FG Makes Farming Attractive To Youths

youth farmers

As part of plans to tackle unemployment amongst the Nigerian youth, the Federal Government has designed a scheme – Commercial Farmers Training Project (CFTP) – that will enable youths in the country embrace farming.

The Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Mallam Abubakar Mohammed, who disclosed this at the inauguration of the scheme in Ogun State said the project, would afford youths the opportunity to embrace farming as a means of livelihood after acquiring skills at the NDE agriculture training centres nationwide.

Mohammed, who was represented by the State Coordinator, NDE, Mr. Femi Oyenekan, explained that the youths would form a cooperative group after training and run the project for a year.

He said the 100 beneficiaries in Ogun State, which includes school leavers, would undergo a month experiential training in poultry and market garden crop production at the NDE training centre in Odomefi, Ijebu East Local Government Area.

“The Commercial Farmers Training Project will afford our youths the opportunity to embrace farming as a means of livelihood. They will get modern farming skills and techniques at the NDE agriculture training centres nationwide and thereafter, form a cooperative group in 12 selected states.

“The trainee farmers will run the viable project for a year to enhance sustainable employment and linkage with a collaborating bank for start-up capital.” the Director General said.

Also speaking, the head of the state Rural Employment Promotion, Dr. Olusegun Akinremi, said the trainee farmers would be taught ways of accessing start-up capital with ease from any bank, accessing insurance back-up from the Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Cooperation and other benefits from agencies of government.

Look beyond Oil, Embrace Agric – Says Women Group

female farmer

The Federal Government of Nigeria has been called upon to look beyond oil and embrace agriculture and its employment potentials, by supporting rural farmers across the country.

The President, Zontal Club Ibadan, Prof. Olufunke Egunjobi who made the call during the group’s visit to Akufo farming community in Ibadan said it was surprising that while many smaller nations earned huge foreign earnings and derived employment for its people in agriculture, Nigeria, with a favourable arable land, millions of willing farmers, had failed to invest in the sector.

While donating a solar/biomass hybrid dryer to the farmers, Egunjobi said, “This gesture is according to the mandate of the club to empower women through service and advocacy. In Nigeria and other parts of Africa, women are known to constitute between 50 per cent and 70 per cent of the rural farmers who produce the food we eat.

“These women remain strapped to the old traditional processing and preservation methods of our forefathers. But the mechanised way of drying farm produce will enhance the hygienic way of preserving our food.

“We have a lot to gain from agriculture if our government can visit the rural farmers and fashion out a realistic and functional way of helping them grow their crops, harvest them and preserve their yield. We can drive employment through agriculture because it is the largest employer of labour throughout the world.” she noted.

The chairman of the occasion, who is the Aare Alaasa of Ibadan land, High Chief Lekan Alabi, said with the falling crude oil price in the global market, there was the need to review government’s interest in agriculture.

Alabi noted that several factors hindered farmers’ access to aids and grants from the government. He however, thanked the women’s group – whose members are accomplished women drawn from business and other professions – for its interest in the life and work of the rural farmers.

A/Ibom Flag-off Second Season Planting

dignitaries

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has flagged-off the 2015 Second Season Planting. The event recently took place at the Seed Multiplication Farm, Ikot Okudom , Eket Local Government Area of the state.

The occasion which was at the instance of the state Technical Committee on Agriculture and Food Sufficiency in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources brought together major stakeholders in the agriculture sector as well as recognised farmers’ associations and cooperatives.

The Commissioner of Agriculture, Dr Matthew Nathan Ekaette in his opening address remarked: “Gone are the days when people expected output and harvest only in December when we have the endowment to plant twice in a year. There are some crops we can plant two or three times a year and by so doing meet the demand and breach the supply–demand gap,” he said.

Bridging the demand-supply gap through enhanced agricultural practices is the focal point of the current industrialization drive of the state government. This was again reaffirmed by the governor, who in spite of the rain personally flagged-off 2015 the second season planting in the state.

In his address, the governor revealed that the re-direction of focus to farming, reduction of prices of stable food in the state by 50% within two-and-a-half years, and food sufficiency informed the official flag-off of the second season planting in Akwa Ibom State.

The occasion was rounded-off with the inspection of the moribund Cassava Processing Plant at Ikot Okudom with the prospect of bringing the facility back to life and making it a one-stop shop for value added cassava products.

His words: “We want to make food sufficient; … there is nothing that can stop us,” Emmanuel said.

INTERPOL-supported illegal fishing investigations lead to prosecution

fish

The global fight against fisheries crime has scored a major success, with the convictions of three crew members of a vessel subject to an INTERPOL Purple Notice for illegal fishing.

