Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2015 11:59:53 GMT
Animal artificial insemination centres coming The Federal Government will set up about 200 animal artificial insemination centres across the country, Agriculture and Rural Development Minster Chief Audu Ogbeh has said. Ogbeh spoke when he received a delegation of officials from Ireland, led by the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Marine and Defence, Mr. Simon Coveney, in his office in Abuja. Ogbeh, who decried the production or less than one litre of milk daily by cattle in the country, said 37 per cent of children are malnourished, according to the United Nations international Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). He noted that the administration would collaborate with developed countries, particularly, the Irish government to move the agricultural sector forward. He said various initiatives and technical programmes would be introduced to attract youths into the sector, noting that the sector had hitherto been left to the older generation. Ogbeh said the ministry would engage in massive irrigation system in the north to grow feeders to feed the cattle and prevent their migration. He praised the delegation of Irish officials for their visit and their determination to foster better partnership with Nigeria. He said the nation was ready to partner with the Irish government in capacity building, livestock production as well as expansion of palm oil and sugar industries, among others. Ogbeh said the ministry would open up further discussions with the delegation to share ideas and knowledge on how to move the agricultural sector forward. Coveney said the purpose of their visit was to build on the relationship between the two countries to boost trade and investments in agriculture. He said Ireland is good in food technology and development of indigenous capacity in agriculture. He said the Irish government was ready to share its 50 years’ experiences in agriculture with Nigeria. He said his country has many youths in the agriculture, adding that this would be replicated in Nigeria. Coveney said Ireland produces about 40 per cent of infant formula globally. The Ireland Minister praised the focus of the Buhari administration on the diversification of the economy to agriculture, saying about 43 Irish firms were in the country. He said food firms from Ireland would link up with the country to create jobs, wealth and add value to food production. He invited officials of the ministry to Ireland for knowledge sharing which would be needed to develop the sector. thenationonlineng.net/animal-artificial-insemination-centres-coming/ |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2015 22:15:35 GMT
Can tractor sharing boost the incomes of small-scale farmers? by Dinfin Mulupi on '28 August 2015' Through its Smart Tractor, the Hello Tractor platform gives small landowners access to affordable farm machine services to increase their productivity. With its Smart Tractor, the Hello Tractor platform gives small landowners access to affordable farm machine services to increase their productivity. Nigeria is a net importer of food despite having more than 80 million hectares of arable land, vast amounts of water and a big labour force. Back in the 1960s, it was self-sufficient in food production but the oil boom of the 1970s led to the neglect of the agricultural industry.
Recently, there have been efforts to revive agriculture, some of which are paying off. But reports show Nigeria still spends billions of dollars annually on wheat, rice and sugar imports.
Nigeria’s low agricultural production is linked to many factors, including its land tenure system, under-cultivation, poor infrastructure and low farm mechanisation. This has led to widespread poverty, with more than half of the rural population living below the poverty line because of low farm output and poor access to markets.
Agricultural technology company Hello Tractor hopes to address some of these challenges through its tractor sharing platform.
Tractor sharing
Hello Tractor has developed low-cost ‘Smart Tractors’ fitted with a GPS antenna that tracks usage and location, thereby enabling its owners to share with nearby farmers. The ‘Smart Tractor’ has three wheels and less horsepower compared to the traditional big machines.
“What we are offering the market is a sustainable way to access a tractor,” says Hello Tractor co-founder and CEO Jehiel Oliver.
When small-scale farmers want to make use of a tractor, they send an SMS to Hello Tractor and pre-pay using mobile money. Hello Tractor then forwards the texts to nearby Smart Tractor owners, who then lease out a tractor to the farmer. Once the work has been completed, the payment is automatically released to the Smart Tractor owner.
“The core idea is that through shared usage of tractors the cost per use can go down enough to make it economically viable for the smallholder farmer, but commercially sustainable for the [tractor owner],” explains Oliver.
Rapid urbanisation and better pay in other sectors are eroding access to manual labour needed on the farms. Therefore farmers either plant late or plant just a portion of their fields. Currently only 40% of Nigeria’s 84 million hectares of arable land is cultivated.
“There simply isn’t enough manpower to work the land so it goes uncultivated. Easier and cost-effective access to tractors will enable farmers to increase their productivity and income. [The Smart Tractor] is cheaper and faster than manual labour which benefits the farmers, allows them to plant on time and optimise their yield,” he says.
