Ibadan, Nigeria – Researchers have deciphered the complete sequence of one of the major food crops in Africa—the white Guinea yam. In many parts of West Africa, food is not considered food if it is not yam. This explains why yam—also called the “king of crops” in Nigeria, exemplified in Chinua Achebe’s classic novel “Things […]
Jennifer Blanke is the Vice-President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development at the African Development Bank (AfDB). In this interview, she speaks on the seventh African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), taking place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, how to mitigate the impact of climate change on agriculture, the bank’s Feed Africa Strategy, and other key issues. What […]
The Partnership Initiatives for Niger Delta (PIND) recently sent Dr. Ogho Okiti and Mr. Al-Habib Onifade out into the field to find out the impact of the naira’s devaluation on different parts of four key agricultural value chains (palm oil, cassava, aquaculture and poultry) in the Niger Delta. The question of whether to devalue the […]
U.S. Borax, part of Rio Tinto, has launched a mobile crop guide to help agronomists, growers and researchers identify and treat boron deficiency in soils, a key issue facing agriculture. Boron is an essential micronutrient to plant growth. In recent years, there’s been increased attention to the role micronutrients–such as boron and zinc–play in the […]
Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists have discovered a ribonucleic acid, or RNA, that can increase the thale cress plant’s resistance to stress from drought and salt. The discovery could help illuminate a new pathway to engineering drought- and salt-tolerant plants, including food crops, said Dr. Liming Xiong, AgriLife Research associate professor, Dallas. “This is the […]
After steadily declining for over a decade, global hunger is on the rise again, affecting 815 million people in 2016, or 11 per cent of the global population, says a new edition of the annual United Nations report on world food security and nutrition released today. At the same time, multiple forms of malnutrition are […]
A new factory on Praslin, the second-most populated island in Seychelles, is launching a new and innovative way to manage and make better use of seaweed: turning it into agricultural fertiliser. Bernard Port-Louis told SNA that the business, called ‘Seaweed Seychelles,’ is the brainchild of his son Benjamin. “He is currently in his final year […]
An estimated 60-90 million quintals of crop produce is lost annually in Ethiopia owing to poor post-harvest handling, researches indicate. The amount accounts 20-30 percent of the total production. To put it into an understandable perspective, the stated produce could feed over 20 million people for about a year. Currently, Non-for-profit organizations in partnership with […]
National Cashew Association of Nigeria, NCAN, has warned that unless something urgent was done to address the leadership crisis rocking the association, the Federal Government’s $7 billion cashew export target annually would be derailed. Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Vice President of NCAN, East Zone, comprising cashew-producing states in the South-East and South-South states, Mr. Chuks […]
A total of 378 young farmers at the weekend concluded a one-week training in agriculture as well as other entrepreneurial and leadership development courses at the Citizenship and Leadership Training Center, Shere Hills, Jos, Plateau State. The training which was organized by the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) drew participants from the Apex Leading Farmers […]
China’s new oil policy rattles FG By Olawale Ajimotokan India has approached Nigeria to supply it with $1billion (about N367 billion) worth of Pulse Beans. The Director, Agricultural Business, Processing and Marketing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Azeez Olumuyiwa, made this revelation at a sensitisation workshop on agriculture held for officers of the Nigerian […]
Winners of the Nigeria Agriculture Awards, NAA, 2017 essay competition for secondary schools and tertiary institutions across the country with the theme, “Building a Crop of Young Young Agropreneurs,” have received their cash award. During the 2017 NAA awards presentation ceremony in Lagos, cash awards were presented to three groups that emerged winners in the […]
The Osun Broilers Outgrowers Programme Scheme, OBOPS II has enlisted 1,000 farmers across the State as phase II of the programme begins after a successful pilot stage. The programme managed by AMO Farm Sieber Hatchery Limited provides 2,000 day old birds to each participating farmer(s) in the project. Facilitated by the State Government of Osun, […]
Unity Bank Plc has supported the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) initiated Commercial Credit Scheme (CACS) with N24 billion disbursed to farmers. The bank said it sees agribusiness as its major strategic business focus and has effectively keyed into various intervention fund by Federal Government and CBN to boost agriculture. The lender said its commitment […]
The Nigerian government will adopt any safe technology in order to engender food security and economic recovery drive for the country, Minister of State for Environment Ibrahim Jibril said Thursday. Speaking at a National Biosafety Conference in Abuja, the nation’s capital, Jibril said food security is crucial for good health, peace and stability for the […]