Author: Adewale Kupoluyi

By Omolola Pedro In this exclusive interview with FarmingFarmersFarms, the Chief Executive Officer of Hairat Ajao & Co, Hairat Ajao speaks on her adventure into Aquaculture by looking at the prospects and challenges, and how fish farming can profitably be turned into a goldmine in the country. Excerpts: Can we meet you, please? My name is Hairat Ajao. I studied Fisheries Technology and currently running a postgraduate degree programme at the Lagos State University (LASU). I solely own Hairat Ajao & Co, an agribusiness enterprise largely into aquaculture enterprises. We have, and go into hatchery production, grow-out/market size production, fish processing…

By Olamide Tejuoso A total of 49 mid-career African women drawn from six African Anglophone countries – Ghana, Nigeria Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia – have been announced as fellows in the first cohort of the Gender Responsive Agriculture Systems Policy Fellowship, (GRASP). The fellowship, which is a three-year career development programme, is an initiative of the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by targeting African women in agri-food policies, who can support the implementation of gender-responsive agricultural policies in Africa. Fellows were drawn from diverse organisations including…

By Olamide Tejuoso Grist has announced the third-annual climate fiction short story contest, “Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors”. Grist is a non-profit and independent media organisation dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. It focuses on solving climate crisis through the power of storytelling. It’s 2023/2024 Imagine 2200 is an invitation to writers from all over the globe to imagine a future in which solutions to the climate crisis, flourish and help bring about radical improvements to the world. The winning story will be awarded $3,000, with the second and third place winners receiving…

By Olamide Tejuoso Amid water crisis concerns, Iraq is seeking more sustainable use of water across border and is hosting the third Baghdad International Water Conference (IWC) in May 2023. The Baghdad-IWC would be holding, between 6th and 7th May, 2023 at Royal Tulip, Al Rasheed Hotel. Consequently, Iraq has extended invitations to Iranian and Turkish delegations to take part as water shortages continue to impact the farming and agriculture sectors in the country. The country, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), has limited water resources, which continue to dwindle by affecting farming and agriculture in southern provinces, and…

By Olamide Tejuoso The United Kingdom government is ready to produce cell-based meat through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), which is a part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The new £12 million Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA), led by the University of Bath, would run for seven years, developing cell-based proteins. UKRI has stated that the hub was established with the mandate of investigating how to manufacture cell-based meat at scale. It added that this development could reduce carbon emissions and land use by up to 95% when compared with traditional food production. According to the…

Sodiq Lawal Farmers in Katsina State have intensified calls on government to support their businesses with funds and modern facilities to boost the nation’s economy. FarmingFarmersFarms reports that findings have shown that rising demand from major economies, climate and weather-related exhibitions, high oil prices, poor policies and unemployment among several other factors, have aided the economic meltdown in the state and making a lot of communities to be more vulnerable. It is against this background that tomato farmers in Chinko Market, Danja local government area of Katsina state have expressed concern over the challenges facing their businesses, they said they…

By Sodiq Lawal Hungary has joined Poland in banning the import of grains and other food products from Ukraine, in an effort to protect its domestic farming industry, according to official sources. The ban, which was announced by the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, is temporary and will last until June 30. Ukrainian grain exports have been forced to take alternate routes through the European Union (EU) since Russia blocked access to the Black Sea, Xinhua News Agency reported. The Minister of Agriculture, Istvan Nagy, announced the ban, saying that the Hungarian government was committed to representing the interests of its…

By Sodiq Lawal The government of Poland said it has temporarily prohibited grains and other food imports from Ukraine, as it seeks to address the rising anger of Polish farmers, who say they are losing huge amounts of money to a glut of Ukrainian grain on the market. The leader of Poland’s governing party, Jarosław Kaczyński, said that the Polish countryside was facing a “moment of crisis,” and that while Poland supported Ukraine, it was forced to act to protect its farmers. “Today, the government has decided on a regulation that prohibits the importation of grain, but also dozens of…

By Omolola Pedro Following renewed attacks by suspected herdsmen in Benue State communities, the state government has forthwith suspended the operations of the state’s livestock guard. The government had earlier established the Livestock Guard, as an outfit to ensure compliance with the state’s anti-open grazing law. According to the state’s governor, Samuel Ortom, the suspension is to last for two weeks and is expected to facilitate a reduction in the large influx of livestock into the state. Governor Ortom said the move was part of the plan to make sure that the people, who had come with cattle had gone,…

By Omolola Pedro The measure for the rate of change in prices of goods and services, Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose from 21.91 per cent in February to 22.04 per cent in March 2023. This was contained in an inflation rate report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). According to the NBS report, “the March 2023 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.13 per cent points when compared to February 2023 headline inflation rate”. “On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.13 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in March 2022 which was 15.92…