Sokoto State Set For Partnership with Morocco On Power and Agriculture.

The Sokoto State Government has said that it has conclude plans to partner with the Kingdom of Morocco in the areas of solar energy and agriculture. Gov. Aminu Tambuwal stated this on Monday after a meeting with the Moroccan Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Mosidfa Bouh, in Abuja In a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Malam Imam Imam, Tambuwal said Morocco is has been at the fore-front of technology on the continent with giant strides in some critical sectors. “Morocco has distinguished itself in some critical sectors, as such relationship between the two states will be of utmost importance to the two parties. He added that, “We sought a closer working relationship between our two states, especially in areas like solar energy and leather works. “Other areas are agriculture, especially irrigation, educational and cultural integration, as well as fertilizer management. “In terms of fertilizer, we informed the Ambassador that Sokoto has a large deposit of primary natural substances needed for making fertilizer,” the governor said. read

Nigerian farmers embrace biotechnology.

The National Vice President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Chris Onwuka , has condemned those campaigning against biotechnology in the country as he asked them to come up with scientific evidence to back their stance. Speaking at a Stakeholders meeting in Abuja recently, he said “a group came and were telling us recently that biotechnology is not good. I asked them to show us scientific evidence but they could not,” he told other stakeholders. The truth is that without biotechnology we cannot feed ourselves. What we farmers need is more yield. We already have a regulatory agency just as there is NAFDAC. It is their job to tell us what is good and what is not good. They are capable,” he added. Also at the meeting were representatives of the academia from all geopolitical zones of the country, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Consumer Protection Council, Genetics Society of Nigeria and the Nigeria Agricultural Society among others. Onwuka said the unequal distribution of technology between the developed world and developing countries like Nigeria consistently make it unnecessary to compare their priorities with ours. By 2030, Nigeria’s population will be 250 million and without a technological intervention, and with continuous decrease in arable land due to urbanization, desertification and erosion, farmers’ yield are definitely going to decrease. continue

Man Cuts Off Wife's Hands For Not Getting Pregnant After Seven Years Of Marriage .

A 34-year-old Kenyan man allegedly chopped off the hands of his wife of seven years with a large knife because she cannot have children, in what is said to be the most atrocious cases of domestic violence. 28-year-old Jackline Mwende from Kathama Village, Masii in Machakos County, had her hands chopped off at the wrist by her husband, Stephen Ngila Thenge (right) on July 24. She is also nursing injuries on her head and neck from the gruesome attack. Relatives say the couple had been having issues and Ms Mwende wanted to leave her husband but was advised against it by "their pastor." Ms Mwende, who spoke at her father's Kathama home, where she now stays after her discharge from the hospital on Friday, July 29, said that before the attack, they had separated for about three months over failure to have children. "I could not understand why he was blaming me yet we had gone to hospital last year and the doctors had said he was the one with issues, which could be corrected," she said. She said her husband, a tailor at Masii town, refused to follow up on treatment. continue

Beenie Man ‘falls victim to Zika virus’.

Dancehall reggae artist Beenie Man, one of the headline acts at the Cup Match Summer Splash, has reportedly fallen ill with the Zika virus.bThe diagnosis was reported in Rolling Stone, which added that the Jamaican artist had called off a concert set for Saturday after being denied a Canadian visa. There were local reports that Beenie Man had appeared unwell at his show in Bermuda on Wednesday night. The spread of the mosquito-borne virus, which can cause mild fever and a rash, has been an international concern because it can damage babies in the womb, causing microcephaly. It comes as the Bermuda Government beefed up efforts to keep the virus out of the island, including the deployment of mosquito traps by the Department of Health’s vector control team. The health ministry said: “The Ministry of Health and Seniors is aware that the performer, Beenie Man, visited Bermuda to perform at a concert on July 27.More

Sack farming for profit.

