How to use garlic as bio-pesticide.

                             How to use garlic as bio-pesticide.

Garlic is preferred in organic farming because it is reportedly effective against a wide range of disease-causing pathogens and insects.

Farmers who grow garlic type of onions can fight over ten pests and diseases linked to destruction of crops which may cause big losses on the farmers’ farms. #bio-pesticide.

 Garlic is among other crops which has ability to fight pests and diseases. It has an anti-feed- ant (insect stop feeding), bacterial, fungicidal, insecticidal, nematicidal and repellent properties according to Infonet-Biovision organization. They provides agricultural database with scientific and practical validated information and knowledge.

Garlic. The commercial pesticides are harmful to human and animals but garlic is preferred in organic farming because it is reportedly effective against a wide range of disease-causing pathogens and insects at different stages in their life cycle.

 In case a farmer is growing garlic for pest control, it is good for him or her to avoid using large amounts of fertilizer because much fertilizer can reduce the concentration of the effective substances in the garlic.

Antimalarial drugs could support existing cancer treatments in two-pronged attack.

Antimalarial drugs could support existing cancer treatments in two-pronged attack. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine could make cancer treatments more effective.Antimalarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine could find another use as cancer treatments, according to a new clinical study published in ecancermedicalscience. Researchers from the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project, an international collaboration between the Anticancer Fund, Belgium, and USA-based GlobalCures, say there is evidence to include these drugs in further clinical investigations. The authors are particularly excited about the potential for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as the evidence suggests they make tumour cells more sensitive to cancer treatment.

FOOD PRESERVATION : HOW TO PREVENT POST HARVEST LOSSES AND ENSURE FOOD SECURITY AND SAFETY.

  Nigerian entrepreneur offers solution to post harvest losses. As a vegetable farmer himself, Ikegwuonu has first-hand experience of the huge post-harvest losses incurred because of a lack of cold storage.

In Nigeria, it is estimated about 60% of smallholder farmers’ fruits and vegetables spoil due to inadequate storage and agro-processing facilities. This idea can be extended by having a mobile cooling truck,from farm to markets.

The post harvest losses can be curbed by using solar dryers   a form of preservation and also extend shelf-life of produce.

 These cold hubs can also come in handy in the meat industry. Butchers that have left over beef  use cold rooms, but introducing a solar store  will save cost and ensure the cold chain is maintained.
 

Preservation and processing is a bullet proof method to curb waste and extend shelf-life of produce.

 Thinking of investing in the agricultural sector? then think along these lines, cold hub chains, cooling trucks, vans. The profitability will  increase if this venture is mobile, trucks collecting from designated points for onward delivery to the cold box or store.

Ikegwuonu is addressing this challenge with Cold Hubs – a solar-powered walk-in cold-room solution aimed at farmers, retailers, and wholesalers.

The cold rooms are installed at major food production and consumption centers, such as markets and farms.

Lessons from African nations powering up the business rankings.

Lessons from African nations powering up the business rankings. The World Bank Group recently launched its annual Doing Business report. In its 15th edition, the report investigates regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it in 190 countries. These regulations include starting a business, obtaining construction permits, availability of electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

As has been the case in the last several years, African countries were among the most improved nations on the list. Nigeria, Djibouti, Zambia and Malawi were amongst the top-10 reformers in this year’s edition. Nigeria (Africa’s largest economy, but currently facing strong economic headwinds) moved up 24 places to the 145th position, and so is by default a case study for this year’s report.

STARTUP : Entrepreneur quits Nike job to start food business in Rwanda.

STARTUP : Entrepreneur quits Nike job to start food business in Rwanda. When Lauren Russell Nkuranga arrived in Rwanda with the Nike Foundation in 2012, she had the clichéd western belief that Africa is predominantly a place of war, poverty and disease, and is desperate for foreign-funded charity. 

 STARTUP : Entrepreneur quits Nike job to start food business in Rwanda. 

She quickly discovered that many countries on the continent were in fact growing at a rapid pace. For instance, Rwanda’s economy has expanded by an average annual rate of 7.6% between 2007 and 2016. She saw transformation in Rwanda such as new roads, new buildings, new businesses, new restaurants, new national parks.

 STARTUP : Entrepreneur quits Nike job to start food business in Rwanda. When Nike asked her to return to the US, she made the bold move to leave her job and stay in Rwanda to pursue a business plan she had been nursing since moving there. The idea? A food distribution company.

Agriculture can sustain Nigerian economy.

Agriculture can sustain Nigerian economy. In a bid to break the monoculture system and widen the resource base of the economy, agricultural experts have advised that Nigeria should return to agriculture fully as it can sustain the economy. Speaking at the 2017 Agra Innovate West Africa conference in Lagos, the President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Nike Akande, said that agriculture had the potential to become the most significant way to achieve economic development in Nigeria. Akande, who described agriculture as a very significant sector, said more attention should be paid to the industry as it could provide employment for more than 75 per cent of the unemployed population in Nigeria.

The new canine rabies research: One vaccine to save them all.

The new canine rabies research: One vaccine to save them all.A new study finds that rabies vaccines may have a protective effect beyond just the dreaded deadly virus in dogs. Canine rabies is common in many parts of the world. In Asia and Africa, rabies from dog bites kills more than 50,000 people each year. Large international efforts are dedicated to this public health crisis, including mass rabies vaccination of dogs. A recent publication suggests the canine rabies vaccine may have additional benefits to dog health beyond protection from rabies. That’s right—vaccinate for rabies, get rabies protection PLUS additional dog health benefits.

The study followed 2,500 households in South Africa over four years and found that dogs vaccinated for rabies had a reduced risk of canine death from any cause as compared to dogs not vaccinated for rabies. The greatest reduction was noted in very young dogs with a 56% reduced risk of death. This decrease in canine mortality was not explained by a reduction in deaths due to rabies alone. The researchers proposed that rabies vaccination boosted the immune system and may have provided enhanced defense against other diseases unrelated to rabies. Previous studies have similarly identified this nonspecific protective effect by rabies vaccination in children and animals, providing further support for the research team’s current findings.