In a media statement, RMIS CEO Dewald Olivier said the Polokwane shipment, which was “falsely labelled as ‘Butanol’”, was successfully intercepted at the airport and transported under police escort to the transboundary animal diseases lab at the ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Research facility for testing. He added that the vaccines contain FMD serotypes O and A, not present in South Africa, which could spark outbreaks for which local animals have no immunity, threatening producers, exports, and national food security. “This case has now been handed over to the State Security Agency and is under investigation as a potential act of terrorism,” Olivier…
Author: Newsdesk
Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government launched a joint venture (JV) initiative that links landowners without resources or agricultural know-how to investors, in a bid to revive farming operations on dormant properties by developing farmers’ skills, increasing mechanisation, and unlocking finance to boost productivity. This marked a departure from the approach of the late former president Robert Mugabe, who believed such arrangements would allow white former farmers back onto the land, thereby reversing his land reform programme. More than 2 400 JVs approved so far For the JVs to be legally binding, they must be approved by the Ministry of Lands,…
Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) Chief Operations Officer Phillip Oosthuizen detailed the extensive industry-wide consultation process behind the selection of the nine projects. “The Field to Future process started with eight focus group sessions to table needs, challenges, and opportunities and generate potential research topics,” he said. He explained that these sessions included academics, researchers, farmers, feedlots, and processors. The focus groups covered eight broad themes: animal health and biosecurity; meat safety and consumer needs; environmental and social sustainability; competitiveness in production, genetics, and nutrition; market access and development; small-scale farmer development; innovation and technology; and value…
The leaders met from 24 to 25 November in the Angolan capital of Luanda, and at the conclusion of the summit, they adopted a joint declaration, which, among others, commits to strengthening agricultural and trade ties. “We support the commitment towards sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems transformation […] as strategic initiatives to accelerate progress across key dimensions of agricultural development, including nutrition,” the declaration states. “We also reemphasise the work of the EU-AU Agriculture Ministerial Conference to foster the alignment of ambitions between CAADP [Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme] and the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food. “We share…
The National Examinations Council (NECO) has granted accreditation to schools in Burkina Faso to host its examinations, widening its international footprint. This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday by the council’s Acting Director of Information and Public Relations, Mr Azeez Sani. Sani said the council would now begin to conduct the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the West African country. According to him, the move follows a comprehensive assessment visit by a NECO accreditation team to selected schools in the West African country. “During the visit, the…
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has suspended its indefinite strike, 29 days after the industrial action commenced on Nov. 1. NARD National President, Dr. Mohammad Suleiman, announced the suspension on Saturday via his X handle, @mohagirei, following an extraordinary National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the association. Suleiman said the decision followed “a series of conciliatory meetings” with the Federal Government, which culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining the status of the association’s 19-point demands. He noted that among the unresolved issues was the payment of promotion arrears. According to him, compilation of…
A lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Prof. Dapo Adelokun, has urged students and graduates to leverage technology to remain relevant in an increasingly digital world. Adelokun gave the advice on Saturday while delivering a lecture at the 6th annual reunion of alumni of the University of Ibadan (Osun College of Education Campus) in Osogbo. He spoke on the theme: “Harnessing Innovation for Future-Ready Success.” According to him, students must embrace information technology and digital literacy to thrive in a rapidly changing global environment. He noted that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries at high speed, warning that many…
The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), in partnership with the Ford Foundation, has urged the Federal Government to introduce policies mandating supermarkets to channel proceeds from plastic bag charges into climate financing. The NCF Director-General, Dr Joseph Onoja, made the call on Saturday at a youth-focused climate event in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. Onoja was represented by the NCF Programme Development Manager, Mr Joshua Danzi. Onoja said climate change was already reshaping Nigeria’s environment, affecting farmlands, waterways and coastal communities.He noted that although many supermarkets and restaurants now charge customers for plastic bags, there is no structured government mandate on how the funds…
The Federal University Teaching Hospital (FUTH), Lafia, on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) to advance vaccine research and development. The event, chaired by Prof. Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, was attended by Dr. Hassan Ikrama, Chief Medical Director (CMD) of FUTH, and Dr. Obi Adigwe, Director-General of NIPRD. NIPRD is a national research institute responsible for developing and promoting traditional medicines and pharmaceutical products, ensuring quality control, and providing training and capacity building in pharmaceutical research. Speaking at the event, Pate said the agreement…
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down an unhygienic depot and sealed a water-based drinks factory in Kaduna. Speaking to journalists on Saturday, the NAFDAC State Coordinator, Mr. Nasiru Mato, said the operation was part of the agency’s mandate to safeguard the health of consumers by intensifying surveillance on the manufacture, distribution and sale of regulated products. Mato said that acting on credible intelligence, a team of regulatory officers from the Kaduna State office, led by him, uncovered a depot operating under poor sanitary conditions where yoghurt and flavored drinks were stored before…