The government and people of Niger State are working to flag off an intense campaign for the mass cultivation of Jathropha trees in the region. To this end, the state government has set up a five-man committee of commissioners to advise government on the role to play in the regional workshop scheduled for Minna, next month.

Governor of Niger State, Muazu Babangida Aliyu, who set up the committee, directed the panel to mobilize farmers in the state to go into mass cultivation of the plant because of its economic value. He said that establishment of a Jatropha refinery in Northern Nigeria would be the answer to the region’s economic problems because the refinery will be able to produce diesel while its by-products would also fetch for the region unlimited funds.



The planning committee took time out to pay a sensitization visit to Emir of Minna Dr Umar Farouq and that of Suleja Malam Awal Ibrahim. The two monarchs assured the committee that their emirates will join in the mass cultivation of the plant. Dr Umar Farouq Bahago directed all the districts and village heads in the emirate to cultivate at least one hectare of the plant while Malam Awal Ibrahim pledged a minimum of ten hectares. They also said they will sponsor some farmers in the emirates to workshop so that they would not be left behind.

Read the full article + photos here: http://agronigeria.com.ng/2014/07/31/niger-state-govt-traditional-rulers-support-mass-cultivation-jathropha/

Source: http://www.agronigeria.com.ng

Nigeria's future millionaires and billionaires will make their money from agriculture. This assertion was made recently by the country's Agriculture Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina while speaking at the first convocation ceremony of the Land Mark University held on the school's main campus in Omu-Aran, Kwara State. Adesina posited that the bulk of these nouveau riche class will be made up of young persons adept at creating jobs for millions and bringing hope to rural communities all across the country.

However, the minister said for this to happen, young persons must begin to find ways to key into the ongoing transformation in the agricultural sector. "Nigeria faces a rapidly ageing farming population” he stated, while placing the average age of the Nigerian farmer at 60 years. The minister further enjoined young people to stop seeing agriculture as a tool for development but as a business. "Presently, Nigeria is said to be losing N1.2 trillion every year to poorly developed and inefficient agricultural sector. These inefficiencies could be eliminated if we have young people who will get into the sector and change the face of how things are done".

Full story & Pics here: http://agronigeria.com.ng/2014/07/30/future-millionaires-billionaires-nigeria-will-come-agriculture-adesina/

Source: http://www.agronigeria.com.ng

Chicken Poultry: Enugu Deputy Governor Faces Impeachment For operating in Govt Quarters



Political henpecking took a more interesting turn yesterday as Deputy Governor of Enugu State got an impeachment notice from lawmakers in the state. 22 out of the 24 members of the Enugu State House of Assembly signed a notice of impeachment against the Deputy Governor for, among other things, contravening the February 2013 resolution which prohibits the “main maintenance and operation of a commercial livestock and poultry farms within residential neighborhoods in Enugu Metropolis in promotion of public health standards’.

The lawmakers say Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State had on two different occasions directed the Deputy Governor to relocate the commercial poultry farm out of the premises of his official residential quarters , which is also within the general premises of the Government House Enugu and adjacent to the Governor’s office but his Deputy had ignored both directives.
According to them, the Deputy Governor insisted that he would not relocate his commercial poultry farm from the premises of his official residential quarters, an act which they described as “discourteous” and in “utter disregard of the office of the governor”.....

Read the full article here: http://agronigeria.com.ng/2014/07/23/chicken-poultryenugu-deputy-governor-faces-impeachment-operating-govt-quarters/

Source: http://www.agronigeria.com.ng

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Speaking at the Finance for Agriculture Conference held in Kenya recently, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina urged governments to restructure insurance programmes so that farmers can readily gain access to financing from private stakeholders.



Fear of risks by investors was identified as one of the key reasons small holder farmers are not getting access to credit. This risk will be greatly reduced if insurance policies are in place to mitigate them. Several speakers at the conference agreed that insurance would make farmers a better risk for lenders. Yet, a report presented at the event showed premiums charged are too high hence locking out many small holder farmers.

Dr Adesina, therefore, encouraged governments to take the lead in providing subsidized insurance programmes for farmers. “Do not just sit on public money, use it to leverage on private resources,” he told delegates.....

Read full article here http://agronigeria.com.ng/2014/07/22/agri-funding-takes-centre-stage-african-governments-encouraged-subsidise-insurance-smallholder-farmers/

Source http://www.agronigeria.com.ng

Owner of Goro Farms, Alhaji Baidu has said Nigeria will no longer need to import rice in the shortest possible time going by the large production of paddy this harvest season and the doggedness of the present administration in pushing its Rice Transformation Agenda.
Nigeria has heavily relied on imports from Thailand, India, Vietnam and Pakistan to make up for shortfalls in local production in order to meet her ricing needs.



Alhaji Baidu said areas such as Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara, have enough alluvial lands for high capacity production. He said his farm was working on installing two rice mills in Bagodo(Kebbi) and Sokoto where 100 metric tons and 880 metric tons of white rice would be churned out per day. He said this would be the largest mill in Africa when completed.

Presently, Olam Farm Rice Mill holds the record of the largest integrated rice mill in in Africa with the capacity to produce 36,000 metric tonnes of milled rice per annum. However, Alhaji Baidu insists that all small holder farmers need is proper funding. With adequate funding they will be able to invest more heavily on high yield seeds and other inputs which will lead to greater production....

R[b]ead full article here:[/b]http://agronigeria.com.ng/2014/07/22/proposed-2015-rice-import-ban-achievable-baidu/

Source: http://www.agronigeria.com.ng