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Foreigners are currently taking over Nigeria’s agricultural sector as a result of the excessively high interest rates being demanded from indigenous agriculturists by Deposit Money Banks, the Federal Government has said.   Senator Heineken Lokpobiri Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development  Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar organised in Abuja by the Danish Embassy in Nigeria on value development in the country’s food and agriculture sector, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said the major challenge inhibiting the desired development of the country’s agricultural sector was poor access to finance. Lokpobiri stated, “The major challenge bedevilling this industry is access to finance. Agricultural financing in Nigeria is too costly; for even at nine per cent you can’t find it. They will ask you for all forms of collateral, the CBN will say bring your father’s house, bring this, bring that. “But if

Pakistan is to stage an agricultural machinery exhibition in Nigeria to showcase its technological achievements in agriculture. Mr. Asim Khan, Head of Chancery, Pakistan High Commission, said the proposed exhibition “is a fallout of the recent 6th D8 Ministerial meeting on industrial cooperation’’. Participants at D8 ministerial meeting emphasised the need for exchange of technology to boost agricultural production in member states. The diplomat explained that made-in-Pakistan agricultural machinery to be exhibited would include rugged tractors and other equipment that could boost small and medium enterprises growth in Nigeria’s agricultural sector. Khan said Pakistan is determined to assist Nigeria’s efforts for self-sufficiency in food production. He added that the single country agriculture equipment show would also be a channel to make durable and efficient farming equipment available to Nigerian farmers at reasonable cost. He disclosed that Ghulam Jatoi, Pa

Farmcrowdy, an agricultural technological firm, has launched a digital application known as farmcrowdy for farmers in a bid to ameliorate the challenge of food shortages and make the business of agriculture attractive and beneficial to farmers. Onyeka Akumah, Chief Executive Officer of Farmcrowdy Onyeka Akumah, Chief Executive Officer of Farmcrowdy, explained that the application is Nigeria's first digital platform focused on giving people the opportunity to invest in agriculture by connecting farm sponsors with real farmers, particularly small scale farmers. According to him, Farmcrowdy is currently empowering more than 2,000 farmers in eight states across the country. Akumah who spoke at Farmcrowdy first year anniversary and the recent launch of the application in IOS, windows and Android platform in Lagos, disclosed that more than 4,000 farmers are also in the process of signing on to the platform while the company is prepared to give interested Nigerians all the

Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), has urged officers and men of the Nigerian Army to join other Nigerians and invest in agriculture.   Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ogbeh who gave the advise while speaking at a sensitisation programme organised by FMARD for the Nigerian Army in Abuja recently said, the ministry would love to see the soldiers participating actively in agriculture production and see agriculture as a business. “Food security is an integral part of national security; that is why the army, whose mandate is to provide national security, cannot afford to avoid attending to food security. “Active participation of the army can never be seen as an incursion into an unfamiliar ground but a step in the direction that agrees in principle with one of its core mandate, which is ensuring peace,’’ he said Ogbeh, who was represented by Mrs. Winifred Ochinyabo, Special Adviser to Ogbeh on Specia

Fifteen companies in the food and agriculture sector from Denmark have earlier in the week signed agreements with interested Nigerian businesses to explore possibilities of doing business in this country. The firms are part of a trade delegation led by Esben Lunde Larsen, Denmark’s Minister for Environment and Food, to a symposium in Abuja, the Nigerian capital. The Danish firms deal in logistics and cold chain; breeding and genetics; agro-industry inputs and equipment; ingredients and drinks; food and grain analysis and equipment; seed processing and grain logistic; and agriculture financing. Danish ministerial visits to Nigeria over the past year underlines “broad spectrum of common issues and areas for cooperation between our two countries,” said Danish ambassador Torben Gettermann. “The clear signs that Nigeria is on its way towards renewed economic growth carries with them the potential for broadening and increasing our commercial relations,” Gettermann said.

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) belongs to the palm family (Arecaceae). Grown in abundance in Nigeria, Malaysia, Polynesia and southern Asia, Spanish explorers named the plant cocos - meaning 'grinning face', because of the three little eyes on the base. Source: spoonuniversity.com Classed as a fruit and frequently confused for being a nut, the coconut is actually a one-seeded drupe.  In Sanskrit, the coconut palm is known as kalpa vriksha which means 'tree which gives all that is necessary for living' because nearly all its parts are useful - the water, milk, flesh, sugar and oil. Even the husks and leaves are used as materials in furnishings and decoration. Palm trees produce coconuts up to 13 times a year and although it takes a year for the coconuts to mature, a fully blossomed tree can produce between 60 and 180 coconuts in a single harvest. Coconuts are highly nutritious and rich in fibre, vitamins C, E, B1, B3, B5 and B6 and minerals including iron,

