Agric & Biotech

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), a not-for-profit based in Benin City, Edo State, has said that the nation is being opened to “risky” emerging technologies under the regulatory functions of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). The assertion was reportedly informed by a recent news report that suggested that NBMA may have begun drafting guidelines to regulate genome ...

Succour may be in the offing for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa facing the challenges of poor soil, thanks to a new technology that can enrich fields without massive investments in irrigation and fertiliser. The technology technology consists of long strips of polyethylene membranes installed in a U-shape below and near the root zones of crops Modelled for eight African ...

The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has begun drafting of guidelines for the proper regulation of genome editing in Nigeria. Participants at the NBMA guideline drafting workshop Director General/CEO, NMBA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, while speaking at the guideline drafting workshop in Abuja, said there is the need to have proper guidelines for regulation of genome editing which is an emerging ...

A new beans variety developed by the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, in partnership with the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), is said to have performed better than existing beans varieties in the country. Farmers and stakeholders at the event The new variety, known as Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) Cowpea, was developed after 10 years ...

The conversation around the continuous viability of Ghana’s cocoa in the international market has reached a tipping point with civil society organisations (CSOs), private sector cocoa organisations, Parliamentarians, farmers, consultants in the cocoa industry and public institutions including the Forestry Commission (FC) rallying around the adoption of Climate Smart Cocoa Standards. Harvesting cocoa in Ghana They consider Climate Smart Cocoa ...

After more than 10 years of battling Monsanto’s drought tolerant maize project, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has welcomed the decision by the South African Minister of Agriculture, Ms. Thoko Didiza, upholding of both the decision by the Executive Council: GMO Act and the Appeal Board to reject Monsanto’s application for the commercial cultivation of its triple stacked “drought-tolerant” GM maize ...

The Director General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr Rufus Ebegba, says Nigeria has achieved giant strides in the area of biosafety. Dr Rufus Ebegba, Director General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) Ebegba said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) against the backdrop of Nigeria’s 59th Independence. He said the setting up of the agency in ...

On July 3, the High-Level Panel of Experts of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) released its much-anticipated report on agroecology in Rome. The report signals the continuing shift in emphasis in the UN agency’s approach to agricultural development. Agroecology As outgoing FAO Director General Jose Graziano da Silva has indicated, “We need to promote a transformative change in the ...

Civil society organisations and citizens across Africa are calling upon their governments to issue an immediate ban on all use of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs). Use of agrochemical Launched by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) and the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), the #BanGlyphosateAfrica campaign has been endorsed by African organisations representing millions of African citizens. ...

The German Federal and States Governments on Wednesday, September 25, 2019 made €800 million ($880 million) available for the conservation of woodland and reforestation, Agriculture Minister, Julia Kloeckner, said. German Agriculture Minister, Julia Kloeckner Speaking to regional public broadcaster SW2 ahead of a government woodland summit, Kloeckner said the money would be distributed on the basis of climate protection criteria. ...