WFP), Myrta Kaulard has said that the Programme would give food assistance to 1.5 million Nigerians in 2018. Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, she said that from 2017 to date WFP had spent 126 million dollars to give food assistance in various forms to 1.1 million people in the sixteen northern states of Nigeria. Naming the as Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, Jigawa, Plateau, Niger, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, Taraba, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kano, Yobe, Borno and Adamawa, Kaulard said that the number of the affected people would be increased during the lean season between June and…
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) have warned against impending food shortage that could affect 3.8 million people in 16 northern states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The states include Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, Jigawa, Plateau, Niger, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, Taraba, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kano, Yobe, Borno and Adamawa. The agencies issued the warning on Thursday in Abuja at a stakeholders meeting for the presentation of the results of the March 2018 Cadre Harmonisé (CH) analysis of food and security situation in Nigeria. The CH report said that judging from the current situation in the…
President Muhammadu Buhari says he will soon inaugurate a National Food Security Council aimed at achieving the nation’s quest for food security, and to ensure efficiency in the agricultural sector of the economy. He said members of the council will include governors, ministers, security agencies and key stakeholders across the entire agricultural segments of farming, fisheries and livestock management. The President, who made this known when he met with Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Rice Millers Association and Rice Distributors, including the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefile and Governors of Jigawa and Kebbi, Abubakar Badaru and Atiku Bagudu respectively, said…
This is the fourth post of Farming First’s #FillTheGap campaign to highlight the gender gap facing rural women working in agriculture. As a young woman growing up in Northern Uganda, tradition didn’t allow Nancy Adong, 26, to own land, only to farm on her husband’s family’s land and only then with his permission. Her situation is far from uncommon, presenting an immediate disadvantage for millions of rural women, who work in agriculture in greater numbers than men. When Nancy did get permission to farm and harvest from the family land, there was always a challenge over control of the profits.…
AGCO, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, and its partners celebrated the launch of the new AGCO Agribusiness Qualification (AAQ) at Strathmore University in Kenya on 6 March 2018. Twenty students have been enrolled on this brand-new program which is focused on developing the skills, leadership and strategic expertise to drive African agricultural prosperity. The AAQ is a joint effort between AGCO, Strathmore Business School (SBS) in Nairobi, Harper Adams University in the UK and Kenya-based The Bridge Africa which runs programs to prepare graduates for employment. The qualification delivers an accredited two-year agribusiness program for students aged…