Bayelsa State House of Assembly on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 held a public hearing on a bill seeking to prohibit open grazing of cattle in the state.

Entitled “Cattle Breeding, Rearing, Marketing, Regulation and Control 2017 Bill’’, the bill was sponsored by the Leader of the House, Mr Peter Akpe, representing Sagbama Constituency 1.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the hearing was organised by House’s Joint Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources and Security and Special Duties.

Declaring the hearing open, Speaker of the Assembly, Konbowei Benson, said that the House had resolved to adopt international best practices in its activities.

According to him, henceforth, all bills being considered by the House must go through public hearing.

Represented by the Chief Whip of the house, Mr Tonye Isenah, the speaker noted that law-making process was not an exclusive preserve of the 24-member assembly.

“We want to liberalise and open up for public participation. This bill was even at the Committee of the Whole discussion before it was stood down in order to seek input from the public,” he said.

Stressing the importance of the bill, Benson said that the assembly was trying to forestall a situation, having seen what was happening in parts of the country, with clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

“Even if nothing has happened at this other side, we should not rest on our oars.

“We need to ensure that we nip it in the bud before we start having crisis in our hands,” he said.

Presenting an overview of the bill, Akpe pointed out that the bill was aimed at solving a lot of challenges.

He stressed the need to incorporate direct professional expertise in making the bill so that it would stand the test of time.

Akpe said the usefulness of cattle in our everyday life had made it imperative for a legislation to further maximise the value to the society.

“There have been a lot of challenges in the management of cattle all over the country, not only in Bayelsa.

“We are also aware that a lot of lives have been lost both ways, by the cattle herders on one hand and the farmers on the other. What of the economic losses?

“Somebody will finish planting with the hope of harvest, invest so much time, energy and money, then all of a sudden we hear that some kind of animals have come to do grazing there, eating up everything.

“It takes the government and the people and law and order to put institutions in place such that we will have the best out of the cattle and the best out of the farms.

“We the people of Nigeria will continue to live more in peace and harmony,” he said.

According to the house leader, the bill has 15 sections, specifying the formation of a committee to manage the activities of cattle in the state and other ancillary responsibilities.

He also said that the bill contained sanctions for violation of any aspect of its provisions.

He said that by the time this bill was law, the wandering of cattle around, causing unnecessary road accidents and pollution would be laid to rest.

“The intent of this bill is necessary to ensure the continued co-existence of Bayelsa people in the Nigeria entity in peace, harmony and prosperity”

Earlier, Mr Daniel Igal, Chairman of the committee, had said that the committee received seven position papers on the bill from stakeholders.

He said the bill was not a Bayelsa affair, but a response to what had become a national problem with incessant clashes between herdsmen and people who went about their businesses, especially farmers.

“What we are trying to do in Bayelsa which is almost novel is that while respecting the freedom of movement, you are also not to trespass on other people’s rights.

“We are also ensuring that those who rear cattle do it within the limits of the law, and that is why we are here,” Igal said.

The hearing witnessed presentations from All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), National Butchers Union of Nigeria, Association of Cattle Dealers and Rearers, Butchers Association of Bayelsa, Police, DSS, among others.

By Nathan Nwakamma

The state Project Co-ordinator for FADAMA III in Enugu State, Mr Jude Ogboke, said over 350 hectares of rice farms in the state would be  irrigated for all-year farming in 2018 farming season.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FADAMA is a modern agricultural and agro-allied project, meant to boost local food production and sponsored by the World Bank, Federal and state governments.

Ogboke made the disclosure on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 at the opening of the eighth supervision mission jointly undertaken by the World Bank and the Federal Government in the state.

He said there had been rapid increase in rice yield in the state due to adherence to the best agronomical practice handed down to farmers under the programme.

The coordinator the irrigation construction sites under in the area when completed, would further boost food production with the all-year round cultivation of rice by the various rice farmers’ clusters in the state.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Emeka Ede, said the state government had put measures in place to ensure sustenance of different agricultural programmes through continued payment of its counterpart funds.

Ede also said that the state government had created necessary ground for optimal utilisation of the programme.

The commissioner, however, called for more empowerment of farmers in the state with the finance needed for processing of farm outputs.

The World Bank Consultant on the mission, Mr Tony Abanum, said that the state government had shown renewed commitment to achieving the objective of the programme with increased payment of counterpart funds.

Mr Ignatius Onyeabuchukwu, one of the farmers said that greater yield would continue to be achieved, adding that more farmers now embraced agronomical practice.

The supervision mission is a platform that affords the team opportunity to have on-the-spot assessment of the progress or otherwise of the implementation of FADAMA III additional financing programme at the various benefiting areas.

