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Criminalise proliferation, use of harmful fertilisers, Agriculturist urges government

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By Gistflash

June 17, 2021

Nigeria should criminalise the proliferation and use of harmful fertilisers on crops, an agriculturist, Mr Ismail Olawale, said in Lagos on Thursday.

Olawale is a Fellow of the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Service (NAERLS).

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He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that declaring the proliferation of harmful fertilisers as a criminal offence was one way to stop the menace.

He said regulatory bodies in charge of fertilisers must go the extra mile to address the application of harmful fertilisers owing to its danger to human health.

“There are regulatory bodies, protocols and laws that should stop the proliferation and application of fake and harmful fertiliser on crops by farmers.

“The dedication to the operationalisation of these laws is what we should question. We should also question the commitment of farmers to grow crops with less harmful products.

“To check the proliferation of harmful fertilisers and their subsequent application on crops, there should be rigorous monitoring and apprehension. People should be made to face the law.

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“Proliferation of harmful fertilisers should not be viewed as a civil offence but as a criminal offence because the accumulation of these chemically-laden fertilisers is harmful to human health in long run.

“Offenders should be made to face the law when caught applying harmful fertilisers or chemicals to boost crop growth,’’ he said.

Olawale also urged farmers to desist from applying harmful fertilisers and substances on crops in their quest for extra profit.

According to him, farmers should be made to understand that applying harmful chemical/fertilisers to boost crop growth is ultimately harmful to human health.

“To address the application of harmful fertilisers on crop borders on dedication, trust and the fear of the understanding that these substances are harmful to human health.

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“There are mischievous regulators, farmers, and marketers who in a bid to make extra profit allow the proliferation and application of harmful fertilisers on crops.

“Even when some farmers are made aware of the dangerous contents of some fertilisers by the manufacturers, the farmers still insist on their quest for high crop version irrespective of their contents.

“Some farmers believe so much in the philosophy of high yield without minding the consequences on the final consumers,’’ Olawale said.

NAN

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Agriculture

Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State

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By Gistflash News

Sept 13, 2021

Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State on Monday advocated home-grown solutions to Africa’s food security challenges.
The governor made the call while receiving management of WACOT and a deligation from Ivory Coast on a courtesy visit in Government House, Birnin Kebbi.
Bagudu observed that the Chairman, WACOT, Alhaji Faruq Gumel, who led the delegation, had recently led other delegations including the Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria, and American Ambassador to Nigeria, among others.
“All these visits were in an effort for Nigeria to create home-grown solutions to problems that are both Nigerian and African.
“I have been here for the past six years when all these things have been taking place and if there is one person that can be credited as the engine room of all the policies that led to the achievements today is Mr Faruq Gumel.
“We have been talking about solving Nigeria’s problems, but you can’t solve Nigeria’s problems without solving West Africa’s problems and you can’t solve West Africa’s problems without solving Africa’s problems,” he explained.
The governor said Africa as a continent “is” smaller in population than two countries of the world.
Bagudu stressed that: “It is enough message for all of us that we should complement rather than compete with each other for the betterment of all.
“So, Nigerian Government under President Muhammadu Buhari has recognised that we shouldn’t have a policy for Nigeria that excludes others.
“We should have a policy for Nigeria that brings others to do the same, so that we can all do better together.
“We once had a rice festival six, seven months ago here in Kebbi and there was a delegation from Benin Republic led by the Foreign Minister and five other dignitaries, and we spoke about what we can do together to boost our domestic production, cooperate with each other so that we can do better.”
Bagudu said subsequently, when President Basoom of Niger Republic was sworn-in, he approached Nigeria with the same mission, adding that Buhari had reciprocated by responding favourably.
Earlier, the Chairman, WACOT, Alhaji Faruq Gumel, reiterated that the programmes introduced were meant to achieve Nigeria’s solution to Nigetia’s problems.
He noted with satisfaction that in the last five years, the company had been able to solve quite a few of the nation’s food security challenges, promising that the firm would continue to strive to actualise such dreams.
“What is pleasing is, as we are trying to do our own programmes locally, people outside Nigeria are watching us and taking notice of what we are doing.
“It is very pleasing when people come to commend you, to see what you have done and to seek guidance, support or advice on how to implement their own,” he noted.
On his part, Mr Yeboua Koffi, Special Adviser to Prime Minister of Ivory Coast, Moctar Chafi, said Nigeria “is blessed by God based on what I have seen in our visit.
“Nigeria is blessed with smart people coming from different tribes, religions and ethnic groups all striving to achieve a common goal of success.
“It is evident that Nigeria will become the richest nation in Africa.
“To be honest, Nigeria in its brain power should not limit itself to Nigeria, it should export its style of doing business to the rest of ECOWAS countries and perhaps call it United State of Nigeria or United States of West Africa,” he suggested.
NAN

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Agriculture

NASRDA harps on space technology for precision agriculture

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By Gistflash News

Sept 13, 2021

The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA)  says it is engaging space science technology to boost agricultural products for food security in the country.

