FG secures 55,000 hectares in 11 states for grazing reserves.

FG secures 55,000 hectares in 11 states for grazing reserves. The Federal Government said on Thursday that it has secured 55,000 hectares of land from 11 states for the development of pasture and paddocks grazing reserve in the country. Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, disclosed this when he briefed newsmen on the Federal Government’s achievements in the sector in commemoration of the 2017 World Food Day in Abuja. The minister said that the government had also procured exotic grass seedlings to enhance paddock fodder package and increase domestic beef and milk output in a sedentary grazing reserve set up. FG secures 55,000 hectares in 11 states for grazing reserves.

WHO lab confirms 3 positive for monkey pox.

WHO lab confirms 3 positive for monkey pox.The World Health Organisation’s regional laboratory in Dakar, Senegal has confirmed three cases in Bayelsa positive for monkey pox, the federal health ministry said Monday. The number of cases suspected to be monkey pox in Yenagoa local government alone has risen to 17 by October 31, most of them people believed to have been in contact with those affected. The three cases testing positive for monkey pox are among samples taken from all 17 people in Bayelsa for testing in Dakar.

Farmers to partner Contec Agro on bio-fertilizer.

Farmers to partner Contec Agro on bio-fertilizer. The President of the Biotechnology Society of Nigeria (BSN), Prof. Benjamin Ewa Ubi, and the Chairman of the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), Mr. Musa Labaran Wamba, have expressed preparedness to partner with Contec Global Agro limited (CGAL), a multinational agro solutions/inputs provider, for increased agriculture production in the country.Farmers to partner Contec Agro on bio-fertilizer. The Chairman of CGAL, Dr. Benoy Berry, who expressed happiness at the partnership while conducting the visitors round the tissue and microbiological labs in Maitama, Abuja, said Nigerian farmers were set for high crop yields with the application and use of the inputs and the scientifically manufactured bio-fertilizers using microbes and bacteria from Nigerian soil. Farmers to partner Contec Agro on bio-fertilizer.

FUTA’s new tomato variety will boost farmers’ income.

FUTA’s new tomato variety will boost farmers’ income. A new variant of tomatoes named Eva F1 has been introduced into Nigeria courtesy of a collaborative effort between the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology (SAAT) and the Teaching and Research Farm (TRF) of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State. The Eva F1 tomato is a variety five to seven times bigger in size than the commonly available ones in the Nigerian market and it is capable of producing paste more than four times the others. The Dean, School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Professor Taiwo Amos, and Farm Manager, Mr Olajide Adedayo, said the seedling was imported from Israel and carefully nurtured in FUTA’s Green House under controlled temperature. FUTA’s new tomato variety will boost farmers’ income.

Government plans to make agriculture pivot of economic stabilization.

Government plans to make agriculture pivot of economic stabilization.The Federal Government yesterday said that current effort is geared towards making agriculture a pivot for economic stabilization in diversification and employment generation. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, stated this yesterday at the opening ceremony of the 10th edition of agric show organised by the National Agricultural Foundation. Represented by the permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Bukar Hassan, he said government was working on reducing high cost of production and creating wealth for Nigerian farmers. Chief Ogbeh said the ministry has imbibed the culture of promoting best practices in agricultural development in the country. Government plans to make agriculture pivot of economic stabilization.

Elumelu Foundation Signs MoU To Promote Youth Entrepreneurship In Africa.

Elumelu Foundation Signs MoU To Promote Youth Entrepreneurship In Africa. Tony Elumelu Foundation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with French Bilateral Development Bank (AFD) to promote youth entrepreneurship in Africa. The information is in a statement by Damilola Ayodeji, the Press Officer, French Embassy in Nigeria on Monday in Abuja. Ayodeji stated that the MoU was signed at the end of the 2017 TEF Entrepreneurship Forum recently held in Lagos. The understanding, he added, was signed by founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr Tony Elumelu and Country Director of AFD Nigeria, Olivier Delefosse

World Food Day: Experts suggest agricultural sector reform .

World Food Day: Experts suggest agricultural sector reform .Experts have proposed the urgent reform of Nigeria’s agricultural sector to boost food production and rural development. 

They made the suggestion in separate interviews in Ibadan on Monday. Prof. James Adediran, the Executive Director, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, said that farmers, women and youths in agriculture should be given the needed support via capacity building. He said that they should also be assisted through the provision of farm machinery to enable them to produce large quantities of agricultural produce, while empowering all the participants in the agricultural value chain. 

World Food Day: Experts suggest agricultural sector reform . Adediran stressed the need for the rehabilitation of moribund farm settlements in some states, adding that government should invest in food security and rural development schemes. 

The executive director said that rehabilitating existing farm settlements and creating more centres of agricultural production would go a long way in addressing the problems facing smallholder farmers.World Food Day: Experts suggest agricultural sector reform .