The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Food security

  • Osinbajo meets task force on food security

    Osinbajo meets task force on food security

    Vice  President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday  met behind closed doors with members of the Presidential Task Force on the rising cost of food items in Nigeria.

    The meeting, which took place at the Aguda House, his official residence, was attended by all members of the task force.

    The Federal Executive Council had, on Wednesday, approved the setting up of the task force as part of efforts to enhance affordable food prices across country.

    The task force is mandated to consider  measures that would ensure a steady flow of produce to the market and reverse recent price increases.

    It also has the responsibility of exploring options to promote availability and affordability of food items to Nigerians.

    The task force is expected to submit interim reports on February 8.

    Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Audu Ogbeh; Finance Minister  Kemi Adeosun and Industry, Trade and Development Minister  Okey Enelamah, are members of the task force.

    Other members of the team are Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi; Water Resources Minister  Suleiman Adamu, and Labour & Employment Minister  Chris Ngige.

    Nigeria’s consumer prices rose by 1.1 per cent in December 2016 above November’s 0.8 per cent increase.

    The inflation figure for the period was 18.6 per cent and was the highest since October 2005.

    The National Bureau of Statistics, which issued the data, said the inflation was fuelled by higher prices in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.

     

  • Osun School feeding scheme ‘boost to food security, jobs’

    The Osun State School Feeding scheme has been praised as an important strategy for food and nutrition security.

    Special Adviser, Zone A Affairs, Niger State, Alhaji Aliyu Takuma, stated this during a visit  to the state   andTUNS Farms Nigeria Limited, a poultry firm.

    He said the Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme (O-MEALS), formerly Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP), had  brought  the much-needed change to youth/child empowerment.

    According to him, the programme offers guidance on how to design and implement large-scale sustainable school feeding that meets standards.

    Takuma said: “We thought that the programme is just the feeding of school children but today we have been exposed to the reality that the home-grown school feeding programme is a right step towards the change needed in youth empowerment which Osun State has been able to identify.”

    Takuma said if the programme was implemented across the country, it would transform the poultry industry and enable it to achieve its potential as a major source of revenue and employment creator.

    The Assistant General Manager, Admin, Research and Development, Mr. Taofeek Badmus, expressed gratitude to  Governor Rauf Aregbesola, for implementing the programme,  calling  on other governors to adopt it to enhance  their pupils’ nutrition  and  cognitive skills  while improving their academic performance.

    He reiterated the determination of TUNS Farm to make the programme a success and to assist other states interested in starting similar programmes.

    The Programme Officer, School Feeding Programme, Mrs. Ayoola Olubunmi, described the relationship with TUNS Farms as pleasant. She lauded the impact of the programme on the state, which include pupils’enrolment, job creation and women empowerment.

    “The programme, O-MEALS, was conceived with the major aim of feeding school children; however, it has helped increase school enrolment by a minimum of 25 per cent  since its commencement while also creating new jobs for the teeming youths in the state and boosting the local economy,” she said.

  • Food security: Integrated farming to the rescue

    Food security: Integrated farming to the rescue

    The University of Ibadan is running a model of integrated rice-fish–poultry–pig farm that will boost food production, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    At the rice-fish-poultry-piggery farm of the University of Ibadan, students master the act of growing rice and animal husbandry in the same place. It is an integrated farm. The fish eat weeds, bugs and molluscs that carry pests; their waste acts as fertiliser while they stir up sediments that release nutrients which help the rice grow.

    The model is unique, involving fish farming, poultry keeping, rice production and piggery.  The pond meets the needs of the fish as well as enables the rice to be grown on-site,  while complementing the rearing of poultry birds and pigs. There is a small  mill & mix plant housed in the feed store which produce feeds for the unit.  The university ensures that the pigs are fed with  meals to boost their iron sufficiency.

