FOOD SECURITY.

Food security refers to the availability of nutritious food to citizen of a country or community.The rate of population explosion has threatened food security in most African countries, with the rate of increase in population not commensurate to food availability. Climatic changes and global warming are also factors threatening food security. Food security is one of the millennium development goals adopted by various countries to eradicate poverty.The food security is discussed on 4 points; 1) Availability...there must be a constant source/supply of food. 2) Accessibility...people must have resources to purchase the food.The people must have a source of livelihood,or a means of exchange to purchase the food. 3)Utilization..there must be the knowledge of basic food handling, preparations and food combination to ensure that food is nutritious. 4)Stability..the ability to access and utilize the food that results in stable and a sustainable life style. The process to ensure food security is multidimensional with women playing major roles in the production,processing and marketing of products. The challenges of food security differs among countries with each zone tackling issues from diseases,processing,prolonged drought,poor seedlings, and land issues. Food security is tackled now by incorporating new agricultural methods to produce,preserve and distribute these crops.Education of farmers is the major key to ensure food security, the introduction of new strains that are resistant to diseases, that mature faster and produce higher harvest. The road to food security is mashed in biotechnology, both in animal husbandry and crop production.When newer strains are produced,more harvest is expected over a short period of time.

FUNDING AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS.

Farmers just like any other business,may need to lean on a financial arm for support at a point in time.Many farmers dont know the opportunities they have to access these facilities, or how to access them and grow. Farming is a lucrative venture duly supported by government,financial giants,cooperative bodies and micro finance schemes. Agricultural loans are of various types , can be accessed at various levels and have different amounts as per the size of the project.These loans can be accessed corporately or as individuals,depending on amount involved,most of these loans can only be accessed when the farm has an insurance cover. Agricultural loans and agricultural insurance are intertwined,you cannot do one without the other; before you try to access the loan make sure you are insured.The basic requirement for the loan are as follows; 1) application form. 2) farm records; showing productivity and profitability. 3) Registration record/licence of farm. 4) account details. The banks that give out such loans include bank of agriculture, and first bank ,they also require you have an account with them that is operational.

Vet tech daily is out!!!

http://paper.li/NipKitty/1321468815?edition_id=85a6b0e0-5a47-11e5-b153-0cc47a0d1609

Food in a column # biotechnology.

Seeds can be cultivated in nutrient media instead of soil, and this is done in a controlled environment this system is referred to as hydroponics /aeroponics depending on the conditions of growth.This system enables farming even in your room or balcony or any small space that can house the system you want to adopt. Technology bringing change in its track; who could have imagined farming without soil or land? can you imagine planting tomatoes or vegetables or even yam in a column -like stand or table? Welcome to the world of BIOTECH; feeding the world with ease. The world today is faced with population explosion; the growth of the population is not at the same rate as food production and processing leaving most developing countries on poverty threshold and food scarcity. The world now is looking at strategies for food security and sustainability to eliminate hunger and eradicate poverty. Biotechnology has actually shown great potential to achieve food security in the agricultural sector where it has been used to develop plant strains that are resistant to pests and diseases. Biotechnology has also been employed to improve food processing,nutritional value better flavor and productivity of plants,vegetables and other food crops. Agric biotechnology is the use of scientific techniques to modify and improve crops by selective breeding,better species of crops are cultivated that are resistant to various diseases.The biotech method of cultivation enhances production,producing crops that are bigger,better and mature early. In the world today where urban farming is practiced space has always been a constraint, but with the biotech technology, space is not a problem. The nutrient media are used for growth,and the crops are grown in columns, walkways and boxes, making cultivation easy.

BIO TECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SECURITY.

