DAILY T RUST
19
Tuesday, June 28, 20 11
Business/ Agric
Promoting food security through ~, nima l traction
PI(-TINA HAC;C;AN
ByTIOaA. HiMiII'I
FOOD secu rity is ~ dlaIlmgt' that nations across tht
globe are struggling to conlain and this has raised concern becJusc of the alarming intml5e$ in the prices of food items d\lC' to food short nges and growing poverty. To buttress the significance ofthc need to ensurt food security in the world especially in poorer nat ions, the Food and AgricultunU Organization (FAO) ~an a whistle blowing campaign to fight hUIlF whkh it projected would be affecting
one billion people globally. On its part, the Federal Government of Nigeria crealro the National Programme for Food Security O....f f
(NPFS) 10 strmgthcn and
work toWaJds ensuring that Nigeria is food s~ed. AnimallIaCtion is one of the many inilialh"CS adopted by the NPFS in empowering rurnl [anum across the country to impl'lJ'.'t tMir farm )icld and ~ emdency and productiVity on the fann by using cows to perform functioas similar 10 a tractOf. Animall.r.l:Clion isa special technique that im-olvt:5 tile use of cows.. Work bulls an used for agricultural. pr0duction such as ridge mak· ing. ploughing. transporta· tion of farm produce and fetching water amcongolhers.. Theanimal traction com· ponent oonsistsoftwo young bulls.a h~~, a ridgerand a cart that arc usually tied to tl~ shoulders and fleck of
the work bulls to po{onn the \'arioos tasks. Abubakar Gagjyo is the chalrman of a group of farmen under the NPFS progrunme in Amshi Zabi.~ dunmatakudkurn of lakusko Local Govemmenl. Yobc State, who said farmers thai bmditni from the ani ~ mal traction package usc it to carry out different farm activities. According to him, a ramleT who used 10 produce 20 bags of grains using the
old formoffarmingcan now produce about 50 bags in addlUon to using thecart for transporting flR'\vood and farm produce from tlle f2JTl1 and to also fetch and 1Rns. portwater. Adamu Aud; is a farmtt in Oabarau Madubi Local GO\~mmmt Area of Kana State who has a1so benefitr<! from this component. According to him, he was abletogeta loanofN l75,OOO from the NI'FS which covered thecostoftheVo'Olkbulls,car1.
Vet council approves new oath of office 8y nna A. Hassan
THE Veterinary Coun~1I
of tliSC:Ti o. (VOl)
h,, ~
approved a new oath of ortice that would hence· fo rth be applied on new membecs that would be sworn in as veterinary prac· titioner,The new oath laid mo~ emphaSiS on the roles of the vete rinary doctors in animal welfare in line with global best practices. Speaking at a press briefing on the 101 th Regular Council Meeting which held in Abuja, President or the council, Professor
Gabriel Ogundipe said the new oath t akeslnt oconsid ~ eration Olher aspt'(:ts of the 1',.,. ... lin'~ Ih~1 we re nol cov· err:d by the previous one. lie said the council would undertake a direct registration of 129 veterinary doctors and also take steps to review the N igc~ rian ,·eteOnary drug for~ mulary in the six geopoliti cal UlIles of the counlry to meet present rnJities and ad\-ancement as well as appoin t officel"$ to man the six offices. lI.'leanwhile, the- VCN has appointed Dr. Avong lI.Iarku511S Acting Regislrar
of tile Council pending the appointment of a substantive registrar. Dr. Markus i ~ taking over from Dr. DaniellJarba Maddo who is to proceed on leave afte r serving the Council for about right yea rs. Under his leadership as registra r, the VeN com· menced mining pro-grammes In the Postgraduate College of Veterinary Surgeons, produced the first Veterinary Drug For· mulary in 2007 and con· structed a seven·storey headquarters' for theCouncil in Maitam~, Abuja.
harvester and «her aca:sso-rics and thestoryofhls life has since changed. He said ~1111ng5 are ea.,ier for me now on my farm because these cows have hdped me lnake more money. I usemycarttotransport fertil izer, fi~ or crops from the fann 10 the house or anywhere for my neighbours and fcllolV ralTll~ ers and they pay me for thaI. -I also use them to farm, fetch water and do other kinds of work at home so I am very glad that this programme came Into ttistmce for us (the poor · ~e) to bC'nefit from because when I
use thcsc:animili towurk for others, I get about N20, 000 C\'CfY wedt." ~ I use the money I generated 10 take care of my family and their bask oems, build a new houSt', Increase the number of my work bulls and eveTI pay back my loan so I gr.-e than ks to the gov. ernment for this Inl\iatl\'e," hesaid. The NPFS focuses on other aspects of agriculture such as Uvestock fattening. gardening. ogro fOl'C'ltry, health and nutrition ami small scale businessesamong o<h<n. Halima Ibrahim is one
of such small scale business women who aho partiei. paIr<! in the hc:althand num· tiOIlaspectoftheprogramme in Kwadon,GombcStatc.Shc said she is able tocaler for her ramilyand assist her husband Voith some l1C'edsin the home and this is bcaUSt' of lhe small business she has been given flll'Kl tostart. 'nl(' Healtll and Nutrilion fadlilalOf ofthe NI'I:S in Kano Slate, Aisha A. Gambo saidtlleNPFShasmabled the women famler groups package some of their produce SlXh as Moringa planl kaves and handcrafts like tie and d)"~ for saJe in the markets.