    Zinc oxide is added to the feed to reduce digestive upsets. The complex relies on natural ventilation for cooling. The finisher pens are not slatted, instead the floors are cemented with concrete, with manure swilled off twice daily into muck channels that run down both sides of the house.    A big  part of the business is the fish farm. The large fish pond is stocked with catfish. After harvesting, the catfish are smoked or sold fresh. The complementarity of the system is ensured with the use of rice grain and bran as feed for the poultry.

    On the project, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Prof Bamidele Omitoyin, said the rice planted  in the fish  pond  benefits from nutrients, in fish excreta. In addition, he said the aquatic weeds of rice are reduced due to fish presence.  In turn, he said, the fish benefit from the favourable micro climate created by the rice plants. However, he said rice requires nutrients in the form of inorganic fertilisers, which the fish waste provides whereas fish needs nutrients in organic form. The essence of integrating them, he explained, is to allow the circulation of nutrients in various forms. He said poultry waste from the farm is recycled into the fish pond. The droppings of poultry birds, he added, are used to fertilise the pond.

    To achieve this, he said the chicken waste from the poultry unit, built near the pond, is washed down through the delivery channel as organic fertiliser for the growing of rice. This, he added, helps farmers to avoid spending money in buying chemical fertiliser.The ponds also receive pig dungs. This waste, he explained, acts as excellent pond fertiliser and raises the biological productivity of the pond and consequently increases fish production and boost rice growth. To help the process, the pigsties are constructed in such a way that the washings are drained to the pond through a delivery channel. Omitoyin said the project could be started on one acre of land. According to him, would-be fish farmers will be taught to integrate rice with fish, poultry or piggery to increase production of yields. This model would help farmers realise so much profit from their investment than running a simple fish farm.

    The integrated system, Omitoyin noted, provides benefits that each component by itself would not be able to achieve, creating more than the sum of its parts.

    He explained that under normal conditions the expected harvest is rice and fish.  With this system, he added that the farmer  is   not  provided with a single product, such as rice, but a range of integrated products including fish, poultry and pig. At present, the farm serves as a rice-based integrated farming system model that other farmers can replicate. The project occupies an expansive area.

    Farmers, students and researchers say it is a model integrated fish farm with rice grown inside a fish pond. It has been attracting local and international tourists, who come to see a demonstration farm where fish bred and integrated with some agricultural products such as rice, pigs and poultry to optimise yields.   He said rice-fish cultivation is a viable  business  and the university is determined  to promote the adoption of the system among  farmers to improve food security on small, subsistence family farms and encourage efficient and effective use of water.

    Because of the success of the project, the university has invited stakeholders and farmers to come and see the demonstration farm. The farm is used to train extension officers, farmers and students on aquaculture. Agriculture and fisheries students also go to the farm for school attachment.

    Omitoyin noted, however, that space, labour and capital must be integrated and properly utilised for optimum farm output. He stated that fisheries and aquaculture are a big source of income, adding that there are lots of business opportunities in fish farming.

    The project signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP-Nigeria) on fingerlings multiplication and dissemination of the integrated fish farming across 12 states in Nigeria.

  • Faking food security

    Faking food security

    By Pagemark Africa

    Maintaining food security remains a significant challenge for governments worldwide. In general, there is less food and more people, with demand outstripping supply. One of the solutions to this problem could be in creating “fake food” or ingredient substitutes. Governments can now look to laboratories to help navigate challenges such as the changing climate, decreasing seeding, soil erosion and reduction in labour forces in rural areas.

    As we know, the majority of the foods consumed today across the world are not 100% real, for decades food ingredients have been substituted for chemicals to meet demand. For instance, when you get a strawberry milkshake, you would expect there to be strawberries and milk in the milkshake, right?  Wrong, in most fast food chains the strawberries would have been substituted by ingredients made up of chemicals . Described by draxe.com, “Fake food is basically something pretending to be something it’s not.” With no known short-term side effects, these foods are sold, regulated and distributed throughout most of the global food outlets and networks. What happens if this process falls into the hands of criminals?

