The Dangote Group has appointed Dr. Pontsho B. Mokoena as its new Group Chief Risk Officer, effective March 2026, as the conglomerate strengthens its risk management and governance structure. The company announced the appointment on Thursday. In her new role, Mokoena will oversee Enterprise Risk Management, Insurance, and Digital Transformation across the Group. Her responsibilities will include enhancing risk governance, strengthening organisational resilience, and supporting strategic decision making as the company advances its Vision 2030 growth ambitions. The appointment comes as the Dangote Group continues to expand its industrial footprint across Africa, requiring stronger oversight of operational, financial, and strategic…
Author: Newsdesk
Biostimulants are gaining global attention as agriculture looks for ways to improve crop resilience, nutrient efficiency and stability. However, while adoption is accelerating internationally, significant opportunities remain for wider use in South Africa – particularly in the grain sector. The role of biostimulants in crop systems was also a key theme at the recent National Grain Research Platform Annual Meeting at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa campus, where scientists and industry specialists examined how advances in plant science could accelerate adoption in grain production as well as many other important agricultural topics. According to Venessa Moodley, Biologicals Lead at Omnia…
The South African government will fully cover the cost of vaccinating the national livestock herd against Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen confirmed in a media statement issued on 5 March 2026. According to the statement, the decision means farmers will not pay for vaccines administered as part of the country’s response to recent outbreaks of the highly contagious animal disease. The vaccination campaign is already underway across provinces as authorities intensify efforts to control the spread of FMD and protect the agricultural economy. Steenhuisen said vaccine supplies have been distributed nationwide and that hundreds of thousands of animals…
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…
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…