Agriculture in the news; green alternative.

The Federal Government of Nigeria on Monday inaugurated a roadmap for the agriculture sector, tagged: “The Green Alternative: Agriculture Promotion Policy, 2016-2020.’’The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said the vision was to revive agric sector to boost food production in the country. According to Ogbeh, the policy will serve as the new fulcrum for economic diversification, inclusive growth and sustainable development in agric sector.The minister explained further that the emphasis on ‘’Green” would capture the essence, spirit and orientation of the new policy/strategy document. “The emphasis on green is deliberate; it is to underscore, not only the imperative of building a strong, vibrant and resilient economy, but also a green refreshing, generating, transformative-agriculture-led economy. He stated that the policy had five major strategic driving forces namely, achievement of self-sufficiency and sustainable food security, reduction in import dependence and economic losses, particularly through value addition. Other, he said, were stimulation of agro-exports for enhanced foreign exchange earnings, enhancement of wealth and job creation, especially provision of employment opportunities for the teeming youths. Start here The minister also said achievement of economic diversification to make the economy less oil-dependent was among the driving forces of the green policy. Ogbeh said that through the policy, farmers would have access to land, soil fertility, information and knowledge, inputs, production management, storage, processing, marketing and trade, including access to finance. The policy also include promoting agribusiness and ensuring investment development, institutional setting and roles, youth and women, infrastructure, research and innovation and nutrition security. continue.

Lagos,the smart city.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode declared right from the outset of his administration that he was looking beyond Lagos being a megacity, but to build and project the state as a Smart City, the import of that profound aspiration was probably lost on many people. However, it became clear in June when the governor, in company with a few members of his cabinet, signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Dubai towards a plan to build Africa’s first Smart City in Lagos. A smart city, is a growing concept that draws from the success of Dubai’s innovative knowledge-based industry clusters to empower business growth for companies and knowledge workers all over the world. Technology drives a smart city and Dubai itself, with its enviable wonder-clusters like the Media City, Internet City and Financial City all within the Dubai megalopolis, is testimony to how something close to an el dorado can emerge in modern urban planning. Governor Ambode,makes a deliberate attempt “to establish a strong convergence between technology, economic development and governance,” he spoke excitedly in Dubai when the first step to making the Lagos Smart City dream a reality was taken. To him, the vision is clear. “A smart city Lagos will be the pride of all Lagosians. We are encouraged by the fact that we do not, as a government, need to develop at a slow pace but take full advantage of the digital age and fast-track development of Lagos to a real megalopolis that we can all be proud of.” Lagos was chosen from more than 325 applicants on the basis of willingness, ability and need to become resilient in the face of future challenges. And it does say something about the arrival of Lagos on the main global arena when the President of 100 Resilient Cities, Michael Berkowitz said: “We are so proud to welcome Lagos to 100 Resilient Cities Network. We selected Lagos because of its leaders’ commitment to resilience-building and the innovative and proactive way they have been thinking about the challenges the city faces.” “For us,” Berkowitz remarked thoughtfully, “a resilient city has good emergency response and meets citizens’ needs. It has diverse economies and takes care of both its built and natural infrastructure. It has effective leadership, empowered stakeholders and an integrated planning system. All those things are essential for a resilient city,” he stated. What the 100Rc boss has described is indeed the story of Lagos and the hit-the-ground running approach adopted by Governor Ambode to tackle the myriads of challenges that confront Lagos as a megacity with the highest population in the country but with the smallest landmass. Innovative thinking that comes with courageous execution and prudent management of resources, therefore, are two essential elements that Lagos State government has adopted in approaching its ‘continuity with improvement’ policy. The good news about Lagos joining the league of resilient cities is that it is not a mere jamboree. The gains are enormous. “As a member of 100RC, Lagos will gain access to tools, funding, technical expertise and other resources to build resilience to the challenges of the 21st century,” Berkowitz said. In other words, Lagos will now be eligible to receive grant funding to hire a Chief Resilient Officer who will lead the city-wide resilience building process and engage stakeholders from across different government agencies, public and private sectors and various communities “to incorporate diverse perspectives and knowledge.” Lagos will also receive technical support to develop a Resilient Strategy that reflects the city’s distinct needs and the support and services they need as they work towards implementing the strategy. In the class of 2016 Resilient Cities are Capetown, Addis Ababa, Luxor and Nairobi from Africa as well as Atlanta, Washington DC, Toronto, Kyoto, Seoul, Tel Aviv, The Hague and Salvador.continue

How to give your pets medication.

