Toyin Ajayi, the Nigerian-born founder of the Canadian Black Farmers’ Association, has identified key factors contributing to Nigeria’s escalating food shortage. He cites excessive exportation, poor local farming practices, and pervasive insecurity as primary causes. Ajayi highlights the high demand for Nigerian food products among citizens abroad, leading to substantial exports that deplete local supplies and drive up domestic prices. The Ekiti-born farmer advocates for the Federal Government to implement an incentive-driven farming system similar to Canada’s to boost local food production. Additionally, Ajayi emphasizes the need for stringent control over food exports, noting the government’s lack of accurate data…
Author: Editor
In February 2024, a Nigerian-based Chinese agricultural machinery and equipment company, Chinige Technology Services Limited, invited me to speak as the keynote speaker at a high-level agricultural mechanization sensitization workshop for policymakers and managers of agricultural institutions. I used the NAERLS results of the 2023 wet-season agricultural performance survey (APS) to present the abysmal level of farm productivity and the vast unexplored and untapped agricultural potential that needed investment. The primary factor responsible for agriculture’s appalling and disappointing productivity level is inadequate, inaccessible, and unaffordable farm machinery and equipment for small-scale farmers, who constitute about 90% of the Nigerian farming…
Five years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic swept across Nigeria, exposing weaknesses in the health system while also sparking resilience and innovation. Healthcare workers, journalists, virologists, laboratory scientists, and environmental health experts played key roles in the collective fight against the pandemic. By Abujah Racheal Today, the experiences and lessons learned during the pandemic continue to guide Nigeria’s efforts to build a safer, healthier future. When COVID-19 reached Nigeria in February 2020, the response was swift but severely strained. Nationwide lockdowns were imposed, borders closed, and isolation and testing centres established. Yet, gaps in infrastructure, inadequate medical supplies, and limited testing…
Some of us who are die-hard “true believers” in the dream of a united, integrated, prosperous and democratic West Africa of the people met in Dakar, Senegal this week to reflect on what needs to be done to preserve the dream. The meeting was convened by Professor Abdoulaye Bathily, Dr. Abdoulie Janneh and Dr. Kayode Fayemi. The issue of concern is that later this month, on 29th January 2025, the statutory one-year notice period that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) required Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to observe when they announced their unilateral and immediate withdrawal from…
In a decisive move to enforce fiscal accountability, the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Agricultural Production and Services has issued a stern warning to agencies under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security over non-appearance for budget defence. Agency heads who fail to personally defend their 2025 budget estimates risk receiving no funding for the year. During a session on Thursday, Senator Saliu Mustapha, Chairman of the Senate Committee, and his House counterpart, Bello Kaoje, expressed frustration over the absence of key agency leaders for the budget defence, notably Dr. Vincent Isegbe, Director General of the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine…
Hope Initiative, a mother-to-mother support group for women living with HIV and AIDs, has urged women to be self-dependent to prevent violence and abuse.
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has unveiled measures to tackle the increasing problem of plastic waste pollution in Nigeria.
The Kano state government has issued a public alert over an isolated outbreak of Avian Influenza (AI) in Gwale Local Government Area of the state.
PalmPay, a fintech company, has restated its commitment to safeguarding the finances of its over 35 million users from fraudsters.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Public Health Department has announced that the 2024 Spill-over Mass Administration of Medicine (MAM) to deworm children against schistosomiasis and soil helminthiasis would begin on Feb. 17.