Is the cow hide (Ponmo) safe to eat?

Ponmo – cow hide meat – is a popular food in parts of Nigeria and across West Africa. But nutritionists and scientists in the region warn about the safety and nutritional value of this local delicacy. 

 In this episode of Africa Science Focus, our reporter Royal Uche speaks with Abiodun Wahab, program operations officer at the One Health and Development Initiative, about the toxic bacteria found in the meat even after cooking. Sherifah Wakil, associate professor of microbiology at the University of Ibadan, shares findings from her latest research on the contamination of the meat. 

 Obaisi Alaanuloluwa, environmental and social development consultant for the World Bank, explains how ponmo affects the environment. 

Source....SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk

 The Ponmo story. read

 

 more ponmo news: Ponmo and leather industry.

 All you need to know about Ponmo.

What is Halal Meat.?

 What is Halal meat?

Halal is Arabic for permissible. Halal food is that which adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Koran. The Islamic form of slaughtering animals or poultry, dhabiha, involves killing through a cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe. 

 Halal food means food permitted under the Islamic Law and should fulfill the following conditions: Does not consist of or contain anything which is considered to be unlawful according to Islamic Law. Has not been prepared, processed, transported or stored using any appliance or facility that was not free from anything unlawful according to Islamic Law. and its not in the course of preparation, processing, transportation or storage been in contact with food that is unclean.

 The production of this type of meat represents an expanding market share and today is not only a Muslim consumers’ prerogative.This meat must be slaughtered and processed according to halal rules, respecting the Islamic precepts and avoiding any contamination. 

These rules do not involve pork meat because it is considered haram (prohibited). 

 Sources of Halal foods Animals Animals can be divided into two categories: Land animals and Aquatic animals.

     How to start Halal meat business.

 In order to obtain the status of halal meat, all the processing steps must be followed and checked by a recognized certification body that subsequently certifies its compliance with the Halal standards. The sale is allowed exclusively in halal butcher shops, which can only sell certified meat. These are not only halal butcheries, but also large-scale retail brands. All processing, distribution and sale stages are strictly controlled, in order to avoid contamination. 

According to Muslims, Halal slaughtering procedure leads the animal to a total bleeding. This does not cause suffering because the pain center of the brain stops its functions immediately. 

      What is Halal slaughtering? 

 The animal to be slaughtered has to be an animal that is halal.The animal to be slaughtered shall be alive or deemed to be alive at the time of slaughter.Animals to be slaughtered shall be healthy and have been approved by the competent authority.

 The place of slaughter(abattoir) shall be used for the purpose of the slaughter of halal animals only. The place of slaughter of halal animals shall be fully separated from the place of slaughter of non-halal animals to the effect that the halal slaughtered animals shall not be contaminated or come into direct contact with contaminants. 

 Slaughtering lines, tools and utensils shall be used for the purpose of halal slaughter only.Slaughtering knife shall be sharp.Bones nails and teeth shall not be used as slaughtering tools. The slaughterer shall be a Muslim who is mentally sound and fully understands the fundamental rules and conditions related to the slaughter of animals in Islam. 

The knife to be used must be razor sharp; the blade must be straight and smooth, and free from any serration, pits, notches or damage. The length of the blade must be at least four times the width of the neck of the animal to be slaughtered. 

The blade must not flex noticeably whence in use. The act of slaughter must be done with a simple swipe across the neck. The cut should not be any deeper than necessary to sever the carotid artery, jugular vein and windpipe and must not sever the spinal cord. 

The slaughterer must pronounce aloud the Arabic words, Bismillah, AllahuAkbar (in the name of Allah, Allah is the greatest) in a reverential tone, when slaughtering

 

Making money in a crisis: profiting during war.

 You see the scariest war in recent history unfolding on the other side of the world with a rebound on economic activities around the world.

But how is this war affecting you? It may never come to your borders but it's going to make everyone a little less comfortable, scared broke and hungry unless you take action.

How can you manage your bills, your mortgage, your health needs when the price of gas is doubling in such a short time?

 

Gas doubles, then shipping costs double and then nearly everything gets more expensive, food, clothes, medical supplies and so much more.

See how you can be ahead of this? making more money is the action.

How? Start a new hustle where the impact of war is highest------- food security.

There is a forecast that food will be scare in the next 4 months....... join the train, start here. Buy in large amounts,resell, re-brand or add value.

