Agric & Biotech

A maize specialist with Harvestplus Nigeria, Mr Dollah Yusuf, says that the company has developed vitamin A-fortified maize seeds which are disease-resistant and nutrient-rich. Yusuf said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 in Abuja. He said that the vitamin A-fortified maize seeds would be distributed to maize farmers, adding that Harvestplus ...

Kano State Government has approved N12.4 million to the Ministry of Environment for the production of two million assorted seedlings as part of efforts to check desertification. The state Commissioner of Information, Malam Mohammed Garba, made the disclosure while briefing newsmen in Kano, the state capital, on the outcome of the state Executive Council Meeting. He explained that the seedlings ...

A team from the Lagos office of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which visited the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) in Abuja on Thursday, February 1, 2018 on a fact finding mission, has pledged its readiness to collaborate with the agency in achieving set mandate. NBMA Director General, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, who received the team, said that the ...

Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State,  on Monday, February 5, 2018 inaugurated a sensitisation campaign against bush burning to celebrate the 60th birthday of Pastor Faith Oyedepo, the wife of the institution’s Chancellor, Bishop David Oyedepo. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)  reports that Faith, born on Feb. 5, 1958, is the Vice-President, Education, Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners’ Chapel. ...

An animal breeder, Prof. Olufunmilayo Adebambo, on Monday, February 5, 2018 said Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) should not be an issue in Nigeria as there were presently no infrastructure for it. Adebambo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that embarking on GMOs could lead to loss of lives as facilities such as power to preserve and sustain ...

Boko Haram militants, drought and pests have combined to wreak havoc on farmlands in Borno State,  leading to low output and huge losses to the farmers. About  1,800 hectares of rice for instance  wilted due to drought in some parts of  the state, according to the farmers. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the rice farms  ...

Gum arabic farmers in Yobe State have urged the federal and northern state governments to establish gum arabic plantations to improve revenue generation and control desert encroachment in the north. Alhaji Jafaru Ayuba, spokesman of the farmers, made the call on Friday, February 2, 2018 in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Damaturu, the state capital. Ayuba ...

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Promotion for the Human Rights, on Thursday, February 1, 2018 urged the Federal Government to provide improved cassava and yam seedlings to smallholder farmers across the country. Williams Ozase, president of the organisation, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He said that if the farmers were provided ...

The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) says it has reviewed its operational policy to meet best global practices. Head of Communication, NBMA, Mrs Gloria Ogbaki, disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 in Abuja, the federal capital city. Ogbaki said the reviewed policy was in “tandem with NBMA ...

Stakeholders have called on the Federal Government to put in place adequate forest certification system for Nigeria to benefit from the growing international demand for tropical wood. The stakeholders made the call in a final draft of “Country Report on National Forest Investment Programme’’ which was made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 in ...