Author: Isah Mukhtar

Kogi workers strike: Adeniyi calls for dialogue.

NAN-H-5

Strike

By Aledare Akinwale

Lokoja, Oct. 11, 2017 (NAN) Mr Emmanuel Adeniyi, a former Director in Kogi Ministry of Works, has called for dialogue between the state government and workers, to end ongoing strike by civil servants.

Adeniyi, who spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Wednesday, said it was important for the state government to start a process of dialogue to end the six-weeks-old strike.

According to him, the strike has crippled economic and other activities in the state, stressing that both parties must dialogue so as to resolve all contending issues.

He said that activities of the state government should not be allowed to remain paralysed for long, because of its long term effect on the economy.

Adeniyi also appealed to the labour union to appreciate the predicament of government, so as to arrive at an amicable solution.

The former director said there was no reason why workers should be on strike and urged governments in the country to always give priority to workers salaries, allowances and welfare. (NAN)

WAL/FF/MZA

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Edited by Fela Fashoro/Maharazu Ahmed

Danish company inaugurates free diabetes screening campaign in Lagos

NAN-H-25

Diabetes

By Victor Asije

Lagos, Oct . 10, 2017 (NAN) A Danish company, Novo Nordisk, on Tuesday
inaugurated a Diabetes Campaign for low-income Nigerians to access routine screening, diagnosis and patient follow-up services in
major cities.

The company’s Vice President for Africa and Gulf, Mr Mads Larsen, said at the campaign’s flag-off in Lagos that the free diabetes screening would help manage the disease among Nigerians.
Larsen said that the first phase of the campaign tagged, ‘Base of the Pyramid’ would last for six-month in 18 selected health facilities across Lagos State.

According to him, the campaign is aimed at screening about 82,500 people as well as conducting blood glucose tests for 40,000 high-risk Nigerians.

“Globally, those who live in cities are two to five times more likely to have diabetes.

“In Nigeria six out of 10 people living with diabetes do not know they have it and this can lead to huge healthcare complications.

“We know that one of the ways to improve diagnostic rates is by better integrating diabetes screening in routine general health
services,’’ he said.

According to him, about 1.5 million people are currently living with diabetes, with only four out of 10 diagnosed, while about 20 per cent are receiving care.

The Danish Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr Torben Gettermann, said
that Denmark’s “vibrant and active pharmaceutical industry’’ would
continue to support Nigeria.

Gettermann said that his home government would continue to encourage more Danish companies to collaborate with Nigerian private and public sectors.

“We would continue to open our doors to Nigeria in terms of promoting
bilateral cooperation between our two countries.

“Nigeria is one of the important countries in the world that our government strongly believed in,” he said.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole said that the Federal
Government was working at strengthening initiatives for combating
Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) across the country.

Represented by Dr Adedamola Dada, Chief Medical Director, Federal
Medical Centre, Ebute – Metta, Adewole said that Nigeria needed a multi-sectoral approach to combating diseases in the
country.

Adewole said that his ministry was working on a framework for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in different communities. (NAN)
AVU/WOJ
(Edited by Wale Ojetimi)

Two policemen, naval personnel, 15 othrsbheld for kidnap, robbery in Kogi

NAN-DS-8

Suspects

Lokoja, Oct. 9, 2017 ( NAN) Two serving policemen and a naval personnel were among 18 kidnap and armed robbery suspects paraded before newsmen on Monday by the Kogi State Police Command.

The state police Commissioner , Mr Ali Janga, while parading the suspects in Lokoja, identified the policemen as Cpl Suleiman Isiaka and Cpl Ibrahim James while the naval personnel was Ordinary Seaman Bature Habila of the Western Naval Command.

The trio, along with three other suspects, were arrested on Oct. 5 for attempting to kidnap a five-year-old boy at Ayangba, he said.

He said that the suspects came into Kogi State in a chartered commercial bus driven by one Daniel John who is also in police custody.

Janga said that John was to be paid N100, 000 for his service.

The Commissioner said that suspects were rounded up in their hotel room at Ayangba before they could carry out the kidnap of the boy.

According to Janga, 11 rifles , including four AK-47, three pump action, four pistols, hundreds of magazines and a bus are among the items recovered from the suspects.

Speaking with newsmen, one of the policemen, isiaka  said that he, James and Habila had on Oct. 4 left Bauchi State where they were serving in “Operation Safe Haven” in Tafawa Balewa local government to come for the operation in Ayangba.

Suleiman said that he recruited James and Habila for the business, adding that it was another suspect, Sheu Agba , that contacted him.