A GUIDE ON HOW TO START A LUCRATIVE GARRI BUSINESS WITH 25,000 NAIRA.

  Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava and 70% of cassava produced is processed into garri.  There is a common slogan that no matter the amount of garri you produce, there is always a market with customers ready to pay.

 Garri business is not limited to local markets as in Nigeria, but there is an opportunity in the international market for properly packaged garri.

Flow chart of garri marketing from farm to store/export.( Ojuri,H.B 2021)

 How do you start this lucrative business? the level you want to participate depends on your target market. The fastest entry level to tap into this business is to selling of the garri, not starting from the processing.

How to start the lucrative garri business with just 25,000 naira. 

1) Source the garri from local markets where the processors sell to  other merchants /traders and middle men that bring to the city.

2) Buy the desired quantity if you cant afford a bag.

3) Bring the garri back to the city and sell in markets or stalls.

 The price of the 50 kg bag of  the white garri in clusters/ local markets...........13,000 naira

The price of the paint bucket is.....................650 naira.

There are 20 paint buckets in a 50 kg bag. If the merchant goes with a private car, transportation cost is negligible as compared to public transport where the merchants will pay the fare for the journey and also pay for the garri.

 The current price of garri now is 17,000 naira per 50 kg bag and the paint is 850 naira.

 Profit analysis: 

 A bag from the farm is 13000 naira.

lets assume the transport is public and the cost is 2,500 naira from market to merchants destination.

Cost of the garri ==13000 + 2500=15,500 naira.

Profit on a bag=17,000 - 15500=  1,500 naira.

 This is the first level of profit. The  merchant can profit on another level depending on how sales are made.

Customers can buy in cups, mudus or paint rubber, the merchants profits at this level.

 One mudus =8 cups

A paint rubber contains 3 mudus.

A cup is 100 naira meaning one mudus= 800 naira.

This means by selling in mudus the merchants will make 800*3= 2,400 naira for paint instead of  850 naira. This gives credence to the slogan " retail business is big business".

 The new gold= garri business. This is just an insight, see what garri can become.

Garri business is lucrative, see more

GARRI FRIES.

Making delicious healthy fries from yellow garri.

The African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA ) and Garri Export.

 The African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA ) 

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a United States Trade Act, enacted on 18 May 2000 as Public Law 106 of the 200th Congress. AGOA has since been renewed to 2025. The legislation significantly enhances market access to the US for qualifying Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. 

Qualification for AGOA preferences is based on a set of conditions contained in the AGOA legislation. AGOA builds on existing US trade programs by expanding the (duty-free) benefits previously available only under the country’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) program.

 Duty-free access to the U.S. market under the combined AGOA/GSP program stands at approximately 6,500 product tariff lines, including the tariff lines that were added by the AGOA legislation. Notably, these newly added “AGOA products” include items such as apparel and footwear, wine, certain motor vehicle components, a variety of agricultural products, chemicals, steel and many others 

 

The African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA )  benefits for garri export.

 The new window may have re-opened vista for Nigeria and other countries in the region to grow their present $4.8 billion worth of non-oil exports to the U.S. to over $8 billion within the next 10 years, under the extended trade deal. Essentially, under the programme’s extended regime, African countries would be engaged in the rules of origin to engender value-addition of raw materials as they could now include the cost of direct processing, as they share production from one country to another on their way to the U.S. market.

 Furthermore, African countries exporting to the U.S. can also use the programme across borders, thereby stimulating intra-African trade in regional markets, where value may be further added to export products. 

 Hitherto, processed cassava grains, popularly called “garri” is processed in Nigeria but packaged in Ghana for acceptability. Under the new regime, exporters of such products can enjoy the cost of direct processing with the rules of origin. 

 Nigerian Garri on Amazon and other online platform

How to make garri loops.

 

Agribusiness: creating innovative products using S.C.A.M.P.E.R.

What is S.C.A.M.P.E.R? This is a creativity tool employed when brainstorming on new product ideas or improving on current products and services. S.C.A.M.P.E.R is an acronym for

 

  S. substitute: what can you change in the product or resources now? 

                       What other product or process could you use? 

                        What rules could you substitute? 

                       can the product be used somewhere else? 

                           can the product be a substitute for something else? 

 C. Combine: what will happen if you combine this product with something else? 

                         what can you combine to maximize the uses of the product? 