    Fake food and organised crime

    In the context of Africa, it is significantly more serious.  Fake food in this context goes beyond substituting your favourite milkshake ingredients, it reaches into organised crime and fake food moves from well-regulated laboratories, into the hands of criminals. Fake foods pedalled by organised criminal gangs are sold on a regular basis throughout Africa. It is believed drug gangs have moved to counterfeiting food as the penalties are far lower than those for narcotic-related crime.  Africa is becoming the dumping ground for fake foods and according to foodsafetynews.com, there have been instances when frozen expired meats, marked as fresh meat, were sold for consumption.  In South Africa alone, an enormous recall of supermarket products was issued in 2015 after they were found to be coloured with banned dyes.

    As consumers, we shop through well stock shelves and remain food secure. It takes little effort to find our favourite meal. If we had to authenticate each product we purchased over the last month, it would be likely that some products contained ingredients not listed on the packaging and would be considered fake.

    How fake is fake?

    There is specific regulation on food substitution and at all times consumer needs to be made aware of alternative ingredients. The argument lies in the fact that if consumers are aware of the replacement process, it would make the substitution authentic. As consumers we know we are not drinking a real milkshake, we’ve been informed through marketing and advertising.

    What happens when food products are faked without our knowledge? Sold a salmon but eating hake. Fruit displayed as “Made in Ceres” when in reality the fruit is farmed elsewhere and possibly not to the required standards. Recently, eggs were sold as free range but later found to be farmed from steroid filled battery chickens. Organised crime syndicates have developed smart counterfeiting techniques to ensure consumers remain unaware. From exact packaging replication to infiltrating distribution channels, deaths from food counterfeiting in Africa have spiralled. Backyard sellers to high-end retail giants have been a victim of food counterfeiting. The question remains; who is to blame?

    Kyle Parker, MD of Pagemark Africa, an African authentication based company, stresses that food counterfeiting involves all role-players as syndicates may infiltrate the production process anywhere from conception to delivery.

    Is there a solution?

    Currently, there is very little legislation or penalties governing criminal activities around food counterfeiting. As the demand for production increases, criminal organisations will use this opportunity to flood the food market with counterfeited products. The key lies in authenticating the process from beginning to end. At any given point, information on that product would need to be readily available, information such as tampering and theft.

    Consumers need to be made aware that organised crime syndicates are active in the fake food industry. These syndicates use harmful, illegal and chemicals ingredients that could cause disabilities and or death. For further details on fake foods and counterfeiting contact Kyle Parker at kyle@pagemakrafrica.com or visit www.pagemarkafrica.com

     

    Pagemark Africa is the African based supplier of software technologies. With a patent approved authentication technology called Pelta™, Pagemark Africa provides governments and international companies with secure printing solutions, product and document authentication, serialisation solutions, and track and trace software.

  • NYSC and the quest for food security

    Youth obey the clarion call.  Let us lift our nation high. Under the sun or in the rain. With dedication and selflessness, Nigeria is ours, Nigeria we serve”. The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, anthem is still fresh in my memory, 20 years after completing my service to the nation. It is an anthem which every graduate is spiritually and physically committed to in the process of service to the nation.

    The NYSC scheme, a once in a lifetime experience which every young graduate yearns for, was established on May 22, 1973 by Decree 24  to promote unity and develop ethnic ties among youth in their various states of the federation.  The thrills, frills and funfair usually associated with the programme, most especially the orientation part of it, make it enjoyable and inspiring for participating graduates from all parts of the country.

    There have been divergent interests for the scheme among young graduates. While some see it as avenue to explore other people’s culture and tradition outside theirs, others see it as opportunity to recreate, catch fun and make some savings for future use. In fact the desperation of some young graduates concerning NYSC makes one wonders what is actually in it for them. There have been instances where some generate fake call-up letters while some others falsify their age just to be enlisted for the scheme.