Also speaking Sheu Agba , 36, said that he was forced to adopt the kidnap option because he needed N10,000 urgently to treat his stomach ulcer.

Agba said that he approached his cousin, Ukubile Akowe severally for the money but he declined.

He said that he later approached Cpl Isiaka for the money who in the process introduced the idea of kidnapping to him.

Also paraded foralleged kidnapping by the police were duo of Isah Suleiman , a student of College of Education, Ankpa and Musa Mohammed , a businessman.

They were alleged to have kidnapped the Chief Imam of Enabo quarters in Ankpa and collected a ransom of N1 million from his relations.

Suleiman and Mohammed were said to have committed the offence in February this year along with two other who are now at large.

Suleiman admitted committing the offence while Mohammed said he decided to participate in the crime to recoup the N320,000 collected from him by armed robbers on Adogo -Okene Road in December last year.

Mohammed, who claimed to be a dealer in electronics in Ankpa, said that he was travelling to buy electronics when he was robbed.

Also paraded was one Omeke Amaechi, who was arrested on Ogugu – Ette Road on Sept. 30 while escaping with a snatched motorcycle.

Amaechi, who hails from Nssuka, Enugu State, was said to have, along with his senior brother Chijioke Omeke,  on the fateful day snatched the motorcycle from one Yahaya Mohammed who they later killed.

Janga said that all the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded. ( NAN)
KKA/YAZ
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NAN-AE-54

Yam

By Kudirat Musa

Abuja, Oct. 9, 2017 (NAN) An entrepreneur, Mr Yandev Amaabai, has advised the Federal Government to fast-track the transportation of yam tubers to the United States of America and the United Kingdom before their shelf life expiration.

Amaabai, who is the Managing Director of  Wan Nyikwagh Farms Nigeria Limited, made this appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

He said that the Federal Government’s policy on yam exportation was a good initiative, noting that Nigeria was the largest producer of yam tubers in Africa.

According to him, for the policy to achieve its set objectives, there are some challenges that should be addressed by the government to ease the stress of exporting farm produce to other countries.

“I moved my yams from Benue to Lagos on June 25 and June 26; the inauguration  for the yam exportation was on  June 29 by the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh.

“When we got to Lagos, I discovered that we needed a refrigerated  container to export the yams.

“After the inauguration, I was able to get the required container, so my yams were loaded on July 7 and left Nigeria on July 9 to the U.S. but the yams did not get there until Sept. 1.

“After the inauguration , we were left alone without any form of direction or assistance by the government and this did not go down well with us.

“Because movement  within the ports took us more than two to three weeks and to move a container from Tin Can port to Apapa port just a close distance, was hectic for us, ” he said.

According to him, the Federal Government agency saddled with the responsibility to ensure proper packaging and handling of this produce for export lacks the requisite capacity.

“We were asked to cut the bottom of the yams and put wax but when the yams got to the U.S., we discovered that was not necessary. The moment you cut the bottom of the yam, it gets rotten quicker.

“So some of the yams on arriving the U.S. were actually not too good again but most others were good and we sold them out, ” he said.

Reacting to the recent report of poor quality of consignment of yams exported from Nigeria to the US, the exporter  debunked the story, saying that the report was politically motivated to frustrate government’s efforts.

“We did not have any challenge with the American Government; my yams was the first to arrive. It was cleared and delivered in the warehouse.

“There is no way these yams could have been 100 per cent good because of the time wasted to ship them to the U.S.

Amaabai, however, called on the Federal Government to reach out to these shipping lines on the need to fast-track the delivery of such perishable products.

NAN reports that the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), an agency that has the responsibility to ensure the quality of yam for export, provided farmers with guidelines to meet international standards.

Dr Vincent Isegbe, the Coordinating Director, NAQS, spelt out the conditions to include: uniform size of the product, no growth on the head, cut and waxed with candle to prevent infections.

However, a recent report had it that poor quality of yam tubers were exported to the U.S., which the Federal Government  planned  to investigate. (NAN)

ROK/OSA/YEMI

Edited by Shittu Obassa/Yemi Idris-Aduloju 

NAN-AE-1
Starch
By Kudirat Musa
Abuja, Oct. 9, 2017 (NAN) An agro-entrepreneur, Mr Goke Adeyemi, on Monday urged the Federal Government to ban the importation of starch as way encouraging  starch production from cassava in the country.

Adeyemi, who is the Chairman of the Harvest Feed and Agro Processing Limited (HFAP), made the call in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

He underscored the need for the government to protect local starch producing industries from unfair competition from foreign products, saying some companies were importing starch to the detriment of the local industries.

