AGROTECH AFRICA MEDIA | Page 37 of 40 | ...Redefining and Unlocking Agribusiness Opportunities in Africa.

Feb272019 by QueenieNo Comments

Farmers Education can help Nigerians Control Food toxins.

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As reported by Business Day ,Nigeria’s ability to control the high rate of toxins found in its foods largely depends on farmers education and their adherence to good agricultural practices, experts say. According to Isaac Ogara, a lecturer in the department of Agronomy, Nasarawa State University said that mycotoxins and other toxins content found in crops can be drastically reduced by mainstreaming control strategies in the country’s farming systems along the various value chains. “Farmers need to have awareness that there are deadly chemical substances that occur naturally without their knowing. One of the strategies through which farmers can protect their crops from these toxins is to harvest their crops early. Harvesting early helps to reduce the incidence of mycotoxins

Feb272019 by QueenieNo Comments

IITA trains 70 agro-dealers on cassava weed management.

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The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Cassava Weed Management Project (CWMP) in Ibadan has trained 70 agro-dealers in Oyo state on how to control cassava weeds. According to Voice of Nigeria ,the training was organised by African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) with facilitation support from KingsApple, an Ibadan-based agri-business consultant company. Speaking on the event titled: ‘Scaling six steps to cassava weed management toolkit through agro-dealers,’ at IITA, the ACAI Country Manager, Dr. Christene Kreye, said the training would be beneficial to participants. Kreye noted that the training was on how to control weeds on cassava farms using an integrated approach that combined the use of safe and environmentally-friendly herbicides with good ag

Feb272019 by QueenieNo Comments

Don warns farmers against cultivation in early rains.

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Prof. Michael Uguru, a lecturer in the Department of Crop Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has warned farmers in Nsukka and its environs not to begin cultivation with the early rains in the year via Voice of Nigeria Uguru gave the warning saying that it is a threat risk for any farmer to go into cultivation for the new farming season without having a water reservoir in his farm. “Farmers should not start planting crops because of Monday night rain unless the farmer has stored water in tanks in his farm to water crops if it did not rain very soon. Without water, planted crops may roast in the ground or have stunted growth because of heat,’’ the don said. He urged farmers, who did not store water to use the period of the early rain in clearing the bush and do oth

Feb272019 by QueenieNo Comments

Local rice: AFAN Chairman assures consumers of availability in commercial quantities .

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The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Lagos Chapter, has promised that local rice in 50 kg, 25kg, and 10 kg measures would soon be available to consumers in commercial quantities all year round. That was according to Mr. Femi Oke, AFAN Lagos chapter Chairman. He urged consumers of local rice to be patient with the local farmers and millers for local rice not having saturated the market to displace imported rice. The chairman said that rice farmers will soon have breakthrough in providing rice paddy to millers in the country, adding that rice millers are ready to produce polish rice but are facing some challenges. He added that with the expected World Bank financial support for rice farmers at five per cent interest rate, the farmers hoped to increase their pla...

Feb272019 by QueenieNo Comments

Pig rearing: Money spinning business for farmers – Expert reveals

Pig Farming

According to Voice of Nigeria a Pig geneticist at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, Dr. Olufunke Oluwole says pig rearing can be a money spinning business for farmers if properly developed. Oluwole, a Senior Research Fellow who said this in Ibadan, noted that the industry could benefit the Nigerian government. According to her, pig is one of the most prolific domestic animals as it can produce between four to 18 piglets compared to one or two in cattle, sheep and goat. Oluwole noted that the major problem of pig rearing is the detection of estrus or heat as most farmers are not familiar with their pigs and don’t notice when infected with estrus. She listed signs of estrus to include redness and swelling of vulva, vagina discharge

Feb262019 by QueenieNo Comments

Group Approves Genetically Modified , Pest -Resistant Cowpea.

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The Nigerian Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has approved the commercial release of genetically modified, pest-resistant cowpea to farmers in Nigeria according to ThisDay Live. This places the country on the path to becoming the first country ever to cultivate biotech cowpea. This development adds a new crop to the global biotech basket from Africa. NBMA’s approval allows the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) to commercially release Pod Borer-Resistant Cowpea (PBR Cowpea)-event AAT709A, genetically improved to resist Maruca vitrata. This permit is valid until the end of 2022. Principal Scientist in Plant Biotechnology at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Leena Tripathi, expressed delight stating, “This is indeed good news for IITA and N

Feb262019 by QueenieNo Comments

How to make poultry products affordable in Nigeria.

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According to Premium Times Newspaper, a poultry farmer named Mr Malik Mumuni, has advised poultry farmers to invest more in procuring less costly feeds to make their birds affordable. Mr Mumuni said local poultry farms can yield more returns in their businesses if they can explore more affordable alternative means of procuring quality feeds for their birds. The Chief Executive Officer of Malykon Farm Limited gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday. He stressed the need for poultry farms to always consider the viability of farming grains for feed production or purchase grains at cheaper rates from cheaper sources. “A cheaper source where you can get affordable grains is usually the northern part of the country beca

Feb262019 by QueenieNo Comments

New Partnerships To Boost Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum .

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The Leadership Newspaper Nigeria has it that the Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum, NZHF, is attracting more collaborations especially from international organizations which have shown concern about impending food shortages in critical areas of the country. According to the Newspaper , that recently, a delegation from the United Nations World Food Programme, WFP, was in Nigeria with a special visitation to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture to strengthen existing collaboration and synergize ways to improve and sustain the livelihoods of people in the priority states benefiting from the NZHF. The NZHF is chaired by former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. The three-member team led by Myrta Kaulard, WFP country director, accompanied by Akeem Ajibo

Feb262019 by QueenieNo Comments

Geoinformatics application in agriculture and resilience .

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Geoinformatics application in agriculture and resilience . ICARDA Cairo, Egypt. defined Geospatial technologies as a term used to describe the range of modern tools contributing to the geographic mapping and analysis of the Earth and human societies. Especially in the last decade, these technologies have evolved into a network of national security, scientific, and commercially operated satellites complemented by powerful desktop GIS. High quality hardware and data is now available to new audiences such as universities, corporations, and non-governmental organizations. The fields and sectors deploying these technologies are currently growing at a rapid pace, informing decision makers on topics such as industrial engineering, biodiversity conservation, forest fire suppression, ...

Feb262019 by QueenieNo Comments

Central Bank of Nigeria releases N596bn for 576 agric projects.

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According to Punch Newspaper, as of November 19, 2018, the total amount released by the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme from inception to the participating banks for disbursement stood at N596.44bn for 576 projects. Figures obtained from the CBN on Monday revealed that of the total number of projects, 34 were in respect of state governments. It revealed that a total of N852.15m was guaranteed to 5,454 farmers under the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme in the fourth quarter of 2018. The amount represented a decrease of 40.1 per cent and 5.9 per cent below the levels in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of 2017, it added. Sub-sectoral analysis showed that food crops got the largest share, amounting to N369...