A court in Sao Tomé and Principe found the captain, chief engineer and second engineer of the Thunder guilty of various illegal fishing charges. The vessel, which sank off the coast of the West African nation in April, was the focus of multiple international investigations into illegal toothfishing activities.

The Thunder was the subject of an INTERPOL Purple Notice issued in 2013 at the request of New Zealand supported by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) and the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, to warn countries worldwide of the vessel’s participation in illegal fishing and the methods being used to attempt to conceal its identity and activities from law enforcement.

INTERPOL has since supported investigations in at least 15 member countries into the global activities of the Thunder, other vessels suspected to be part of the same illegal fishing fleet, and the operating network which owns the fleet.

An investigative task force, comprised of 10 member countries – Australia, Canada, Indonesia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States – was established in 2012 to facilitate exchange intelligence and information on the Thunder and its network.

Through its Project Scale initiative to combat fisheries crimes, INTERPOL provided technical support to the Sao Tomé authorities in securing evidence in the case, and also facilitated the transfer of physical evidence and statements collected by the environmental group Sea Shepherd to the Sao Tomé authorities, via German law enforcement authorities, to aid the investigation.

Experts from Canada and INTERPOL assisted in evaluating the evidence gathered to determine its potential value for ongoing investigations in Sao Tomé, Spain and Australia, among others.

“Transnational fisheries crimes are complex and far-reaching, but the successful outcome of the Thunder case demonstrates how, when countries work together to share intelligence and connect investigations, these criminals can be caught and their networks dismantled,” said David Higgins, head of INTERPOL’s Environmental Security unit.

INTERPOL Purple Notices have also been issued for four other illegal fishing vessels – the Kunlun, Snake, Songhua and Yongding – believed to be operated by the same Spanish-based network.

In August, INTERPOL held a regional investigative analytical case meeting in Singapore where investigators from Southeast Asia and Spain exchanged information on ongoing cases related to all five Purple Notice vessels, and the Organization continues to support its member countries conducting investigations into the illegal fishing fleet and its operators.

The announcement of the Thunder convictions comes as member countries gather in Cape Town, South Africa for the 3rd INTERPOL Fisheries Crime Working Group.

Source: INTERPOL

Forests and the Vagaries of Climate Change

CLIMATE CHANGE WORKSHOP

The toughest environmental challenge of the 21^st century is climate change. Global warming, rising sea levels, drought, and other extreme climate related events such as flooding, storms, all resultant effects of climate change have the capacity to wreck national economies, create food insecurity and threaten the very survival of the human species.

Against this setting, the Forestry Association of Nigeria (FAN) Akwa Ibom State branch in collaboration with the Department of Forestry and Natural Environmental Management, University Of Uyo, and the Directorate of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, Akwa Ibom State organized a 2-day national workshop on ‘Forests and Climate Change’.

The 2-day workshop which held on the 8^th and 9^th of October, 2015 at the Centre for Entrepreneurial Development, University of Uyo was an intellectual platform for interactive discourse on apposite measures for mitigating adverse consequences of climate change in Nigeria.

In his welcome address, the Chairman and National Vice President of Forestry Association of Nigeria (FAN) Akwa Ibom State branch Dr. Samuel Iwa-Udofia said the theme of this year’s workshop was absolutely apt in content and timing, especially in the face of mounting environmental calamities in the world, including Nigeria, caused by apparent climate change.

Dr. Iwa-Udofia stressed that the continued trend of environmental abuses in Nigeria has provoked and indeed aggravated the current incident of climate change. “It is  our expectation that the deliberations at this gathering of intellectuals will expose the in-depth risk inherent in the ongoing human abuses on the forest resources, in an attempt to sustain livelihood, with appropriate remediation’’ he added.

According to various papers presented during the workshop, one of the biggest contributors to climate change is carbon dioxide, of which the human race has produced increasing amounts since the industrial age. Trees decrease the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by absorbing it from the air and converting it into clean oxygen which they release, and carbon which they store.

Healthy forests, because of this natural process, serve as the most efficient, inexpensive, and natural system to combat climate change. This year’s workshop was organized for the sensitization of the general public on the clarion call for peoples’ participation in afforestation/reforestation as the surest means of mitigating the unfriendly impact of climate change.

Consistent with the seventh annual Climate Change and Environmental Risk Atlas (CCERA) released by global risk analytics company Maplecroft, a worrying combination of climate change vulnerability and food insecurity is amplifying the risk of conflict and civil unrest in some countries including Nigeria.

Maplecroft identifies 32 ‘extreme risk’ countries in its Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) with Bangladesh ranked 1^st and most at risk, and Nigeria 4^th.