    However, away from the glorious and storied past of the scheme, presently the programme is searching for relevance. It has actually deviated from the original purpose and intention it was meant to serve. It is now almost of little or no relevance to the economic aspirations of the country. Of late, the interests of corps members are not adequately protected, as it was in the past. Many public/private businesses enterprises that used to patronize the services of corps members have either closed business or downsized due to insecurity and general state of the nation’s economy.

    Whether the large turnout of fresh graduates are overwhelming or not, facilities for orientation are sometimes inadequate for the population this scheme caters for each year. Political and religious insecurity have equally exposed many corps members to needless death. There have been instances where some states had to send rescue team to bring back their indigenes during political or religious crisis. To this end, many parents have resisted posting of their wards to states on red alert.

    To say the scheme needs an overhaul or speedy review is like citing the obvious. Like most of our national projects, the scheme is fast declining in value and usefulness. It is no longer shocking that the scheme is broke with fund barely sufficient to cater for the young graduates presented for national service. Food/structural facilities, essential for the up keep of corps members are grossly deficient in some orientation camps.

    Against the glorious past of secured primary places of assignment, corps members now struggle with the problem of rejection. In desperate attempt to secure the few available ‘juicy’ placements, many now use personal influence such as letters from well connected ‘powerful’ individuals to secure favourable postings. It is, of course, sad to note that corps members that are to reconstruct and rebuild the nation’s economy are idle with unutilized potentials.

    Massive influence of posting to highly density places like Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and Abuja puts pressure on already saturated associated environment with accommodation problem of corps members, to the detriment of the scheme. So bad is the situation now that some people are calling for outright scrapping of the scheme, arguing that it has outlived its purpose and outgrown its usefulness. Must we then throw away the baby with the bathe water?

    With 923,768km land mass and over 80% of arable land, with less than 40% of its cultivation, tropical climate, lots of rainfall and aquatic splendour, nothing stops Nigeria from being the food basket of entire Africa, if serious attention is given to agriculture. In the years of regional government, Nigeria did not only feed herself from her rich and vast agricultural  interests, but also generated employment as well as earned enough foreign exchange for development of each region. Then, revenue from agriculture produce helped the federating units to develop in their own pace without depending on the centre for any bail out.

    The discovery of oil, however, has turned things upside down for us as the federating units now wholly depend on the centre for bail outs and handouts. Unsurprisingly, young graduates have equally developed job-seeking mentality. The youth that are supposed to drive agriculture with technology and renewed vigour would rather prefer to go job hunting for years, even when it is obvious that the jobs aren’t just there.

    United Nation statistics estimates Nigeria’s population for 2015 to be 178,841,235 with growth rate of 1.94%, making the population182, 307,178 by 2016, all things being equal. Yet, the population, especially of youth, did not reflect on the nation’s agricultural production. We import $4billion worth of rice annually to supplement domestic shortfall, despite the suitability of our land for local rice production. Nigeria tops the list of importing nations, growing other nations’ economy to the detriment of hers. With an annual bill of N1.3trillion, you may wonder where the money spent on importation of food comes from, in view of agricultural potentials of the nation.  Of course, proceeds from crude oil are used to settle the bill.

    Now that the price crude oil price has dropped in the international market coupled with the instability at the Niger Delta, there is dire need to look inward and diversify our economy. The time is the time to move away from a mono-economy. It is high time the government of Nigeria looked at the strength the nation has in her pool of labour, most especially in the manpower being released every year into the National Youth Service Corps programme.

    Each state of the federation has comparative advantage in specific areas of agriculture. The capacity of the various states to boost food production can be enhanced by the NYSC scheme with adequate structure and remuneration for corps members. The power, vigour, dynamism and adventurism of youth, the strength of the youth could be directed towards boosting the agriculture sector to address the twain issues of food security and unemployment.

    The clarion call today is for our nation to rekindle youth’s interest in agriculture. It is a call geared towards making the NYSC scheme become very relevant by transforming into a scheme that enhances food security in the country, thus supporting the growth of the national economy. It is a worthy call.

