Agric & Biotech

Indonesia’s largest palm oil company, Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), has said that, while focused on responsible palm oil production, it remains committed to complying with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles and Criteria as well as the laws and regulations of the country. The organisation made the submission in a statement on Monday, August 20, 2018, in an apparent ...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, August 20, 2018 in Abuja signed the Instrument of Accession to the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010. Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, who confirmed this in a statement in Abuja, said the signing of the Agreement followed its approval by the Federal Executive Council. According to him, ...

Experts on Monday, August 20, 2018 said encouraging and supporting African young people to venture into agriculture and agri-business can potentially create wealth and address youth unemployment on the continent. They spoke at the opening of the Africa youth event in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, dubbed: “Youth Employment in Agriculture as a solid solution to ending hunger and poverty in Africa.” Rwanda ...

Indonesian, Liberian and International NGOs have filed five new complaints against Indonesia’s largest palm oil company, Golden Agri Resources (GAR). GAR, which is part of the huge Sinar Mas (Golden Rays) conglomerate run by the Widjaja family with interests ranging from palm oil and pulpwood to real estate and banking, is failing to comply with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm ...

The Federal High Court of Justice, sitting in Abuja on the Wednesday, August 15, 2018, struck out a suit instituted by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and 16 other civil society organisations (CSOs) against some government establishments relating to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) due to technicalities. The Judge, in delivering his judgment, opined that although the plaintiffs have a Cause ...

A team of researchers from the University of Maryland, the State University of New York and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre has found that new global tree growth over the past 35 years has more than offset global tree cover losses. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes using satellite data to track forest growth and ...

The National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) says the cultivation of biotechnology cotton seeds by farmers in the country will be made optional. President of the association, Mr Anibe Achimugu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, August 14, 2018 that two varieties of biotechnology cotton which had been released for commercialisation were currently undergoing farm demonstration trials. ...

Germany’s Agriculture Ministry is holding steady in its decision to wait for final official figures on the extent of damage caused by drought before drumming up aid for farmers. State and federal officials met in Berlin on Monday, August 13, 2018 to discuss the ongoing drought, which may have caused more than €1 billion ($1.14 billion) of damage to the ...

The Coordinator, Food Sovereignty Programme for Friends of the Earth Africa, Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, has said that the commercialisation of Bt Cotton in the country is not a victory but a breach of law and order. Bassey-Orovwuje was reacting to the recent announcement by National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crops, Livestock/Fisheries varieties at National Centre for Genetic Resources and ...

The Nigerian Meteorological Society (NMetS) has advocated for changes in the nation’s agricultural practices due to the heat wave currently ravaging most parts of the world. The President of the society, Prof. Clement Akosile, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, August 9, 2018 in Lagos. Akosile said that the call became ...