Agri-Times: Saturday, 10th July, 2021

Here are agricultural news headlines making the rounds today Saturday, 10th July, 2021:

House faults federal government report on Kebbi farmers’ registration: The House of Representatives, on Thursday, faulted the Federal Government over the number of farmers said to have been registered in Kebbi State under the ongoing nationwide registration. The House urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to send enumerators to Kebbi State for the purpose of registering the farmers and mandated its Committee on Agricultural Production and Services to inspect the data center, where the registration of farmers is being undertaken.

House: Federal government should convoke confab on falling naira, inflation, food crisis: The House of Representatives, on Thursday, urged the Federal government to “convoke a Special Economic Roundtable” to proffer holistic and workable solutions to falling naira and rising inflation in Nigeria. The House also urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to come up with urgent emergency plans to expand the economy, especially in the areas of entrepreneurial and agricultural training. The House further urged the Federal Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Investments to deploy intervention strategies to ameliorate the current economic situation and checkmate the food crisis in the country.

Ogun assembly passes anti-open grazing bill: The Ogun House of Assembly on Thursday passed a bill to regulate animal grazing and the establishment of cattle ranches in designated grazing areas in the state. Ganiyu Oyedeji (Ifo 11), the sponsor of the bill, presented the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry during plenary in Abeokuta. Mr Oyedeji moved the motion for the adoption of the report, seconded by Sola Adams (Ijebu East) and supported by the whole House. A section of the bill prescribed a three-year jail term without an option of fine including the forfeiture of the herds of cattle or livestock under his/her control to the state government except within the permitted ranches.

Enforcing food safety rules in urban markets: Africa’s rapidly-growing cities and food markets with a turnover of up to $250 billion yearly offer an opportunity for consumers. But for consumers to take advantage of the huge opportunity, there is a need for improved urban food systems governance, and food safety regulations and enforcement. According to the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Africa suffers from the highest per capita rate of foodborne illnesses in the world. It added that food products sold in formal marketplaces and retail outlets are not safer than those sold in informal markets. “Improvements in urban food safety will require intentioned investments in domestic market infrastructure and improved awareness of the shared responsibility to provide safe food by regulators and value chain actors.” One of those who have expressed concerned about the standards of food safety in urban markets is  the founder, Safe Food and Feed Foundation, Prof Dele Fapohunda said.

Global food prices fall for the first time in 12 months: Global food commodity prices fell in June for the first time in 12 months, led by vegetable oils, cereals, and dairy, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has said. The index tracks the international prices of the most commonly traded food commodities. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 124.6 points in June 2021, down 2.5 per cent from May, but still 33.9 per cent higher than its level in the same period last year. “The decline in June marked the first drop in the Index following twelve consecutive monthly increases,” it said. “The drop in June reflected declines in the prices of vegetable oils, cereals and, to a lesser degree, dairy prices, which more than offset generally higher meat and sugar quotations.”

 

Maize, soybean yields to increase as agric institutes collaborate: The Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), Premier Agribusiness Academy (PAA) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) are collaborating to build farmers’ capacity on maize, soybean production to boost the production of these grains. The institutions have identified the shortage of maize and soybean – the two most important inputs in poultry feed as the main issue crippling the Nigerian poultry industry. Eustace Iyayi, a professor and the registrar/CEO, Nigeria Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), while addressing stakeholders during a collaborative meeting held with PAA and IITA in Ibadan, Oyo State recently said, the unavailability of quality and affordable livestock feeds to farmers can be attributed to the shortfall in the local production of maize and soybean in the country. According to him, it became imperative for NIAS to pay attention to livestock feed production to avoid shortages, unprofitability, and indebtedness of farmers especially those still struggling to remain in business. He pointed out that the solution to this lingering scarcity and the high price of maize and soybean was to increase local production through farmer participation.

These and more on our next bulletin.