Stand out from the herd: How cows communicate through their lives

Farmers might finally be able to answer the question: How now brown cow?

Research at the University of Sydney has shown that cows maintain individual voices in a variety of emotional situations.

Comparing heirloom and modern wheat effects on gut health

Amid concerns about gluten sensitivity, increasing numbers of people are avoiding wheat. Most have not been diagnosed with a wheat-related medical condition, yet they seem to feel better when they don't eat gluten-containing foods.

Fossils of the future to mostly consist of humans, domestic animals

As the number and technology of humans has grown, their impact on the natural world now equals or exceeds those of natural processes, according to scientists.

Agricultural parasite avoids evolutionary arms race, shuts down genes of host plants

A parasitic plant has found a way to circumvent an evolutionary arms race with the host plants from which it steals nutrients, allowing the parasite to thrive on a variety of agriculturally important plants. The parasite dodder, an agricultural pest found on every continent, sends genetic material into its host to shut down host defense genes.

Plant-eating insects disrupt ecosystems and contribute to climate change

A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that plant-eating insects affect forest ecosystems considerably more than previously thought. Among other things, the insects are a factor in the leaching of nutrients from soil and increased emissions of carbon dioxide. The researchers also establish that the temperature may rise as a result of an increase in the amount of plant-eating insects in some regions.

Grain traits traced to 'dark matter' of rice genome

Domesticated rice has fatter seed grains with higher starch content than its wild rice relatives -- the result of many generations of preferential seed sorting and sowing. But even though rice was the first crop to be fully sequenced, scientists have only documented a few of the genetic changes that made rice into a staple food for more than half the world's population.

Fungi could reduce reliance on fertilizers

Introducing fungi to wheat boosted their uptake of key nutrients and could lead to new, 'climate smart' varieties of crops, according to a new study.

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Merry Christmas

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Sunflower: FG promises repositioning for larger market

The Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria has said she is ready to make the value chains of sunflower productivity more robust through effective policy with availability of subsidized inputs support to farmers for more competitiveness in the international market. This was disclosed by the officer in charge of Sunflower desk, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) Mr. Sunday Obasi during his presentation at the one day sensitization programme organized by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) in Abuja recently.

Strategies of a honey bee virus

The Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus is a pathogen that affects honey bees and has been linked to Colony Collapse Disorder, a key factor in decimating the bee population. Researchers have now analyzed in detail how the virus hijacks the cellular protein production machinery and misuses it for its own purposes. The research, published in The EMBO Journal, is an important step towards the development of strategies to fight the Colony Collapse Disorder.

54 farmers benefit in Ogun State broilers empowerment, 46 get loans

The Ogun State government has empowered fifty four (54) poultry farmers with a total of 54,000 day old chicks that are projected to give a dividend of N130, 000.00 per head after forty two days of proper feeding as 46 people out of these numbers have been given loan of Nine hundred thousand also. This was contained in a press release made available to us.

New portable DNA sequencer quickly and accurately diagnoses wheat viruses

Blasts cause significant loses in wheat crops. Recently Bangladesh was devastated by an invasion of South American races of wheat blast fungus, which occurred for the first time in the country in 2016. The disease spread to an estimated 15,000 hectares (16% of cultivated wheat area in the country) and resulted in yield losses as high as 100%.

Organic seeds: Practitioners challenge researchers

Practitioners  of organic agriculture in Nigeria has charged the research institutes in the country to intensify on generation of more organic seeds for farmers in view of the high demand for organically grown foods in the international markets. This position was taken at the recently concluded roundtable business summit on organic farming held in Abuja.

Are humans changing animal genetic diversity worldwide?

Human population density and land use is causing changes in animal genetic diversity, according to researchers at McGill University.

Scientists enhance color and texture of cultured meat

A team of Tufts University-led researchers exploring the development of cultured meat found that the addition of the iron-carrying protein myoglobin improves the growth, texture and color of bovine muscle grown from cells in culture. This development is a step toward the ultimate goal of growing meat from livestock animal cells for human consumption.

Bacterial arsenic efflux genes enabled plants to transport boron efficiently

Stubby roots, brittle branches, poor fertility -- these are some of the symptoms which can occur in the case of boron deficiency in plants. Thanks to transport proteins called Nodulin26-like-intrinsic-proteins (NIPs), modern seed plants can efficiently take up and distribute this essential micronutrient.