If the government of Nigeria mean well for the much broadcast agricultural transformation programme, they must give adequate attention to forestry development as a veritable foundation upon which productive, profitable and sustainable agriculture thrives.

Prof. Trenchard Ibia, Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Uyo representing the Chief Host, Prof. (Mrs.) Comfort M. Ekpo, Vice Chancellor, University of Uyo noted that the major global threats to human existence –hunger, poverty, population pressure, armed conflicts, displacement of persons, air pollution, soil and environmental degradation, desertification, deforestation and several natural disasters – are intricately intertwined, collectively contributing to climate change and necessitating a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to finding solutions.

The Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Uyo, Prof. Iniobong Akpabio in his Keynote Address stated that forest is regarded as the kidney of the world and their duty is to purify the atmosphere of pollutant gases.

 Unfortunately, about 17.5 million hectares of forest land is destroyed yearly and this accentuates the challenges of environmental disaster. He continued that Adaptation and Mitigation are the two main responses to climate change. While Mitigation seeks to address its causes, Adaption aims at reducing its impacts.

Presenting Lead Paper 1, Prof. Enefiok S. Udo, Chairman Senate Business Committee of the University of Uyo stated that as a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, Nigeria has not done enough to mitigate climate change and help the citizen adapt to it judging from her attitude towards sustaining forest resources in the past.

“The Plan of Action on Climate Change of 2011, the 2006 Draft National Forest Policy and National Adaptation Strategy should be major tools for fighting climate change through sustainable forest management but still are not backed by law for successful implementation” Prof. Udo remarked.

According to Dr. Val Attah, Chairman of Akwa Ibom State Hospital Management Board, deforestation accounts for about 20% of all the greenhouse gas emissions and Nigeria records the highest rate of deforestation in the world. He proposed that one tenth of the proceeds from petroleum should be re-invested in the re-establishment of forests devastated by prospecting oil companies as a mitigation measure.

The Director of Forestry and Environmental Conservation Akwa Ibom State, Obong Etido Okoneyo in his presentation “The Status of Forestry Development in Akwa Ibom State” stated that the forestry and wildlife policies and programmes of the state government are aimed at complete transformation of the sub-sector to reposition it to execute on the prime responsibility of sustainable production of forest resources.

The workshop was formally declared opened by the Honourable commissioner, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, Akwa Ibom State, Dr Iniobong Essien, representing the special guest of honour, His Excellency, Deacon Udom Emmanuel, Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State.

Dr. Essien in his speech reiterated state government commitment to combating climate change as demonstrated by the ground breaking ceremony by His Excellence for the establishment of a factory for the production of LED bulbs, an environmentally friendly bulb expected in the market within a year, and by the planting of a symbolic tree on the 28^th anniversary of the state.

In order to effectively mitigate climate change, national and international collaborations are necessary as well as efficient management of existing forest reserves, creation of awareness using appropriate media, forest governance, effective implementation of forest laws and regulations, encouraging regeneration and afforestation with adequate funding, provision of incentives like free tree seedlings to invoke public empathy for the fight against climate change.

The 2-day workshop also marked the commencement of FAN’s collaboration with some communities for the rehabilitation and sustainable management of community forests across the state. This is a prelude to partnership with the global Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) programme of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Taking a cue from David Suzuki Foundation (DSF), today’s atmosphere contains 42% more carbon dioxide than it did before the industrial age. The question now is – what have you done to off-set your emission of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere? Plant a tree today!

AFAN Tasks Farmers On Modern Biotechnology

AFAN

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has called on farmers to key into agricultural biotechnology to improve their crop production and enhance their productivity.

Alhaji Shettima Mustapha, a member of the board of trustees, AFAN, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

Mustapha, who was also a former Minister of Agriculture (1990-1992), dismissed arguments that genetically modified crops were unhealthy, saying: “they have been tested and accepted in most advanced countries.”

“The whole essence of modern biotechnology is the use of modern scientific techniques including genetic engineering to improve our farm produces.

“The modern techniques is tested and used in other parts of the country without negative effect on human health and environment, but rather improve output.

“Biotech enhances the yields of seeds; with minimum input, it will produce the desired high quantity, which when sold will increase the income of farmers,’’ he said.

Mustapha said the association was planning to create more awareness to farmers in the rural areas, who are yet to be aware of the new technique.

He urged farmers to see this as a welcome development and appreciate government’s effort to take farmers from poverty and out of subsistence farming.

He further called for more awareness among farmers in the rural areas, adding that there was room for improvement in the simple technologies being used in the country.

