Stakeholders at the annual ACAI meeting in Ibadan with Lawrence Kent of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sharing his thoughts and expectations from the meeting By Abdallah el-Kurebe The African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) has said that in the past year, it established 563 trials across Nigeria and Tanzania to help unlock the agronomy of cassava. A statement issued by the Communication and Knowledge Exchange Expert, Godwin Atser explained that the trials were part of the broader initiative by the research community led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) with its international and national partners to increase…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
L-R: Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole; Director General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dr Nteranya Sanginga; and the Director of Policy and Program, World Food Programme, Mr Stanlake Samkange; during the launch of the “Synthesis Report of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Strategic Review,” in Abuja. By Abdallah el-Kurebe Nigeria is making gigantic plan to achieve zero hunger by the year 2030 as it launches a strategic plan and roadmap in that regard. The 60-page “Synthesis Report of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Strategic Review,” is an articulation of the needs of Nigeria needs for the achievement of the Sustainable…
Gasoline powered simple weeders adapted for weeding in cassava farms hold promise and may take off the burden of weeding faced by small-scale farmers in Africa. Initially acquired as tillers, these simple tools are being modified and adapted as weeders by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) led Cassava Weed Management Project. Last year, the machines were being tested on farmers’ fields across 58 sites in Nigeria. Following this progress, a team of Nigerian engineers and fabricators are also working on a local version with materials sourced locally for its construction. Demonstrating the machines during a field trip organised…
By Abdallah el-Kurebe Coal deposits in commercial quantity has been discovered in Sokoto state, a boost to federal government’s efforts to diversify Nigeria’s economy to agriculture and solid minerals. Other solid minerals so far discovered and awaiting exploration include phosphate for making fertilizer, gold, limestone, gypsum, iron ore, copper, columbite, tantalite, zinc, kaolin among others. Speaking during a capacity building workshop on Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV)s for beneficial participation of state governments in mining, jointly organised by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and the Sokoto Ministry of Solid Minerals and Natural Resources Development, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal…
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…
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…