Nigeria: Tackling Post-Harvest Losses Towards Food Security

Food remains a basic need of man. Interestingly Nigeria is blessed with all it takes to get good harvests - human resources, arable land and massive water source; but unfortunately much of it is lost to pre and post-harvest challenges, Ruth Tene Natsa writes on the need to tackle post-harvest losses towards ensuring food security

Nigeria plans rice and wheat self-sufficiency within three years - government document

Nigeria aims to be self-sufficient in both rice and wheat production within three years, a document by President Muhammadu Buhari's administration seen by Reuters showed on Saturday, a massive undertaking given current production levels.

Export competitiveness a drive for agricultural growth

Export competitiveness is a drive to promote agricultural growth in the country which would help accelerate the development of the agricultural sector. Diversifying the Nigerian economy away from oil would require paying more attention to the making of agriculture and value-adding manufacturing export more competitive. Agricultural products constitute the bulk of Nigeria’s non-oil exports. The shares…

Firm Plans To Revolutionise Agriculture In Plateau

The Alfa Life Fertilisers International Limited has announced plans to revolutionise farming in the country.

The company’s chief strategy communication officer, Unwana Sunday, disclosed this while addressing extension workers of the Plateau Agricultural Development Project PADP in Jos.

He said the company intends to achieve this through strategic distribution of chemical-free and environmental friendly organic liquid fertilizers and other allied product specially formulated to protect the soils, reduce storage cost and richly transform farming while boosting crops yield by 200 per cent.

Women Serve As Foundation Of Agricultural Production In Nigeria

The Nigeria’s Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sunny Echono, said women are the foundation of agricultural production, processing, marketing and utilisation in the country, Footprint to Africa reports.
Echono who was represented by the ministry’s Deputy Director, Extension, Dele Onorunfemi made this remark at the recent launch of African women in agriculture report titled: “Economic empowerment of African women through equitable participation in agricultural value chains’’ in Abuja.

Govt sets 26m tonne wheat production target for 2015-16

ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday fixed wheat production target of 26 million tonnes for 2015-16, the same target as last year because surplus wheat stocks and difficulties in its exports due to lower prices at international market.

Abdulsalami, Ogbeh, Otudeko, Adamu for Daily Trust Agric confab

The former Head of State and Chairman, Maizube Farms, General Abdulsalami Abubakar ( rtd), Honourable Minister in-waiting, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Chairman, Honeywell Group, Dr Oba Otudeko and Chairman, Nagari Dairy Integrated Farm and former Nasarawa State Governor, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, have all confirmed to be among the special guests that will attend the 1st Daily Trust Agric Conference and Exhibition in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural  Development.

U.S. Wheat Exports Plunge; Foreign Production Expands

According to today’s Wheat Outlook Report from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. wheat exports are down 50 million bushels, making a new record low of 850 million bushels, the lowest since 1971. This is due to the slow pace of sales and relatively high prices for domestic wheat, along with increased production from competing nations. 

Ending stocks for 2015/16 are lowered 14 million bushels, as an 84 million-bushel production decline is more than offset by a decline in total use. Feed and residual use is lowered 20 million bushels after the September 30 Grain Stocks report indicated lower-than-expected June-August disappearance. 

20 Nigerian women win International award on agriculture

Twenty Nigerian women out of 70 have emerged winners of the 2015 African Women in Agriculture Research and Development, AWARD.

A total of 1,109 applicants applied to participate in the two-year career-development program for top women agricultural scientists.

Eleven countries where considered in the award with Nigeria leading with 20 winners, Kenya with 11 and Uganda with eight amongst others.

How policies can drive agro-based economy

Until the early 70s, agriculture was the mainstay of the nation’s economy, accounting for 80 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its major export income earnings before losing its place to oil. This is largely on account of the easy access to cash that oil provides.

Agriculture experts said in reinventing agriculture in an oil-economy, such as Nigeria’s, the solution does not necessarily lie in commercial or large-scale agriculture. This view contradicts the enduring myth that extensive farming is always more productive than small-scale agriculture, which continues to guide agricultural policy in quite a number of developing countries.

Nigerian cashew farmers announce huge 2015 profit

Some cashew farmers on Sunday said they recorded huge sales and made profits from cashew nuts during the 2015 cashew season.

The National Cashew Association of Nigeria, NCAN, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Lagos that the current global market trends showed an increase in demand for cashew.

The association’s spokesperson, Sotonye Anga, said that this was due to Good Agricultural Practice and improvement introduced to farmers in 2014.

“We are glad to witness the prosperity of cashew farmers in Nigeria. It goes a great deal to show that NCAN is working and in collaboration with government and our development partners.

Nigeria cashew growers sign N1 billion export deal

The National Cashew Association of Nigeria said on Wednesday that it had signed a N1 billion deal with shipping companies in Nigeria to export cashew nuts.

The national spokesperson of the association, Sotonye Anga, disclosed this in an interview in Lagos.

He explained that the deal was sealed at a meeting with cashew exporters, shipping companies and forwarding agents.

He said cashew exporters will export 6,700 containers of cashew nuts to Vietnam, India and other Asian countries this year.