He equally called on the Federal Government to provide decent and hygienic processing and storage facilities for farmers, especially those in the rural areas for good preservation.

“We need to handle our farm produces properly, starting from when we plant our seed, harvesting to good storage facility in order to meet international standard.

“The processing and production of crops, the poor farmers need assistance by receiving adequate support from government to improve on their productivity,’’ Mustapha said.

Nigeria to ban rice importation in 2017 – Yari

Alhaji Abdulazeez Yari,

Zamfara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Alhaji Abdulazeez Yari, has said Nigeria will ban importation of rice  in the next two years (2017).

Yari, who briefed State House Correspondents on Wednesday in Abuja after a meeting of governors of the front line states producing rice in the country said Nigeria would have attained self-sufficiency in food production by then.

According to him, the meeting which held at the Vice President’s wing of the Villa discussed the new policy on agriculture and food sustainability.

He said: “We discussed how we can boost rice production in Nigeria and start thinking about how we are going to put policies in place on how rice importation will be banned in the country.
“We have the potential; we have the human resources; we have the arable land to grow rice.

“In the next two years, we will not need to bring rice from outside Nigeria. We are going to ban it.

“It is only in Nigeria, a country of millions of people, that there is no food security.
“We discussed the policy with the relevant permanent secretaries and the CBN governor.  “The policy is going to be in place and we gave our commitment that we are ready to support the government policy in ensuring that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in food production in the next two years.

“Nigeria is currently a major importer of rice. Now, the political will is in place to stop it. We in about nine states are going to be seriously engaged in massive rice production.
“We are hoping that in the next two years, rice importation into Nigeria will be banned.  We are committed and the political will is in place.”

Borno Lay Foundation for Agric Programmes

Borno-State-Governor-Kashim-Shettima

In its bid to ensure sustainable food production and food security in the country, the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, has laid a foundation for the smooth take-off of all the relevant state agricultural programmes.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Muhammad Dili, in a chat with newsmen in Maiduguri the state capital, said the state government had in the past two years trained over 100 youths in various agricultural skills, with a view to boosting employment opportunities among the teeming unemployed youths.

Dili disclosed that the state government had equally imported about 500 rice mills from Thailand as part of its efforts to boost rice production in the state.

According to him, the mills would be distributed to farmers’ cooperative associations to improve the quality of local rice production in the state.

He further explained that the government had also purchased about 1,000 tractors that would be distributed to peasant farmers across the 27 local government areas in the state.

“Plans are underway to provide appropriate infrastructure to enhance fish production in the state. The state government will also build about 40 artificial dams in 50 communities across the 27 local government areas to boost fishing activities.

“We are geared towards promoting sustainable food production, providing technical and social support to the farming communities in order to improve their living standards,” he said.

Dili noted that some of the communities to benefit from the state government’s programmes will include: Bama, Baga, Damboa, Kwaya Kusar, Minor, Minoc, Benishaik, Jakana, Magumeri, Auno and Kala Balge to mention but a few.

Bacterium May Improve Food Security

ROTTEN VEGETABLES

There’s nothing worse than discovering rotten food. The once perfect source of nourishment has transformed into a stinking, discoloured shell of its former self and is relegated to the trash bin or the organic recycling container.

For most of us, this phenomenon simply means a trip back to the grocery store to restore supplies. But in many parts of the world, spoilage is a much greater problem.

Based on information from the Rockefeller Foundation, about 1/3 of all food is wasted as a result of spoilage. Finding solutions to this could improve the quality of life for about a billion people worldwide. It could also help reduce the prices of these food items and at the same time help to keep more money in our pockets.

Providing solutions has been difficult. Some of the original ideas, such as pesticides have been regarded as anathema. Another concept that was once hailed which involves the use of irradiation, has only limited value, as equipment is not universally available and the cost can be quite high. Another option was antimicrobial, however, the use of this technique requires specialized labs to make the effective preservatives and it is very expensive to bear.

In the wild, a variety of species roam effortlessly searching for the next place to thrive. For them, vegetables and fruit are the perfect residence. When they connect, they begin a common process of growth and spread. The result is a large microbial mass called a biofilm. As the microbes continue to grow, they break down the cellular matrix of the food, causing it to turn colour and eventually degrade to slime. Also, as the bacteria feed, they release waste, which can sometimes be noxious to our sensitive nostrils. Within a few days, the once-beautiful food becomes nothing more than a mess.

In reducing spoilage, microbes were discovered to preserve foods and ensure a longer shelf life at a reasonable cost. Using bacteria to preserve foods has been around for millennia in the guise of fermentation. This practice has been forgotten thanks to refrigeration and chemical preservatives. Yet, in many countries of the world, this routine continues to be one of the best ways to keep food fresh.

