Feed mill aims to resolve land disputes in Nigeria.

A new feed mill set up by Portuguese and Nigerian partners looks to ease tensions between livestock and arable farmers, and manufacture high-quality feeds. As well as manufacturing quality feeds for local poultry and livestock farmers and offering employment for local people, a feed mill can also help to resolve conflicts over land use, according to the former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar. Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony in Abuja recently, he said the establishment of feed mills can help defuse the conflicts between herders and farmers that are costing lives and livelihoods in his country, reports All Africa. Its located in the Idu Industrial District in the Federal Capital Territory, the feed mill is being set up by Rico Gado Nutrition Nigeria, a private limited liability company formed in 2013 as a joint venture between Rico Gado Nutracao S.A. of Portugal and GeseDerdirabe Holdings of Yola in Adamawa State, which is owned by Abubakar. Rico Gardo’s first factory in Nigeria was commissioned last year in Yola. According to Abubakar, the feed produced there has already helped reduce the land area required to raise cattle. “The Yola mill produces 20 metric tons per hour of carefully balanced and locally sourced quality feed for a wide range of livestock, including poultry, cattle, goats, and horses,” he said. “We are also contributing to job creation, technology transfer and progressive change in farming culture. We believe there is a future in farming.” The new feed mill in Abuja is expected to be completed by early 2017 and to have a capacity of 50 metric tons per hour. Representing the Portuguese partner, Rico Gado, Joaquin Da Silva said the new mill has great potential to change the face of livestock production and make a positive impact on socio-economic development in Nigeria. read more at wattagnet.com

Dubai Inaugurates First 3D Printed Office Building, Constructed in 17 Days

While the concept of 3D printed buildings may not sound so far-fetched for the future at all as the technology has been earmarked for great potential in construction and architecture, many may be surprised to hear that Dubai is indeed home to the first 3D printed and fully functional office building, just inaugurated today in Dubai by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. This building represents part of the first major initiative of the Dubai 3D Printing Strategy in the UAE, which we’ve been reporting on repeatedly since plans were initially announced and outlined.In only 17 days the building was 3D printed. One top and bottom unit were fabricated, showing off an incredible feat in new office trends. The Emirates Towers premises will house this temporary office of the Dubai Future Foundation which has all the usual conveniences integrated into the design such as electricity, water, telecommunications and air-conditioning. This is to act as a testimony not just to Dubai’s superiority, but also to 3D printing and all of its benefits, this office is to be 2,000 square feet with space to allow teams to meet and work, as well as offering room for meetings with consultants and industry experts from around the globe. The design, also offering sufficient space for a variety of exhibitions and workshops, is primarily meant to offer an atmosphere that is happy, healthy, and allows those working there to thrive in their environment. The offices, including all interior furniture, detailing, and structural components, were fabricated using a 3D printer measuring 20 feet high, 120 feet long and 40 feet wide, and included an automated robot arm—something we are beginning to see integrated into this technology more and more on larger and smaller scales, with 3D Systems Figure 4 technology coming straight to mind. Materials for this building construction included a mixture of special reinforced concrete, glass fiber reinforced gypsum, and fiber reinforced plastic—all tested in both the UK and China for reliability. The team also built in an arc shape for additional safety and structural integrity. This project reflects the vision of our leadership here in Dubai. We are keen to use the latest technologies to simplify people’s lives and to serve them better. This project is part of our overall innovation strategy to create new designs and new solutions in education, healthcare and cities. Our goal is to increase the happiness and wellbeing of our residents and to pioneer new solutions for the world,” said Mohammed Al Gergawi, Chairman of the UAE National Innovation Committee. “We implement what we plan, and we pursue actions, not theories. The rapidly changing world requires us to accelerate our pace of development for history does not recognize our plans but our achievements,” said Shaikh Mohammad, regarding this very historical office. read more at 3Dprint.com

Brian May launches Owl VR viewer that works with any smartphone.

Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May has designed and launched his own VR smartphone viewer. The plastic Owl VR kit allows users to view 3D images and footage from any smartphone while also giving them full access to their handset's controls at all times. May's £25 viewer consists of a flat-packed plastic frame that snaps into shape, with a pair of optical lenses at one end and a cardboard-backed magnetic strip at the other. A sticky magnetic card allows any smartphone to be mounted into the viewer while leaving the phone's audio output free for connection with headphones or a home stereo to complement the 3D visuals.This magnetic card can also be removed and used with other devices. The high-grade polypropylene frame is fully collapsible and a slider allows users to adjust the focus to suit their preferred viewing angle. May said: "The reason I created the Owl was to recreate Victorian stereoscopy. People get fatigued very quickly with [other] VR devices, they get frustrated that they can't reach their phone to get to their controls and they get sweaty with the eyepieces so I quickly realised that, in some ways, this was a better way of viewing virtual reality. "The great thing is that any smartphone will work in Owl. Most devices on the market only accept certain types of smartphone, so this is unique." read more @ wired.co.uk

The Dubai 3D Printing Strategy: Will Print Teeth in Minutes, Make Prosthetics for $110 by 2025.

Dubai wants to lead the world in 3D printing. And boy, do they have a plan. While many have vague goals and hopes as they see a bright future for the technology in their countries, states, and universities, the powers that be in the UAE have a multi-tiered plan focusing on construction, medical products, and consumer products. Both their plans—and accelerated pace—have caught the attention of the world as they’ve proclaimed that 25 percent of their buildings will be based on 3D printing technology by 2030, along with a substantial rise in the 3D printing of household goods, jewelry—and even fast food. Dubai has recently announced a new 3D printed lab space to be added to a huge solar park, and just yesterday inaugurated the first 3D printed office building. Regarding plans for the medical sector, however, they are now becoming most specific, and it looks as if the patients of the future in the UAE will certainly have new—and affordable—options to look forward to, as the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has just announced that they plan to be offering 3D printed artificial limbs by 2025, at a cost of Dh400, which is impressive indeed when translated to $108.90 USD. They also plan to produce ceramic teeth in less than 20 minutes, use 3D printing in orthopedic surgeries and create 3D printed casts, which will speed the healing process of patients by 40 to 80 per cent. The strategy ultimately aims to make Dubai excel in different medical surgeries, the value of 3D printed medical products in Dubai is expected to exceed Dh1.3 billion by 2025. The use of 3D printing in medical printing is important as it is considered to be one of the most important fields given its direct link to human life,” said Saif Al Aleeli, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation. “Through these initiatives, we plan on using the latest technologies as well as partnering with organizations who have experience in the field of 3D printing to find solutions for medical challenges.” read more at 3Dprint.com

FOOD SUMMIT.

A food summit is underway and investors are expected to storm the event,and contribute to the food security scheme. A large number of value chains are on the platform,but my area is the poultry value chain. 

This discussion will be elaborate with various dimensions and most of all exciting interviews with key players in the industry and prospective investors,so hop in ,the train has left the station. 

 AN EXPOSE ON THE POULTRY VALUE CHAIN. Its my duty to break the myth about the poultry value chain, this is an industry where you can profit on various level if you harness the opportunities. 

 

Welcome to the poultry business:look at the diagram, it shows several areas for investment.to  make profit. These stages also have subsets,giving opportunities for investment based on various financial capacity and target market.

FOOD-NIGERIA.

A food exhibition and conference, a great platform to interact with manufacturers and distributors of food.It also proved to be a good ground for networking with establishment of trade relations and business opportunities.

Building 3D printed tanks by hand ..

Michael Sng is a one-man tank factory. The Singapore-based designer hand-built the walking mecha toy Codename: Colossus from 435 3D-printed parts. A former graphic designer, Sng previously sold Stikfas, a stick-figure toy he co-created, to Hasbro. Colossus started out as a way to learn new skills. "I didn't know a lot of electronics," Sng, 38, says. "I learned from scratch."He designed the toy as a 3D CAD file, printing each part on a small UP Plus 2 printer. "It's 60cm tall, but none of the parts is larger than 12cm long," he explains. "They're put together with hundreds of screws." Sng also hand-wired the working legs, guns and lights, and hand-painted each part, including the interior and tiny characters. (The tank's shell conceals a cannon that fires table tennis balls.) The process took 18 months and cost Sng more than $3,000 (£2,070). Colossus was part passion project, part audition: under the Machination Studios moniker, Sng's conceived a fictional universe for the toys, set after the first world war "where air power never happened, and tanks just got bigger and bigger." read more @wired.co.uk