Climate change may accelerate infectious disease outbreaks, say researchers.

Climate change may accelerate infectious disease outbreaks, say researchers. Aside from inflicting devastating natural disasters on often vulnerable communities, climate change can also spur outbreaks of infectious diseases like Zika , malaria and dengue fever, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. "Climate change presents complex and wide-reaching threats to human health," said Cecilia Sorensen, MD, lead author of the study and the Living Closer Foundation Fellow in Climate and Health Policy at CU Anschutz. "It can amplify and unmask ecological and socio-political weaknesses and increase the risk of adverse health outcomes in socially vulnerable regions.

Olam launches Cherie Egglicious.

Olam launches Cherie Egglicious. Olam Sanyo Foods, one of Nigeria’s leading noodle-makers, has launched Cherie Egglicious – the first noodles in the country to contain real egg. During the grand launch, Ali Nuhu, Cherie brand ambassador and Kannywood star , sampled a bowl of Cherie Egglicious noodles and then urged fans to try too. “Cherie Egglicious noodles is delicious…

On-farm Demonstration: Improved Weed Control Help Nigerian Farmers Record 27tons/hectare.

On-farm Demonstration: Improved Weed Control Help Nigerian Farmers Record 27tons/hectare. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Cassava Weed Management Project (CWMP) have helped On-farm demonstrations in Ogun produce average yields of 27 tons per hectare. The statement revealed that the demonstrations were conducted in 2016 in the three senatorial districts of Ogun states using an integrated weed control package developed by the IITA-CWMP. Presenting the results during the Joint Quarterly Review Meeting of the project in Abeokuta,a scientist at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) Dr Patience Olorunmaiye, said “the yield from the demonstration plots were impressive and a proof of concept that if farmers adopted improved weed management practices, they would be better off” The highest yield from the demonstration farms was 32 tons/ha with 96 percent of the demonstration farms recording more than 20 tons/ha.

FG Seeks Inclusion in Brazil More Food Program.

FG Seeks Inclusion in Brazil More Food Program. The Federal government through the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh has sought the inclusion of Nigeria into Brazil More Food Programme, as a means to improving the nations agriculture. The Minister stated this when he received a 14 man delegation from Brazil led by its Minister of External Affairs, Aloysio Nunes Ferreira in Abuja on Thursday.According to Ogbeh “We know you started the More Food Program as a policy of cooperation between the South South nations of the world and we are very excited by it. He said “we have been in Brazil twice and with your visit like to strengthen our demand and request that Nigeria be included on the lists of beneficiaries of the program.We have made our submissions and are waiting for the response from Brazil”. Ogbeh noted that “Nigeria has many deficiencies and do not have enough machines,tractors and machineries for value addition and so we really ask Brazil to give us that kind of support on reasonable terms which we shall repay over a period” “What we want to assure Brazil is that if we do take part in that programme,we would repay on schedule and that the support is something that Nigeria will value very highly”.

Young Farmers Launch National Youth Manifesto on Agriculture.

Young Farmers Launch National Youth Manifesto on Agriculture.Young farmers on the platform of Fresh and Young Brains Development Initiative yesterday launched the National Youth Manifesto on Agriculture for Nigeria. CEO and Founder of the Initiative,Barr. Nkiruka Nnaemego said the Youth Manifesto developed in 2013 would be a national Blueprint to guide government and her partners on the felt needs and aspirations of Nigerian youth in agriculture. The CEO stated this in her remarks at the 2nd African Youth Agric Festival on Agribusiness and United for Food Campaign hosted under the Initiative Youth Farm Project (Y-FARM),with the theme: Youth at the Centre of Business Revolution in Africa and Naija Jamz for Food respectively. Barr. Nnaemego said “The Manifesto was developed in 2013 by our organisation with support from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, OXFAM Nigeria, Voices for Food Security, Trust Africa as well as Youth and Farmers Organisations.

Fruit-eating increases biodiversity.

Fruit-eating increases biodiversity.By dispersing the seeds of plants, fruit-eating animals contribute to the possibility of increased plant speciation and thus biodiversity, investigators have discovered. These are the findings of a new study led by Renske E. Onstein and W. Daniel Kissling, researchers at the University of Amsterdam's Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED). The results were published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. Tropical rain forests are the supermarkets for fleshy fruits: more than 70% of woody, tropical plant species have fleshy fruits and rely on fruit-eating animals such as chimpanzees, elephants or hornbills for their seed dispersal. By dispersing the seeds of plants over large distances, these animals contribute to the possibility of plant speciation. The international team of researchers from the Netherlands, UK, France, Sweden and Denmark investigated over 2000 palm species with fleshy fruits (such as the date palm) to understand how the ecology of species, their distribution, and the interaction with potential fruit-eating animals may have affected their past speciation.

Tropical forest reserves slow down global warming.

Tropical forest reserves slow down global warming. National parks and nature reserves in South America, Africa and Asia, created to protect wildlife, heritage sites and the territory of indigenous people, are reducing carbon emissions from tropical deforestation by a third, and so are slowing the rate of global warming, a new study shows. An audit of the role protected areas of tropical forest play in preventing global warming shows they are preventing the release of three times as much carbon into the atmosphere as the UK emits each year. Protected areas account for 20 per cent of the world's tropical forest and play a crucial role in providing habitats for species including tigers, Asiatic lions, jaguars and forest elephants. They are also designated to conserve world heritage sites such as the historic Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, and to preserve territory for indigenous peoples in South America.