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Vanguard, roSM" APRIL 5, 2011
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Nigeria partners liTA, World Bank to end food contamination
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1\.. TIGERIA is to collaborate with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and World Bank to stop contamination of food crops by aflatoxins, ITTA said in a press statement iss ued in Lagos on Sunday that the collaboration was necessary to stop the huge volume of agriculture commodities lost annually to contamination by aflatoxins The statement said that the contamination had denied farmers of good income and sources of their livelihood. It said. that a road map to tackle aflatoxins had been drawn by the Commercial Agriculture Development' Program (CADP) that is being suppofted.':· . by the World Ban,k; IITA said that thert;ad' .' . map was being implemente'd in Kano, Kaduna. Enugu, Cross River and Lagos . . states. . ' . ,. "It is a major step by fue govemmeitt towards ensuring food saJety and food " security," it said "The collaboration among Nigeria, IITAo and the World Bank will roll out and make available to farmers a bio-control product called aflasaJe that w ould stop the aflatoxin menace. This is good news to farmers because they now have a solution to the problem. If farmers apply aJlasaJe, they can sell their maize at premium prices and above all guarantee saJety of home-grown food and health of consumers, ,.. , the statement quoted -Mr RanaJ'itBandyopadhyay.,IITAPatholomst, · OME operators In . t h e vanous . ~' . 'Mond'lY ·a ·work-free would have serious theY still want US to lose such on Moni. ' Yo as saying. It said that findings of research ' sectors of the Nigerian economy are impact on the maritime industry, Amiwero Ins!ead of telling people to 'stay back at trials conducted in Kaduna state between counting their los ses follOwing the said the postponement would qeate home again on Monday, why can"t they 2009 and 2010 revealed that farmers who postponement,;f the National Assembly "dislocation aJfect planning in . the merge itwith t!le Presidential election?" he treated their fields with'aflasaJe reduced '. elections . The operators who spoke to maritime industry." He said it was asked the levels of contamination by 80 to 90 . newsmen in Lagos on Saturday alter the regrettable that many people have Mr Eddy Osharenkhoe, ·Presiden t. of per cent. postponement was announced said that the . travelled to their home towns' to vote, while Finance HouseS Association of N igeria, According to the statement, aflatoxins economic los$<!'s might run into billions. . ·others were restricted Mr John Ofobike, said that he could not quantify the loss in and other fungal are contaminants- that Mr Olayiwola Shittu, President ofChairman of Apapa Port Chapter of monetary terms but "it is obvious that the hurt farming and people's health. It said Assodatilih of Nigerian Licensed Customs ANCLA. however. said "there is nothing too economy will suffer some losses" . He, that s tudies had shown that it could lead Agenls (ANLCA). said that the much to sacrifice to have 'I god election," however. appealed to NigerianS to bear with to liver cancer if not checked. IT cited the postponement would cause revenue loss of Ofobike said operators 'at .t he ports were !NEC, streSsing that no aJ!lollIlt of sacrifice ready to accept whatever it would cost the example of Kenya where consumption of at;Out N 20 billion at the seaports, Shiltu was too lI!uch for the country to have free flatoxin-contaminated maize resulted in ,.:stated that " a work-free day in' Nigerian . industry. Mr Olufemi Ajewole, ' National and fair elections. Wnatever the monetary President of Road 'fransport Employers . several deaths of lives poultry and ,'fish, ·· '. ports will cost both the goveminent and cost, it is better to alJowthe elections to h old Association of Nigeria. W<!S skeptical about among others. "In Nigeria maize farmers individuals in the industry huge revenue if we are going to have credible elections, " the elections even holding on Monday. face rejection from the premium food . losses. . he said. - "Is INEC sure that it ·will have the market due to aflatoxin contamination," "It will be a loss of man-hours for us in Dr Mashood Fashola, a Senior Lecturer materials deployed to all parts of the it said. the mantime industry to have Monday as in the Department of Economics at the a work-free day," he said: The ANLCA. country by Monday?, /' he asked I have University of Lagos, said that the costwould President, who is also a House of _ about five million members nationwide AGRIC COMMODITIES be insignificant if we could have fai r ' Representatives candidate on the platform and we lost over N300 .:ru.tJ.i~n today and election on Monday of African Liberation Party, however, said .. no sacrifice was too much to gel it right. This is the more reason why we 'should be determined to vote out the inept people in government and put the right people there A breakdown of the figures showed that BY GODFREYBIVBERE and !his'is one reason for my coming outto . general cargo shipment in ~01 0 increased contest", ShittU said . 8,19p,25 1 metric tonnes of 2009 te . , " 11TH the seeinin~j" improvement in from Chief Isaac Jolapamo, Chain,nan of 9,047,030 metric tonnes reflecting a 10.4% " ".ports operations in·the country, the Indigenous Ship owners Association of . increase .. J-:Iowever a marginal drop of 10% nation's cargo through ·put has increased N igeria .(ISAN), said the nation would lose was recorded in Dr,! Bulk C argo whi,.h to 7.4,!)10,284 metric tonnes in 2010 from reduced 'from 11,98'5,383 metric tonnes in . a lot of things economically as a' result Of 66,908,322 metric tonnes in 2009, indicatthe postponement. Jolapamo, however, 2009 to i 1,858,121 metric tolines in 2010. ing a 12% increaSe. ' .. said" we have to s acrifice in terms of The total Refined Petroleum Shipmen t The above shows that th~ 12 percent in, movement of goods in and out of th~ ports ." was 18,047,842 metric tonp,es in 2010 an crease in cargo through 'put stood at He said that he could not quantify the loss' increase of 3.9% ' over the 2009 figure 01 8,001.962 metric tonnes' in 2010. in monetruyterms;saying that such fig'ures 17,365,247 metric tons. :.A statement signed by' !;;;hief Michael were better obtained from. go~ernment ' Ajayi, Gt;meJ:al Manger in charge of Public The Laden Coni;Uner . throu ghput was agencies that keep records .of revenues. .Affairs arid made aVailabi to Vanguard . 668,6.97 TEU's in 2010 a g'rowili of 8.8% as e Jega wants to do the right .thing, "having against614,538TEU'~ in 2009 while empty showed thattherewas a40 percent increase been given a lot of money. He wants to see ' in the voh.n ne of Liquefied .Natural Gas cont.uner throughput stood at 459,4 7.4 that he does a good job," he said. TEU's an increase of 19.4% over the 2009 (LNG)' sbipment in 2010 ..Whlch stood at Mr Lucky Amiwero, President, National .figure 9f384,915 TEU's,. Vehicle traJfic 19,369,.047 metric tonn'e s, against the Council of M.a naging Directors of Licensed 13,766,855 metric tonnes jigure in 2009. ' 'stoo<\ at 187,635 units, arise of·15.3% over the 2009 figure of 161 ,396 uni ts. Customs Agents, told NAN that d eclaring
Operators count from election postponement
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Nigeria's' cargo volume increases by 12% In 201tj'
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