Genetics of how corn can adapt faster to new climates

Maize is a staple food all over the world. In the United States, where it's better known as corn, nearly 90 million acres were planted in 2018, earning $47.2 billion in crop cash receipts.

Veggie-loving fish could be the new white meat

A secret to survival amid rising global temperatures could be dwelling in the tidepools of the U.S. West Coast. Findings by University of California, Irvine biologists studying the genome of an unusual fish residing in those waters offer new possibilities for humans to obtain dietary protein as climate change imperils traditional sources. Their paper appears in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

New artificial intelligence algorithm better predicts corn yield

With some reports predicting the precision agriculture market will reach $12.9 billion by 2027, there is an increasing need to develop sophisticated data-analysis solutions that can guide management decisions in real time.

AFAN set up Micro-finance Bank says chairman

·         Asks for 20B naira for wheat productivity

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kano state chapter has set up a Micro-Finance Bank (MFB) that will meet the financial needs of farmers at a single digit loan just as the wants the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend these loan opportunity to wheat productivity in Nigeria.

AfDB, FG injects $500m on Agro processing zones

·         FACAN President hails the development

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Federal Government FG) are set to inject $500 million into the development of four Special Agro-Processing Zones (SAPZs) across the country before August, 2020 for the purpose of the private sector active participation in value addition to agricultural produce.

Dog domestication during ice age

Analysis of Paleolithic-era teeth from a 28,500-year-old fossil site in the Czech Republic provides supporting evidence for two groups of canids -- one dog-like and the other wolf-like -- with differing diets, which is consistent with the early domestication of dogs.

Agro dealers want fertilizer department separate from the ministry

The President of a newly merged Nigeria Agro Input Dealers (NAIDA) Alhaji Kabiru Fara has called for the autonomy of the Department of Fertilizer saying this would empower it to quickly respond to the need of farmers in terms of making fertilizer available at the nip of time.

Prescribed burns benefit bees

Freshly burned longleaf pine forests have more than double the total number of bees and bee species than similar forests that have not burned in over 50 years, according to new research from North Carolina State University.

Images speak at the wedding reception of the Son & Daughter to the Executive Secretary, Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), Prince Peter Okedare Bakare, which took place at Bolingo Hotel Abuja, last Saturday 22nd February 2020.

  Images speak at the wedding reception of the Son & Daughter to the Executive Secretary, Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations  of Nigeria (FACAN), Prince Peter Okedare Bakare, which took place at Bolingo Hotel Abuja, last Saturday 22nd February 2020. See more images below.....

I am passionate to refocus our College says Acting Provost

The new Acting Provost, Federal College of Agriculture, Moor plantation, Ibadan Dr. (Mrs) Elizatheth Oluwakemi Augustus has assured both the students and workers that her leadership is determined to reposition the Institute back to its core mandate where middle man power are groomed for commercial agricultural entrepreneurship and food security.

Microscopic partners could help plants survive stressful environments

Tiny, symbiotic fungi play an outsized role in helping plants survive stresses like drought and extreme temperatures, which could help feed a planet experiencing climate change, report scientists at Washington State University.

Biological diversity as a factor of production

 (SLs) are a class of chemical compounds found in plants that have received attention due to their roles as plant hormones and rhizosphere signaling molecules.

Traditional Chinese medicinal plant yields new insecticide compounds

For hundreds of years, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine have used an herb called Stemona sessilifolia as a remedy for parasitic infections, such as those caused by pinworms and lice.

Pollination is better in cities than in the countryside

Flowering plants are better pollinated in urban than in rural areas. This has now been demonstrated experimentally by a team of scientists led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ).

Bacteria engineered to protect bees from pests and pathogens

Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin report in the journal Science that they have developed a new strategy to protect honey bees from a deadly trend known as colony collapse: genetically engineered strains of bacteria.

DRAFT COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF ONE DAY AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION STAKEHOLDERS MEETING ON THE WAY FORWARD TOWARDS EXTENSION OF NEW INNOVATIONS IN AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT HELD AT THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION (NCAM) ON TUESDAY, 28TH JANUARY, 2020.

Agriculture has contributed a great deal to the sustenance of Nigerian economy since independence; unfortunately, the discovery of crude oil has relegated it to the background. Low level of agricultural mechanization technologies have made agriculture unattractive among the youths who form the larger percentage of the nation’s workforce resulting in the loss of glory of the sector.

Wasps' gut microbes help them -- and their offspring -- survive pesticides

Exposure to the widely used pesticide atrazine leads to heritable changes in the gut microbiome of wasps, finds a study publishing February 4 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. Additionally, the altered microbiome confers atrazine resistance, which is inherited across successive generations not exposed to the pesticide.

Images speak at the inception of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) initiative held in Abuja

 Images speak at the inception of the  Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) initiative held in Abuja.. See more images below.

Biological diversity as a factor of production

The main question addressed by the study is: Does greater biodiversity increase the economic value of managed ecosystems? "We have found that the possible relationships between economic value and biodiversity are varied," says Professor Thomas Knoke, Head of the Institute of Forest Management at the TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan.

Bumble bees prefer a low-fat diet

Bees are an important factor for our environment and our sustenance. Without insect pollination, many plant species -- including various crops -- cannot reproduce.

No clear path for golden rice to reach consumers

Heralded as a genetically modified crop with the potential to save millions of lives, Golden Rice has just been approved as safe for human and animal consumption by regulators in the Philippines. The rice is a beta carotene-enriched crop that is intended to reduce Vitamin A deficiency (VAD), a health problem in very poor areas.

Ancient Egyptians gathered birds from the wild for sacrifice and mummification

In ancient Egypt, Sacred Ibises were collected from their natural habitats to be ritually sacrificed, according to a study released November 13, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Sally Wasef of Griffith University, Australia and colleagues.