“Nigeria is the leading cassava producer in the world, producing a third more than Brazil and almost doubling the production capacity of Thailand and Indonesia, which is opportunity for us to stop corn starch importation.

“We have enough raw materials to produce edible cassava starch for local use and exportation to earn foreign exchange but government needs to help local producers.

“Cassava has the potential to industrialise Nigeria more than any other product; if the potential is properly harnessed, it is a key instrument for job creation and catalyst for development,’’ he said.

The agro-entrepreneur commended FADAMA III Additional Financing (AF) Programme for its intervention in the country’s agricultural sector and described its partnership with his company as “wonderful”.

“We are into processing cassava into edible starch; we have a wonderful relationship with Osun State FADAMA, which involves the cultivation a 300-hectare cassava farm.

“The FADAMA in Osun State is very organised; they are on top of their game and they supervise their farmers properly. They have also facilitated the interface between the off-takers and farmers very well, we have a seamless relationship,’’ he said.

Adeyemi, however, urged the National Office of FADAMA to increase the size of the farmers’ farmlands because the farms were too small to meet the off-takers’ demand.

“FADAMA should strive to develop commercial farmers; particularly those farmers who can cultivate 10 to 50 hectares of farmlands.

“The arrangement will be beneficial to industrial users like us in HFAP, rather than smallholder farmers that are cultivating less than five hectares.

“All the same, cassava farmers that are cultivating less than five hectares are also good for food market but FADAMA needs to  do more to help both farmers and off-takers,’’ he said.

Adeyemi urged the FADAMA programme to encourage smallholder farmers to adopt the use of equipment such as tractors, harvesters, planters and ploughs, among others, in place of the traditional farm implements such as hoes and cutlasses.

“This is the only way to encourage the youth to become interested in agriculture and engage in mechanised farming.

“We can go into partnership with the FADAMA programme in the area of agricultural equipment but this should not a short-term relationship, it must be a long-time relationship like five years, such that we can recoup our investments.

“We started our engagement with FADAMA sometime in July by off-taking cassava from their farmers, and we are able to solve transportation problem by off-taking directly from their farm, instead of waiting for them to bring their produce to us,’’ he said.

Adeyemi identified the challenges they encountered awhile ago to include the price issue, saying that the price of cassava had started to drop, regardless of the agreed price.

“Even though we agreed on a certain amount, the price we agreed to pay was too high, compared to the current market price.

“We had to do some negotiations again; we reached an agreement and started doing our business together,’’ he explained.

He, however, said that that HFAP had its own cassava farms in Ogun State, adding that his company, nonetheless, patronised FADAMA farmers, while off-taking cassava from other farmers.

“We provided inputs to the farmers and they do the farming and after a year, we buy from them and deduct whatever we had spent on them. However, my challenge is that our farmers still need more education because there is a lot of side-selling taking place.

“I am planning of engaging in in-grower schemes aside from out-growers schemes, which I am doing presently. In this case, I will own the land and will ask farmers to come and cultivate it.

“We will also sign an agreement with the farmers, it will be better for me to control the processes; I will like to work with FADAMA and any other programme or organisation to develop the model. (NAN)
ROK/OSA/OOK
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Edited by Shittu Obassa and Dayo Komolafe

NAN-H-20
Tourism
Lokoja, Oct. 7, 2017 (NAN) The Federal and State Governments have been urged to pay more attention to the development of tourism sector to create jobs for youths in the country.

Retired Rear Adm. Ibrahim Idris, the Walin of Lokoja, made the plea on Saturday in Lokoja, at the maiden edition of the Lokoja Boat Regatta Festival.

Idris said that the sector had been left undeveloped for too long to the detriment of the country’s economic development.

While speaking as the chairman of the occasion, he called for a change of attitude to the sector from the two tiers of government.

According to him, the country has a lot to gain from the tourism sector because of its jobs creation and foreign exchange earning potential.

He said that tourism should be accorded the same attention being given to the agriculture by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to further widen the internally generated revenue base of the country.

Idris commended the Lokoja Forum of Patriots (LFP) for resuscitating the boat regatta festival which he described as the traditional festival of the indigenous people of Lokoja.

Also, Alhaji Shiru Lawal, the Administrator of Lokoja Local Government, said that he had initiated a move with the state government to develop the tourism sites in the council area.

Lawal identified confluence of River Niger and River Benue, Mount Patti, Lord Luggard Resting Place, Iron of Liberty, World War Cenotaph as some of the tourist sites waiting to be developed to standards in Lokoja.