The Smart Tractors are manufactured in China and sell for US$3,500. They come with various attachments for ploughing, irrigation, fertiliser distribution, transport and a thresher for processing.
“It really serves the farmers throughout the production cycle and beyond. The tiller is the most economically attractive attachment in terms of income generation. But the trailer attachment can be used all year round for hauling in rural communities, which is hugely beneficial due to the poor infrastructure,” Oliver explains.
Growing the business
Hello Tractor has raised about $250,000 from investors and will be closing another investment round in coming weeks. The company has piloted its service and done demos across Nigeria and Ghana, letting farmers interact with the Smart Tractor. It has received purchase orders from individuals and state governments that will be delivered by the next planting season.
“It’s an exciting sales pipeline,” says Oliver. “But what is really important is the customer experience of the farmer texting for tractor services and the Smart Tractor owner who is receiving those texts. I think the sales volumes will go up when we have a service that people enjoy.”
Despite a “huge amount of demand” for the Smart Tractor, affordable financing is challenging since banks charge interest rates of 30%-plus.
Although many other African countries could use Hello Tractor’s services, Oliver says he settled for Nigeria because of its shortage of tractors and its sheer size.
“It is a huge market for what we do and the opportunity is completely untapped. I thought Nigeria would be a great market for us to start and eventually scale to other countries.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2015 23:18:45 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2015 5:35:11 GMT
Kano Establishes Marketing Board For Wheat, Rice Producers
In an effort to compliment federal government’s policy in rice production, the Kano state government has reintroduced marketing board for wheat and rice producers in the state, affirming, too, that a plan was in pipeline to partner Nigeria Commodity and Exchange Commission for produce warehousing.
The Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna disclosed this, in an interactive media session at his office.
He revealed that the plan was a strategy to see to the success of the recently launched policy on wheat and rice production, by President Muhammadu Buhari, in Kebbi state. “Kano state being the largest producer of rice and wheat we found it extremely necessary to follow suit,” he stated.
Gawuna expressed happiness that state government has introduced an intervention, “…where the sum of a billion naira is set aside by the state government for the purchase of rice after harvest in a marketing format.”
Part of the effort, according to the commissioner, was the role the state would play in being a coordinator as well as a facilitator between the seed producers, the farmers, warehousing facilities and marketers.
He said, “Farmers are given input loan for them to get good quality seeds. We also have another arrangement with development partners like SASAKAWA, Lake Chad Research Institute, ICRISAT and the rest for taking the lead in helping farmers buy the needed seeds and other technical assistance. Government will just be a facilitator and a guarantee to the farmers.”
According to him, after the harvest there would be ready uptakers as partners, and the warehousing facility would also be there. Highlighting that there is ready market for any quantity produced by farmers, he revealed there is partnership with the Nigeria Commodity and Exchange Commission, the state’s warehousing managers. The new strategy, according to the commissioner, would help government expand its revenue base, while the warehousing would also serve as strategic food reserve.
Source :The Guardian |
|
|
|
Post by dansoye1 on Dec 28, 2015 18:47:20 GMT
Shymmex,@OmoOba,Iya Niyen!,Omoluabi,Belmot,Her Highness,IrekeOnibudo,Honorebu,omohayek,AgbongboAkala,
Nigeria: Re-Introduce Commodity Boards to Boost Agriculture, FG Told
The federal government has been advised to re-establish commodity boards in the agricultural sector in order to support the activities of farmers.
This is also expected to address losses incurred by farmers after harvesting their crops and boost the contribution of the sector to the national gross domestic product (GDP).
Analysts at CSL Stockbrokers Limited, that made this call, noted that while the availability of financing is critical to the successful take-off of the agriculture sector, many other factors also play a critical role. These also include adequate infrastructure, efficient storage facilities, among others.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) alongside commercial banks, plans to set aside N300 billion for agricultural financing next year.
With crude oil prices already below the pessimistic $38/bbl assumed in the 2016 budget, the current administration appears more committed in diversifying its revenue sources, and the agriculture sector holds some potential.
allafrica.com/stories/201512280007.html
|
|
|
|
Post by Her Highness on Dec 28, 2015 18:59:02 GMT
"has been advised"
"plans to"
"appears more committed"
Please when all these speculations turns to verbs......wake me up.