 A. Adapt :How to adapt or adjust product to serve another purpose.

 M.Modify : What can you add to product to change the customer experience and create more value. 

 P.Put to another use: create a new way to use product. 

 E. Eliminate:Change some aspects of products, eliminate features not customer centric. 

 R.Reverse:what will happen if you changed the process,how can you re-organize the process or product? 

 This tool is what birthed the Garri revolution. 

1) Substituted garri with corn and produced Cassava flakes. 

2) Combined garri with other ingredients to make bread, cakes and chin-chin. 

3)Adapt: fortifying yellow garri to make extraordinary products.

 4)Modify:packaging garri with peanuts,sugar and milk= Garri on the go! into handy packs for export purposes. 

5)Put to another use: garri puff-puff, garri akara.

 6) Eliminate the notion that you can only drink garri and make eba.

 7)Reverse, reorganize the garri production cycle.

Agribusiness : creating gender -sensitive value chain.

Gender equality is the fifth sustainable development goal(SDG) and to achieve zero hunger, food security with sustainable food systems there is the need for developing gender sensitive value chains.

 There is a gender -sensitive value chain frame work developed by Food and Agricultural organisation which has added 2 components to the core value chains. 

The frame work looks or analyzes the value chain based on individual and household level of involvement in the production circle.. This analysis will enumerate gender-based constraints along the production cycle as well as along nodes of production making it easy to proffer solutions.

  The adoption of the SDG goals and the execution necessitates the need to reshape and restructure our food systems to be:1) More inclusive of the marginalized population. 

2)Environmentally sustainable. 3)Capable of delivering healthy diets.

                 Why is gender relevant to value chains? 

48% of Agricultural labor force in the low income countries/ under developed/developing countries are women. 

The contributions of women to production and value chain development are usually not acknowledged,because  the services rendered are usually not rewarded with wages as most of the work are regarded as an extension of the domestic chores.

        

 

The analysis of operations and actors within the food chain and along the production cycle will show constraints encountered by players and also give an idea how to address the constraints.

 Women  within the value chain are challenged  in terms of access to land, livestock ownership, credit facilities,  access to information,access to technology and education. These constraints are fundamental and when tackled  will create  gender sensitive value chains were contributions of women will be highlighted, addressed and rewarded.

  Empowerment is the key to developing gender-sensitive value chains,where women gain power and control over their lives and acquire  ability to make strategic choices. 

Education is a chief component of the necessary action to stop  gender -based constraints  in value chains.

 Lets access the constraints in a value chain and proffer solutions.: Cassava value chain.

 

Agribusiness: building sustainable food systems using aquaponics.

  Aquaponics and  sustainable food systems.

Aquaponics is a method of farming and raising fish in the same spot, harnessing this opportunity will ensure a sustainable food system leading to food security. Reforms of the food systems requires innovative models to achieve goal of zero hunger.

Aquaponics farming involves raising fish and growing plants in the same space. This system if properly incorporated will ensure food security. The system maximize space and conserve water through recycling which reduces use of inorganic fertilizer thus saving money. 

Aquaponics system creates wealth by promoting fish farming and growing plants in same cubicle,thus creating job opportunities and food security. The system is a symbiotic one as the fish provides organic manure through the waste they pass out in the vats and the plants purifies water by removing the nutrients increasing oxygen concentration. 

The plants provide enough oxygen for the fish to thrive and the waste of fish gives nutrients to plants to grow and produce more oxygen,this unending cycle is the basis of the success of the aquaponics system. 

Learn how to set up

. Food security and safety using solar dryers for preservation.

Food security and safety by food preservation using solar dryers. The challenge brings a solution to curbing food waste by processing produce to extend shelf life and obtain a zero waste culture.

 Did you know 1/3 of food produce is lost or wasted along the value chain? Did you know food processing will curb food waste and loss? Did you know processing can be done at affordable prices with locally fabricated machines/equipment? Did you know harnessing the power of the sun is a cheap method of processing and preservation?

 

The good news is this solar dryers can be used for a variety of products and local fabrication is a cheap option. See how its used to process fish

 The products are processed  in hygienic conditions by properly kitted operators ensuring food safety. The processed foods are taken to food tanks/food banks for onward distribution by food vendors using the food on wheels model.