He pledged his total support for the festival, saying the council would ensure that it hold the festival on yearly basis.

Alhaji Idris Babaango, the Chairman, Lokoja Forum of Patriots (LFP), said that the organisation decided to leverage on the traditional festival to further promote unity and understanding among the various ethnic groups.

He also said that it was aimed at projecting the unique position of Lokoja in Nigeria and use its creative resources to attract local and foreign tourists.

Babaango thanked the people for embracing the festival enthusiastically, promising that efforts would be made to sustain and improve upon the subsequent editions.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the festival featured swimming and rowing competitions among seven districts.

Trophies and prizes were distributed to winners by the Roggan of Eggan, Alhaji Alhassan Idris, who was the royal father of the day. (NAN)
KKA/GOK
Edited by Olagoke Olatoye

NAN-HG-3
Awareness
By Talatu Maiwada
Abuja, Oct. 6, 2017 (NAN) The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is stepping up awareness campaign to educate enrollees on their rights, Mr Ayo Osinlu, Head, Media and Public Relations of the agency, has said.

Osinlu said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja on Friday that the step had become necessary following complaints by subscribers that they were denied access to some services.

He said that many enrollees had inadequate knowledge of the services provided by the scheme hence the need to educate them.

Osinlu said services, also known as `benefit package’,  were available to enrollees but noted that because of insufficient funds, not all ailments were covered.

He said the benefits package was categorised under primary,  secondary and tertiary health care.

Primary health services include out-patient care, drugs, maternity care for up to four live births, routine immunisation, child welfare services, family planning services, emergency care, obstetrics and gynaecology, Osinlu said.

He said the secondary and tertiary health care levels catered to all procedures that could not be handled at the primary and secondary levels with referral letter because of the need for specialised investigation.

Osinlu said the secondary and tertiary levels handled surgical procedures and consultation with specialists.

He said such consultants included as physicians, dental surgeons, paediatricians, psychiatrists, orthopaedic surgeons, radiologists, physiotherapists, dental health workers, among others.

Osinlu said exclusion packages were services  not covered by NHIS, adding that such exclusions could be partial or total.

He said in partial exclusion involved high technology investigations in which Health Management Organisations paid 50 per cent of cost while enrollees paid 50 per cent.

Osinlu said such cases included dialysis for acute renal failure, CT scan and life threatening emergencies.

He said total exclusion cases were not in the benefit package.

He listed such cases as occupational and industrial injuries, injuries resulting from natural disaster, epidemics, treatment of congenital abnormalities and  cosmetic surgeries.

Osinlu said enrollees were supposed to pay 10 per cent of the cost of  prescribed drugs, adding that other costs incurred were covered by the capitation fee.

He advised enrollees to be well informed about the benefit packages and give feedbacks to the agency on any challenges encountered while receiving services in facilities under the scheme.

Osinlu said the agency could be contacted on various platforms and call centre lines, including NHIS e-mail: info@nhis.gov.ng, and Website: www.nhis.gov.ng

The call centre lines include 08039796126, 08059015854, 08059282008 and 08065744100. (NAN)
TIM/JCE
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Edited by Chukwudi Ekezie

NAN-AE-2
Food
By Kudirat Musa
Abuja, Oct. 6, 2017 (NAN) The FADAMA III Additional Financing (AF) programme has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Food Programme (WFP) to boost food production and people’s livelihoods in Borno.

A statement by Mr Tunde Oladunjoyelo, World Bank Media Consultant for FADAMA, on Friday in Abuja said that the MoU was signed by Mr Tayo Adewumi, National Coordinator of FADAMA, and Mr Tito Nikodimos, Director Operations of WFP.

Adewumi said that the one-million-dollar pilot project would be executed in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere Local Government Area.

“This was done with the objective of enhancing income generating businesses through provision of start-up capital and skills strengthening.

“We will train vulnerable youth groups and households headed by women to develop and maintain community infrastructure through a cash-for-work arrangement, targeting communities affected by the Boko Haram crisis.

“The project will aim at improving resilience of vulnerable households, with a particular focus on women headed households as well as unemployed rural and peri-urban youth who are exposed to severe food insecurity.

“I believe that the collaboration will also improve the beneficiaries’ access to food and community assets, with a positive impact on food security and nutrition,’’ he said.

Adewumi said that the project would align closely with the evolving policy of the present administration, which focused on arresting the dwindling food situation and supporting the transformation of agriculture in Nigeria.