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has appealed to the Federal Government to increase its allocation to federal universities of agriculture in the country. Ikpeazu who made the call while speaking at the eighth convocation and silver jubilee celebration of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), commended President Muhammadu Buhari for refocusing attention on agriculture as a way of assuring economic growth in Nigeria. Speaking on the government’s directive to federal tertiary institutions, including MOUAU, to revert to their core mandates, the governor noted that “As Abia citizens, our desire would have been for this university to continue to train our children in different areas of academics, irrespective of their inclinations. “This is because we do not have any other federal institution that can fill the gap except this great institution.” He added that the global challenges of survival faced by graduates of such institutions would re

Senator Theodore Orji, Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, has highlighted ways through which the Nigerian economy can fulfill its enormous potential in the agriculture sector and provide quality food and employment to Nigerians as well as increase contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).   Senator Theodore Orji, Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture source: independent.ng Senator Orji who was delivering his opening remarks as Chairman of the National Association of Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ) Pan-African Conference/Award in Lagos recently said agriculture remains the major hope of the country to shore up its revenue which has nosedived in recent times due to deteriorating oil prices in the global market. According to him, if Nigeria is to reverse the trend on food imports running into billions of dollars, the government needs to ensure adequate security by tackling decisively the menace of Fulani herdsmen and terrorism while also giving prop

Nigeria is inching closer to achieving self-sufficiency in rice production as the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration targets seven million tonnes production of the commodity in 2018, Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, has said.   Rice Mill Mohammed who disclosed this recently in Abuja, said rice demand in the country as at 2015 stood at 6.3 million tones, adding that imports dropped from 644,131 tonnes in 2015 to about 21,000 tonnes in 2017 as a result of the success recorded by the administration in local rice production. The minister said the interest being shown by some investors from Thailand in establishing rice milling plants in the country would not have been possible a few years ago when Nigeria was not considered a top rice producing country. The minister noted that the massive increase recorded in volume of rice produced across the country was largely due to a successful implementation of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme of the Centr

Isinguzo Uzoma, popularly known as Uzo Ododo Oba of Wazobia FM, has announced that the maiden edition of Uzomatik Food and Drinks Fiesta (UFDF), a one-day exhibition of sales of online/offline foods and beverages, food technology/security, among others, will hold in Lagos at Ndubuisi Kanu Park, Mobolaji Johnson Avenue, Alausa Ikeja on Saturday 2nd, December, 2017, beginning from 10am.   Isinguzo Uzoma According to a statement by Uzoma, the Fiesta is designed to showcase the quality of Nigerian food varieties with opportunities in the local and international markets. The event is also designed to project the diverse angles of the food industry by connecting various businesses involved in the production and sales of food related items to a cosmopolitan audience of food enthusiasts. She explained that the event will not be all about food alone as there will be lots of music and comedy by the likes of African China, Jaywon, Lamboginny,  Dwana, Cornel and  Ratata as well as

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has inaugurated a Cashew Processing factory, FoodPro Nigeria Limited, in Ilorin. Osinbajo who also inspected the factory after the inauguration expressed delight at what he saw on ground.   Vice President Yemi Osinbajo The Vice President who was conducted round the factory by Mr. Ayo Olajiga, Chief Executive Officer of FoodPro, restated the administration’s resolve to support the private sector with policies that would make business easier. Osinbajo was accompanied by Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara; Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Executive Director of Bank of Industry, Mr. Waheed Olagunju. Olajiga said the company had employed more than 400 staff with 90 per cent of them being women since it started operations a few years back. He said the factory was expanded to produce 5,000 tonnes of processed cashew nuts a year. Olajiga explained that most of the company’s output is exported to the United States

You probably like your chickens as much as you dislike their mess. But what if you had a chicken run that literally ate the mess? Tradd Cotter, founder of a mushroom farm and research lab in South Carolina called Mushroom Mountain, did an experiment to accomplish just that, mixing the wood chips of his chicken run with mushroom spawn. While most chicken runs benefit from a little mulch, Cotter added to his a mushroom called King Stropharia or Wine Cap (Stropharia rugoso-annulata) that literally eats chicken manure, combating both harmful bacteria and odor. Added bonus: Wine Cap mushrooms make an edible secondary crop. He says the method is cheap and easy to replicate, even if you’re a fungi amateur. Mushrooms 101 To understand this coop-cleaning method, first let’s talk about mushrooms. Mushrooms are fungi. Though they seem to pop up overnight, they actually take days or even weeks to develop, and the process occurs mostly underground. Mushrooms

