HOW TO BOOST AGRIBUSINESS IN NIGERIA.

 

The garri success story.

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False banana and garri the wonder foods that can feed the world.

 Africa is so blessed with resources . The game of numbers is on our side, with the teeming population you have a wide market to sell your products.

 This population is segmented as it were with the vast majority living just below the poverty line and many more very poor.

 The  estimated population of  9.8 billion by 2050 is  an indication that all hands must be on deck to feed the world. The impact of climate change on food production is another indication for the need to find new innovative ways to feed the world.  

   Climate change is predicted to seriously affect yields and distribution of staple food crops across Africa and beyond. The need to look at new plants or using existing staples to provide new products to feed the world is a necessity.

False banana bread.

 This is the story of Ethiopia's Enset and garri both are wonder crops that can feed the world.  Enset is a staple in Ethiopia, where around 20 million people rely on it for food, Garri is food to over 800 million people in the world.

 Enset or "false banana" is a close relative of the banana, but is consumed only in one part of Ethiopia. The banana-like fruit of the plant is inedible, but the starchy stems and roots can be fermented and used to make porridge and bread

 Garri made from cassava is  also fermented and can be used to make bread, porridge as well as other delicious products.

 Imagine using garri instead of wheat? think of the forex that will be preserved. Think of how the SDG goals of zero hunger,no poverty and decent work and economic growth will be achieved. Read more about garri

          

Garri nut bars.

ECHBEE FOODS.

ECHBEE FOODS; Agribusiness. Echbee foods, a subsidiary of Echbee vet ventures dealers of hygienically packaged beef, mutton,lamb,,eggs and farm fresh vegetables.

The vegetables are fresh and clean ,look The animals are carefully selected and slaughtered in an hygienic environment to ensure food safety.

Order today.

AGRIBUSINESS:10,000 farmers to benefit from World Bank-assisted project in Lagos .

AGRIBUSINESS:10,000 farmers to benefit from World Bank-assisted project in Lagos .No fewer than 10,000 farmers in Lagos State are to benefit from the World Bank-assisted agricultural scheme, under the Agro-processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support, APPEALS, project. APPEALS, which revolves round training, is designed to build capacities of actors in the rice, aquaculture and poultry value chains. The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Gbolahan Lawal, disclosed this on Thursday, during a ministerial briefing to commemorate first anniversary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in office. He said the project is aimed at attaining large-scale production and processing of rice, eggs, poultry and fish and ultimately to boost food production in Lagos. Lawal said the efforts were targeted towards increasing the state’s self-sufficiency from less than 20 to 40 percent of its food needs by 2023. He expressed the present administration’s commitment to improving the red meat value chain through the establishment of standard operating procedures in processing, packaging and sales of red meat in the state. The purpose, he said, was to ensure the provision of wholesome and hygienically processed beef for the populace, boost beef processing to international standards to facilitate export, and also stimulate foreign investment into the value chain. He added that the implementation of the reform strategies were immediate, intermediate and long term. The immediate strategies include identification and classification of abattoirs, butchers and markets using a colour code, linkage of EKO refrigerated meat vans to identified abattoir for supplies to the markets classified with codes, accompanied with issued veterinary health certificate as evidence that the meat has been inspected.

AGRIBUSINESS:Food security and safety.

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How the poultry industry can use COVID-19 to its advantage.

How the poultry industry can use COVID-19 to its advantage.The novel coronavirus pandemic offers a number of lessons that could be to the long-term benefit of chicken and egg producers. When we emerge from the novel coronavirus crisis, the world, including the poultry industry, won’t go back to business as usual - that ought to be clear for all of us. What is the COVID-19 pandemic teaching us and how can be prepare for the post-virus world? We all make a number of assumptions about how the world is, or how it should be, but the current crisis requires us to question these assumptions if we are to flourish in a post-virus world. Nothing may ever be the same again, and it is worth thinking about how businesses might be run differently. There are a number of key areas that are worth consideration: Train and retrain In the COVID-19 world, those that have been home schooled start with an inherent advantage. Home working has also brought into focus the need to be fully computer literate. Are your employees fully computer skilled? We have been catapulted into a world where traditional education models are in trouble, and this could make continuous learning – online – essential, making educated staff the winners in the employment and salary stakes. The virus lockdown offers the ideal opportunity for the poultry and other industries to embrace courses, new languages and skills, and gain certification. Universities and institutes may be the obvious ports of call, but platforms such as Linkedin, YouTube and Wechat also offer free training and unbeatable opportunities. Every company’s maxim needs to be – don’t return to work post-corona without an increased skill set. Change is good What are the changes that your business could adopt to make it more effective and more resilient? Might robots in processing plants be the answer, or employing augmented- or virtual-reality to train specialized employees? Could machine vision and artificial intelligence be used to make better decisions in real time about our chickens, products or market positions? What will be the big investments in the post-COVID-19 world? What are you planning to change? #foodsecurity #foodpreservation “

Innovation : How Farmers in Nigeria are Using Climate-Smart Techniques to Reduce Post-Harvest Losses.

