FoodFarmNews: February 2016

Monday, 29 February 2016

AGRIC ACADEMY BERTHS IN KWARA

AGRIC ACADEMY BERTHS IN KWARA

The Agriculture and Allied Employees Union of Nigeria (AAEUN) has been granted approval to establish an Agricultural Academy in Kwara State,under a public-private partnership arrangement.

Nigeria, Germany partner

The German Agency for International Cooperation, GIZ has resolved to help tackle the perennial problems associated with smallholder farming in Nigeria.

commodity

The Katsina State branch of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Katsina State has joined millions of Nigerians in their quest for increased patronage of locally made goods, insisting that the move will go a long way in boosting the fortunes of the nation’s economy.

ICRISAT

Nigeria (26 February 2016)— The release of two new nutritionally high sorghum varieties, one with three times higher iron content, will be a boost for farmers as well as the malnourished populations, especially children in Nigeria.Both varieties have yields that are double the local varieties are also short duration allowing farmers to adapt better to climate change.

IITA

Chevron Nigeria Limited, (CNL), operator of the joint venture (JV) between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and CNL (the “NNPC/CNL JV”), launched a youth-in-agriculture (agripreneur) program, aimed at providing training opportunities for young men and women to venture into agribusiness.

Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) Samaru, Zaria

The year 2016 Cropping Scheme and North West Zonal Research Extension Farmer Inputs Linkage System (REFILs) meeting organized by the commences this week from March 1^st-4^th with the theme “ revamping agriculture for economic growth and sustainability”.

cow

A group of scientists are looking at the way relatively unknown fungi works inside the guts of herbivores, including elephants and cows, in the hope that it holds the key to revolutionising biomass technology.

Tokyo addresses food safety efforts for upcoming Games

food safety

TOKYO -- The organizer of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games plans to issue safety criteria by the end of this year regarding food served at the Olympic and media villages.

farmland

The Namibian government has announced that it is in talks with the attorney general over the introduction of harsh laws on the expropriation of land after the "willing buyer, willing seller" policy proved "ineffective".

CHOCOCALYPSE: Easter egg prices set to soar as cocoa demand booms

choc-apocalypse

Food security expert Professor Tim Benton claims we are heading towards a “choc-apocalypse” with poor production and panic helping to create a shortage.

Tanzania is losing over USD 332 million annually from the negative impacts of aflatoxin, a deadly toxin affecting cereal crops like maize, sorghum, rice, wheat.

Tanzania is losing over 332 million U.S. dollars annually from the negative impacts of aflatoxin, a deadly toxin affecting cereal crops like maize, sorghum, rice, wheat, groundnuts and cassava according to researchers.

Cocoa futures 'heading back to $3,000 a tonne'

Cocoa futures

Cocoa futures are set to rally back past the $3,000-a-tonne level, broker VSA Capital said.

After rising through 2015, cocoa futures entered a sharp sell-off in 2016, with the front-month New York contract down more than 10% since the start of this year.

A new study suggest that poorly performing farms could significantly increase their crop yields by attracting more pollinators to their land.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today highlighted the publication of a new study that quantifies, for the first time, how much crop yields depend on the work of bees that unknowingly fertilize plants as they move from flower to flower.

Bangladesh lab workers identified the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu in crows.

A Bangladesh lab investigation into deaths of crows in one of the country's major western cities yesterday confirmed highly pathogenic H5N1 as the cause, and authorities in France, Nigeria, and Vietnam reported more outbreaks involving it and other strains.

Ivory Coast's cocoa

Ivory Coast's cocoa farmers fear that the hot, dry weather that continued for most of last week could reduce the size of the beans and of the mid-crop.

Milk prices 'to start going up' - but not by much

Milk prices

Milk prices are to "start going up" – but not significantly, at least for the first half of the year, US dairy giant Dean Foods said, although the outlook failed to prevent a sharp drop in its shares.

cocoa

Experts of African economy believe that the growing cocoa production will help the West African countries to recover from the flagging economic condition. Many economists have requested the government to focus more on the cocoa harvest. Nigeria, a West African nation, is considered to be the largest contributor to Africa's economy with more oil deposits that have attracted many to invest in the country.

Akinwumi Adesina

African smallholders are the private sector - the largest segment on the continent. By seeing agriculture as business, smallholders as customers and entrepreneurs, and companies as organizations that want smallholders as customers and suppliers, policymakers and investors can leverage the continent's existing assets to catalyze economic transformation rather than trying to create it from whole cloth.

Farmer

I recently joined more than a dozen of the world’s sharpest minds on African agriculture in an unprecedented effort to devote an entire issue of the influential magazine Foreign Affairs to consider the future of the African farmer in our digital age.

LASG Encourages Farming in Schools

LASG

The Lagos State Government has called on pupils of primary school to take to farming as well as sports and voluntary youth clubs.

Cocoa prices ended higher

Cocoa prices ended higher Wednesday as investors await word from the International Cocoa Organization later this month about the state of the upcoming smaller, midcrop in West Africa, the largest growing region.

Dear Mr. Sako Warren

We would remind you that the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) represents all stakeholders in the cocoa value chain, and as such, is prepared to cooperate with any actors in that chain.

Agriculture is the way to go in Nigeria —Olafunmiloye

Bolanle Olafunmiloye

Bolanle Olafunmiloye is the Chairman of the Ondo State Wealth Creation Agency, WECA. In this interview, the legal practitioner spoke about the mandate of the agency, its achievements as well as challenges. Excerpts:

Major bank deal for farmers

Major bank deal

Banks are now required to allocate at least 20 percent of their loan packages to small-holder farmers in line with a new policy that is tailored to increase agricultural output. The financial institutions have up to June 30, 2016 to comply.

Rice

Akwa Ibom State is set to witness an unprecedented boost in rice production as Chinese investors are poised to establish an integrated rice mill in the state.

Seeds

In line with its commitment to offer quality seeds to farmers, the National Agricultural Seeds Council has warned all seed producers against distribution of fake seeds. The failure to stop the distribution will either result to a six-month jail term or a fine of N .8million.

Cameroon cocoa prices

YAOUNDE, Feb 22 (Reuters) - A fall in January exports meant
cocoa prices remained steady in Cameroon, Africa's
fourth-largest cocoa producer, through mid-February after a
slight rise last month.

FAO

On behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, an on my own behalf, it is an honor and privileged, to warmly welcome you all, to this important stakeholders meeting, on the implementation of the YEAP. A special welcome to all our colleagues from outside Abuja.

food products.

President Muhammadu Buhari has identified food security as the pressing priority of his administration, over and above export of food products.

IITA/SARD-SC Project Distributes 58 Tons Of Wheat Seeds To Farmers

farmers

Within two years of the inception of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture SARD-SC project, the wheat component has mobilized a fast –track seed multiplication program and distributed 58 tons of improved seeds that have been grown over 500 hectares of wheat areas in six sites across two states in Nigeria.

Akinwumi Adesina

The president of African Development Bank, Mr. Akinwunmi Adesina has noted that government can’t afford to make the desired transformation in agriculture. To him, it is the private sector that is charged with the task of transformation.

Chief Audu Ogbeh

Kano State government and the federal ministry of agriculture has pledged partnership and support for a N6 billion rice processing investment in the State.

Fulani herdmen

Fulani herdmen frequent clashes with farmers call for National conference so as to avoid imminent crisis across the states of the South.

Coco

All roads leading to Calabar,Cross River state capital will this week busy, filled with fanfare as the state has been chosen to host the Annual General meeting for Cocoa Association of Nigeria.