We've been hearing this kinda news since May 29.
|
|
|
|
Post by Shymmex on Dec 29, 2015 1:04:54 GMT
"has been advised" "plans to" "appears more committed" Please when all these speculations turns to verbs......wake me up. We've been hearing this kinda news since May 29. Nice. |
|
|
|
Post by omohayek on Dec 29, 2015 10:56:41 GMT
Shymmex,, OmoOba, dansoye1, Belmot, Her Highness, IrekeOnibudo,, omohayek, AgbongboAkala, I'm personally not a fan of marketing boards, as they are too easily abused by governments to squeeze farmers out of their rightful earnings. Kwame Nkrumah nearly destroyed Ghana's cocoa farming sector through such practices. Cocoa farming in Ghana only really started to recover when Jerry Rawlings finally eliminated the cocoa marketing board in the 1980s. In general, any program that forces farmers to deal with only one seller will be easily abused. Granting a buying monopoly to any party is bad enough, but when it's a government in a country with ethnic divisions, things can easily go south: in Ghana's case, Nkrumah squeezed Ashanti cocoa farmers to fund projects benefiting his own Akan people. Instead of forcing farmers to sell their produce to government monopolies, a better way to protect their livelihoods would be to provide them access to commodities futures markets and teach them how to hedge against price swings; using futures and options, it's possible to lock in product prices many months or even years in advance. Nowadays, with mobile internet access reaching almost everywhere, futures and options trading can even be done from apps on mobile phones. If I see a role for government in the farming sector, it is in - Providing farmers with clear, official title to their land, so they have stronger incentives to invest in improvements, and they can get loans from banks, pay for equipment in installments, etc.
- Improving the transport infrastructure so that farmers find it cheaper to get their products to market, and can do so in less time.
- Enforcing law and order, so farmers don't have to waste their time and energy worrying about marauding fulani herdsmen, crop theft and so on.
|
|
|
|
Post by Shymmex on Dec 29, 2015 11:31:46 GMT
Shymmex , Interloper , iyalode , Moffy , OmoOba , Iya Niyen! , Omoluabi , dansoye1 , Belmot , osoronga ,@quimicababes, Omo Oba of the Source , Her Highness , IrekeOnibudo , ioannes , laudate , oduabachanal , stblack , zaynie , Honorebu , ilaje2015 , omohayek , AgbongboAkala , I'm personally not a fan of marketing boards, as they are too easily abused by governments to squeeze farmers out of their rightful earnings. Kwame Nkrumah nearly destroyed Ghana's cocoa farming sector through such practices. Cocoa farming in Ghana only really started to recover when Jerry Rawlings finally eliminated the cocoa marketing board in the 1980s. In general, any program that forces farmers to deal with only one seller will be easily abused. Granting a buying monopoly to any party is bad enough, but when it's a government in a country with ethnic divisions, things can easily go south: in Ghana's case, Nkrumah squeezed Ashanti cocoa farmers to fund projects benefiting his own Akan people. Instead of forcing farmers to sell their produce to government monopolies, a better way to protect their livelihoods would be to provide them access to commodities futures markets and teach them how to hedge against price swings; using futures and options, it's possible to lock in product prices many months or even years in advance. Nowadays, with mobile internet access reaching almost everywhere, futures and options trading can even be done from apps on mobile phones. If I see a role for government in the farming sector, it is in - Providing farmers with clear, official title to their land, so they have stronger incentives to invest in improvements, and they can get loans from banks, pay for equipment in installments, etc.
- Improving the transport infrastructure so that farmers find it cheaper to get their products to market, and can do so in less time.
- Enforcing law and order, so farmers don't have to waste their time and energy worrying about marauding fulani herdsmen, crop theft and so on.