Farmers in Nigeria Use Climate-Smart Techniques to Reduce Post-Harvest Losses. Approximately one third of all food produced in the world for human consumption is wasted. 

In sub-Saharan Africa, where food security is a huge concern, the majority of food waste occurs at the post-harvest level because of poor harvesting practices, lack of appropriate storage facilities and transportation, poor packaging materials, and product spillage. In Nigeria, tomatoes are an important food source, but nearly half of the tomatoes produced by smallholder farmers are lost each year. 

Post-harvest loss, which is exacerbated by climate change, contributes to food insecurity and reduces the income of smallholder farmers, processors, service logistics providers, and retailers. 

 Traditional efforts to improve food security have focused on increasing agricultural yields and introducing technologies to reduce post-harvest losses. However, the effects of climate change – including increased soil salinity, extreme temperatures, changes in moisture content, and the unavailability of suitable tomato seed varieties – have made it difficult to increase and sustain year-round tomato production. This is particularly concerning because by 2050, an estimated 60 percent increase in food production will be required to feed the global population.

. 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

Agribusiness: Summit to explore scaling up innovation in agriculture.

Agribusiness: Summit to explore scaling up innovation in agriculture. The fourth Agri-Food Tech & Innovation Summit (AFTI EA 2020), hosted by the Africa Agri Council (AAC) is set to explore the upsurge in new thinking and the game-changing developments in agricultural practices and technology, and what is needed to scale these innovations to reach smallholder farmers and agribusinesses. "We have the technology and the innovations to make a difference, yet these innovations aren't reaching the smallholder farmers who need them most - they lack access to the right information at the right time," says Ben Leyka, AAC MD. The summit takes place between 25-26 March 2020 in Nigeria. Michael Hailu, director, CTA states that "with the right policies, innovation and investment, the continent’s agriculture could be transformed into a powerhouse not only to feed a growing population but to create decent employment for millions of young people." #Agribusiness #foodsecurity #foodsafety

AGRIBUSINESS: HOW TO START CASSAVA FARMING IN NIGERIA.

AGRIBUSINESS: HOW TO START CASSAVA FARMING IN NIGERIA. Cassava is a shrub grown in the tropics and subtropics for its underground starchy tuberous roots. Cassava is a very popular product in Africa and can be used for the production of many different kinds of foods and products like fufu, starch, animal feed, sweeteners, alcohol and bio-degradable products. Benefits of Cassava • Cassava brightens and smoothens the skin • It hydrates the skin and is an amazing face mask • Cassava helps in the removal of scars and spots • Cassava helps in hair growth and also contributes in reducing hair loss • Cassava is good for the digestive system . Cassava helps in overcoming headache and fever • It helps in the prevention of cancer.

AGRIBUSINESS: Rising temperatures may safeguard crop nutrition as climate changes.

AGRIBUSINESS: Rising temperatures may safeguard crop nutrition as climate changes.Hotter temperatures may offset the negative effects of higher carbon dioxide levels on seed quality.Recent research has shown that rising carbon dioxide levels will likely boost yields, but at the cost of nutrition. A new study in Plant Journal from the University of Illinois, U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), and Donald Danforth Plant Science Center suggests that this is an incomplete picture of the complex environmental interactions that will affect crops in the future -- and rising temperatures may actually benefit nutrition but at the expense of lower yields. Two years of field trials show that increasing temperatures by about 3 degrees Celsius may help preserve seed quality, offsetting the effects of carbon dioxide that make food less nutritious. In soybeans, elevated carbon dioxide levels decreased the amount of iron and zinc in the seed by about 8 to 9 percent, but increased temperatures had the opposite effect.Iron and zinc are essential for both plant and human health.

AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT: THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE.

AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT: THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE.

 The business angle of agriculture is agribusiness and the skills and tools necessary to ensure success in agriculture is the management of your business components. The success of any business depends on finding a gap and filling it completely.

 This means  you find an opening,a gap, a need that will improve lives of people. The business is also to promote economic growth apart from  satisfying a need /want in your environment .


 Business= finding a need/want/gap = fill it by providing the #product /#service/goods= #reward=#wealth.

This is also true in agriculture,find a gap/supply what is needed and make money.

 The story of ECHBEE FOODS,is not different we found a gap in the cassava/garri value chain and we filled it.

  Echbee Foods  discovered  that children under 5 were prone to malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency due to poor feeding associated with poverty and lack of knowledge of what to  mix to provide a balanced ration.

FOOD SECURITY.

AGRIBUSINESS: How to Raise Honeybees.

AGRIBUSINESS: How to Raise Honeybees. Honeybees live in complex communities that may contain as many as 100,000 members. The vast majority of these are the unfertile female bees known as workers. And do they work. They run the hive; feed and clean the queen; gather nectar, pollen, and water (nectar gets converted into carbohydrate-rich honey; pollen is used as is for protein-rich "bee bread"); cool or heat the hive, as needed; feed developing larvae; and make the beeswax they use to build all the hive's cells. During the peak of the season, a worker will live only six weeks before she dies from exhaustion. She'll have gathered enough nectar to make 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey.