     

    • Odumade is of the Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

  • Food security in Nigeria

    I travelled two weeks ago to the University of Ilorin for a lecture in their Department of Political Science precisely to Masters Students in International Studies. I could not but notice the immensity of the university’s campus. It stretched beyond what the eyes can see. It reminded me what a former Israeli ambassador to Nigeria told me about the abundance of land in our country most of which lie fallow without being used. He then ruefully said how his country and the Arabs were fighting over little tracts of desert land. He added that if Israel had just Kwara State as its land, it would be able to feed the whole world.This is not an exaggeration after all four percent of the Americans who are farmers produce more than enough food to feed the whole world and to maintain a good price for their produce substantial portion of which yield are routinely destroyed. It is not only the University of Ilorin that has huge land which is hardly utilized; many of our universities are in the same league when it comes to the size of their campuses. I sometimes wonder if our people know that land is wealth. God really loves us in this country that He has endowed us with so much land ranging from mangrove to rain forest; to Savannah and Sahel; each of this zone is suitable for different agriculturaluse.

    Recently housewives in some parts of Nigeria particularly Lagos were crying about how expensive tomatoes and peppers were! And yet our land is crying for cultivation while our youth are riding motorcycles all over the country including in the villages supposedly making a living as motorcycle taxis. The question of food security in our country is assuming significant dimension. The peasant agriculture that we had been depending upon is no longer adequate and we must do something about it. We can begin by challenging all our universities both state and federal universities that have faculties of agriculture to go into commercial agriculture by turning their unused lands into commercial farms. The federal government can afford to endow each university with anything from half a billion to one billion Naira with the proviso that the money is a loan which will be deducted from their normal allocations spread over a period of five years. This way the money will not be misappropriated, misapplied or stolen. The challenge to be given to these universities would be to feed the towns where they are located by providing enough food for the people to buy. If there are a hundred universities that have agricultural faculties and feeding our people, then our country will be secure and we will be self-sufficient in yams, maize, cassava, soybeans, black eyed beans, plantains, millet, sorghum not to talk about peppers, onions,tomatoes and all kinds of fruits that our tropical climate is suitable for. Our universities with faculties of engineering would be challenged to produce appropriate technology to add value to what would be produced by these commercial farms. We will then do away with graduates of agriculture looking for jobs in the banks and engineering graduates riding okada.

    I know some people may say this cannot be done or that it cannot work because it has not be done somewhere before. Why don’t we do it and make it work so that people can come to learn from us for once? Why are we always learning from others without contributing to the quantum of knowledge? What I have suggested here may not fall within the parameters of economic orthodoxy. But who cares. If it works we would be better for it.

    What better time to try all kinds of strategies just to get this country out of dependency on oil and gas and the blackmail we are being subjected to by the insatiable demands of those claiming  the right of ownership to these wasting assets. The only way our country will develop is through industrialization and agriculture. We must be able to add value to our produce. We must not only be able to feed ourselves we must also be able to export our agricultural produce after adding value to them. Land is such a valuable asset. We must not just allow it to lie fallow without exploitation.

    I remember as a child in primary school we had school farms. We grew yams, maize and groundnuts. At Christ School Ado–Ekiti, we had farms growing yams maize and groundnuts and we had young farmers club which even had apiggery. This is why I do not understand why our faculties of agriculture are merely producing theoretical farmers without huge experimental farms to inculcate practical agriculture into the lives of these students. The time to try new ideas hascome. I remember as a young professor in Canada, some of my students were young people living on the farms with their parents and just hungry for education so that they would know what was going on in the world. I have a dream that one day farming will be so lucrative that after a good degree in the humanities, people will go back to the farm to make a living out of mechanized agriculture not the hoe and cutlass  type invented by our great grandfathers centuries ago which we have not improved upon as if we are brain dead.

  • Kano targets food security, higher IGR

    Kano targets food security, higher IGR

    Governor Abdullahi  Ganduje of Kano State has said his administration is investing in agriculture to ensure food security and improve its revenue.

