V"-Rg'Yard, FRJOI\Y. JULY 2~ 20"
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BUSINESS/ AGRICULTURE esBia_
I(ebbi govt distributes 26,000 tonnes of fertiliser to farmers ~ E Kebbi Go\'ernment ha.~ re .1 ceived and di~tribllted 26.000 tonne.'! of ferti'i~e r to fijnllen in the state fnr th e 20 11 farming 'q'a.~nn. Al haji Umar AlielO, the General Man;1ger. Kebbi State Agricultura l Supply Company (KASCOM), told the News "gency of Nigeri!!. (NAN) in Dimin Kcbbi that effo rts were on to dell\'er the commod ity 10 all th e ward~ in the council areas at ~lIb!idlsed r.lI~, He $;tid th~ t state and local go\'ernment committees had bee n sel up to ensult: smooth and equitable distri bution o f the eommndity to fanners. irTe~recth'e of political or otherdirrcn::nces, Aliem added that governm en t had also purchased secdling~ worth N6,5 million for distribut ion to fannen. He appealed to farmc:~ to muimise the opportunity of variOll~ ag rieol· tunll research fi ndings to boocnl then yields and food production. NAN repons that Go" Slldu D:U:lngari had launched the .,.,Ie of the commodity. wllh a bag be:ing sold nt N I.700.
Fertilizers p i!ckllged (o r sales if llhe No l ore ferlJlI"er (ndory' in Onne, RII'er Slifle
$20million factory set to reposition Nigerian soyabean sector ByJI MO J-l BABATUNDE WWI ogency reports
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S20million factory tha tv.'il l
l-Atalt'! delivery of locally pro· duced soybeans at th e end of this yea r 's hMVest, tlJld open up new marketing oPIX'rtunities for Nig eriM1 !oybean fat mer:; h as been established. The 75,000 metric tons processing capacity lactory located in Ahuja will create additional s la· ble and sustainable demand lor '<oybetU\ III tlll e 01 Africa's major prod UCCIlI, Kat'm;) Foods pl ans to source 100':'. of lis soybean demand 10· cally, says Dipftk Mircb andani, Chainnan of the firm, ahead of a s takebllider conference on Illybean in Makuldi, Benu e S tate tliliiweek.
"We bOI)f! th at Ihhi Invesrment ",iU helpre posi!i on soybean pro-
duction in Nigeria, and m ore Impcrtw Uy, II will profit the Nigeria n soybean farmer because he now n ot only hM options to sell his products, but also can p lant wi UI asense of security and the Msu ran ce that his produce has a committed buyer," h e adds. To meet !he company's soybean de mand, Kann a Foods and researchen from the International Institute -of nopical Agriculture unde r the n opical Legume n project an d the Univ enlty 01 Ag · riculture Makurdi will b e backs lopping 14I1I'lers In Benue state wi th best ptactices In soybean production , "V'le see Benue farme rs as key s takeholders in thb project because the state plays a leading role In soybean p roduction," says: Mirchandant . The compwly, the biggest soy· bean lacto r.,- in Sub Saharatl AIrica outside of South Africa, will be creating tens ol lhousands of
jobs along the soybean value chain, which lAiU help reduce th e
level 01 unemployment in Nige r. la In line with President Goodluck Jonathan'. trandonnational agenda. Dr. Alpha Kamara, IITA Systems Agronomist. says the emerg en ce of Ka nn a Foods wi ll go a long way in inc re asing soybean production ill northern Nigeria with 1'1 res ultant Inc rease In farnu~I'S ' in come. He explains that IITAand part. n en are a lready p romoting soybean produ ction through the provision 01 high yielding Improved varieties, creating a waren ess, promoting s ustai n abl e seed pro-
duction systems (community seed schemesJ an d strengthe ning the ca paci ties of seed companies to packltge a.nd sell improved seeds. O~ctibed as a 'miracle bean' or 'golden bean' because of it'S cheap protei n . ri ch grain, soybean produ ction in Nigeria h ll.:ll been sty· mied by unfa vora ble ma r ket whic h often times results to cy. clical g lu t'S, Dr. Lucky O moigui , Moleculat GeneticisVPlant Breeder Itl th e University of Agriculture Makur· di, says the new partnershi p be· tween research and indus try wi ll
