SUNDAY PUNCH
Agriculture
NOVEMBER 27 , 2011
Ondo plans Wildlife Park, warns forest encroachers
F1S0N seeks govt support on fishery sub-sector
Q .- . I
. "-"'"
1-
SUNDAY AUORISAO E
O
26
- ,.
- ...... _
'"
TI
~~fnrnen~~~
,..,
from the """'"
Governmenl 10 sustain the rapid growth in the fishery
"'' ' ' ' ' .
forest reserves In the state. Commi5sioner for N<tturaJ Resources, Mr. Lasisi OIuboyo.
The National Presidenl of
FISON, Dr. Abba Abdullah, told the I'k.Ns Agulql of Nigeria in L...agos thai the subsector had been left in the hands of the private sector for
who staled this in an Interview with our oon'eSlX»'den t on Thursday. hOWe\le1, hin ted Ihal tough lime nov. awaited forests fmOO<lChers in the stale', rl!rteIIoIed baltli! 10 flush
too tong.
He 5aJd that the sector had in its little way ronlnbuted 10 the GT0S5 Domestic PrOOud, adding that the government should assist the sub-seclor with incentives. AtxIuIlahi said the governmenl should address the high cost of feeds. lack of modem fishing inputs. \cdc of funds and pirocy 1I1 sea, among others. ~For an economy 10 develop. it mU5t have the right poiky and aD the right goo..oanment support. ~ he said. According to him. the Food and Agriculture Organisation Iw &so initiated the Nigeria Aquaculture Development Plan 10 be spearheaded by the
oul Ulegal timber OJ)l."TlItors. OIuboyo expressed
saHsfaction with Ihe activities
of the various contr3ctOl"5 hAndling projeCtS In Ill! wildlife park at Owe lown , which he lNlid. had natural resources
-From L·R; VIce Chance llo r, NIger De lla Unluerslty, Prof Chris Ikporukpo; VlslUng profeuor to Dubaf Unluersl,y, Prof Andrew Chea ; and Chafmlon , Execullue TraIners LIm ite d, Dr. Ayo Ogun5On, at a leadershIp 'raining programme In Dubal .. ,o n Wednesd ay
and umque em ironme nt capable of making I a tourist
reoognised one of he parks lIS Bird Con5eTVallve Area
Food security: New study sees hope in drought-resistant maize
~ some
U\YI ADELOYE
He 5aJd the E!irds Ufe InternaUonai
Ager cy
had
bi'<b' experts recenlly discaJered is spec:ia1 bird knoum as lbadan Malambe in the reserve He also Sllid an ma1s like AfriCll.n bufallo, ch mpanzee and African eI~.l. among olhmo, had been n ghled in large quanlltics Ius like Ihe
ones in Orno 100est l!SE'rve in Ogun Stale..
Vet doc tors advise NAIC on in surance claim" FEM I MA I(INDE HE
Nigerian
Vet0inal) Medical Association. Ekm State Ch.,pler, has urged thE Ntgerian
AgrkuIlurai Insur.mce Coqxwation to afwc..ys ensure that livestock fertTlErs consult veteriMry dod<m before the corporation aecute ; livestock inwr<ll"lC1' poIiql for :hem. The Chairman 01 NVMA in Ekiti State. Dr. Odunayo Alo. said this dunng II CO'Jrtesy visi t to the branch of NA C in Ado-
Ekili
AIo. in a statement made available to our ccrr ~ent in Ado-Ekill on V.ednesday, said that the rnandalory consultation with v~ dooors by livestock farmET'i would be bmeficiallo the COl'] IOI'ation. Acan-din!l to him, the practice will dmbatlly reduce the cLaims paid tTl NAlC and il wiD also boost food seoJrily
and make
Iivestoc~ farming
arnactive to inlendir'9 fanners.
No said. "The livestock lndusoy has sufferetl huge loss and this has mad! it 10 become a nightmare for any wi5e inveslOl' This tJtm( wiD speD doom for the industv if urgent dectsions are not III ~ by the stakeholders in IN odustry to remedy the siruatiOf •. ~
"",,""'<I
for mot\! support
soon oomplele \I,lork on an int er n ati ona l wildlUe park in Owro. one of its
ha~.