FMARD PS posted out

The Permanent Secretary (PS), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) Dr. Mohammed Bello Umar has been posted out of the ministry to another one that is yet to be ascertained at the time of sending this news.

FACAN backs border closure, plans sustainable preservation facilities

The President of Federation Agricultural Commodity Associations (FACAN) Dr. Victor Iyama has thrown his weight behind the Federal Government (FG) partial land borders closure saying effort is being geared towards efficient food storage facilities that will enhance more farmers’ productivity with effective preservation against wastages.

How rat-eating monkeys help keep palm oil plants alive

Found as an ingredient in many processed and packaged foods, palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on October 21 have discovered an unlikely ally for palm oil production: pig-tailed macaques.

Unexpected outcomes: Damages to Puerto Rican coffee farms from Hurricane Maria varied

University of Michigan ecologists Ivette Perfecto and John Vandermeer have studied Latin American coffee farms for a quarter century, and they tracked the recovery of tropical forests in Nicaragua following 1988's Hurricane Joan for nearly 20 years.

Transgenic cowpea: FG officially approves commercialization

The Federal Government (FG) through her National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crops Varieties has approved registration and release of a new Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) Cowpea variety for commercialization. This was contained in a press statement jointly released by the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) and Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) Zamaru.

Let organically grown food be included in school feeding programme-Prof. Olowe

The President, Association of Organic agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria (NOAN) Prof. Victor Olowe has advocated for the inclusion of organically grown food to be injected in the Federal Government (FG) home school feeding programme for the purpose of healthy living of our children. He made this statement at a national roundtable discussion on organic held in Abuja yesterday.

Land restoration in Ethiopia pays off but climate change necessitates many strategies

In the last decade, Ethiopia has invested more than US$1.2 billion annually in restoring landscapes in several regions of the country. But despite its big restoration initiatives, Africa's second-most populous country is still insufficiently tracking how projects have helped to recover and boost ecosystem services, a new study shows.

Stakeholders call for soil policy against erosion

 

The Stakeholders in the Agricultural sector have called for the enactment of national soil policy that will give sufficient protection to soil maintenance and its sustainability for food security in view of unabated increasing population towards year 2050.   This position was taken during the 2019 World Soil Day celebration with the theme: “Stop Soil Erosion. Save our Future”.

US corn yields get boost from a global warming 'hole'

The global average temperature has increased 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 100 years. In contrast, the Corn Belt of the U.S., one of the most agriculturally productive regions of the world, has experienced a decrease in temperatures in the summer during the growing season.

Ogun State registers farmers for Anchor Programme

The Ogun State Government has said that  Fifty One thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety Four (51,994) verified farmers have been registered to partake in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP) purposely meant to give financial intervention support to commercial food security on available land of 47,047 hectares.

Images speak at the 2019 Farmers Field Day to show the performance of the Bt cotton, held at the NABDA Premises Abuja.

Images speaks at the 2019 Farmers Field Day to show the performance of the Bt cotton, held at the NABDA Premises Abuja. see more images below....

What's driving tropical deforestation? Scientists map 45 years of satellite images

Tropical forests are under increasing pressure from human activity such as agriculture. However, in order to put effective conservation measures in place, local decision-makers must be able to precisely identify which areas of forest are most vulnerable.

A win-win for forests and small-holder dairy farming in East Africa

The native Napier grass could hold the key to improving diets, boosting farming yields and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in East Africa.

ABU Vice Chancellor laments over agric extension services

·         *FG advocates PPP commercialization

The Vice Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. Ibrahim Garba has expressed dissatisfaction on the state of Nigerian agricultural extension services for not being properly mobilized to exhaustively galvanise food security in the country, just as the Federal Government (FG) is ready to adopt the option of Public- Private- Partnership (PPP) to overcome this particular challenge towards ensuring adequate technologies transfer to farmers.

Deformed wing virus genetic diversity in US honey bees complicates search for remedies

Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), one of the leading causes of honey bee colony losses, is much more genetically diverse in the United States than previously thought, according to a study published by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in PLoS Biology.

Engineers develop a new way to remove carbon dioxide from air

A new way of removing carbon dioxide from a stream of air could provide a significant tool in the battle against climate change. The new system can work on the gas at virtually any concentration level, even down to the roughly 400 parts per million currently found in the atmosphere.

