Telecommunications as a driver for agribusiness growth in Nigeria..

Information is vital to growth of any economy.     The rate at which information is generated, disseminated and utilized is rapidly changing how businesses are run thus imparting the economy.

Information communication technology has changed the playing field in various strata of the economy,with the advent of mobile phones,internet ,apps, and cloud services.

  Telecommunications has been utilized to collect data,analyze data,process the data and disseminate this as information to individuals and corporations thus ensuring perfect operations in these fields resulting in economic development.

 The possibilities of telecommunications as a growth driver of the economy is endless.The world itself is a global village, making communication,transfer of documents across continents at the speed of a click.

      The role of telecommunications as a driver for economic growth are as follows:

 1) Education: this gives access to books,articles,journals learning aids and teaching aids.Telecommunication also facilitates obtaining degrees online,by provision of online universities and self-help courses,which open up individuals to wealth of information and advanced technology which they can apply to their various fields.

 2) Health:this gives access to unique health care facilities,interaction with experts all over the world and exposure to latest medical procedures and diagnostic tools. This is so very useful in the rural areas where they can access a medical personnel by simply making a call,joining in conference calls and also telemedicine.

3) Agriculture; this allows forum discussion, dissemination of real live updates on weather,price, improved seeds, insurance, pest control and animal management.There are several program mes that transfer information through info graphics,animation or videos educating farmers so that they cut losses and expand the business.

 4) Time management; with telecommunications every aspect of production is simplified making work fast and easy.Every information can be easily accessed, and quickly disseminated,thus saving time and over head cost.

 The role of telecommunication as a growth driver for the economy is made possible and workable because of the mobile phone,one in every 2 people has a phone even in rural communities,there is an access to pay phone points.

 Telecommunications is a game changer in the business world and especially the agriculture sector where so many innovations and strategies are springing up to ensure food security; one of such programme is the phone -a-farmer initiative® to boost the agricultural value chain in various sections.

The company employs the use of data to profile information relevant to each farmer and as such render quality information that saves moneys and boost the revenue of the farmer.

The success of the project is hinged on the large number of farmers with a phone and on dedicated network that gives real time information through SMS or MMS. The initiative includes all sectors of agriculture value chain, processing and packaging.

 The aim of initiative is to get all real time farmers down to grassroots where majority of farming is operational. HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLO!!! NIGERIA. .

BIOTECHNOLOGY USES IN AGRICULTURE.

Biotechnology making better crops and livestock by careful selection of traits to increase yield,produce disease and pest resistance and drought resistance products. This entails a collection of specific technique to improve plant and animals. Genetic modification/genetic improvement/genetic engineering; refers to the process where there is transfer of useful characteristics into plants and animals. This process allows transfer of specific traits to plants or animals to produce improved and better versions.Crops improved with genetic modification aid farmers to increase productivity by reducing crop damage from weeds,diseases and insects. Molecular markers; the use in agriculture involves the use of DNA of a plant/animal that posses desirable trait,even when not visible.This has resulted in breeding that are more specific and ensure better products. This process has been used by the international institute of tropical agriculture to produce cow pea resistant to bruchid, disease resistant white yam and cassava resistant to cassava mosaic disease. Molecular markers is useful to identify undesirable genes that can be eliminated in future generation. Molecular diagnosis are methods to detect genes/gene products that are very precise and specific.Molecular diagnosis are used in agriculture to accurately diagnose crops and livestock diseases.The application in agriculture is vaccine production,these vaccines are cheaper,better and safer.They are stable at room temperature,hence refrigeration is not necessary making it very acceptable in remote villages. In the Philippines, biotechnology has been used to develop an improved vaccine to protect cattle and water buffalo against hemorrhagic septicemia. Tissue culture; this is the regeneration of plants in laboratory from disease-free plant part.This technique allows for the reproduction of disease free planting material for crops.This method has been used to produce improved crops such as pineapples,bananas,pawpaws and avocados. This tissue culture has also been used in food production especially cheese making,,also in animal husbandry where a sheep(dolly) was produced from mammary cells. The potential of biotechnology is explosive and can solve food scarcity issues and environmental pollution and food poisoning from use of pesticides.The process of biotechnology have produced crops that have been engineered to produce their own Bt protein(bacillus thuringiensis) a soil bacterium that contains a protein that is toxic to a wide range of insects but not harmful to animals and humans.

GENETICS AND FOOD SECURITY.

I have always been fascinated about genes ,mapping,cloning and isolation. The fact that you can completely erase certain traits from a line and add desired traits to a line simply blows my mind.

 The fact that new strains,varieties and offspring's can actually be produced by gene manipulation is just awesome and its even more interesting as i believe this holds the key to food security.

 Every living form; plants,animals and even micro organisms have codes called genes, which are information about what that living form.These genes represent traits about that living form that cannot be easily recognized by looking at the organism.

Welcome to genetic engineering!!!. The work on genes dates back to sir Mendel; who explained how traits can be transferred and also what traits to expect in selective breeding both in plants and animals.This method was adopted to produce desired progeny.

 The work has progressed over the years with enormous technological development....resulting in biotechnology in agriculture.

 Agriculture has evolved over the years with many innovations to solve pressing issues such as food scarcity, diseases, environmental factors (such as flood,drought and arid region ),food preservation and lower yields.

These issues have been identified as major causes of lack of food security thus various solutions have been proffered typically biotechnology; which is the use of genetically engineered strains of plants and animals to produce better strains with higher yield and enhanced flavors.

 Farmers have been improving plants and animals through selection and breeding desirable traits.Bio technology enhances breeders ability to make improvement in crops and livestock,this is achieved through various techniques used to improve plants and animals.

Bio technology use gene modification,genetic improvement and genetic engineering

.Crops improved with transferred traits referred to as genetic improvement have been developed to aid farmers to increase productivity . 

Biotechnology holds the key to food security with higher yield and better products.

FOOD SECURITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH.

Food security basically exists when all people in a country/community at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient food to meet their dietary needs for a productive and healthy life style.

 The education /awareness of people as to how to combine various crops to produced balanced meals and the availability of resources to procure these crops is a vital point in food security. The agricultural aspect is rightly divided into crops and animal production.The processing,packaging and preservation of these products ensure food security.

The development of various strategies ensure that supply of food are continuous with plenty in reserve and much more to export.The various strategies can be utilized to ensure food security in the various agricultural chain. 

 1) The education of the women play a vital role in food security since they are involved in various stages of production,the importance of family planning and other health related issues are paramount.

The careful planning of family,will limit the number of mouths to feed,thus reducing the risk of death associated with multiple pregnancies. 

Women should be educated about reproductive issues,money making ventures and the impact of food on economic growth.

 2) introduction of bio crops, which are better varieties and strains of common seeds that they are used to, this will shorten harvest time and produce higher yield of crops. 

 3) The use of composting as a means of waste management, which results in good quality fertilizer 

. 4) The waste management can be further utilized to produce electricity which will save overhead cost. 5) irrigation in arid regions is also another strategy, where rain water ,waste water can be collected,treated and plowed back to the farm to aid production.

 6)newer and better animal strains can be synchronized and bred resulting in large litter sizes,bigger sized animals. 

 7) biotechnology using aeroponics/hydroponics is a major route to ensure food security. v

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!!!

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