create sustainable demand a nd suppl y lot the commodity, and make the fa nne rs proud he n ce they now have a very large and committed buyer who is u~lIch · In g out to them. Over the yealS, !ITA has ma de substanti al elfolts to im prove th e plOductivity of the crop by devel· oping high yielding, early m ll tu r· ing varieties capable 01 nodulating in ass ociation wi th local Ihi:tobill., a nd possessing other good II.gronotnic traits, The in s titute has also d eveloped and re leased rust resis tant soybean,
Firm commissions 22,000 metric tons fish feed plant BYTAYE OBATERU RAND Cereals Umlled, J os hll!'l commissioned a 22,000 me hic tons pe r annum lish leed plan t built with a half a bllUon n ai ra loan secured under t h e Comm ercia l Ag riculture C re dit Scheme (C ACS ) of Central Bank of N igeria (CB N), C hairman of the company, Mr. Bode Emmanuel disclosed thillat th e commissioning of the plant which WitS pe rl o r m e d b y Governor Jonah J ang of Plateltu State. H e said tbe project was In response to th e challenges faced by fish farme rs in thecolmtry who hitherto depended on expensive and sometimes s ubstandard Imported fi s h brands a dd ing, ~ thb plant is II. testimony II I great success that can be achieved when government and the private sector co-operate to tac kl e thf' country 's d evel opment challenges, " Emmanuel urg ed Nigerians 10 lap into the huge potentials In the
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aq u ac ulture sector of th e economy 10 benefit ',0m the blue revolution that a qu l'lc ullUtl! lepresents, While r e_affi rm i ng Ih e commitment 01 the company 10 remain a major player In Ihe economy 01 Plateau State, he urged both the Federal and slate govemmen15 to lind an enduring s olu tion 10 the e thno. rellgi ous crisis in the state. Acrordi ng to him, Mauthorities must find a way to susta1n the peace that the stale h as been enjoying in the last tluee months to attract more priva te sector partldpatio n In the economy of Ule stale," G roup Managing Olrector of UAC 01 Nlgerllt pic, of Vo! hich G ra nd Cereals Umi l e d is a s ubs i dia ry, Mr Larry Etlah urged Ule Federal Government to urge ntly fornmlate poUdes that would make agriculture a major contribut o r 10 th e co untry's G ross Domestic:: Product. He said: " to unlock the potential 01the sector an d ensure
rapid t ra n s formation of the country, we a ppeal to the Federal Governm e nt to urgently match p ronouncem e n ts with d eli ve ry regarding the sorry state of om na tion's infrll!'ltructure. ~
Kogi govt purchases 5,000 implements for mechanised farming il E Kogi Gover nm e.n t ha~ purchase.d more th ftn !i,OUO a.uorted farming Implcment~ fo r distribut ion to farmers in the 21 local govern men t arelS In Ihe state to enhance mrcnantsed farming Gov, Ibrahim Id ris. who made tI.., an nou ncement on Tu uday ..... hite inallguraling ":moos projeclJ eucuta! by th e Okenc Local Government Area.. ~id time had come (or f!!.nners to do away with oMolete farming tool~. He said the quality alld qll;ullity of agricultural produce In \hestate had failed to improve o\'er the years due to the dependence of mnU rural farmers on the lr.Idilional and omelete
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manualtoo l ~, I dri~ prolfllsed that the ch3liengeof low yields by farmel'll would $OOIl be: a thing of lhe past in the ~Iate, He commended the people of the Cttotr.lll sen:uorial Dimict for their m il.~ i \'e votes forthe pop during the 135t gellCr.lll elt'Ctilln. and uf8a! them to rcpeat the support in the forthcoming go,'emor~h ifl election, Speakin!! at a reception orgam=l for members represen tin g the Central Senatorial District in the National and 5tate AMembiies, the governor urga! th e legislators to e nsure qual itat ive represe ntation and attract dne lopmeo1 to the area..
Workers miJting fertili ze rs forapplicafJ on In Ihe farm 01 one olllle Zimbabwean form e~ in Sholl go, K....,of'O slole