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A conscious effort is going on among government agencies to fully regulate importation of food items into the country. The effort is also deepening oversight in the entire agriculture chain in a deliberate fight against contamination. This fresh move is coming on the strength of World Health Organisation (WHO) revelation showing that about 600 million […]
The South Sudanese government and humanitarian agencies have declared a famine in parts of the country, which has been devastated by three years of war. The announcement comes as international aid agencies are overwhelmed by catastrophes unfolding in South Sudan and three other countries. The United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan said […]
It’s a crying shame that Africa, with most of the world’s arable land and a large and growing workforce, spends $35bn a year importing food. As young African farmers get back to work transforming agriculture and “making farming sexy” this week, many of them will be feeling renewed drive after a conference in Kigali last […]
I remember it was one Saturday morning in Decenber 1972 that my father said I should get ready to go to farm with him. I was seven and had hitherto been spared the assignment. My brothers, Uncle Agbo, who drove the family’s Peugeot 304, and Brother Dennis, my father’s Steward were already in the vehicle. […]
When a 160-acre parcel of farmland in southern Minnesota came up for sale, many wrote the irregular-shape field off as not worthy of a second glance. “Most farmers said they didn’t want to deal with it because there would be too much waste, and they would just be throwing money away,” recalls Cory Sumerfelt, who […]
Rains have delayed soybean harvesting in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s top grain-producing state, for the second week in a row, reducing deliveries to traders who had contracted for larger volumes. Soy collection in Mato Grosso reached 16.3% of total planted area by Friday, farmers’ statistics body Imea said, well below expectations considering early planting in September […]
Beans end the week on a rather boring note as the Chinese were absent due to their New Year’s holiday, and fresh news to trade was lacking. For the week, the front month March contract lost 18¼ cents. The market was under pressure most of the session on ideas that South American weather is improving […]
The President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Architect Kabir Ibrahim, has stated that for the sector to perform credibly well, 10 per cent budgetary allocation, as stipulated in Maputo Declaration should be strictly adhered to. Ibrahim, who was one of the discussants at the second Mike Omotosho Annual Lecture with the theme: Increased […]
The recent news about the arrival in markets around Lagos state of Lake Rice, a harvest of an agricultural business relationship between Lagos and Kebbi states is indeed heart-warming. The “Lake” bit in the brand name “Lake Rice” is said to be an acronym derived from an amalgamation of the first two letters in the […]
Trailing behind Kagarko, Kachia and Jaba local government areas of Kaduna State in ginger production, Kafanchan, arguably, is the largest commercial city of cleaned ginger in Nigeria. Buyers from across the country and abroad, mostly from India, Pakistan, the US, Sudan, Chad among others, visit Kafanchan to settle with their suppliers, whom in turn, rallied […]
The most enduring and damaging impacts of Nigeria’s oil and gas resource curse has been the long and steady decline of the country’s agricultural sector over the years. Once the primary source of government revenue and foreign exchange earnings, agriculture in Nigeria has suffered from decades of underinvestment, corruption, policy neglect and lost opportunities. It […]
In Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), banana is one of the cheapest commodities one can find. They are on roadside selling points, in shops and highbrow supermarkets. Traders say the increased production from banana plantations-from modern mechanised and medium to subsistence and barn yard producers-is glutting the market. Banana can be grown anywhere, and […]
Located on the eastern side of Meru County, Mugae location is characterized by a sparse population with low and erratic rainfall resulting in an increase in food insecurity, environmental degradation and poverty levels in the county. Massive wind storms carry away the soil from the bare land making agriculture a debatable investment. This however, is […]
Much-needed rain in the past couple of months has helped to alleviate pressure on South African farmers in a number of provinces, but significant rainfall over the next few months is essential to ensure the full replenishment of irrigation dams, agricultural economists have warned. “Eight provinces were declared drought disaster areas early in 2016, which […]
The Monsanto Sobsidiary Aims To Nearly Double Paid Subscriptions In 2017. The top corn yield in the 2015 National Corn Growers Association yield contest tallied 532 bushels per acre. Meanwhile, 2015’s average yield on the remaining 80.7 million U.S. corn acres harvested for grain tallied 168.4 bushels per acre. So why the yield gap? Well, […]