       

. #COVID-19 #Coronavirus

How to make climate smart agriculture profitable for smallholder.

How to make climate smart agriculture profitable for smallholder.Globally, agriculture generates about 13 percent of the greenhouse gasses that are responsible for climate change. With the global population growing, however, we cannot afford to cut back on agricultural production in an effort to slow climate change. 

We have to grow more, and we have to grow it smarter. At the same time, farmers – and especially smallholder farmers – are among those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Changes in rainfall patterns, the expanding range of crop diseases and pests, and soil erosion conspire to drive down yields and farm incomes.

 However, smallholders often have difficulty adopting more environmentally friendly practices, either because they represent an extra expense –which the farmers cannot bear, as they already operate on very thin margins of profitability – or because the farmers don’t have access to the necessary materials and services. To encourage smallholders to adopt sustainable practices, it is therefore important to identify and promote approaches that are not just green, but are easy to adopt and provide an immediate financial benefit to the farmers. 

 Creating Win-Win Scenarios for Farmers and the Environment This is very important in India, which is the fourth-largest producer of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, and where most farmers already earn little, due to low yields and low prices. 

These farmers cannot afford costly new technologies or techniques to reduce their environmental impact or adapt to changing conditions. To address that challenge, a partnership between Kellogg and TechnoServe is helping more than 12,000 farmers in corn, wheat, soy and legume-growing regions of Madhya Pradesh adopt profitable, environmentally friendly and easily accessible techniques. For example, the project encourages farmers to plant trees on farm bunds – landscaping features designed to hold the flow of groundwater during the monsoon season – to help absorb carbon, combat soil erosion, and provide shade for crops, while also yielding potential income from the trees’ fruit and timber in the future. 

 Farmers are also supported in adopting traditional Indian soil-enhancement practices, such as use of amrit khadh and amrit pani (traditional Indian bio-fertilizers) and more sustainable pest management practices that reduce costs while improving soil quality and agricultural yields. At the same time, a group of village entrepreneurs ensures that low-cost supportive services are available to farmers at their doorstep, thus making it a sustainable model. more

ANTIBIOTIC USE IN ANIMAL FEED AND ITS IMPACT ON HUMAN HEALTH.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the world's most pressing public health concern,the center for disease control and prevention records that 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths are caused each year by antibiotic- resistant bacteria in the US alone.

This has prompted president Obama to sign an executive order September 2014,launching federal efforts to combat the rise in antibiotic-resistance bacterial illness. The order resulted in the constitution of a task force,comprising of representatives of agriculture colleges,universities,pharmaceutical industry,animal agriculture community,veterinarians and other stakeholders,with the goal to advice the government on research agenda for alternatives to antibiotics in animal feed and to help publicly disseminate information on the effects of antibiotics in production agriculture,the group is to submit a report early February 2015. 

 Scientist,food processors,food retailers, veterinarians and some concerned citizens have shown concern about the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria referred to as superbugs in veterinary and human medicine.The W.H.O & C.D.C have expressed serious concern as well,that some bacteria have developed defenses against different classes of antibiotic compounds. 

The W.H.O has called antibiotic resistance a problem so serious that it threatens the achievement of modern medicine and if immediate actions are not initiated,the world might go back to "pre antibiotic era." The center for science and environment has reported that it has found some antibiotic residue in some chickens sampled in Delhi,India.

The center reports that the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in poultry production has been linked to growing antibiotic resistance in Indians. India is currently experiencing a deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria epidemic,where tens of thousands of newborns are dying ;last year about 58,000 newborns died because medicine can no longer effectively treat bacterial infections, this has prompted the C.S.E to seek a ban on use of antibiotics in poultry.

Researchers have discovered superbugs carrying a genetic code first identified in India, in other countries such as France,Japan and U.S. All efforts must be geared towards the ban on antibiotics in animal feed,and also suitable alternatives must be initiated to achieve a healthy flock,optimum production and wholesome by-products.

There are some alternatives currently used by only few producers, such as the Atovi powder, probiotics,prebiotics, organic acids, inclusion of green algae and organic feed e.t.c if more producers imbibe other alternatives ,then superbugs era will soon be history. The superbugs effect has confirmed that;WE ARE WHAT WE FEED OUR ANIMALS. JOIN THE CHANGE MOVEMENT!!!! SAY NO TO ANTIBIOTICS IN ANIMAL FEED.