Quality, contractors’ disappearance, other issues stall agro-processing project

The delay in the execution of the agro processing centre projects across the country has been attributed to the disappearance of contractors and the disagreement between investors, contractors and equipment fabricators over the use of substandard materials by the fabricators. This was revealed during the meeting of the stakeholders held in Abuja.

Potential for reduced methane from cows

An international team of scientists has shown it is possible to breed cattle to reduce their methane emissions.

Grazing animals drove domestication of grain crops

Many familiar grains today, like quinoa, amaranth, and the millets, hemp, and buckwheat, all have traits that indicate that they coevolved to be dispersed by large grazing mammals.

NAQS rebuts food dealers’ claim

The Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has debunked an extortion allegation made against its officials at some major duty posts of the country by the foodstuff Dealers Association of Nigeria (FSDAN) .

FG- AFDB inject $174.85m for farmers’ training says Dr. Arabi

The new National Coordinator, Agricultural Transformation Agenda Programme (ATAPS-Project 1) Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Arabi has said that seven strategically farming states of the federation comprising of 33 local governments and  200 rural communities  are currently benefiting in the $174.85m meant for capacity building for best agronomic practice with improved technologies to mitigate poverty in the country.

Global farming trends threaten food security

Citrus fruits, coffee and avocados: The food on our tables has become more diverse in recent decades. However, global agriculture does not reflect this trend. Monocultures are increasing worldwide, taking up more land than ever.

Wildfires disrupt important pollination processes by moths and increase extinction risks

Previous studies have shown the flush of pollen-producing wildflowers after a fire can benefit the day-time pollinators such as bees and butterflies.

Early arrival of spring disrupts the mutualism between plants and pollinators

 Kudo of Hokkaido University and Elisabeth J. Cooper of the Arctic University of Norway have demonstrated that early snowmelt results in the spring ephemeral Corydalis ambigua flowering ahead of the emergence of its pollinator, the bumblebee.

Researchers can finally modify plant mitochondrial DNA

Nuclear DNA was first edited in the early 1970s, chloroplast DNA was first edited in 1988, and animal mitochondrial DNA was edited in 2008. However, no tool previously successfully edited plant mitochondrial DNA.

Genetic breakthrough in cereal crops could help improve yields worldwide

A team of Clemson University scientists has achieved a breakthrough in the genetics of senescence in cereal crops with the potential to dramatically impact the future of food security in the era of climate change.