SUNDAY PUNCH
56
Agric - Economy
AUGUST 28. 2011
Attackers destroy maize farms in Plateau - N K NOW N pl1rson" believed to be fl!Sponslble lor the 1'e<e"1 spall' of allacks on communities: in Plateau North. have rerorled 10
f.,rms, reports thaI the aUIKkel's might have used cutlasses, sickle. axes and cudgels 10 faillen the farms In the midnight attacks.
de:stfos.'lng millze f~nT15 there. the Nett'S Agency nJ Nigerkl reports A NAN conESpOndenl. who visited some 01 the
uproo4ed. VilllIges
Fruits vegetables high in antioxidant -
worst affected Nyango GyeI in Jos Soulh l.oclIl Government. Bachit In Riyom locnJ GOl.'ernments, as we ll 1'\5 Sho ~nd Fan In Barkin Lad i Loc3f Wen!
the people. ~ It is unbefievZlble Ihal human beings s hould destroy crops; now I do not know how the vi ll agers will feed this year lind next. ~ he said.
Senator Gyang Da.nlong (Plateau Norlh), who condooed some n~n fOUnd tome of the farms. 1.11er told NAN thai 15 farms
were destloyed at Nyango Gyel. fIVe In Bachl!.· whUe 12 were affected in She and
r'Cm MFamine Is Imminenl here this: year: the ultimate aim o f the lIt1ackers Is to deslroy the economy of the Berom nellon and leave the people
help~s
"The attackel5 have made it impossible for people to go to the 'arms. Ihroughoullhis ~'ear, for feal 01 being killed;
now, they are deslroying the crops planted by the lew farmers. " 'ho were bold enough to go to the farms. ~ He delmed lhal many o f the youths already killed were active flum er!. pointing out thol the lIrtacker! seemed 10 haw a pal1ern o f targeting
Nutritionist
nulntlOTllsr. Mt YU'Sul /l.!0U:5, has emphaSised Ihe need ror 11Igh ' coTlsumption 01 lruits and vegetabln because 01 their Inherent O!.ntlo:<ldan t cOll tellt Moses told the News Agency 01 Nigeri3 In JO'J that fruin and l.<egI!tables proled hu ma ns aga ll15t chron1c: dlseilS6. such as CiIonur "nd anaemia. because 01 Ihr:'ll neh conten t in antiolllCla nts.vitam ll15 and other essential nutrients reqUITed by the body, According I') him , antroxidi!lnls he lp 10 fight an d counler 1M hatmful eflects of unstable molecules ill human bodies allied 'free radicals. ' which can cauw "'IUIOUS types of ~ ncers Moses said that resean;h had shou;n that due to tM high l~l 01 anlk)xidanls rn a pples. ealtng one a day would reduce th.: nsk of breast, lung and prO$lale cancer ~I\pples have .,]50 been co nfirmed to improve rflemoty Md leamrng: 11 also has an oJ;nti·ageing en lto)[idant and dow!i down
"""9 MFnrU~
such i'll' oranges, a5tdes berng rich in ViIDmin C , nal.-.!' fotic acid znd fibre ~ foIlC add helps in blood production, while fbTl!' CIeMS tht! intestines and aids it 10 function properly, ~ he laid ~1OHS also adVl!Sed people toconsumt! more wate rmelon as It h ydl'lltes the body and Is rich in rron thai s:renglhens and protects all thlE Oryi'll15 In the Ixxly. "Watelmelon is Disc essen tial fOf mlmSlruaUng, pregnant and lactating women" he ~ iron which in tum results In 3naemla, ~
'" . ~
ClOPS in some of the destroyed farms 1.I.1!1l!