    The governor spoke during the celebration of the state Farmers Day and inauguration of 381 agricultural extension workers and distribution of motorcycles to them at Kadawa, in Garun Mallam Local Government Area.

    “Oil money has dropped, so the best option is for us to focus on agriculture so as to shore up our revenue base to enable us address the development needs of our people.

    “As a leading wheat production state, we have invested substantially in production of the commodity. For instance, the government provides N100 million interest-free loan to wheat farmers, drilled 1,000 tube wells, distributed 5, 000 hand pumps and procured two combined harvesters, clearing, sorting and grading machine, among others, to boost production.”

    Also, Ganduje said moves are on for the improvement of milk and meat production in the state, as two Artificial Animal Insemination centres have already been established and equipped.

    He stated that the new agric extension workers were recruited to build the capacity of farmers, even as the government is encouraging private sector investment across all the agricultural value chains.

    Also in Garun Malam Local Government Area, the governor addressed tomato farmers, whose produce were destroyed by Tuta absoluta referred to as Tomato Ebola in local parlance.

    The governor, who lamented the huge amount of loss incurred by the farmers, said a census of the affected famers is being carried out by the government, while contacts have already been established with two research institutes for the provision of antidotes for the moth.

    Some tomato growers who spoke with the governor, explained that they had incurred more losses than victims of the recent fire outbreak at Sabon Gari market, exacerbating the prevailing harsh living condition in the country   for them.

  • Ambode: Lagos, Kebbi partnership, key to food security

    Ambode: Lagos, Kebbi partnership, key to food security

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently signed with Kebbi State on agricultural commodity value chain was in line with the agenda of the federal government to diversify the economy.

    He said the move will go a long way in ensuring food security and job opportunities for the nation.

    Ambode, who spoke at the Government House in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State during his official visit to the State as part of further steps to cement the agricultural partnership, said he was totally committed to the success of the relationship.

    He assured as it will not only boost the economy of the two states but would increase Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    He said the two states with the agreement, which is the first state-to-state relations in the country, have shown leadership.

    The governor expressed optimism that other states would soon take a cue from the relationship.

    He said: “This relationship is visionary and it is also a pointer to the fact that the two states have decided to openly support the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “The change mantra which President Buhari has been preaching is what this whole relationship is all about that we must look inward.

    “We must start to reintegrate our economy in such a manner that we must not continue to import what we can produce and we must create a value chain where we have comparative advantage to do so.”

    Kebbi state governor Atiku Bagudu described the MoU as an innovative partnership that would lead the way positively for Nigeria.

    He said years of policy distortion had demoralised local producers of rice and other agricultural products from competing with their foreign counterparts.

    He said: “I am glad that we are on track to address such issues and empower our producers to compete globally.

    “Apart from the fact that the collaboration will bring about significant economic growth and create opportunities, it will also bring our people much closer.

    The MoU mainly centres on boosting the production of rice, wheat, ground nut, maize, millet, sorghum, sugar cane and cows, among others.

    There is also arrangement with a Mexican firm, San Carlos Group to expand the Rice Mill at Imota in Lagos from 2.5 metric tonnes per hour to 22.5 metric tonnes per hour with the active participation of the private sector.

  • Agric ministry, firm partner for food security, dairy devt

    Agric ministry, firm partner for food security, dairy devt

    Dairy  giant  Royal  FrieslandCampina  of  the  Netherlands  and  the  Federal  Ministry  of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) have signed pacts to roll out new dairy programmes designed to safeguard food and nutrient security in Nigeria.

    Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Chief Audu Ogbeh and the CEO, FrieslandCampina, Mr. Roelof Joosten, signed a Farmer2Farmer agreement during the minister’s two-day working tour of the Dutch company’s facilities that ended May 27.