The team will visit farms operated by the various farmers’ clusters under the FADAMA III additional financing in the state.

Similarly, Mr Bukar Talba, Coordinator of the FADAMA III programme in Borno State, says the programme has provided support for 3,389 livestock farmers who were hitherto displaced by Boko Haram insurgency.

Talba told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Maiduguri that the livestock intervention was executed under the Additional Financing (AFII) scheme of the FADAMA III programme.

He said that sheep, goats and calves, as well as feeds and animal drugs were distributed to the farmers in the 24 participating local government areas of the state.

He said that the programme had recorded about 40 per cent progress in the implementation of its livestock intervention.

Besides, Talba said that 3,181 farming households received seeds, fertilisers, chemicals and water pumps for dry season cultivation.

He also said that improved maize, millet, sorghum, rice, cowpea, onion, tomato and vegetable seeds were also distributed to the farmers to enhance crop production.

“Also, 70 households were supported with fingerlings, fish feeds, nets, canoes, earth ponds and marine kits to engage in fish production.

“The programme is designed to encourage crop production, enhance food security, build resilience and provide livelihood to the displaced farmers,” he said.

The coordinator also said that 6,640 farmers had benefited from the programme’s advisory and capacity building schemes put in place to enhance enterprise skills.

On infrastructure development, Talba said the programme had rehabilitated access roads, while providing boreholes with hand pumps and constructing market stalls in 19 rural communities in the state.

“We have completed environmental mitigation projects such as planting of trees to ensure the sustainability of environment protection schemes in the benefiting communities,’’ he said.

Talba said that the projects were executed in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), Victims Support Fund (VSF) and European Union (EU).

He noted that the Borno Government had paid N40 million as counterpart funds for the programme in 2017 and 2018.

NAN reports that the FADAMA III (AFII) project is expected to reach 6,640 households with about 73,685 direct beneficiaries and 2.2 million indirect beneficiaries in the state.

The programme has so far distributed food items to 73,685 displaced persons, under its emergency food intervention scheme in the state.

Each of the beneficiaries received a 50kg. bag of rice, a 50kg. bag of maize, a 25kg. bag of beans and 10 litres of vegetable oil as well as food seasoning and salt.

By Rabiu Sani and By Stanley Nwanosike

To heighten awareness about biotechnology among key stakeholders, the National Biosafety Authority (NBA), under the auspices of the Ghana Chapter of the Open Forum on Agriculture Biotechnology (OFAB), and the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF) in Kenya, sensitised a cross section of Members of Parliament (MPs).

It was the last in the lineup of activities for the last quarter of 2017 and served as an occasion for the members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, and that of Environment and Natural Resources, to learn more about and discuss biotechnology and biosafety issues in the context of the draft Regulations for the implementation of Ghana’s Biosafety Law. Senior officials of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Ministry of Health participated in the event.

A team of scientific experts led the discourse that exposed the MPs to on-going scientific technological advancement around the world, the process in modifying genetic organisms, the socio-economic and policy issues on biotechnology and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), biosafety regulations in Ghana, and the global statues of biotechnology and international trade in biotechnology products.

The Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Prof. Victor Agyeman, reminded the MPs of the crucial role science plays in fostering socio-economic development for human survival. “There are instances, when for the survival of man, we need to take drastic measures including biotechnology,” he said.

Prof. Agyeman queried the huge food import into the country, which amounted to $1.9 billion in 2016, according to national statistics, and said the amount could be reduced and re-channeled into other equally pressing areas, through the application of biotechnology in the agricultural sector.

The increasing food imports can be blamed in part on decreasing agricultural production as a result of reducing arable lands for agriculture due to competitive land uses, unsustainable farming practices, rapid population growth, urbanisation and climate change impacts among others things.

The CSIR Director-General said countries are increasingly adopting cutting edge scientific innovations to address challenges including threats to food security, and cited the remarkable progress Japan is making in that direction. A scientific innovation in that country, has made it possible to cultivate fruits and vegetables on practically any flat surface without soil.

The basic resource in this pioneering farming method is polymer film, made of hydrogel, which is a super absorbent material mainly used in household products such as disposable diapers. The film works by soaking up water and nutrients through multitudes of nano-sized pores. Cultivated crops grow on top of the film, “… with the roots spreading across the surface of the membrane in wispy, fan-like formations,” according to an article by Melinda Joe published in the South China Morning Post.

Prof. Agyeman stated: “If we don’t do anything about the current situation in this country, and allow people’s fears and uncertainties about biotechnology to stop us from adopting it, we will lose our foods and soils, and ground water will be reduced.”

