Author: Adewale Kupoluyi
By Oludele Taiwo To address the high rate of malnutrition and under-nutrition especially in a country with a population as large as Nigeria, large scale food fortification must be embraced. This is according to the Country Director of Technoserve, Adesuwa Akinboro during the second edition of the Micronutrients Fortification Index (MFI) awards in Lagos. She said the MFI was designed mainly to incentivise private sector companies to fortify their products for three main reasons – public recognition, providing a level playing field for all companies to ensure fortification compliance and incentivising companies to improve and maintain high fortification standards. Products…
By Oludele Taiwo The General Manager, Lagos State Coconut Development Authority (LASCODA), Dapo Olakunleyin, has stressed the need to plant more coconut trees to keep up with the growing demand and to protect the environment. He stated this during the flag-off of the planting of 1,000 coconut seedlings on Lagos coastline to rebuild the Atlantic green walls, an initiative of the Rotary Club of Eko Atlantic in partnership with LASCODA. He said about 180 kilometres from Ibeju-Lekki to Badagry, Seme border, would be rebuilt under the partnership and that the collaboration was to further promote sustainable coconut production, utilisation and…
By Bolanle Bolawole Last week, we highlighted certain cankerworms that have eaten very deep into the fabrics of the Nigerian society and which the in-coming Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration must address head-on and overcome if he is to succeed where the outgoing administration of retired Major-General Muhammadu Buhari has failed woefully. We mentioned crude oil theft: According to the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Nigeria lost 619.7million barrels of crude oil valued at N16.25 trillion ($46.16 billion), between 2009 and 2020. A 13-member Senate ad-hoc committee set up to investigate crude oil theft and consequent damage to the…
By Oludele Taiwo Ecotutu, a startup accelerating off-grid solutions, has launched a 20-metric tonne solar-powered cold chain infrastructure in the Mile 12 Market, Lagos in order to reduce food loss and tackle the nation’s post-harvest losses. Founder and Chief Executive of Ecotutu, Babajide Oluwase, while speaking at the launch, said Ecotutu’s investment in tackling post-harvest losses in the fruits and vegetable value chain is critical to Nigeria’s future, stating that the startup is also providing jobs for women and youths employed at each cold room facility deployed. He disclosed that Ecotutu plans to deploy the same technology across major markets…
By Oludele Taiwo Poultry farmers, under the aegis of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), have called on the Federal Government to re-introduce the school feeding programme so as to absolve some of the eggs and chicken meat from farmers to ease their pain. The farmers, while addressing newsmen in Ibadan through its South West Chairman, Rev. Gideon Oluleye, stated that policies such as naira redesign and increment in interest rate have affected the industry negatively. “We want the Federal Government, as a matter of urgency, to resuscitate the school feeding programme as eggs and chicken meat form the major…
By Sodiq Lawal In an effort to make food systems more sustainable, the Federal Government has begun arrangements to establish Internet access at farm settlements in Nigeria. The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, disclosed this in Abuja during the inauguration of a 20-man steering committee on state implementation of the food systems transformation pathway in Nigeria. According to the minister, priority actions include disseminating information about weather patterns and soil properties, and best practices for crops, livestock, aquaculture, and poultry production. It also include states establishing farm settlements/estates with all basic amenities, including Internet, to…
By Omolola Pedro An appeal has been made to the Federal Government to support veterinary doctors in their efforts to control Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs). This call was made by the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Dr. Musa Mohammed, on behalf of all veterinary doctors in the country. Mohammed, while giving the charge during an interview session with journalists in Abuja, said TADs are highly contagious diseases that had the potential to spread rapidly across borders, causing serious socio-economic damage. He stated that TADs can disrupt or hinder domestic production, sales and international trade of livestock and their products. “Any…
By Omolola Pedro The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), has called on researchers to submit applications for internship roles. The application is open to undergraduates, graduates, and early career researchers in the Philippines, and it is to be implemented nationwide. For students, it is envisioned that this programme will enable them develop skill-sets related to their chosen areas of specialisation by further equipping them to enter the workforce, enable them finish their theses, and help them build networks as they begin their journeys into the professional world. For early career professionals and researchers, this programme hopes to enhance specific skill…
By Omolola Pedro To continue to protect the livelihood of underprivileged and vulnerable farmers, the Oyo State government, through the state’s Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) and its Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (N-CARES) project, has commenced the distribution of farm assets to farmers and Youth Entrepreneurship and Agribusiness Project (YEAP) trainees across the 33 local government areas of the state. The state government has set up the state N-CARES project with the aim to facilitate the recovery of local economic activity for affected farmers in the state, as part of efforts to protect the livelihoods and enhance…