Learn the safest and best way to give your pets medication. Proper technique ensures you stay safe, and pet is stress -free . This procedure comes in handy when you need to treat your pet when your veterinarian is not available. Watch and learn #stay #safe #dog lover #petlover.

Trader arrested for naming pet dog 'Buhari'.

A trader who named his pet dog Alhaji Buhari has been arrested by the police in Ogun State and would soon be charged to court.A 30-year-old trader based in the Sango-Ota area of Ogun State, Joe Fortemose Chinakwe, has been arrested by the State Police Command for allegedly naming his pet dog Alhaji Buhari, following a bitter feud with his neighbor who is from the Northern part of Nigeria. Chinakwe was arrested after the neighbour made a complaint at the Sango-Ota Division that his neighbour named his dog after his father who is called Alhaji Buhari. According to reports, efforts by the police to also 'arrest' the dog which they intended using as evidence in charging Chinakwe to court, was thwarted after the suspect directed his friends to kill the dog in order to avoid being implicated. The trader has been transferred to State Police Command headquarters at Eleweran, Abeokuta, where he is being detained and bail has been denied, just as plans are being made to charge him to court for treason for giving his dog the same name that the president of Nigeria bears, seeing it as treasonable felony. The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi, said: “He didn't only name the dog Buhari, but boldly wrote Buhari on the body of both sides of the dog and was seen parading the neighbourhood dominated by Northerners with it. continue

Marijuana and treatment of medical conditions.

Marijuana has been established as a healing herb,scientists have good reason to think that the marijuana plant could be useful in treating a number of medical conditions. The active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has been shown to increases appetite and reduces nausea. Another chemical in marijuana, cannabidiol (CBD), may decrease pain and inflammation and help with muscle-control problems, according to NIDA. Both THC and CBD belong to a group of chemicals called cannabinoids. Cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy may develop nausea and vomiting as a side effect of their treatment. A 2015 analysis of three studies involving cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy found that nausea and vomiting completely stopped in 47 percent of patients using cannabinoids (THC or CBD), while the symptoms completely stopped in only about 20 percent of those who took a placebo. Another study, of 15 cancer patients who both took THC orally and smoked marijuana, found that most patients experienced reduced nausea and vomiting, compared to when they didn't receive these drugs. Marijuana may reduce feelings of burning, tingling or numbness, as well as pain from muscle spasms, in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a 2014 review study. The study found strong evidence that oral cannabis extract, which is a pill made from CBD, or a combination of THC and CBD, can help with these symptoms, the researchers said. However, not enough studies have been conducted to determine whether smoking marijuana helps with symptoms of MS, the review found. A 2010 study looked at 23 patients who had neuropathic pain caused by damage to nerves after trauma or surgery. The study found that those who smoked marijuana reported they had less pain and slept better than those who were given a placebo. A 2013 study of 39 people found that vaporized cannabis reduced neuropathic pain in patients who had not been helped by other treatments. continue

Sweating in dogs.

Dogs pant as a means of evaporative cooling: when a dog gets hot, it will open its mouth and breathe heavily. As water evaporates from the dog's tongue, nasal passages and lungs, this helps lower its body temperature.While dogs primarily use panting to cool themselves down, they also sweat,dogs actually sweat through their paws. Catherine Carrier, a veterinarian and Animal Operations Senior Manager at Covance Laboratories, a contract research facility that partners with pharmaceutical companies carried out a research, this was the first to describe hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating, in beagles. She explained that while working with beagles she noticed something peculiar in several of the dogs. The paw pads which are a specialized type of skin that's heavily keratinized and its tough for walking on. In these dogs the paws were damp and in some cases, they were even dripping with sweat. This leads to a great deal of pain because the skin is softer and more delicate than a normal paw pad more like having an open blister. The sweat glands in the dogs' feet may also serve another purpose, panting cools a much greater surface area than a dog's paws would. The sweat on a dog's paw pads actually has more to do with traction than temperature. In other words, it makes their paws tackier and better at gripping the ground. According to Dr Catherine , a normal dog foot should smell like they just had their paws in a bag of corn chips, because they do sweat through their feet, and it has a salty smell.Dogs also have sweat glands in their noses, but again, they're not necessarily for cooling purposes. contributed by Live Science.

McDonald's new toy aimed at encouraging kids to get moving.

McDonald's the fast food giant just rolled out a new promotion that might actually help some people drop a couple of pounds aimed at getting kids moving. The latest version of the classic Happy Meal, the food chain is replacing the usual toy treat with something far more useful: a pedometer. The piece of wearable tech is designed to encourage those eating McDonald's Happy Meals to be more active. The device, which is called the Step-It, two children as shown engaging in a number of activities and games in an effort to rack up more steps as shown in the video.