Agric & Biotech

The Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), initiated by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has contributed $37.2 million (about N13.4 billion) to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Mrs Vera Onyeaka-Onyilo, IFAD Communication Officer, recently disclosed this in a document presented to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. The document, titled “VCDP Summary Progress’’, noted that data on the 2016 ...

The Managing Director of Premier Seeds Nigeria Ltd., Prof. Abraham Ogungbile, has advised farmers to use high-quality, improved seeds for their crop growing so as to generate bumper harvests. Ogungbile gave the advice on Wednesday, December 27, 2017 in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He said that access to good-quality, improved seeds could be the ...

The Chief Executive Officer, Raymos Guanah Farms, Mr Raymos Guanah, has lauded the Federal Government’s policies on agriculture. Guanah gave this commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, December 26, 2017 in Asaba, Delta State. “I am impressed with the Federal Government’s policies on agriculture, the policies give farmers the hope that at last, ...

Poultry farmers in Abuja have called on the Federal Government to review the nation’s policy on exportation of agricultural raw materials to create employment opportunities for youths in the sector. A cross section of the farmers said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, December 26, 2017 in Abuja, on the sideline of activities ...

The National President of Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Mr Tunji Adenola, says poultry industries across the country are closing down because of shortage of maize for poultry feeds production. The maize grain is a major feed grain and a standard component of livestock diets where it is used as a source of energy. Adenola, who said this in an interview with News Agency ...

The Director-General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr Rufus Ebegba, has said that the organisation trained 207 staff members as part of effort to enhance their capacity in biosafety management. Dr Ebegba made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, December 25, 2017 in Abuja. He said it was imperative to expose the ...

National President, National Sesame Seed Association of Nigeria (NSSAN), Alhaji Sherif Balogun, says that sesame seed production has the potential of generating about N180 billion in four months if fully tapped. Balogun, who disclosed  this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Monday, December 25, 2017 said that sesame seed production could also provide ...

The Chairman, Kulen Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (KACRAN), Mr Khalil Bello, has called for proactive measures to end incessant herdsmen and farmers crises in parts of the country. Bello made the appeal at the inauguration of the Borno chapter of the association on Friday, December 22, 2017 in Maiduguri, Borno State. While calling for restoration of harmonious and ...

The Health of Mother Health Foundation (HOMEF) and a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have condemned the granting of a permit to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and ETHZ Plant Biotechnology Lab in Zurich to carry out Confined Field Trials (CFT) of genetically modified (GM) cassava (AMY3 RNAi Transgenic lines) in Ibadan by the Nigerian Biosafety Management ...

Apart from its various industrial uses, calcium carbide is increasingly becoming popular as a means of force-ripening fruits in many urban communities across the country, in spite of the potential health risks involved. Unfortunately, very little attention, if any, is being paid by the relevant health and regulatory authorities to this dangerous practice which has been outlawed in several countries ...