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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. ...

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 Sp...

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...