Author: Adewale Kupoluyi

By Adewale Kupoluyi The commissioning of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, Lagos Rice Mill at Imota, the 18.75km Eleko-Epe rigid pavement six-lane expressway, the first phase of the Blue Light Rail from Mile 2 to Marina, and the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History is a key factor in driving development in Lagos State. With infrastructure remaining a critical driver of growth and development, the Lekki Deep Sea Port, Nigeria’s largest seaport with a draught of 16.5m, is expected to support trade and commerce in Nigeria and the entire West African region. The 32-metric tonnes per hour Lagos…

By Omolola Pedro The Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said that modernising the livestock sector is key to resolving herder-farmer conflict, which threatens Nigeria’s political stability and food security. Ganduje made this known while inaugurating the 27-man committee on National Conference on Livestock Reforms and Mitigation or Associated Conflict in Nigeria in Abuja. He said, “It is an established fact that modernising the livestock sector is key to resolving the herder-farmer conflict, which threatens Nigeria’s political stability and food security”. The governor recalled that Nigeria’s latest plan for curbing herder-farmer conflict is still facing obstacles, particularly political…

By Sodiq Lawal The ancient cities of Ile-Ife and Modakeke, Osun State have recorded their first rainfall in the year following a downpour in some areas of the towns. The rain, which started at about 4:35 pm in some areas, lasted between 20 and 30 minutes in some areas such as campus gate, Ede Road, Mayfair, Lagere, Alapata, Ondo Road, among others. The rain was heavy in some areas and fell without storm and thunder and there was no report of any destruction of property. Mrs. Bisi Olayemi, who resides at the Igbotapa area of Ile-Ife, described the rainfall as…

As fuel scarcity continues, the agriculture sector is seriously affected because the prices of food items in the country have skyrocketed as a result of an increase in transport fares in the country. Although, there has been an increase in the prices of almost every other good and services in the country for some time now, the fuel crisis has worsened the situation despite promises by the government to put an end to the scarcity. Checks in some markets and food selling points in Osun State, Abuja, Lagos State and other states by FarmingFarmerFarms show that there had been a…

By Omolola Pedro Stakeholders in Ogun State have issued a note of warning to farmers in the region against the practice of bush burning. The warning is coming after the recent fire incident that razed farm plantations, which resulted into losses running into millions of naira. The recent incident destroyed a 10-hectare oil palm plantation around Onipepeye, along the Abeokuta-Siun-Sagamu expressway, Ogun State. FarmingFarmersFarms gathered that the farm, owned by a former Nigerian Ambassador to Zambia/Malawi, and one-time Commissioner for Women Affairs in Ogun State, Mrs. Folake Marcus-Bello suffered losses running into several millions of naira, as over 500 palm…

By Sodiq Lawal The cash withdrawal limits, which took effect from January 2023, may affect food production, stakeholders in the agricultural industry have said. Food inflation in Africa’s biggest economy surged to a 17-year high last year on the back of the fallout of the Russia-Ukraine war and the floods that ravaged many parts of the country. According to Africanfarmer Mogaji, the Chief Executive of X-Ray Farms Consulting, “The rural economy is 100 per cent cash dependent because there are limited banks, Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), and the banks are very far”. He described the…

By Adewale Kupoluyi The Board of Trustees of International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), have appointed Prof. Appolinaire Djikeng as Director-General of ILRI and CGIAR Senior Director of Livestock-Based Systems. In a statement, signed by David Aronson and made available to FarmingFarmersFarms, Prof. Djikeng is a globally-recognised expert in developing multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, and global research and development programmes focused on agricultural development, livestock development, and human health. He would take over the role from Dr. Shirley Tarawali, who is currently interim Director-General at ILRI. Dr. Tarawali assumed the lead from Dr. Jimmy…

The Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), a non-governmental organisation with focus on empowering small-scale farmers recently provided 225,000 farmers with farm inputs to improve their productivity and overall livelihoods across 10 states in Northern Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory. The empowerment is part of the Integrated Community-led Scale-up (ICON2) Project, which is expected to provide employment and employability opportunities for youths in the agricultural sector. The 225,000 young project partners are part of the 675,000 partners planned to be reached by the ICON2 Project over a period of three years, starting from 2023. After the third year of empowerment,…

By Omolola Pedro The Farm Inputs Support Services Department (FISSD), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has vowed to clampdown on companies and individuals who adulterate fertilizers such that companies and individuals that adulterate fertilizers are to risk a 10 year jail term. FarmingFarmersFarms reports that this piece of information was given during a one-day Capacity Building of Fertilizer Quality Control Inspectors across the 36 states of Nigeria, held at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The capacity building with the theme, ‘Zonal Sensitisation Training Workshop for Fertilizer Quality Control Inspectors and other Relevant Stakeholders’, had its focus on the…

The Osun State Government has announced the immediate lifting of suspension on forestry consultants and permits across the state. The governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke had, in earlier directed a suspension and review of some permits including, plantation or forest reserve concession allocation permit; sawmill permit and renewal; flinch sawn evacuation permit; timber and logs permit; hammering permit or release permit; motor-saw permit; forest reserve access permit and Tungya farming system allocation permit. In a new development, the governor, through his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, noted that the lifting of the suspension was sequel to an ongoing review of the state’s internal…