Agribusiness: 'Stressed out' cocoa trees could produce more flavorful chocolate.

Agribusiness: 'Stressed out' cocoa trees could produce more flavorful chocolate. Most people agree that chocolate tastes great, but is there a way to make it taste even better? Perhaps, according to scientists who looked at different conditions that can put a strain on cocoa trees. Reporting in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, they say that although the agricultural method used to grow cocoa trees doesn't matter that much, the specific weather conditions do. Cocoa trees grow in hot and humid climates near the equator. Traditionally, these trees are raised together in mixed groves with other types of trees and plants that can cool the air and provide vital shade. The system, called agroforestry, provides a low-stress environment, increases nutrients in the soil and helps maintain ground water levels. But to gain higher yields, growers sometimes plant cocoa trees in solitary, "monocultural," groves, in which the trees are exposed to stressful conditions. In response to the stress, tress produce antioxidants that can potentially counteract the damage, but these compounds also could change the quality characteristics of the beans. Wiebke Niether, Gerhard Gerold and colleagues from FiBL (Switzerland) wanted to find out whether differing growing methods can influence the chemical composition, and potentially the flavor, of cocoa beans.

AGRIBUSINESS: How plants can generate electricity to power LED light bulbs.

AGRIBUSINESS: How plants can generate electricity to power LED light bulbs.Researchers have discovered that living plants are literally 'green' power source: they can generate, by a single leaf, more than 150 Volts, enough to simultaneously power 100 LED light bulbs. Researchers also showed that an 'hybrid tree' made of natural and artificial leaves can act as an innovative 'green' electrical generator converting wind into electricity. Sustainable energy sources, which are pollution free and environmentally friendly, are one of the key challenges of world's future society. The interdisciplinary team of roboticists and biologists at IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Pontedera (Pisa, Italy), found that living plants can help with electricity. Fabian Meder, Barbara Mazzolai and their coworkers at IIT discovered that living plants are literally "green" power source, which may become one of future's electricity supplies that perfectly integrates in natural environments and is accessible all over the world. Researchers discovered that plants can generate, by a single leaf, more than 150 Volts, enough to simultaneously power 100 LED light bulbs. Researchers also showed that an "hybrid tree" made of natural and artificial leaves can act as an innovative "green" electrical generator converting wind into electricity. .

AGRIBUSINESS : Agricultural waste is driving us towards greener transport.

AGRIBUSINESS : Agricultural waste is driving us towards greener transport.Composite materials made from agricultural waste could be used to produce sustainable, lightweight and low-cost applications in the automotive and marine industries. A team of researchers, led by the University of Portsmouth, have developed a bio-composite material using date palm fibre biomass (biomass is a term that includes waste material from plants, food waste and sewage) that can be used in non-structural parts, such as car bumpers and door linings. The date palm fibre polycaprolactone (PCL) bio-composite is completely biodegradable, renewable, sustainable and recyclable, unlike synthetic composites reinforced by glass and carbon fibres. In a study, published in the journal Industrial Crops and Products, the researchers tested the mechanical properties of the bio-composite. They found that the date palm fibre PCL had increased tensile strength and achieved better low-velocity impact resistance than traditional human-made composites.

Keys to Improve Digestibility of Corn Silage.

Keys to Improve Digestibility of Corn Silage. Why is breaking up the corn kernel so important to starch digestibility? Luiz Ferraretto, assistant professor of livestock nutrition at the University of Florida and speaker at the Silage for Beef 2018 Conference held in June in Nebraska, answered that question and offered additional advice to producers about how to improve the digestibility of their corn silage. The outside shell of a kernel that’s protecting everything inside is called the pericarp, and it's very hard. “If you throw an intact kernel into the rumen of a dairy or beef cow, it's not going to be digested because the pericarp inhibits digestion,” said Ferraretto. “The first thing you need to do is to eliminate the protection, and the way to do that is by breaking more kernels.”

Weed Killer in $289 Million Cancer Verdict Found in Oat Cereal and Granola Bars.

Weed Killer in $289 Million Cancer Verdict Found in Oat Cereal and Granola Bars.Popular oat cereals, oatmeal, granola and snack bars come with a hefty dose of the weed-killing poison in Roundup, according to independent laboratory tests commissioned by EWG. Glyphosate, an herbicide linked to cancer by California state scientists and the World Health Organization, was found in all but two of 45 samples of products made with conventionally grown oats. Almost three-fourths of those samples had glyphosate levels higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health with an adequate margin of safety. About one-third of 16 samples made with organically grown oats also had glyphosate, all at levels well below EWG’s health benchmark. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, the Monsanto weed killer that is the most heavily used pesticide in the U.S.