Interesting insight and I agree with you. Monopoly is not healthy. Anyway, I think Ashanti is also part of the larger Akan ethnic group. Perhaps you're alluding to him squeezing out the Ewe, Ga, or one of the numerous ethnic groups in Northern Ghana. Jerry Rawlings is Ewe. So it might be the Ewes that were squeezed out, to benefit the Akan people, which the Ashantis are part of. |
|
|
|
Post by omohayek on Dec 29, 2015 12:20:39 GMT
Shymmex , Interloper , iyalode , Moffy , OmoOba , Iya Niyen! , Omoluabi , dansoye1 , Belmot , osoronga ,@quimicababes, Omo Oba of the Source , Her Highness , IrekeOnibudo , ioannes , laudate , oduabachanal , stblack , zaynie , Honorebu , ilaje2015 , omohayek , AgbongboAkala , I'm personally not a fan of marketing boards, as they are too easily abused by governments to squeeze farmers out of their rightful earnings. Kwame Nkrumah nearly destroyed Ghana's cocoa farming sector through such practices. Cocoa farming in Ghana only really started to recover when Jerry Rawlings finally eliminated the cocoa marketing board in the 1980s. In general, any program that forces farmers to deal with only one seller will be easily abused. Granting a buying monopoly to any party is bad enough, but when it's a government in a country with ethnic divisions, things can easily go south: in Ghana's case, Nkrumah squeezed Ashanti cocoa farmers to fund projects benefiting his own Akan people. Instead of forcing farmers to sell their produce to government monopolies, a better way to protect their livelihoods would be to provide them access to commodities futures markets and teach them how to hedge against price swings; using futures and options, it's possible to lock in product prices many months or even years in advance. Nowadays, with mobile internet access reaching almost everywhere, futures and options trading can even be done from apps on mobile phones. If I see a role for government in the farming sector, it is in - Providing farmers with clear, official title to their land, so they have stronger incentives to invest in improvements, and they can get loans from banks, pay for equipment in installments, etc.
- Improving the transport infrastructure so that farmers find it cheaper to get their products to market, and can do so in less time.
- Enforcing law and order, so farmers don't have to waste their time and energy worrying about marauding fulani herdsmen, crop theft and so on.
Interesting insight and I agree with you. Monopoly is not healthy. Anyway, I think Ashanti is also part of the larger Akan ethnic group. Perhaps you're alluding to him squeezing out the Ewe, Ga, or one of the numerous ethnic groups in Northern Ghana. Jerry Rawlings is Ewe. So it might be the Ewes that were squeezed out, to benefit the Akan people, which the Ashantis are part of. You're probably right: I'm not all that familiar with Ghana's ethnic makeup. Still, transposing that to the Nigerian context, one can only imagine what would have happened if an Igbo-led government had tried using Western-region cocoa or Northern groundnut revenue to build infrastructure in Igboland ... |
|
|
|
Post by Shymmex on Dec 29, 2015 12:29:44 GMT
Interesting insight and I agree with you. Monopoly is not healthy. Anyway, I think Ashanti is also part of the larger Akan ethnic group. Perhaps you're alluding to him squeezing out the Ewe, Ga, or one of the numerous ethnic groups in Northern Ghana. Jerry Rawlings is Ewe. So it might be the Ewes that were squeezed out, to benefit the Akan people, which the Ashantis are part of. You're probably right: I'm not all that familiar with Ghana's ethnic makeup. Still, transposing that to the Nigerian context, one can only imagine what would have happened if an Igbo-led government had tried using Western-region cocoa or Northern groundnut revenue to build infrastructure in Igboland ... That would have been war, especially with how territorial the leaders of that era were. I believe Aguiyi Ironsi would've tried it, if the counter-coup hadn't succeeded. Isn't that the reason why he created the unitary government, which others consolidated on, and is still the bane of Nigeria? I think that's whats happening with the oil wealth and why all the other regions have refused to grow when it comes to wealth creation - coupled with how centralised everything is. |
|
|
|
Post by dansoye1 on Jan 4, 2016 19:21:21 GMT
Nigeria’s Cashew Exports Worth N49.7bNigeria’scashew exports are worth $250 million (about N49.7 billion) yearly, according to the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN). Speaking at a logistics meeting in Lagos yesterday, its President, Pastor Tola Faseru said the average export price goes up yearly, with increased demand coming from consuming nations. He said Vietnam and India remain Nigeria’s largest buyers. Globally, stocks of nuts, including cashew, in North America and Europe have been low, while global demand has increased. This offers good prospects for the Nigerian cashew industry this year, he said. The industry, according to him, is expected to earn $250 million from the export of 180,000 tonnes of cashew nut. He said global demand for its nut has been forecast to go up. He urged exporters to pay more attention to product quality, and ensure hygiene and food safety to enable exports. He said the cashew industry has developed in recent years and focused on improving technologies. The industry wants to increase cashew cultivation area nationwide, according to Faseru, and produce 500,000 tonnes annually by 2020. He said the association was working with farmers and the government to develop cashew growing areas and give technical support to farmers to help them increase profits. To enable Nigeria improve its position as a major cashew exporter, he said the association decided to hold a meeting with operators across the cashew value chain, in order to reduce the transit time for cashew exports. He told exporters and farmers that forging a united front can help revamp the cashew sector, which has alleviated the economy over the years, adding that the collaboration of stakeholders was crucial in global cashew sustainability. agronigeria.com.ng/nigerias-cashew-exports-worth-n49-7b/
|
|
|
|
Post by Honorebu on Jan 7, 2016 0:41:28 GMT
dansoye1 Lord knows i hate this fruit.Once the water stains your cloth, It can never be removed not even JIK can remove it
Do you have any idea which Nigerian state produces the most Cashew?