Sack farming is a form of urban farming where vegetables are grown in sacks usually referred to as multi-story planting or vertical farming. The seeds are planted /layered in the sack and by the sides to make maximum use of sack and space. Small stones are put in the middle of the sack for easy watering of your garden, aeration of the root area of the plant and providing an anchor for the roots. Sack farming is lucrative and its cheap to operate and maintain.The advantage of this type of farming is that it can be practiced any where and space is not a constraint.The technology is relatively easy to adapt and practice easily,the only word of caution is to ensure that the seeds are good and the soil is not contaminated or infested with ants. Sack farming is practiced using 1) sacks 2)soil 3)stones 4)plastic bowl with no tops or bottom 5)fertilizer 6)seeds 7)wooden stakes 8)water 9) Method 1)Identify and prepare site to place the garden making sure it is flat. 2) Thoroughly mix the soil, manure and the pesticide. 3)Tear the bottom of the bowl such that it is open on both ends 4)Use the 4 stakes to ensure that the sack stands upright. 5)Place the bottomless bowl in the middle of the sack and fill with stones. 6)Fill the area around the can with the soil, manure 7)Pull the can up and refill it with stones and fill the area around with the soil mixture 8) add Water to the soil mixture till it is well saturated and this after every layer of soil mixture. 9)repeat 7 and 8 until the sack is full. Drill holes in the sack beginning from 1 foot from the ground and insert a stick in each hole to form planting hole .The spacing between the holes across the sack should be one inch apart. Plant your seedlings in the planting holes on the side of the sack using a blunt stick.more

Sack farmer rakes in fortune growing vegetables.

Francis Ndolo on his farm in Landless estate, Kiambu County. He makes a huge income from sack farming. Many residents living in towns and cities are turning to urban farming to fight poverty, enhance food security and improve environmental sustainability. Major Rt. Rev Francis Mutua Ndolo, 65, is already making a fortune out of it and he says urban farming is becoming a solution to earning a decent living. Sack farming technology allows growing of crops in large, bag-gardens, enabling farmers to grow vegetables such as sukuma wiki, spinach and amaranth on one square metre. The high-yielding sack gardening is an inexpensive but high-yielding food security technology as it maximises land and water use. They are efficient for schools, hospitals, informal settlements and on small-scale farms. The large size vertical bags have holes in them where stem seedlings are planted. They come in small medium and large sizes .He decided to plant spinach only, thanks to its fast maturity period of one month. Eight months later, Ndolo is a happy farmer with leafy spinach in his compound and he says in one day, he makes Sh2,000 selling spinach to neighbours. “If I sell to the market, I make Sh3,000. This translates to about Sh100,000 per month and after deducting expenses, I remain with not less than Sh60,000,” says Ndolo. Ndolo advises urban dwellers to utilize space by trying sack farming. “It will help you save the cost of buying vegetables from markets. I also advise youths to take advantage of this technology to be financially independent and create jobs. He

Urban farming using sacks for food security.

Agriculture is the future of our work, with the ever growing population and climate change the techniques of growing food and raising animals need to be improved to cater for the population and ensure food security. Land now is a scarce resource and many more farmers are utilizing what they have to maximize profits. Agriculture today is not only practiced on farms,today urban farming is the driving force in food production. Urban farming refers too city farming or better still smart farming to produce vegetables that augment income of farmers and provide a means of livelihood for others. Urban farming can be practiced in various areas such as sidewalks,rooftops,flowerbeds,terraces or even lawns. This type of farming can also be practiced with various items such as in bottles, jars, trough plates ,flower pots,plastic bottles and even in sacks. The hydroponics system is a type of urban farming that utilizes minimal space but still gives the required harvest of vegetables and fish. Urban farming is fast taking root in Africa as a source of income for the young,old and the young at heart. The sack farming involves planting vegetables in prepared sacks,these can be stacked in courtyards,corners and gardens.The advantage is that more is produced using minimal space,its easy and cheap to start. Urban farming with sacks is done as follows 1) sacks are filled with manure, soil and small stones that enable water to drain. 2) plant vegetables,onions,spinach from the tops and sides of these sacks referred to as multi-story gardens. The plant are usually watered once a day in the evenings,and the plants are spread with correct pesticides to prevent attack. Urban farming using sacks is a good and cost effective way to introduce farming to schools, this initiative in the school agric project will not only be a source of learning but can also be a means of income for the school and food for the students. Sack farming will provide a means of income for young school leavers, and unemployed youths who want to farm but they have no land. City farming, either in sacks or on small bits of land, has taken root in Cameroon, Malawi and Ghana with 25 to 50 percent of all city households said to be engaged in food cropping. In Malawi, 700,000 city dwellers have home gardens while in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo and some schools have their own gardening programs. continue