    According to Ore Famurewa, Corporate Affairs Director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, “with the Farmer2Farmer programme, FrieslandCampina aims to deploy member dairy farmers to train and advise local dairy farmers on feeding and watering of cattle, calf-rearing, milking hygiene and practice, milking machine maintenance, hoof care, housing and barn design.”

    To ensure training for undergraduates in tertiary Institutions for FC WAMCO’s ongoing Dairy Development Programme (DDP) in Nigeria, the Managing Director of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria, Mr. Rahul Colaco and Dr. Martin C. Th. Scholten, member, Board of Directors of Wageningen University and Research Centre, signed an expression of interest for academic and technical support.

    During the minister’s visit, FrieslandCampina announced its decision to invest N3 billion in its dairy development small holder dairy farmer programme in Nigeria. To step up its current activities, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and FrieslandCampina WAMCO also agreed to renew their MoU on the company’s dairy development programme in June 2016. FrieslandCampina WAMCO intends to provide support to a FMARD subsidiary, Milcopal in Kaduna, under the terms of the revised MoU.

    While in the Netherlands, the minister and his team visited FrieslandCampina and the Dairy Campus in Leeuwarden, FrieslandCampina Innovation and Research Centre in Wageningen and the Vollering Family Farm.

    Ogbeh hailed Friesland Campina for taking the lead in dairy development in Nigeria.

    “We will support pasture development; building of Paddocks as we intend to ensure the Fulani cattle herders settle down.  Over 60,000 hectares of land are already available in 8 States and more are still coming.  It is key to tie up with what FrieslandCampina is doing in Oyo and ensure cattle breeding improvement as well as training and developing skills for artificial insemination of local breeds with the best breed fit to cross breed.  We need the support of FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Wageningen University in the training of trainers in dairy farm management.”

     

  • Lagos goes tough on processing, distribution of unwholesome food

    Lagos goes tough on processing, distribution of unwholesome food

    The Lagos state government has read the riot act over processing and distribution of unwholesome foods and all forms of food poisoning in the state.

    Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Food Security, Mr. Ganiyu Sanni, who spoke at special Lecture/Induction and Awards Presentation organised by Institute of Security at the University of Lagos Main Auditorium, reiterated that the government remain committed towards ensuring food security in the state.

    He said it is necessary to monitor the whole process of food handling and distribution until it gets to the final consumers, while adding that a proposal is already in place to set up Food Marshals Corp that will be positioned in various markets across the state for proper monitoring.

    Okanlawon said the Food Marshal Corps will be trained on food hygiene and handling, and they will work together with the market executives in various markets to inspect food that are brought into the state.

    He disclosed that over the years, government through the Ministry of Agriculture has built a vibrant relationship with the farmers, which made it easy for government to respond fast to any reported issues of agro crises.

    Citing examples of government response to the outbreak of Bird Flu in the state when thousands of birds were depopulated as control measures in some poultries at Ajah, Okanlawon said various reports has reached the office of food security on some processors that engage in the use of unhygienic chemically contained materials to process their products before taking them to the markets without considering the effect of their acts on the consumers of such products.

    He disclosed that some people use carbide to ripen plantains, banana and some other fruits while some processors use formalin to preserve chicken, turkey and beef before getting it to the markets.

    The Special Adviser stated that government is very much aware of all the unhygienic and unwholesome practices stressing that government is not relenting in its efforts to curb food poisoning in the state.

    Soliciting for the support of the residents in the drive at ensuring that they are fed with safe food from farm to the table, Okanlawon implored Lagosians to expose and make formal report of any known food processor and handlers that are suspected of insanitary and unwholesome practices.

    Also speaking at the event, a renowned security expert and chairman of the occasion, Dr. Ona Ekhomu advised the Lagos State government to be more pro-active in the struggle against agro terrorism, he however commended the state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode for establishing the office of Food Security at the most appropriate time.

    The high point of the event was the conferring of the Institute of Security Fellowship Award to the Special Adviser on Food Security, Mr Sanni Okanlawon and 18 Professors and 29 prominent Nigerians.