|
|
|
|
Post by dansoye1 on Jan 14, 2016 15:39:04 GMT
dansoye1 Lord knows i hate this fruit.Once the water stains your cloth, It can never be removed not even JIK can remove it
Do you have any idea which Nigerian state produces the most Cashew? Big Aare, Cashew is grown mostly in North Central states including FCT,South Western states and South Eastern states but can't say which state produces most. In Oyo state,there are cashew plantations but most of them are abandoned. |
|
|
|
Post by dansoye1 on Jan 16, 2016 15:29:22 GMT
Shymmex ,Interloper ,iyalode ,Moffy ,OmoOba ,Iya Niyen! ,Omoluabi ,dansoye1 ,Belmot ,osoronga ,Omo Oba of the Source ,Her Highness ,IrekeOnibudo ,ioannes ,laudate ,oduabachanal ,stblack ,zaynie ,Honorebu ,ilaje2015 ,omohayek ,AgbongboAkala ,Ogbeni Ogunnaike ,aparo ,black ,colonial pikin ,skylar ,cocoafarmer ,missy89 ,ibk ,Merchantt ,lontoro ,isalegangan ,yorumigrant ,ajanaku ,sholeybanty ,ayodejilara ,oloyesaso ,sakur ,ritchiee ,mignone ,honeychild ,Short_Biscuit ,amorere ,donphilosophy ,governor ,irewande ,isholapecham ,ola ,olugbenga86 ,taiwo ,loadofs ,ijeshaboy ,tomtoxic ,imodoye ,camronaija ,ayekooto ,dehinde ,fado ,scully95 ,tunde ,ayo ,omoba ,tallwolleh ,mankind ,anago ,egbaknight ,oduastates ,atandaniyi ,
Agriculture Holds Prospect For Africa, Says Oyedepo Bishop Oyedepo
PRESIDING Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners’ Chapel), David Oyedepo, has said that agriculture not crude oil holds the greatest prospect and promise for the African continent. Bishop Oyedepo added that the current falling price of oil at the global market, with its attendant devastating effects on the economy of oil dependent nations, is an eloquent testimony to this assertion. Students of Landmark University, Graduands from Landmark University, Landmark University in Omu-Aran Irepodun Local Government in Kwara State, Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo, David Oyedepo, DOMI, David Oyedepo Ministeries International, Bishop David Oyedepo Pictures, Bishop David Oyedepo autobiography, Bishop David Oyedepo Profile, Bishop Oyedepo The cleric said this at the 6th matriculation ceremony of the Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State. The university on the occasion matriculated 513 students, cutting across colleges of agriculture, science and engineering and business and social sciences. He lamented that given the prevailing drop in the prices of crude oil at the international market, the economic outlook of Nigeria is gloomy. Said he: “With the share index and market capitalization dropping, excess crude account shrinking, foreign reserve dropping and the naira band being devalued, it is obvious that the economic outlook for Africa’s largest economy appears to be gloomy. “Hence, nothing can be more apt and timely than the vision of Landmark University which is to become a leading world-class institution by spearheading an agrarian revolution on the African continent through the exploration of hidden treasure in the mother-earth, thereby restoring the dignity of the black race.” Quoting United Nations Foods and Agriculture Organisation, Biship Oyedepo, who was represented by the Vice Chancellor, Covenant University, Otta, Ogun state, Prof Kayode Ayo added that “almost all the hungry people (780 million) live in developing countries, representing 12.9 percent or one in eight of the population of developing countries. www.kwaranews.com/agriculture-holds-prospect-for-africa-says-oyedepo/
|
|