F........
Society of Nigeria
CCESS
A
to
Improved seeds by smallholder farmers is a to prerequisite increased maize production In West Africa. as dimale change hurts yield from tradi tional varieties. says a study by ~archers working under Ihe Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Project. The study authored by many experts noles that improved malle varieties loler",nl of drought are helpIng f",rmers in addressing produchon risks. It called for joint efforts to facilita te the ir ...nder di5.semination across the ~b region. Maize productivity in recent years has been severdy threatened by frequent droughts and irregular rainfalL In West and Central Africa, 35 per cent of the areas where maize is produced is affected by drought. The OTMA Project, a partnership led by the International CenlTe for Maize and Wheat Im provement and IITA. is helping farmers in cushioning the effects of drought by developing and disseminating maize with significantly improved drought tolerance. Tahirou and colleagues found that allhough seed companies that are critical to the dissemination of seeds in West Africa have expanded since 2007 from about 10 fonnal companies 10 more lhan 22 cu rrenlly in the four DTMA countnes (Nigeria. Benin, Meli. and Ghana): their production is still \.I.·en below demand. At a recenl slakeholder
meeting. it was presented that the total production of Improved maile seeds in those coun tries stand3 at about less than 15.000 tonnes While maR than 80,000 Ions are required for Nigeria alone. Presenting the findings to stakeholders at the regional meeting of OTMA partne~ and po!icymakers in Lagos, Ti'lhlrou , who is also IITA Impact Economist, urged govemments in the region to laclcle the challenge of poor irrigation to pave Ihe wi'ly for an aU·year· roufid production of Improved seeds While commending member counlries for adopting fairlJ,' liberal seed laws. he advised the Economic Community o f West African States 10 step up efforts that would see the full implementa tion of the harmoniseci regional seed
varieties. Minister of State for Agnculture and Ru ral Development, Alhaji Bukar lijani. described the meeling as 'timely: He said, ~ I would like to stress again that this
programme, which is an effort to miligate the negative impact of drought on mllize production and Improve dissemination of re1evant improved 5Ubsector developm~nt technology Is most timely~
/ ANIMA LCARE .q
'Invites All Pig Farmers
l
to a
SEMINAR ONI hem PIGe , PRODUCTION Improving Pig Management Practices for better Performance and Profit
~w.
Guest Speaker
He said. ~Th is wiD help countries that are lagging behind. as improved drought. tolerant maiu! varieties will move fr!"ely across the region. ~ Equa1Jy important for governments in the region are to help seed companies gain access to workin!l capitaL ~ IITA Director of Research for Development, Dr. Robert Asiedu. said a vibrant seed seclor wa.3 essential to achieving the DTMA vision - a vision which alms 10 develop varieties lhal would give farmers. at least, one tonne per hectare more maize when drought hits, Improve 3maJIhoider farmer maize productivily by ber.veen 20 and 30 per cent, and reach bell.l:een 30 aond 40 million peopl~ in sub-Sarahan Africa with these new maize
Ambrose Alii Universily Ekpoma other topics to be discussed 1. l a b ora tory screen ing fo r early • Dr Dotun C lade Ie
Prof. Sylvan Oboh (Professor o f Animal Science)
detection and control of diseases in pigs with emphasis on African swine feve r
2. Innovative soluti ons to health and management problems in swine production in Nigeria
loudio" MAKURDt
v"_,, EmpIre $vlte:s. plot 10128
(HNd I.MxIriJcry 5ffl~J
Animal Care Services Konsult ltd
Dr Pe te r Aklntola Mr Chi mere Josep h (DMs1omJ BlIsirtUJ MlfllgeJ'11
Animal Care Services Konsult Ltd Vafe 6th Dec 2011
nlf,e
8th Qee2011
.o.m
9th Dee 2011
lOam
. Oom
by O,vld Mark', bye pus,
M,kurdi
OWERR'
!(Fe c.re.J Mee road opp Olwnond 8i1nk.
ASABA
o..-.m