Government. A large scale fannel In Bachit. Chris Dayu. woo spoke: to NAN. described the dewlopment as "5C<1ry," and ailled on the suite and Federal Governments to adopt measures to protect
He suggested inOli!ased con1umption of anots M 11 15 very tich In \litarnln A and betll-GIrolene, whi..h is u5eful In Improvlng Ihe a : Cllracy o f ",iSJon "Carrels pT2Viml eye. related diseMe5 $l.l(:h as cararacts Qnd alsc help ttw herl to funclkln properly and strengthen lho! immune system." he Wild Tht! nutritionISt said tha I vegetables such a i ~inedl, cabbage, cucumbe ·. pumpkfn lellvo commonly known as lIgv, pepper iIInd lo m iltces wele high In anllo::idants, D' well a5 iron and shou ld be consumed ,,'gularl.!
• L-R: Ac t.lng Consul·Genuol , Chinese Emba.s.sy In Nigeria , M,., Zhang Zhe ngxf; Secre:lary 10 Ogu" Stale Gove nlm e n' . Mr. Tllfwo Adeoluroa; and Pns'denl . HaZfln Group Umlled. M,.. JIQ""fllg Wo"g 01 'he Inauguraflon of the /irst phose 0/ Hazan Shoe facio,,},. In Igl.H!sa , Oglln Siale ... orr Friday.
Farmers demand passage of Desertification Bill ARto IERS In Yabe Stare have caned on the Nallonal Aai5embly tohasten the passage of the proposed Desertllication Bill, to curial! the rate of dnett encroachm ent across lhe stll te A farmer in Gashua, A1hajl Aji Jawa. told the
News A.Qf'nqt of Nigeria on Wednesday that it had becomt! <11'1 annui'll ritual lor fDrmm In Madlina. Nguru. BOOe and \usufarl to mlgTtlte to other parts 01 tilt! sla le In search of arable land. He D'ptes'Sed lean; thai the alfectw communities mightfac:e food c.risisas many people were abandoning
Agric trainees want to manage Ebony; hatchery firm OME Ebony! S ti:J le indigenes sponsored by lhe state gD\Iernment at the Sanghal Farms, Benin Republic. have indica ted Interest to maTWJge the siale..owned ha tchery Ilrm. Abakaliki, to enhance ilS productIVity. The News Agency of Myerfo reports that the slate governmen t gave the ITtlinees N2.7m each on return to Ihe country this year, to estab tiSh indiv idu al agrrcu UlIral ventures. The leader of the group, t-lr Peter Chukwudi, said on Wednesday 11, Abakaliki. tha r lhey were concemed about the deplorable condition o f Ihefi rm wWe are appealing 10 the governmen t to allow us manage the firm , especially the proce5sing section, as the level 01 training we underwen t a t th e Sangha! fa r ms llffo rds us the competence to run it. MWe leel it is dishei'lrtening
,
lor such a viable Ilrm to become redundant. in spite of th e huge funds Invested Into it by the state government,"
he said. Chuk\wdi bpl1i!:5Sed confdenc. ihat thq! WQuld be able 10 turn around the fortunes of the firm, if they were aRowed to manage it.
fa rm ing due to the effect of dese rlilic.alion, which made the businm unprolltable MMost of OUI ~'O\lth5. who could not move ou t 01 their domai n, hallt' seliled lor o ther trades like cemmerdai molor cycling. "'The Nationlll Assembly must promulgate a law to ch«k lhe menace of deserti fJCation on the communl1ie:s he said Audu r"uSll. a native of Nguru, who mtgrated to Gujba, said, - , migrated to anothe r place to cultivate n,Hl et and beans because ou r .... nd has been rilNastaled by tiewttificatlon and it is less ptodudM! " He called on repruentaU",es of the state in the ~nonal Assernbiy to M
can",as5 the passage of the bill ~ t o sa~ thei r people ~ Mi'lU l'In Kyatt Mele expressed reglet th e t he had 10 abandon farm ing fOI trading wBur If governmen t can salvage the situation. I wiD go back to harming, ~ Mele
,.;d He urged legisla tor.; Irom the aff«ted sta tes to see the ~ssage 01 the bill as D prio rity for theIr respective consUtue ndes ~ Sen a t or Ahmed LaW<ln and others had in the last d"pensation inilillted the bill bul wt! haw not heard anything lhereafter. "1! will appreciate this bill as a landmark achievement oflhe lawmakers.· ~'an said
