Agri-Times: Monday, 12th July, 2021

 

Welcome to today's Agricultural News Update.

Excitement As Kebbi Rice Farmers Harvest Twice A Year: There is joy in the faces of farmers in Kebbi State as most of them can now harvest yields of similar output from both dry and wet seasons. Thousands of farmers who are part of WACOT Rice’s out-grower programme in the state now get the required expertise and support to get good farm yields from both farming seasons. This is contrary to the old practice when these farmers relied only on wet season for their production, which was usually marred by floods.

How Nigeria Loses Billions In Agro Investments: Looking at statistics in any subsector of Nigerian agriculture, it would be very difficult to get reliable industry-specific data that investors and project planners can rely on to make informed and impactful decision. Even at the federal level, the statistics often cited by top officials are those put together by international or multinational agencies; and they are poorly collated and not harmonized. At the state level, the structure for collection of reliable statistics is either absent, weak or manual, making data for planning and tracking development in many sectors difficult. Currently, investors find it difficult to make key decisions because reliable and current data is hard to get; and where there is data, it is usually old, not detailed and mere projections, a situation many experts said was responsible for poor planning and failure of many projects and interventions.

Female Farmers Educated On International Trading: The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), in collaboration with Women Arise Development Humanitarian Initiative (WADHI), have assembled female farmers from South-East and other zones of the country in order to acquaint them on how their produce can be sold to international communities. The women, who converged on the trade fair complex of the Chamber under the banner of ARAHAH market, were joined by their colleagues dealing in other products.

Review Agric Policies To Avert Famine, Don Tells FG: A professor of animal nutrition in the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Adeyemi Bamgbose, has called on the federal government to urgently review all agricultural policies in the country in order to salvage the country from imminent famine. Bamgbose stressed the need for critical evaluation, assessment, impact and output of different agricultural policies aimed at overall improvement and sustainability of agriculture in Nigeria. Bamgbose said this while delivering the 65th inaugural lecture of the university, titled, “Feeds and feedstuffs: Panacea for Declining Commercial Animal Agriculture and Food Insecurity in Nigeria.” According to him, the task ahead of Nigeria’s livestock sub-sector is multifarious and challenging, and success will only be achieved through re-orientation, commitment, dedication, sacrifice, honesty, accountability, adequate funding, motivation and cooperation of all Nigerians in particular and the international community in general.

More on the next bulletin.