Large atmospheric waves in the jet stream present risk to global food production

In a new study published today in Nature Climate Change, scientists show how specific wave patterns in the jet stream strongly increase the chance of co-occurring heatwaves in major food producing regions of Northern America, Western Europe and Asia.

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.

Editorial- Mechanization: Integrating engineering into extension services

 Executive Director (ED) of (NCAM) Dr. (Engr) M.Y Kasali 

We wish to commend the Federal Government (FG) for the initiative to soon commence agricultural mechanization as about 140 agro processing centres across the country will be established to increase production, processing and marketing. But the question is where are these equipment's coming from, are they going to be locally made or imported?.

Insect bites and warmer climate means double-trouble for plants

Recent models are telling us that, as our climate warms up, herbivores and pests will cause increased damage to agricultural crops. One study predicted that crop yield lost to insects increases 10 to 25 percent for every 1 degree Celsius increase.

Dance of the honey bee reveals fondness for strawberries

Bees are pollinators of many wild and crop plants, but in many places their diversity and density is declining.

Solving the riddle of strigolactone biosynthesis in plants

Strigolactones (SLs) are a class of chemical compounds found in plants that have received attention due to their roles as plant hormones and rhizosphere signaling molecules. They play an importantrole in regulating plant architecture, as well as promoting germination of root parasitic weeds (*1) that have great detrimental effects on plant growth and production.

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.

Stakeholders ask NCAM to infuse technology to grassroots

Stakeholders have demanded that the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM) be well represented at the grassroots where farmers who needed their technologies reside.

NEF, FACAN partner to ensure standard for export

The Nigerian  Entrepreneurship Forum, NEF in partnership with Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to access the five billion dollars made available by the Chinese government through its Entrepreneurship Development Centre Facility under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for entrepreneurs in the country to ensure standard for export.

Microscopic partners could help plants survive stressful environments

Tiny, symbiotic fungi play an outsized role in helping plants survive stresses like drought and extreme temperatures, which could help feed a planet experiencing climate change, report scientists at Washington State University.

Traditional Chinese medicinal plant yields new insecticide compounds

For hundreds of years, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine have used an herb called Stemona sessilifolia as a remedy for parasitic infections, such as those caused by pinworms and lice.

Nanono seeks stronger partnership with US government

 The Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono has solicited for a stronger partnership and collaboration between the Ministry and the United States of America (USA), through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), towards achieving food sufficiency and job creation. This was made known in a press statement issued and made available to Food farms news by Ezeaja Ikemefuna on behalf of Director of Information, in the ministry.

FG PLANS TO REVIEW THE CONCESSION OF SILOS

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono has stated that the Federal Government would review the concessioning of its silos leased to private firms in the country. This was stated in a press release made available to the media.

Prescribed burns benefit bees

Freshly burned longleaf pine forests have more than double the total number of bees and bee species than similar forests that have not burned in over 50 years, according to new research from North Carolina State University.

Minister tasks higher institutions on adoption of technology, innovation

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono has tasked higher Institutions of learning in Nigeria on adoption of technology and innovation, stating that without sustainable efforts to achieve a shift from subsistence agriculture into a viable agribusiness, the challenge of feeding the growing population and creating a vibrant economy and massive jobs would be a mirage. This was disclosed in a press statement issued by Ezeaja Ikemefuna on behalf of Director of Information in the ministry.

Speedy recovery: New corn performs better in cold

Nearly everyone on Earth is familiar with corn. Literally. Around the world, each person eats an average of 70 pounds of the grain each year, with even more grown for animal feed and biofuel. And as the global population continues to boom, increasing the amount of food grown on the same amount of land becomes increasingly important.

Turkey to invest $15m in agric sector-FG

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri, has appreciated the gesture shown by the Turkish Government to invest 15 million dollars in the Nigerian agricultural sector in two years. This was made known in a press release made available to Food farm news by Mohammed Abdullahi Gana on behalf of Director Information.

Plants manipulate their soil environment to assure a steady supply of nutrients

The next time you're thinking about whether to cook dinner or order a pizza for delivery, think of this: Plants have been doing pretty much the same thing for eons.

China Reports Outbreak Of H5N1 Bird Flu

Chinese authorities are culling thousands of chickens after an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu in Hunan Province, which neighbors the coronavirus-hit province of Hubei.

Institute promises research expansion on irrigation

As part of plans to ensure that farmers enjoy all-year round farming, the Federal Government (FG) through the Institute of Agriculture Research (IAR) has expressed its readiness to invest more in irrigation research infrastructure through more funding. The Executive Director (ED), of the Institute Prof. Mahammed Fagugi Ishiaku told Food Farm News in Zaria, recently.

Insect bites and warmer climate means double-trouble for plants

Recent models are telling us that, as our climate warms up, herbivores and pests will cause increased damage to agricultural crops. One study predicted that crop yield lost to insects increases 10 to 25 percent for every 1 degree Celsius increase.

Community Concept will reduce cost of extension, says NAERLS boss

The Executive Director (ED), National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), Prof. Mohammed Othman has said that the Community Base Advisory Concept will develop the capacity of the farmers to reduce expenses on extension services as new improved knowledge will be transferred to them for further disseminations to others in the communities.  Prof. Othman revealed this in his office saying the concept would reduce extension cost across the country.

Membrane inspired by bone and cartilage efficiently produces electricity from saltwater

Inspired by membranes in the body tissues of living organisms, scientists have combined aramid nanofibers used in Kevlar with boron nitride to construct a membrane for harvesting ocean energy that is both strong like bone and suited for ion transport like cartilage.