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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 […]
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, […]
It is no longer news that Benue State is reputed to produce over 120 agricultural products and as such the state prides itself as the “food basket of the nation” with some of the crops grown to include yam, cassava, soya bean, maize, cow pea, potatoes and citrus, potentials still largely untapped. Daily Trust reports […]
I visited Katsina over the holidays and took the opportunity to attend the launching of the Rice Anchor Borrowers Programme in Jibia sponsored by the Central Bank and the Bank of Agriculture. The project is aimed at developing the rice value chain by supplying credit for improved seeds, pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers. The State Government […]
How To Increase Your Farm Profit In 2017?, The major concern of every farmer who sees farming as a business is how to increase the revenue or turnover of his/ her farm. However, the practice with many farmers is to sink money into farming without developing good farm accounting procedures and processes, which are very […]
Cotton farming in Nigeria has received very little attention from various governments over the past two decades. This has however made the commodity to witness continuous decline in production. With its contribution to GDP dropping from 25 per cent to 4 per cent. Lack of improved seeds, access to extension services and low prices of […]
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 […]
Agric production, Regardless of the approach or transformative pathway chosen to change food systems and trade regimes, African countries need to undertake radical change in agricultural production systems, adopt agribusiness and promote regional agricultural value chains as a vein for regional integration. This was the view of the Director of the United Nations Economic Commission […]
Over the years, the Nigerian government has not given the livestock sector appropriate official recognition and support despite contributing 6-8 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 20-25 per cent of the agricultural GDP. Trade in livestock and allied products runs into billions of naira yearly, with millions of people ranging from transporters, […]
The need for Nigeria to diversify its economy cannot be over-emphasized. Confronted with a bleak economic outlook occasioned by recession, the Federal Government and governments at all other levels, are at present seeking alternative and additional means of revenue generation. The shortfall in international oil prices coupled with instability in the Niger Delta region has […]