is DAILY TRUST
24
news report
Wednesday. October 31. 2012
AGBLCUllUBE
Akwa-Ibom diversifies use of cassava to cake, bread By Aminal Isah
the agricultural exhibition sllOw. you will sec that
The govcmnu:nt of Ahalbom stale is tn.ining farmen in Ihe SUit to diverslry from the usc of DSYVlI (or the! miling of gilTrt 10 the production of cake and b rtad which
yidd mo re mo ney. state commissioner fo r agricuhurc. Mr. Godwin Afangwibeh has said.
Sptalting to newsmen at Ihe rn:cntly concluded national agricultural show that look place nellt KdJi in Nuarawa Slate, Afangwibc:h said agriculture remains the m ..jor source of food security and employment for the peopkofNigcria. He said: -Today, agricultu re i.t improving. When you look al the cash crops and other
food crops we hillvc here in the A.Icwa-lbom pavilion at
agriculture is improving. -For cn l1lp~, when the cassan nour cake lind its br~d products arc taken to lhc mallett (or " It, Ihey yield more money and adds value to the agricultunJ products rather than $dUng garri. Gusava cake should be packaged when taken to the market (Of $lIe, this is wh at I'm rcfC'trlng to as thC' V1Iue addition on agricultural products. Ind famleT! 5h ould make provisions for that. "'Abuja discusses agrlcu lturC' transformation agmda and thai Is what AltlQ-lbom is also doing. By doing this. It will enable the people nol 10 only make good salC'S but to also process and plckagC' (adlilies,so thC'rtwin no t be (ood scardty again:- hesaid.
FG, farmers tackle quelea birds in Kaduna From Maryam Ahmadu-Suka, Kaduna The menace of insects and birds Ihat InvadC' and destroy crop'" ha\'t' been identirtcd as the rmjor problC'm being facC'd by fannC'1'3 (rom northern Slates. the effect of \o."hich is gld to be militating against thC' farmen C'fforts in ensuring mass production offood and cash crops. A workshop organiud for faTll1Cn in !Caduna by Ihe FtdC'raJ Ministry of Agricultw-e in collaboration with I nongovemmC'ntaJ organization (NGO), Yomend Nigeria U mitC'd' has sought for synC'rgy and ~tion among corporatC' organizations and individuals to wagt war against hungu and food shortages whkh rmy rault from hlivoc caused to fanns by quelea
birds and other des tructive pests in the North-wesl 'lOlIe. The Di~tor GenC'f'a.l. Fcdtta.I. Ministry of Agricuhurt and Rural Dcvdopment, Dr. Joseph NyagC'r. said though thC' cost of pests control was very high. gOVf'rnmenl had no option than to fight and eliminate farms destructive agents, adding thaI various statC'S In Nigeria wt:rC' affected by thC' I'C'CC'tlt flood that washed away farmlands in the COlJntry. but farmen in 12 northC'rn states indudingSokoto, bmW.. Kebbi. Katsina. Jlgawa. Kana, Adamawa. Taraba. Bauchi, Gombe. 8orno and Yobe. may be at the mercy of migratory pests such H quelea bird. Ioc:usu. grasshoppC'fS. tsetse fiies and armyworm.. N~wbowureprescnted by
Mrs.. F\orC'nceOm inonwi gid. "II
is mort so when ope'rationsal'e 10 ~dooe from thC' air. theprd'erred method, but gmttnment canoot look dsewhC'TC when havoc ls being done to farms by ~ts. We therefOrt wdcOJTl(: synt'rgy. coopcraHon and collaboration In this war against hunger. food shortagC's aDd consequC'nt social insecurityA communiqut! issued at the end of the two路day worluhop urgC'd that the annual control of QueJea birds as advocated from practical field expt'ricncC' should be observed lwlce while noting thatthC' ab$enc~ ncgligence of a comp rehensive crop protection prog ramme is capable of derailing the cnvisaged success of the Agricult ual Transfonnation Agenda in thefrontlinestatesand the whole nltion.
VC tasks youths on agric business Fro m Alozil! Ogbo nn a, Umuah la The Vice Chancdlor of Michael Okpara Unh'CT!ity of AgrkultrC' Umudikc has taskC'd unemployed youths in thccounlry toembracC' agro business as it remains a ,'CrilablC' source ofjob and 'A-ea.lth creat\on in the country. ProrHillary Edeoga. who made this observation a l a S路day Agric business C'IltreprtnC'urial skill workshop for reliring officcn of Ihc institution.gid it is thedeslre of the institution H a spC"CiaJiud university to USC' facilities and C'Xptrtise available-to thc benC'llt of the country through providing relevant community service to th~ir catchment al ta. ThC' Vice Chancellor Opined th lt iIS a specialized institution
thC'y would continuC' to ImpaCi skills forthC' unemployed youths. .ddins. "We ha~ kcrro Into the agricultural transformational agenda of the r~!'rlI.I ministry of agricultural and arC' poised to complement their noblt efforts in all ramificatIOns."
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We have keyed into the agricultural transformational agenda of the federal ministry of agricultural and are poised to complement their noble efforts in all ramifications
Bio-sciences will boost ood production - Commissif) 1 From Eyo Charles. ( alabar Efforu to incrC'a.5C': agricultural production in the third world has nol succeeded due to no n -application of modern bio-sckntlfic methods by fannC'rs, C ross River State Commiuloner for Agr iculture and Natural Resourccs.Mr. lames Aniyom hasu.id. Speaking to journalists in Calabar, Aniyom gid food s芦urity in dtvdoping nations has bC'comc a worrisome concern, making the people vulne.rabl~ as a result.
H e said in spite o f g lob al concern to arrest hunger and poverty, developi ng n al lom in particular have bC'cn wo rst hit by th c ph eno menal ri ~ in hunger and ma lnu t rition. But h e added, - In fact, accord ing to aperls. 80 percent of all m al n o uris h ed c h ildren In t he developing nations live in cou nt ries that h ave reported food surpluses.A Itributing the reason for the increasing hunger to "pervasivC' nature o f poverty in rural communit ies,"
Anlyo m stressed tha t to ensurC' Inc reased agr icult ural yldds a.n d food security: tbert issmous need for African farmers to be taught scienUfK planting. This systemic and sdenl ilic approach will help integrate the development of human capilal and InfrastruClurt, adding. -This wouJd invol~ Increasing our rural fumen: accC'5S to critical credits and sciC'nlific inputs that would increase thclt productivity a.nd also ensure that they ha\~ enough to purchase othC'r ba.o;ic nccC'5Sities ofUfe."