the nardlO.·orkill9 you ths in the vUJages. The senator said he was pill tlculMly skoc:ked thai lhe attacks had gone on even wilh the ~ massi'Je ~ security J)l"fWnMI deployed to m.!Ilnlllrn peace in tke slate 1he M!CUrity men are Intelilgen tpermnswhoshouid
be lIb la to detect cn me tmd almlnals, bu t In this case. no one hM been apprehended OVt!r the matS5ive destruction o f li fe, property and, n~' Our fatms." He wondered why the midnight attacks: had persisted for ITIOA! than 10 years wllh M!CUrily ag.mcies incapable of haIling them o r arresting the perpralors, '1'h~ DII3Cks: havol bi>e-n going on U~baled lor 10 yean now; thilt shmrtd not be happening to a IlI\\I abrdlflg people like the Berom, ~ he said Dantong also accused the NatIOnal Emergency t-lanagem.nt Agency of neglect. aUeglng thai the agenq.~ whose zonal offICe was in J05. Md not done anything 10 help tke vkIims o f the attacks: M As It Is, meny of the homeless vlctrms have lefl their homes: it i5 rainy !ell5On and such houses wiU collapse. NEMA s hould minimise the'r suffenng by coming to their aid a5 it had aiW5ys done in o ther places,~ he saki But the NOlA Zonal Coordinator rn Jos.. Oanjuma Ailyu, who responded to the allegation o f neglect. daimed that the 51ate Emergency Managemen l I\gency, hat! not brought the Issue 10 his olHce gSEJo.1A has to Initiate the reqUE'$l for assista.nct' When we receive lhal request we shall act Immedilltely. But "'e ate actually on lop of the , rluallon. ~ he said When contaCied. the SEMA Executive Sem!tary. A1haMan Barde, 5111d he was Mberea\'ed, ~ but lold NI\N that his office was Msliil M worklng on the matter · We are In conl",1 with the leaders 01 lhe affected communflies; \,\Ie shall consrder their plight and 'do something' bul It llIiD not be righ t to SIIy IMt \\'e are not domg anythrng We also haw ou r challenges." he !.aid.
Sylva condemns division among farmers HE BayelSll S tate Governor, l'imipre Syh.oa o f Bayelsa hM decried the rancoUl, w hk h polarised the state chapler of the AU Farmer~ Association 01 Nigeria Sylva m.!Ide the statemenl In Yenagoa on Wednesday w hen he received some members on the South-South Forum o f MAN , He said the disunity lImong la rmers made it difficult fOI government to reach out to th em. "The unfortunate thing In Bayelsa is that the farmets
T
lire disunHed I hear all kind! o f associa tion o f farmer.;, and elleryone Is claiming to be. the a uthentic body o f fanner.; in the state. "Th!s is 0Ilt! of the problems we have. even with lhe disbursement of Ihe N l bo that we have for them , ~ he
""'.
He noted thaI his administra tion recognised the the imporlDnce 01 agriculture ~nd had m/lde il a priority in its dewlo pment agenda. Sylva said he had directed the Comm issioner for Agriculture and Natural Resourus to cohvene a
meeilng of the factions with a view to uniting them According to him , the met!ling wm cleat~ an avenue for the government to intervene '1'1 the CII~ wfth a vieo.o,. to Ol!'i'lling an umbA!11a body that would champion the common cause of aD farmers in the state, The governor emphasised the need lor investment in agriculture se<.lor, noting thai the lood needs of the citizens had no t been me r due to the neglect of the sector, EDrl!et, the chairman of the Forum, Chief Au gustine Okonkwo. tokl the governor
that the Forum was in Yenagoa to In troduce the leade rshipoft heSouth-Sout h Forum of AFAN to him. Okonko,vo appealed to the QOIIt'mOf to auist the chZtptet with an IS·seater minl·bus, engine boat, office acccmmodtr.tion and Include ib member! in rllIP commillee that would disburse the Nlbn agriculture loan. u.uding the adminis tr ation's developmen tal slride5. he used Ihe occaSion to announce the appointment o f Sylva as the grand patron 01 the Forum