VIV Worldwide is entering a new phase of global development with the appointment of Natasha Hall as Vice President VIV Worldwide by Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs. The move signals a renewed focus on expanding the international reach of the VIV brand and strengthening its role as a leading platform for the global livestock and agrifood industry. The announcement also comes at an important time as preparations gather pace for major upcoming VIV events around the world. The appointment arrives just months ahead of VIV Europe 2026, which will take place from 2 to 4 June at Koninklijke Jaarbeurs in Utrecht. This…
Author: Newsdesk
Smallholder farmers in Lagos State have commended the Federal Government for distributing free agricultural inputs in the state to boost food security. The commendations were made on the sidelines of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security’s input distribution exercise on Thursday at Agege, Lagos. The distribution aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to tackle food insecurity nationwide. Lagos State Chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Mr Raphael Hunsa, praised the Federal Government’s intervention in the agriculture sector. He urged farmers to use the inputs productively rather than selling them for personal gain. “We…
The Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Fatima Shinkafi, has emphasized the need for strategic mentorship to equip young women for leadership roles and enable them to contribute meaningfully to national development. Shinkafi made the call when a delegation from the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), led by Lami Tumaka, Chairman of the institute’s inaugural International Women’s Day (IWD) Planning Committee, visited her in Abuja. A statement issued by SMDF’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mrs Idowu Jokpeyibo, on Thursday said the visit formed part of activities for the maiden edition of NIPR’s IWD, themed “Communicate to…
Stakeholders at a workshop have emphasized the need for effective communication and feedback mechanisms to address persistent conflicts between farmers and herders. The call was made during the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) engagement plan validation workshop in Sokoto State on Thursday. The workshop, organized by the Sokoto State Government under the World Bank-assisted L-PRES project in collaboration with Global Peace Development, brought together representatives from the livestock and agriculture sectors as well as vulnerable groups. Executive Director of Global Peace Development, Mr Ebruke Esike, said the meeting aimed to review previously collected stakeholder data to refine the…
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned that climate change is increasingly driving the spread of infectious diseases across the continent and urged governments to build climate-resilient health systems to counter the growing threat. Dr Kyeng Mercy of the agency’s Surveillance and Disease Intelligence Unit made the disclosure during the weekly high-level regional press briefing on Thursday. Mercy said rising temperatures, flooding, and drought are fueling the spread of diseases such as malaria and cholera, as well as vector-borne infections emerging in previously unaffected areas. She noted that malaria cases are now appearing in highland…
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is advancing efforts to establish a continental digital health identity system aimed at strengthening data protection, improving healthcare delivery, and enhancing outbreak response across Africa. Prof. Yap Boum II, Deputy Incident Manager for Mpox at the Africa CDC Incident Management Support Team (IMST), disclosed the developments during the weekly high-level regional news conference on Thursday. Boum II said the initiative forms part of a broader digital public health agenda to help African countries securely manage health data and improve coordination during public health emergencies. He explained that the proposed digital…
TeKnowledge and Microsoft have expanded their partnership to accelerate Nigeria’s national Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills development and enhance the country’s global competitiveness. Ms Aileen Allkins, President of TeKnowledge, announced the development at a news conference on Thursday in Lagos. She detailed the company’s expanded role as a delivery partner for Phase 2 of Microsoft’s AI National Skilling Initiative in Nigeria. Allkins said AI capability has become a defining measure of national economic competitiveness, with a widening gap between early investors and those that delay. She noted that AI is projected to contribute trillions of dollars to the global economy over…
Google says it has expanded language support for its Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered search features to include Yorùbá and Hausa Languages in Nigeria. The Communications and Public Affairs Manager, West Africa, Google, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, said this in a statement on Thursday. He said the update allowed speakers of the two Nigerian languages to access AI powered search experiences in their mother tongue for quick summaries and conversational exploration. The manager noted that the expansion formed part of Google’s broader effort to make AI more inclusive across Africa. He explained that the development brought the number of supported African languages in…
The Confederation of African Football has officially postponed the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, shifting the tournament from its initial March schedule to a new window between July and August. The continental football governing body confirmed the decision in a statement published on its website on Thursday, ending weeks of uncertainty surrounding the tournament. The competition, which Morocco secured the rights to host in October 2024, will now run from July 25 to August 16, following consultations between CAF, FIFA and other key stakeholders involved in organising the event. The tournament was originally scheduled to take place…
China on Thursday lowered its GDP target to 4.5 to 5 per cent for this year in the face of Trump’s trade tariff war, the worsening global crisis following the US-Iran war and headwinds in the domestic economy, owing to property market slump and unemployment crisis. The target close to that of last year was announced by Chinese Premier Li Qiang in his work report presented to the annual National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s parliament, which opened here on Thursday. China has been setting a 5 per cent target for the GDP for the last three years amid growing…