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…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
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,…
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…
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…