Dr. Yakubu Bununu, Coordinator, School of Post Graduate Studies at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria has urged the Federal Government to prevail on herdsmen in the country to adopt the zero grazing model being practised in Kenya, saying pastoral nomadism is primitive and outdated.   Herdsmen in Nigeria Bununu who made the appeal while speaking at the end of this year’s African Land Policy Conference in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, said the Kenya model would lessen the clashes between herdsmen and farmers. He said adoption of the model would significantly modernise the cattle economy and prevent the attendant loss of human and cattle lives as well as destruction of farm infrastructure and produce. The university don, who also heads a team of researchers funded by the University of Groningen, Netherlands, said the anti-grazing law enacted by some states of the federation may end up creating more security challenges than intended. “On the other hand, the

Mr. Adewale Ajadi, Country Director, Synergos Development Innovations, has said yam exports to the United States (US) and Britain in June recorded 90 per cent and 50 per cent successes respectively. Synergos is a global non-profit organisation providing cooling and conditioning facilities for export commodities to ensure that they meet international market requirements. Ajadi who said this in an interview at the weekend in Lagos, disclosed that the rate of success of the yam exports was commendable, taking into consideration that Nigeria had never ventured into yam exportation, prior to this time. “At least 80 per cent to 90 per cent success was recorded for the yam consignment that got to the US, while it was 50 per cent for the yam consignment that got to Britain. “Yes, the 50 per-cent success rate showed there were some problems with the yam consignment to Britain, and the spoilt yam tubers were separated from the good ones. “That, however, does not mean that

Adamawa State Government has paid N20 million counterpart fund on the implementation of the FADAMA III Second Additional Financing (AFII) programme in a bid to fast-track efforts to restore people’s livelihoods in the state. Mr. Mohammed Bello, FADAMA Project Coordinator in the state, who disclosed this at the weekend in Yola while presenting a report to the FADAMA mission team led by Dr Ben Herbert, said the FADAMA III (AFII) project, also known as North East Security and Livelihood Emergency Support Project, was initiated to respond to the food and livelihood needs of families who were hitherto displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency. He noted that the feats recorded in the project encouraged the state government to pay the counterpart fund. “The scope and scale up of Fadama III (AFII) project activities in the six northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi and Gombe is aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the project. “Adamawa is one of the partici

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja said the Federal Government would establish six crop processing zones in the country to enhance food security and economic development.   President Muhammadu Buhari  Buhari made this known when he presented the 2018 budget proposal before the National Assembly in Abuja. According to the President, the initiative will help to develop infrastructure for the production, processing and storage of strategic commodities. He said the project would focus on backward integration for grains, horticulture, livestock, fisheries and sugar as well as exportable commodities such as cocoa, cassava and oil palms. “The agricultural sector plays crucial role in Nigeria’s exit from recession. “Today, it remains the largest employer of labour and holds significant potential in realising our vision to reposition Nigeria as a food secured nation. “We will consolidate on existing policies and develop new ones to ensure the numerous

Journalists covering the agriculture sector of the economy, under the aegis of National Association of Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ), have announced plans to honour major players in the agriculture sector for their contributions to the growth and development of the sector. In a statement jointly signed by Stanley Ihedigbo, Chairman of NAAJ and Johnmark Ukoko, Chairman, Conference Planning Committee, the association also disclosed plans to inaugurate the Pan African Journalists (PAJ), an association of agricultural journalists in Africa, at its 2017 Annual Conference on 16 November 2017 in Lagos. Journalists on the agriculture beat from Rwanda, Ghana, Gambia, South Africa, Somali, Kenya and few other African countries are expected at the event. NAAJ’s maiden conference which held last year was attended by agricultural journalists from Holland and Ghana. Senator T.A. Orji, Vice Chairman Senate Committee on Agriculture who is also one of the awardees, will serve as the c

The Federal Government has allocated N118.98 billion to strengthen the nation’s agricultural sector in 2018 as part of an effort to ensure food security in the country.   President Muhammadu Buhari  President Muhammadu Buhari who disclosed this while presenting the 2018 budget to the National Assembly on Tuesday noted that the sector which helped Nigeria to exit from recession remains the largest employer of labour. He assured Nigerians that the government will consolidate on existing policies and develop new ones in a bid to address the challenges in the value chain of the agricultural sector. He added that astute investors are already heavily into the production and processing of rice, sugar, maize, soya, cassava, yams, tomato, oil palm, rubber and poultry products, adding that more effort will be deployed to see increased investment in the sector. Aside getting more of these investments, the president said efforts will be made to protect these investments becaus