Author: Adewale Kupoluyi
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…
By Omolola Pedro The Lagos State Chapter of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has implored the Federal Government to compensate farmers for the losses and damages incurred as a result of the challenges faced, following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira redesign policy. The Chairman of the Chapter and Southwest Region, Dr. Femi Oke bemoaned the impact of the policy on agriculture and food production, in general. He said compensation like grants, fertilizers, inputs and agricultural tools from the Federal Government is necessary to encourage farmers return to farming, as that would help them meet their 2023 food production…
By Adewale Kupoluyi The agriculture sector in Nigeria has been given a pat in the back for contributing to the nation’s quarterly growth parameters, indicating that the economy has recorded ninth consecutive positive growth despite contractionary monetary policies. The growth in the fourth quarter was primarily driven by the services, manufacturing and agriculture sectors, which contributed 5.69%, 2.83% and 2.05%, respectively. The growth recorded in the service sector was lower when compared to 7.01% in the previous quarter, while manufacturing recovered from -1.91% in the third quarter while agriculture sector recorded higher growth compared to 1.34% achieved in the third quarter. …