The fermentation procedure is essentially the same. A bacterial mix -sometimes called a starter culture – is added to foods usually in water or some other liquid. Over time, the bacteria change the nature of the food, adding acidity and a host of antimicrobial compounds. This helps to prevent spoiling bacteria from growing. After few hours, days, weeks, or in some cases months, the food is kept fresh and can be enjoyed far later than the usual shelf life.

There is however a requirement with traditional fermentation, preventing it from being used en masse for food security. It has to be performed in batches. This significantly reduces the flow of the food continuum and potentially leaves valuable food resources left to spoil while it waits. The process can be upscaled but can never reach the volume needed to save billions of people.

In proffering solution to this, recently a team of scientist from Malaysia introduced a fermenting bacterium with the ability to protect food without the need for batches. Based on the results of the study, in the future, all that may be needed is a quick spray and the food would be safe from microbial spoilers.

The scientist decided not to look at fermentation starter cultures but instead look at plants known to resist spoiling in the wild. They looked at the bacterial population of one plant, pandan, which is used in Asian cuisine. They found quite a number of different species, many of which are known fermenters. But amongst the population, they found one that was quite unique, in that it acted just like a spoiler without the drastic consequences.

The strain is called Lactobacillus plantarum PA21 and in the lab, it did not only grew like all other bacteria, but formed biofilms. This was both new for this bacterium and also opened the door to a novel idea. The bacterium could create a barrier on fruits and vegetables to block out spoiling species. When tested in the lab, it was discovered that biofilms grew quite well in temperatures similar to that of the Malaysian climate.
This was only half the goal.

The next step was to introduce various species of bacteria to see if the good biofilms would hold strong. Compared to controls without biofilms, the results were dramatic. The spoiling bacteria were either completely eliminated or reduced significantly to safe levels. In essence, at least in the lab, the results provided the promise for future preservation.

While this information was already positive, the scientist hinted it could get better. They attempted to put other factors into the bacterium using genetic modification. They were successful suggesting other preservative factors, such as antimicrobials which could one day be introduced to make them even more powerful.

In the context of food security, the team suggested Lactobacillus plantarum PA21 represents a bright future. The bacterium is easy and inexpensive to grow, can be manipulated genetically, and also can be used worldwide as it has no pathogenic properties. With further testing, the perfect microbial preserver may be developed and then eventually mass produced. If all goes well, it may one day end up not only on crops in countries suffering from food shortages, but perhaps even our local grocery store.

CoBank: Live Cattle Prices Expected to Rally as 2015 Closes

Live cattle prices are poised for a strong year-end rebound following the steepest 30-day decline since the 2003 discovery of mad cow disease in the U.S., according to a new report produced by CoBank's Knowledge Exchange Division.

The report, titled "What's Behind the Cattle Market Price Collapse?," cites three factors for the sudden price decline in August and September: feedyards with an overabundance of unusually heavy fed cattle; exceptionally wide price disparities between beef prices and those of chicken and pork, which increased consumer purchases of chicken and pork at the expense of beef; and the market's psychological overreaction to the abrupt price drop, which accelerated the decline.

"The price drop was very sudden -- dropping $26 per hundredweight in 30 days -- and clearly caught the market off-guard," said Trevor Amen, animal protein economist with CoBank. "But we believe the causes of the drop were temporary, which sets the stage for a price rally. In fact, most cattle future contracts have posted near limit up moves over the past several days, perhaps indicating that the rally has already begun."

The near-term outlook for beef demand calls for continued growth during the next four to six months, both domestically and overseas. According to Amen, the expected rally in cattle prices will be triggered by the normalization of price disparities between beef and chicken and pork, which will bolster consumers' purchases of beef. As demand grows, wholesale/box-beef prices are expected to head higher, leading the way for a near-term rally across the entire beef complex.

However, the longer-term outlook for 2016 and 2017 still calls for cattle prices to trend downward, pressured by an anticipated increase in supply. Herd rebuilding efforts are expected to boost beef production starting in late 2016 and accelerating in 2017 and beyond. After rallying during the closing months of this year, cattle prices are expected to trend downward from late 2016 and through 2017, off their cyclical peak in late 2014.

CoBank's Knowledge Exchange Division is a knowledge-sharing practice that provides strategic insights regarding the key industries served by CoBank. Knowledge Exchange draws upon the internal expertise of CoBank, deep knowledge within the Farm Credit System and boots-on-the-ground intelligence from customers and other stakeholders to enhance the collective understanding of emerging business opportunities and risks.