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The humanitarian crisis in northeastern Nigeria remains severe, with aid agencies reporting uneven progress. In areas they have been able to access, relief organizations say they have successfully reduced malnutrition. But in other areas still cut off by insecurity, they fear the worst. Rainy season is coming in northeastern Nigeria, and aid agencies are worried. […]
A long line of customers queue along a glass divide separating them from a rice food station at an eatery in Lagos, Nigeria. Diners can choose between white rice, fried rice and jollof at a local restaurant,“The White House”. A steady flow of customers is served in the main hall and in two packed adjoining […]
For years (particularly the past twenty months), armed hoodlums masquerading as “herdsmen” have been attacking farming communities in the North Central, South East, South-South and South West areas of the country. Thousands of people have been killed; some of their victims were either slaughtered like animals or strafed to death with assault firearms. Communities have […]
Like many Yoruba towns, Epe, a Lagos State community, also derives its panegyric from its main occupation, which is fishing. Because of its geographical location as a coastal town, Epe fish market has been a melting pot of different cultures through the years. TUNDE BUSARI, who was at the market, reports. Although its official name […]
Recently, during the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the United States for the United Nations General Assembly, the immediate past President Obama said something to him which was totally amazing. He said the most important ministry in the United States is not the Ministry of Defence. It is the Ministry of Agriculture. That was […]
With the constant call for diversification into agriculture by the federal government, irrigation farming remains a key component for achieving self-sufficiency in food production. Most advanced countries hold unto irrigation farming, which forms an integral part of achieving sustainable food security and consequently, food sovereignty of their people. However, the ability of the government to […]
Just before Christmas last year, Governors Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos and Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi States together launched Lake Rice to the public. “Lake” was coined from the names of the two states. The occasion culminated a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two states in Lagos on March 23, 2016 on production and […]
Nigeria’s Rice Revolution, The Federal Government’s economic diversification efforts in the agric sector appear to be yielding dividends. With the harvest of local rice, especially by Lagos and Kebbi states, the prices of the staple food have dipped, raising the hope that the ‘rice revolution’ will manifest this year, DANIEL ESSIET reports. Rice is a […]
…some senatorial districts get special allocations The Federal Government has appropriated the sum of N4.1 billion to buy grains for the strategic food reserves. There are 33 silos scattered across the country. The measure is also expected to shoreup the prices of food commodities. The amount represents 5.4% of the total budget (N76.16 billion) appropriated […]
Faced with dwindling oil revenue, the nation is gradually returning to agriculture. In the outgoing year, many states collaborated in agricultural ventures, which are now yielding dividends. DANIEL ESSIET writes. It was another tough year for the economy. Economic growth was slower. The main reasons for the relative slow down are not unique to Nigeria.The […]
Cotton, one of the nation’s most valuable export tree crops before the oil boom of the 70s, is gradually becoming history in Nigeria despite the potential to have a share in the estimated $3 trillion global textile industry. From the 1960s to late 1980s, about 176 textile companies were active in Nigeria when Kaduna, Kano […]
The Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr Dave Umahi, told a delegation of military officers from the Command and Staff College, Jaji on a courtesy call on him, that he would lead a task force of senior government officials to enforce the ban on foreign rice in markets throughout his state. He justified this intention by […]
Proactiveness from the corridor of policy makers within the nation’s agricultural sector is sacrosanct if the recent revelation by Malam Gaba Shehu, on the imminent shortage of grains in the country is anything to go by. Malam Shehu, a Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, while granting a radio interview on […]
Banks must start lending to farmers From the President to paupers, every Nigerian now utters with conviction that a major road out of recession into future prosperity lies in the promotion of agriculture. Experts have repeated it so often that it has become shopworn. Unfortunately, like all roads paved with gold which often lead to […]
On Wednesday, November 11, 2015, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, resumed duties shortly after been sworn in by President Muhammadu Buhari. His mission was to revamp the sector to drive the president’s quest for a diversified economy – away from oil that truncated the nation’s economic diversification. Since taking over […]