Biotechnology is one of the various ways of using scientific principles and techniques to produce crops that are pure strains and resistant to diseases. Biotechnology,nanotechnology,genetic engineering are all scientific interventions to produce better crops,improve plants,animals and microorganisms to enhance their value. The world today is faced with population explosion; the growth of the population is not at the same rate as food production and processing leaving most developing countries on poverty threshold and food scarcity. The world now is looking at strategies for food security and sustainability to eliminate hunger and eradicate poverty. Biotechnology has actually shown great potential to achieve food security in the agricultural sector where it has been used to develop plant strains that are resistant to pests and diseases. Biotechnology has also been employed to improve food processing,nutritional value better flavor and productivity of plants,vegetables and other food crops. Agric biotechnology is the use of scientific techniques to modify and improve crops by selective breeding. Advances in science especially in the field of molecular biology has provided scientist with ability to manipulate food at molecular level referred to as genetic engineering.The technique employed in genetic engineering is the transfer of DNA from species with specific desired traits into distantly related organisms. Genetic engineering allows the transfer of one or more traits from specific organism,plants,animals and microorganism and introduce them to new strains to come up with genetically modified strains with better productivity. The technology era has brought with it innovation , information , inputs and institutional support to enhance economic growth and development.The use of technology to ensure food security cannot be overemphasized,and so many options are at our fingertips to ensure food sustainability. Food can be cultivated in nutrient media instead of soil, and this is done in a controlled environment this system is referred to as hydroponics /aeroponics depending on the conditions of growth.This system enables farming even in your room or balcony or any small space that can house the system you want to adopt. Technology bringing change in its track; who could have imagined farming without soil or land? can you imagine planting tomatoes or vegetables or even yam in a column -like stand or table? Welcome to the world of BIOTECH; feeding the world with ease.

RABIES AND DOG MEAT.

Rabies is very deadly but can be prevented by vaccination,and in case of exposure to the rabies virus from infected animals post exposure prophylaxis is important.The story below outlines the risk of processing animals such as dogs,cats and bats for consumption.

 Eating dog meat is common in many Asian and African countries, but research conducted as part of the South East Asian Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Network has discovered a potentially lethal risk associated with preparing dog meat: rabies. 

In research published today in the open access journal PLoS Medicine, Dr Heiman Wertheim and colleagues from the National Institute of Infectious and Tropical Diseases and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hanoi, Viet Nam, report on two patients admitted to hospital showing signs of rabies infection. Neither patient was thought to have been bitten by a rabid animal in the preceding months. Rabies is a very serious – and in nearly all cases fatal – disease. 

It is estimated to kill over 30,000 people each year in Asia, and the number of cases in China and Viet Nam is increasing. Symptoms include agitation, severe spasms, fever, fear of water and inability to drink liquids, and eventually death. Humans are usually infected after being bitten by an infected animal such as a dog or bat.

 When the researchers investigated whether the patients had come into contact with infected animals in the preceding months, they found that both had been involved in preparing and eating animals which may have been infected. In the first patient’s case, he had prepared and eaten a dog that had been killed in a road traffic accident; rabid dogs were known to inhabit the neighborhood.

 The second patient had butchered and eaten a cat that had been sick for a number of days. In both cases seen by Dr Wertheim and colleagues, it is thought that infection occurred during the slaughtering, and not by eating the meat as the meal was shared by others who did not become infected.

 In Asia, it is believed that eating dog meat enhances health and longevity. It is eaten throughout the year in the second half of the lunar month, particularly in the winter months, when it is believed to increase body heat. 

 In Vietnam, dogs with rabies have been detected in dog slaughterhouses and workers at dog slaughterhouses are vaccinated against rabies as part of the national programme for rabies control and prevention. 

However, the private slaughter of dogs is relatively common in the country. Illegal dog and cat meat traders both in Asia and Africa are of particular concern to No To Dog Meat. this area we must focus on to prevent mass rabies outbreak equaling death.

 “We need to alert both the general public and clinicians about the risks around butchering and handling meat,” says Dr Wertheim. “People should not handle animals that may be infected with rabies. 

Rabies can be prevented with a vaccine and people exposed to rabies can be helped with post-exposure prophylaxis, but this needs to be administered as quickly as possible following the exposure. 

Once a person shows symptoms, the disease is almost invariably fatal. “Vietnamese doctors already consider dog slaughtering to be a risk factor for rabies transmission, but it is important that other health care workers and policy makers, both in- and outside Vietnam, are aware of this risk factor.”

 Human health is just as important to ourselves as is animal health. We are creating awareness because we believe that a mass outbreak of food poisoning, rabies or a unique form of (H?N?) mutation forming. Disease is rife as it is within Africa. 

A third world nation that now has the effects of climate change looming we cannot sit back any longer and allow mass disease outbreak and spread to occur.

BIO GAS.