Dr Rakiya Babamaaji, the Head, Natural Resources Management Division of NASRDA, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

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Babamaaji explained that space science technology could be deployed into agriculture through the application of Geospatial technology that involved Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System application.

She said that geospatial technology could be used to map and monitor the location of natural resources, take inventory of vegetation and for smart agriculture and water resources management among others.

She further said the Agency had in May, commenced a Space-Based Smart Agriculture for Food Security in Nigeria.

Babamaaji said that the programme was in line with government’s mandate to ensure food security and enable the country achieve Sustainable Development Goal Two, aimed at ending hunger and increasing availability of food.

“We are trying to use space technology in agriculture and we have a programme called Space Base Smart Agriculture for Food Security in Nigeria which will address food availability.

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“Under the programme, there is the Crop Watch project, a platform used to monitor agricultural activities across the country using geospatial technology.

“Under this project, we are going to gather all the spatial data available with restrictions to agriculture, so that farmers can know what is happening in their farms, from the cropping to monitoring the farmland.

“The project will provide the farmers with the climate data, letting them know when to plant, when to apply fertilizer, different soil type in terms of fertility,’’ she said.

“We want to achieve this by engaging farmers on their phones, use of jingles in the radio which could possibly be transmitted in the three major languages and English to reach rural farmers.”

The official said they were working with relevant stakeholders in the country, including the China Academy of Science and China Remote Sensing Centre as technical partners towards achieving the Crop Watch project.

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Babamaaji also said the programme would be addressing the Value Supply Chain, whereby challenges faced by farmers from the beginning of the farming season to harvest time would be reviewed.

“We are trying to look at the challenges that prevent them from achieving maximum production in their farming activities and we have chosen a farm in Kuje and in Nasarawa to start this assessment.’’

Babamaaji, however, decried the dearth of data, funding to support the project and lack of awareness among farmers on the importance of space technology to farming.

She recalled that the management of the agency has been advocating for new and advanced satellites that would aid provision of data and help to plan better towards enhanced precision agriculture.

“Most of the farmers don’t know the importance of using satellite or geospatial technology in agriculture, so there is need for us to create more awareness on that.’’

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She said that the agency was taking seriously the deployment of space science technology in other sectors to advance good governance and the socio-economic development of the nation.

NAN

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Agriculture

VON D-G urges South-East to embrace FG’s Farm Estate Project

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By Gistflash News

Sept 12, 2021

The Director-General, Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has urged the people of South-East, especially Enugu State communities, to embrace the Federal Government’s ongoing nationwide Integrated Farm Estate Project.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Federal Government recently announced that it would establish Integrated Farm Estates across the 109 senatorial districts of the country.

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However, the government’s plan had been faced with mixed feelings, as some people wrongly feel it is an indirect way of reintroducing the controversial Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) project.

Okechukwu, on Sunday, urged the people of the zone and communities in Enugu State in particular to participate fully in the project as it would be community-based and managed by the communities themselves.

He said that the Federal Government’s programme, meant for the 109 Senatorial districts in the country, was a presidential mandate to close bandits’ market, provide employment and food security.

He explained that the appeal had become necessary “because our people are embarrassingly missing billions of naira budgets from the Anchor Borrowers Programme, one of the key projects in the Buhari’s Agrarian Revolution Value Chain”.

The VON boss said: “One with a progressive mind should subscribe to this people-oriented and laudable back-to-land project.

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“It is clearly community-based aimed at generating mass employment, as the creation of employment is the best way to close banditry, kidnappings and terrorism in our land. For an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”.

Okechukwu said that it was regrettable that some people’s past-time has become stock-pilling hatred against the central government as if President Muhammadu Buhari was going to preside over Nigeria for life.

“We should not gloss over the truism that the central government remains the only common shelter, which shelters us all.

“In no distant future, Nigeria will take her destined status as the giant of Africa. Therefore, it is not pragmatic to cut our nose to spite Buhari’s face,” he said.

According to him, South-Easterner should not reject humanitarian projects which ignite employment, close bandits’ market, reduce poverty and provide food security all because of sentiments.

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Okechukwu further said that he was happy that the Executive Secretary of the National Land Development Authority (NALDA), Prince Paul Ikonne, a South-Easterner had clarified the concept of the programme.

According to him, the true position is that the national integrated farm estate is designed to accommodate the youth from that community in order to engage them in the entire agricultural value chain.

“And it depends on what the community is interested in going into, some states are getting into poultry like in the north, in the south like Abia they’re doing fishery and rabbit rearing.

“In Oyo, the people are into rabbit rearing and crop farming and in Ekiti they are opting for crop farming.

“It is not another or anything that has to do with Rural Grazing Area (RUGA); what we have is poultry, fishery, piggery and any farming model of the choice of the community,“ he said.

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