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dlinJc our governments will remain vinuous for many centuries; as long as they are chiefly agricultural路 ~ Thomas Jefferson
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fGto release N37bn to young farme 's NONIO NOUMANYA he Federal Government W 0 u I d release N 1 billion 10 each of Ihe 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Abuja, to encourage young farmers lacking fund to pursue their vision. Ak.lnwunmi Adesina. mInister of agricu lt u re and rural development, at the ullvelling of YES-O Agrlc Exlenslon Agents and orficlal launching of Growlh Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme Roll-Out of Agricultural Inputs (Fertilizers and Seeds) at Ilora Farm Seldement. 1I0ra In Afljlo Local Government Area of
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Oyo State, polmed OUI that the gesture was part of errorlS of the present administration to boost food production In the country in tandem with the governm e nt's agric u l t u r a l transfonnatlon agenda, helping the growth of the younger ge neration in agric businesses. Adeslna lamenled that Nigeria had los I lIS glo r y due to abandonment of agr i cultu r e, and assured thai the current adminislralion ~Is OUI to halt the trend by aggressive and determined policies that are a t variant with the pasl pra nices, part of which Is the elimlnallon of middlemen in the distribution chai n of farm Inputs, especia ll y fertilizer.路
According to the minister, the country spends an average of N365 million annually on rice imponalion and N635 billion on wheat. Insisting that II is the de termin ation of the present administration 10 change Ihe SlalUS of Nigeria from being a dumping ground for cheap food to that of exporting country as II used to be In Ihe past before Ihe di scovery of 011. He commended the stale governor. Ablola AJlmobl for being among th e fronlline governors partnerlng the FederalGovernment on agricultural transformation agenda, and promised that his ministry would at all II mes be ready 10 give a helping hand as
JUNE 08 - 14 2012 Nlgena Commodity Index
IITA, WACCI sign pact to train plant breeders he Iniernillonil (nstilute of Tropicil Aviru!rure (ilIA) and lhe West Mria Centre bCroplmpt"(JYIlfT"IeflI(WACCI) hrie signed I memonndum of understandins (MoU) lImed II tnlnlnl plant breeders In Africa - I 5lnlegiC IIlOYe to ~ the
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numberofplant~onthe
Under Ihe Isreemenl, WACCl.lcmrreIlIheUni~
ofGtwla. will ROd po5lgnIduate srudenl.llo IITA lor three)'U1"5 10 carry OUI restarch in pllm breeding. Siudenu will have access lolITA bcillties and will be lupervlsed by $CD..ior IITA
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WACCI Ind IITA lee this aI.Iimce as I panacea dUll will Imt the dwindUns number of plant breedealn Africa. 'Ahiam breeden will train on the probletnl fKing African aops wI!h the Mpe Ihu lheywW mnain in Africa; EricDanquah. dlre(:lor of WACCI, laid on Fnday in Ibadan. -We need In AfrIcan approlch to Iddress Africa', food prodUCtivity chaUenges: Ileadded.
()yer lhe years, I delnb of capacity In pWll ~g has hit Africa with the best breedeR ulllning Ibrold but nnet comins back 10 the continenL Breeden on the continent Ire equally gc:nin& ok! and mOSt of them Ire entering retirement Ige. Africa, which desl rel 10
productfvity. To Ioddreu these problems. Africa needs IUdJ: that wW overrome 1hele5lTe55eL Ihls means brftdlng Ieed5 dw will perform wdI and give lmneH better mwm in the rea or lhese chlllienge,; DanqUlh uid, "to get the mlnpower thai will be wle ID do !he wk requires new thin1ina IfId new SlrIlegies: The llIiance with WACCI will boost IITA's role in bulldlnc c:apacity In Africa. III ilS-4.5yun:of existence at Africa's leadIng reRar"Ch panner. more thlll 74,000 people In Ahica and elsewhere hive received training in IJIA. Some of these benendlrie. todlY occupy StrliegiC pashlonl In
Afria.
Kenton Duhlell, deputy
direaor general (PartnCl"5hJps and Capadry Building), mld that
bulIdins capadties of brffiien would help in ensuring food I芦UIity in AlriCL
lie welcomed the llIilnce wllh WACCI. notiog that IITA IIonecannot do it aU. hence,me
need fOf pannenhJpI. WACCI w.. Ulablilhed In 2001 I i I cenne for crop Improvement slmllir to the Africi CeDlte for Crop Improvement (ACCI) I' the UniYoefsIry of KwUulu-Nal.... Both centres rec:eve fundio&: ,up pori (rom Rockefeller Foundllion and the A1l1lnce for Green Revolution in Africa (ACRA). The cenuel recruit
t\a.vt tis own Green ReYolulion.
nudents hom nltlonll
il pllsued by I plethora of problems Indudlng blollc and abiotic Itreues thl' limit
Igricultura..l Iysleml of 15 muntriel aaoss East. Weil, and Southern A&ica.
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much as the stale might requ.est. Ablrnbola Kolade , st ;lI e c ommissioner fo r IIgrlculture , natural re s ources and rural dl!v c: lopment , in his rem.ulcs, disclosed thai a toml uf .41 of the 500 YES 0 cadets under the Agri c ultural Eztension PTol(!ramme were posted to l ocd. 1 government co Jllclls across the state. H e hinted that under th ~ stute agriculture fln l n c lng s c heme , soml! peasant farmers ben e fitted from the 10 1 11 sc heme of the Ap l cultural Credit Cc路 r ;Jo r ati o n and the O}O St .lle Agric ultural Dev e lopment Pro ~ r u mme . add in g th,lt " 2.540 small scale fa, mers would benefit fron Ihe N224 .8 million und !r the scheme."
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