Agri-Times: Tuesday, 13th July, 2021

 

On Today's Agricultural News Update:

How Kogi APPEALS Is Facilitating Technology Deployment To Assist Rural Farmers: The Agro-processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support Project (APPEALS) is a project targeted at small and medium scale farmers. It was initiated by Nigerian government and implemented with the support of World Bank. It is expected that 35 per cent of the beneficiaries of the project will be women and youths who will be empowered along Rice, Cocoa, Poultry, Cashew, Maize, Ginger, Diary, Wheat, Tomato, Cassava and Aquaculture value chains. In Kogi State, A total of 159 Commodity Interest Groups (CIGs) comprising 61 CIGs for rice, 44 CIGs for cassava and 54 CIGS for cashew were mapped and geo-referenced across 23 clusters in the state. Seven (7) clusters, nine (9) clusters and seven (7) clusters were for rice, cassava and cashew respectively across the state. The Communications Officer of Kogi APPEALS, Ocholi Ikani during a visit to some communities where they (Kogi APPEALS) are empowering farmers, and said APPEALS came on board in Kogi State in October 2018 and ever since then, they try to run with the Mandate of in increasing the agricultural productivity of farmers in kogi State in terms of rice, cashew and Cassava.

Eid-El-Kabir: Oyo Poultry Farmers Told To Rev Up Security Around Farm: POULTRY farmers in Oyo State have been called up to rev up security around their farms particularly during the eid-el-Kabir season. The call was made by the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Oyo State chapter in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan. The statement reads: “This is to bring to our notice that there have been incidences of reported theft in farms across Oyo, Ogbomoso and some areas in Ibadan. “These Robbers were reported to have invaded these farms in the middle of the night with “Micra” cars carting away chicken, feeds and concentrates. “This type of occurrence normally happen only during Christmas and New Year festivities. Surprisingly, this is coming close to Eid-el-Kabir otherwise known as Ileya festival. “We, therefore, strongly advice farmers to upscale the security on their farms as these notorious criminals will stop at nothing to perpetrate their evil acts.” The statement read. The association also advised that farmers should report any suspicious movements around their farms to law enforcement agents for prompt action.

FG Reaffirms Support For Aquaculture In Nigeria: The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment towards improving the aquaculture sub-sector to increase domestic production and reduce the importation of fish into the country. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono made this known during the International Dialogue on the Transformation and Future of Aquatic Food Systems in Nigeria held in Abuja. Nanono explained that his ministry has been pursuing a holistic approach to the development of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sub-Sector through the diversification Programme of President Buhari. He said, ‘’The important role of fish in food and nutrition security cannot be overemphasized, being a good source of protein for a human diet containing essential amino acids required by humans in the right quantities “These are usually lacking in most national staple foods; Fish, therefore, remains a valuable nutritional supplement and a vital candidate for addressing food and nutrition security in Nigeria.” According to Nanono, the development of the nation’s aquaculture sub-sector is highly critical to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

JICA Donates N20m Worth Of Equipment To NASC: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has donated some rice field inspection equipment and outfits worth over N20 million to the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC). Chief Representative, JICA, Nigeria Office, Mr. Nakagawa Takayuki, made the donation recently when he visited the headquarters of NASC in Abuja. Takayuki explained that the donation was done by JICA in view of the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic which has resulted in fall of oil price and decline in the value of Naira in Nigeria. He explained that this ugly development has increased the risk of food insecurity in the country, as the nation continues to import food for domestic consumption. Some of the equipment donated to NASC include 37 units of GPS devices and field inspection outfits such as 85 units of PVC boots, 85 units of safety overall and 85 units of face shield. Takayuki further said the Council would receive 33 sets of paddy quality assessment tools, adding that the tools would arrive Nigeria in early September, 2021. Commenting on the purpose of the equipment, the JICA Chief Representative said “NASC bears important responsibility in rice production, as NASC is the exclusive organization responsible for the inspection and certification of seed breeders.

National Gender Policy On Agriculture Set For Implementation: The National Gender Policy on Agriculture is set to be implemented after the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development convened a workshop that focused on the enactment of the policy’s objectives. The meeting, which was aimed at charting a way forward and accelerating the implementation of the policy, was convened in Abuja. Earlier in April this year, the National Gender Steering Committee saddled with the responsibility of the policy implementation was inaugurated. Speaking at the event, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Ernest Umakhihe, said that the thrust of the workshop hinges on chatting a road map on the roles, responsibilities of stakeholders and timelines for the implementation of the policy. He noted that this will act as a demonstration of the ministry’s commitment towards engendering the agriculture sector adding that the policy equally captured the concerns of people living with disabilities. “The policy legal framework was based on the recommendations of the National Gender Policy under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Protocols and Treaties signed by the Federal Government on gender mainstreaming and the 1999 Nigeria Constitution as amended. “These legal frameworks called for the development of the National Gender Policy on Agriculture to reduce the vulnerabilities of women and enhance food security.

Farmers To Earn About N43 Million From APPEALS Assisted Cassava Project: FARMERS in Ihima Oku Abanyi, Kogi State would be smiling to the bank when they harvest a 43 hectare cassava farm which they cultivated with support from a World Bank implemented project Agro-processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support Project (APPEALS). APPEALS is a project targeted at small and medium scale farmers. It was initiated by Nigerian Government and implemented with the support of the World Bank. It is expected that 35 per cent of the beneficiaries of the project will be women and youths who will be empowered along rice, cocoa, poultry, cashew, maize, ginger, dairy, wheat, tomato, cassava and aquaculture value chains. In Oku Abanyi, Kogi State APPEALS project provided the farmers with farm inputs, trained them on good agronomic practices which is expected to double their yield. The average yield expected is 20 tons per hectare. A ton of cassava is sold for about N50,000 and the farmers cultivated 43 hectares of cassava farm.