He added, “Science is the way to go and biotechnology is one vital new science that we need.”

The MPs were then taken through a tutorial session by Dr. Vivian Oduro of the Biotechnology Nuclear Agricultural Research Institute (BNARI), Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC). She touched on several related topics including the various processes that humans have being using over the years to develop better agricultural crops and animals such as selection, conventional breeding, hybrids, tissue culture, cloning, in vitro fertilisation, chemical and physical as well as genetic engineering and modification (GE/GM).

Dr. Oduro described the GM crop as “a crop in which one or more novel gene has been introduced into its genome such that it is able to pass on its new genome to its offspring.” She explained that this process makes GM crops have better yields, mature early, are diseases and drought resistant and of higher nutritional values.

Dr. Oduro, said that in Ghana stable crops diseases like the cassava mosaic, cassava brown streak virus and the black sigatoka disease in plantains that affect crop nutrition and reduce yields, can be addressed by biotechnology to increase productivity, enhance food and nutritional security, ensure higher economic benefits and safeguard the environment.

For his part, the Director of Science Technology and Economic Policy Research Institute (STEPRI) of CSIR, Dr. George Owusu Essegbey, said biotechnology could be exploited for socio-economic development and therefore urged the country to adopt this science.

“We must harness biotechnology to achieve national objectives for wealth creation, poverty reduction, enterprise competitiveness, sustainable environmental management and industrial growth,” he said.

A Senior Advisor to the Ghana Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS), Prof. Walter Alhassan, noted that global cultivation of biotechnology is on the increase with soya beans, maize and cotton as the leading crops, with corresponding increasing trade.

Citing statistics from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), he said global increased revenues from planting biotech maize stood at $50 billion between 1996-2015. South Africa was the only African country that benefitted from this increased revenue, realizing an estimated $1.8 billion.

Prof. Alhassan said the rest of Africa missed this opportunity and the opportunity cost has been that “300 million Africans who depend on maize as a staple were denied the choice to adopt biotech crops.”

The Executive Secretary of the National Biosafety Authority (NBA), Eric Okoree, briefed the MPs on the regulatory framework governing biosafety in Ghana, saying, the Biosafety Act, 2011 Act 831, provides the needed legal backing.

The objective of Act 831 is “to ensure an adequate level of protection in the field of safe development transfer, handling and use of genetically modified organisms from biotechnology that may have adverse effect on health and environment.” Additionally, it seeks “to establish a transparent and predictable progress to review and make decision on genetically modified organisms and related matters.”

A retired Supreme Court Judge and now lecturer at Montcrest University, Justice VCRAC Crabbe, said with the Act now in place, it will be good for the country to build her capacity to develop her own seeds. “If we are able to develop seeds of rice that can grow with little water, then this country does not have to import rice,” he added.

Of the $1.9 billion food imports into Ghana last year, rice alone accounted for $1.1 billion of the amount.

Justice Crabbe urged well to do Ghanaians to get involved in the required scientific research rather than looking up to government to be solely responsible. He further urged research institutions to make research results available to the public.

Following the formal presentations, there was mixed reactions from the MPs. On one hand, their comments indicated an appreciation of biotechnology’s potential to facilitate socio-economic development particularly in enhancing food security and improving the lot of the farmer; while on the other hand, there were hints of suspicion and uncertainties about the health and social impacts of the technology.

Still, others displayed a deep sense of curiosity to further probe the controversies surrounding biotechnology.

MP for Klotey Korley, Dr. Zenator Agyeman Rawlings, wondered about several issues. She demanded: “Does the use of GMO seeds limit farmers’ choices to re-use the off-spring or yields? Is the substance used to enhance resistance of cotton to pest toxic to all insects or some? Does research address concerns of the public? And why does the Biosafety Act appear to be silent on labeling, which is vital to make people aware of the nature of a product?”

The MP for Oforikrom, Dr. Emmanuel Marfo, said, “This workshop has been a useful capacity building process that has enhanced our understanding of biotechnology and equipped us with the needed information to work on related legislature.”

MP for Shia OsuDoku, Mrs. Linda Obenewaa Ocloo, said, “My initial apprehension of GMOs has now been replaced with an appreciable understanding of biotechnology following the sensitisation.”

MP for Manso Adubia, Yaw Addo Frimpong, stated: “I’m a good friend of GM, because I believe science is ruling the world and I don’t want our farmers to be left behind … I think there is need for an advocacy group to champion the cause of GMOs in Ghana.”

Generally, the MPs were happy with the interactions and called for more of such activities to enhance their understanding of biotechnology and biosafety issues.

By Ama Kudom-Agyemang, Accra