Determined to bring back the glorious days when agriculture was the main stabilizing sector and stay of the defunct Eastern Region and Nigeria as a whole, modalities are on top gear by the Cross River Government to establish Farm Settlements in the state. To this end the state governor, Sen Prof Ben Ayade has set […]
AGRIC
African experts root for organic farming to boost food security
Greater adoption of organic farming by African small-holders is key to tackling the continent’s perennial food insecurity amid climatic shocks and rapid population growth, experts said at a forum in Nairobi on Tuesday. The experts said that organic farming if practiced on a bigger scale across the Sub-Saharan African region could offer solution to declining […]
Nigeria can be agricultural power house in Africa — Adesina
Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the President African Development Bank (AfDB) says Nigeria has all it takes to be “a power house in food and agriculture” on the African continent. Adesina, who said this on the sidelines of the Banks’s Annual Meeting in Malabo, expressed delight that the country had introduced a lot of agricultural initiatives to […]
Ghana considers new rules to enhance its GMO regime
By Joseph Opoku Gakpo Ghana’s parliament is considering new regulations that will help facilitate its safe adoption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The rules, which would ensure the safety of GMO foods and further refine regulatory procedures, received the endorsement of renowned physician Dr. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, who is also Ghana’s Minister for Environment, Science, […]
Agriculture insight: the impact of African swine fever
David Whitten & Janus Handerson A major dislocation has recently occurred in global protein markets in the form of a rapidly spreading disease called African Swine Fever (ASF). The China Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) confirmed its first ASF outbreak in Liaoning Province on 3 August 2018 and since then 130 ASF outbreaks have been […]
Chinese agricultural official picked to lead UN food agency
Qu Dongyu, China’s deputy agricultural minister, was elected Sunday as the new director general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the first person from a Communist country to hold the influential FAO post. The agency’s 194 member countries convened at the FAO headquarters in Rome to choose a successor to José Graziano da Silva […]
Trials underway for saltwater rice strains
China has planted about 300 new strains of saltwater-tolerant rice on 670 hectares of experimental alkali fields in search of resilient, high-yield varieties that can grow on previously unproductive land. Qualified varieties will then be promoted for commercial cultivation nationwide, covering about one-fifth of the 100 million hectares of saltwater soil that is believed to […]
Cross River gets N3 billion rice seedlings order from FG
The industrialization effort of Cross River State governor, Prof. Ben Ayade has started yielding fruits as the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) has placed a N3 billion order for the state to supply rice seedlings to all the states in the southern part […]
Agric tops Ortom’s discussion with Ambassador of Belarus
The Republic of Belarus has promised to support Benue State in expanding the state’s agriculture value chain programmes. Belarus Ambassador to Nigeria, Vyacheslav Bril made the pledge today when he met with Governor Samuel Ortom in Abuja. Mr Bril said his country had decided to collaborate with states such as Benue which have high potential […]
AfDB seeks rice self-sufficiency in rice production through technologies
As at 2014, rice consumption in sub-Saharan Africa was estimated to be approximately 26 million metric tons (MT). Out of this figure, 13 million MT which represents about one-third of what is traded on the world market, came into Africa via imports. Rice consumption in Africa is projected to reach 34.9 million tons by 2025. […]