Author: Olanrewaju Adesina
At least, 100 unemployed youths in Gombe State have been trained by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), under the 2022 Sustainable Agricultural Development Training Scheme in the areas of poultry production, sheep and goat fattening and market gardening. According to the Director of Rural Employment Promotion of NDE, Dr. Mbata Michael, sustainable agriculture would provide profitable farm income, promote environmental stewardship, enhance quality of life for farmers and community members.Michael, who was represented at the occasion by Nkem Ekeamadi, revealed that the training would provide employment, wealth creation and food sufficiency, saying “This programme has been designed to help…
About 300 Nigerian livestock farmers from Osun State have benefited from the Federal Government’s free distribution of goat kids and lambs. In addition, the beneficiaries were given animal feeds and vaccines to enable them take proper care and nurture the animals. This piece of information was given in a statement titled: ‘300 Osun livestock farmers benefit from Federal Government free distribution of goat kids’, signed by the Press Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Segilola Babalola, obtained in Osogbo, capital of the state.According to the Osun State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Adedayo Adewole, beneficiaries of the…
CowScout is a new technology made to anticipate when cows are ready to be bred by monitoring a cow’s movement electronically through a sensor. The technology uses electronic heat detection on cows that can shorten labour, enhance pregnancy rates, reduce days open and lessen the need for hormone therapies. The innovation helps to optimise fertility and feeding management for cows. It also detects changes in the eating and rumination behaviour of herds and measures moments of activity and inactivity, which helps in indicating potential health problems while the alert function notifies if the cow is having eating or health issues,…
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has commenced a nationwide 2022 free mass vaccination campaign against trans-boundary animal diseases (TADs) in the North West zone of Nigeria. The exercise was held at Maigatari Local Government Area, Jigawa State, a border town, as part of Federal Government’s policy to contain livestock diseases and achieve herd immunity for prevention and possible eradication. The targeted diseases include contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, (CBPPV), foot and mouth disease (FMDV), Pest Des Petits Ruminants (PPRV) and Newcastle disease (ND).The minister, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Muhammad Abubakar, said the gesture would be…
A new development has been introduced to agricultural production as Croptune uses innovative technology for monitoring nutrient deficiencies in the field that provides immediate fertilisation recommendations for various agricultural crops via smart-phone. Croptune is a simple, easy-to-use decision support application to reduce costs for farmers while improving the tagging of nutrient deficiencies and protecting the environment. Haifa’s global distribution network, based on 17 subsidiaries and local agronomists, strive to spread the product across the globe. Croptune is available in the application stores or through Haifa’s distributors at a discounted price, as the current protocols for measuring nutrient deficiencies in the…
The Federal Government has attributed Nigeria’s dominance of Africa’s fertiliser space to the implementation of its policies on domestic production. This is because the country has about 70 fertiliser blending plants with combined capacity for over three million metric tons of NPK fertiliser across the country and production is expected to go up as more private individuals are investing in the industry. Until the advent of the presidential fertiliser initiative (PFI) policy, most of the blending plants were down to less than 10, as some states like Kano have up to 12, Kaduna has more than seven plants, according to…
Three farmers in Cross River State have won awards from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for prompt repayment of Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) loans, just as another farmer, Mrs. Henrietta Godfrey won the Best Farmer of the Year 2021 award. Mr. Udoh Augustine won the first runner-up, while Mrs. Glory Ekong won the second runner-up. The awards, which came in the form of cash and certificates to the best farmers, were awarded by the CBN for their ability to utilise their loans.The apex bank said the awards were to serve as incentives for implementing the scheme and…
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation increased to 15.92 per cent (Year on year) in March 2022, compared to 18.17 per cent in March 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said. This is the highest level that inflation had attained since October 2021, when it was recorded at 15.99 per cent before dropping to 15.40 per cent in November, 15.63 per cent in December, 15.60 per cent in January and 15.70 per cent February. Month-on-month, the headline index increased by 0.11 per cent to 1.74 per cent in March when compared to 1.63 per cent in…