Images speak at a One-day Sensitisation programme on Sunflower organised by the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment (FMITI) Commodity and Products Inspectorate Department (CPI), theme: 'the Economic Potentials of Sunflower and the Best Agronomic Practices For Increased Production and Qualitative Seeds' held in Abuja.

 

 Images speak at a One-day Sensitisation programme on Sunflower organised by the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment (FMITI) Commodity and Products Inspectorate Department (CPI), theme: 'the Economic Potentials of Sunflower and the Best Agronomic Practices For Increased Production and Qualitative Seeds' held in Abuja. See more images below...

The pectin is protectin': Study uncovers a plant barrier against toxic aluminum

 toxicity has long been known to damage plant cells and inhibit the growth of plants. Aluminum is widely found in soils that are too acidic, and as human activities have increased soil acidity across the globe, aluminum toxicity has become a leading cause of low crop yield worldwide.

Mars once had salt lakes similar to those on Earth

Mars once had salt lakes that are similar to those on Earth and has gone through wet and dry periods, according to an international team of scientists that includes a Texas A&M University College of Geosciences researcher.

'Artificial leaf' successfully produces clean gas

A widely-used gas that is currently produced from fossil fuels can instead be made by an 'artificial leaf' that uses only sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, and which could eventually be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel alternative to petrol.

FG set to replace ATAP, APP policies

There is indication that the two popular agricultural policies of the Federal Government (FG) will soon be reviewed and replaced finally according to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) Alhaji Muhammed Sabo Nanono. This was contained in a press release made available to the journalists.

Game changer: New chemical keeps plants plump

A UC Riverside-led team has created a chemical to help plants hold onto water, which could stem the tide of massive annual crop losses from drought and help farmers grow food despite a changing climate.

Nutritious foods have lower environmental impact than unhealthy foods

Widespread adaptation of healthier diets would markedly reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and food production, according to new research from the University of Minnesota and Oxford University.

FMARD wants law against yam export repeal

*Expert asks for coordination

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has advocated that the law prohibiting the export of Nigerian yams be repealed just as the need to institute a coordinating body for the produce was requested. This call was made at an advocacy workshop on yam held in Abuja recently.

Helpful insects and landscape changes

We might not notice them, but the crops farmers grow are protected by scores of tiny invertebrate bodyguards. Naturally occurring arthropods like spiders and lady beetles patrol crop fields looking for insects to eat. These natural enemies keep pests under control, making it easier to grow the crops we depend on.

Crop competition as a weed control strategy

A new study featured in the journal Weed Science points to the formidable weed control challenges faced by growers today. Weeds have developed resistance to many existing herbicide options, and new herbicide discoveries have plummeted. As a result, nonchemical approaches are growing in importance.

Shea stakeholders press for demand and supply forces for market drive

The stakeholders trading in shea nuts and butters have advocated that the forces of demand and supply be allowed to determined prices of the products saying it would enhance productivity. This was contained in press statement issued and signed by the Head of secretariat, National Shea Products Association of Nigeria (NASPAN) Mrs Aderemi Apatari.

Water mold research leads to greater understanding of corn diseases

Corn is a staple feed and biofuel crop with a value close to $3.7 billion in the Michigan economy alone.

FG, Sasakawa sign MoU on technology transfer

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) with the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAASG2000) towards increased agricultural productivity. This was contained in a press release issued by Ezeaja Ikemefuna on behalf of Director of Information in the ministry.

Harvesting genes to improve watermelons

When many people think of watermelon, they likely think of Citrullus lanatus, the cultivated watermelon with sweet, juicy red fruit enjoyed around the world as a dessert. Indeed, watermelon is one of the world's most popular fruits, second only to tomato -- which many consider a vegetable. But there are six other wild species of watermelon, all of which have pale, hard and bitter fruits.

New data on the evolution of plants and origin of species

There are over 500,000 plant species in the world today. They all evolved from a common ancestor. How this leap in biodiversity happened is still unclear.

Nutritious foods have lower environmental impact than unhealthy foods

Widespread adaptation of healthier diets would markedly reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and food production, according to new research from the University of Minnesota and Oxford University.

Mapping millet genetics

In the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa, conditions can be difficult for crops. Plants need to have short growing seasons, survive on poor soils and tolerate environmental stresses.

Ornament with eagle talons from Neanderthal Period

Eagle talons are regarded as the first materials used to make jewellery by Neanderthals, a practice which spread around Southern Europe about 120,000 and 40,000 years ago.