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Senate President Bukola Saraki has commended Mr. Olusegun Arowolo, a 66-year-old Germany-based Nigerian engineer, for inventing a cocoa pod breaking machine that can break 30,000 cocoa pods in one hour, the first ever in the world.   Senate President Bukola Saraki  Saraki who gave the commendation last week in Abuja at the public demonstration of the machine known as Gideon Cocoa Pod Breaking Machine challenged the Nigerian youth to embrace technology and deploy the skills to promote commercial agriculture in the country. The Senate President, who was represented by Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, noted that the Federal Government is committed to the revival of the economy through the non-oil sector, particularly through agriculture. He said agricultural mechanisation would encourage the youth to participate in crop growing, as it would reduce the stress and drudgery associated with current methods of farming, adding that te...

Senate President Bukola Saraki has said the $22 billion annual expenditure on imported foods into the country is unacceptable.   Senate President Bukola Saraki Speaking at a public hearing on the National Fertilizer Quality Control Bill, National Livestock Bill and legal framework for the inclusion of cassava policy bill, Saraki said Nigeria’s livestock production is also grossly inadequate. Saraki, who was represented by the deputy minority leader, Emmanuel Bwacha, said the Senate will through legislation address the challenges for the country to attain food security. “Nigeria’s livestock production is also grossly inadequate. We spend some $22 billion on food imports annually, with chicken alone accounting for N600 billion of that sum. Cattle, the most valued of our livestock products, meets only 60 per cent of our demand. “It was recently revealed that a Nigerian cow produces only one litre of milk on average per day. When we compare that to the 50 litres ou...