The statement quoted Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno, as describing the concept as “a process of shared decision-making in which all the parties with a stake in a problem constructively explore their differences and develop a joint strategy for action.

“As we go on to build strong professionals in the field of humanitarian intervention to produce new talents working together, my government will not only encourage, but will also work closely with such partners.

“We will partner with them on excellent ideas about how to better accelerate development and restoration of livelihoods, especial in the local government areas located in the countryside.

“We are optimistic that this partnership will be a powerful alternative to conventional mechanisms and will strongly contribute to the restoration of livelihoods of the conflict affected communities in the state.’’

Dr Tunji Oredipe, the World Bank Task Team Leader for FADAMA, said that the FADAMA III AF programme has positioned itself as a development project which focused on improving the living conditions of the rural populace.

“The FADAMA programme has proved to be a leading and reliable instrument for responding to emergencies in the food sector in Nigeria.

“Currently, the project is responding to the urgent food and livelihood needs of farming households that have been affected by conflicts in the six north-eastern states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi, and Gombe.

“FADAMA is financing the provision of food assistance, advisory and extension services, agricultural inputs and rehabilitation of infrastructure to help restore agriculture production and livelihoods of 24,000 farming households which comprise approximately 192,000 individuals.

“Our strategy is to cooperate with advanced humanitarian organisations like WFP to pilot livelihood restoration response in Maiduguri municipal and Jere local councils.

“We will subsequently use the positive outcomes of this piloting effort to reach out to other affected locations. We have high hopes that this joint effort will enable us to stay in the development forefront in the coming years,’’ he said.

Nikodimos, who is WFP Director of Operations, North East Nigeria, said that the WFP was the largest humanitarian agency, providing food assistance for more than 80 million people worldwide.

He said that the agency was targeting not less than N1.5 million people in the north-eastern part of Nigeria.

Nikodimos said that the agency’s partnership with FADAMA would be beneficial to the target beneficiaries, as it would boost their food security and livelihoods, while ensuring their agricultural and social protection. (NAN)
ROK/OOK
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NAN-H-49
Reorganisation
By Mateen BadruMoses Omorogieva
Lagos, Oct. 5, 2017 (NAN) Lagos State Police Commissioner, CP Edgal Imohimi, is set to overhaul the state crime-fighting machinery with the inauguration of a committee to reorganize Special Anti-Robbery and Anti-Kidnapping and Cultism Squads.
Inaugurating the 11-member committee, Imohimi said that restructuring the crime-fighting units was vital to achieving his goal of reducing criminality to the barest minimum in Lagos State.
“In line with the directives of the Inspector-General of Police that all police investigating units should be restructured to discharge their duties in line with international best practices and standards of policing.
” I hereby constitute a panel to look into the operations of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Lagos State Police Command,” he said.
The police commissioner said that the committee world look into the present and past activities of SARS, Anti-Kidnapping and Anti-Cultism units and recommend ways to make them more efficient and professional.
Imohimi urged the committee to look into all allegations of human rights abuses against officers and men of the units and give recommendations to prevent reoccurrence.
He also requested the body to profile personnel currently posted to the units and determine their suitability to continue in the unit.
“The committee is also to make recommendations and suggestions for immediate training of officers and men of the units on principles and tenets of fundamental human rights and rule of law.
” The recommendations of the committee is aimed at stopping worrisome issues like investigation of civil matters, torture, illegal detentions, safety and custody of exhibits, welfare of suspects and molestation,”he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee which included Oditah Sunday, President, Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria and headed by Mr Samuel Agbebuyi, a retired commissioner of police, has two weeks to submit its report.
Imohimi urged the public to send memoranda to the committee through the secretary’s email bolajislm@yahoo.com,effy3uyah@gmail.com, or through WhatsApp on 08033011644, 08033108820 and 08125151772 or to the nearest Area Commands and Divisional Police Stations.
Responding, Agbebuyi thanked the police command for giving the committee the opportunity to serve and assured that the panel would come up with recommendations worthy of emulation by other states.
Other members of the committee were DCP Bolaji Salami of the State CID as well as ACP Abiodun Alamutu and ACP Olatunji Disu of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) commander.
Others were CSP Effiong Asuquo, CSP Adebola Ojugbele, CSP Sanusi Mohammed (O/C SARS), CSP Anthony Okosun (O/C Anti-Kidnapping), SP Kehinde Johnson-Oni (O/C Anti-Cultism) and Mr Stanley Imhanruor from Femi Falana Chambers. (NAN)
BOMMIOWOJ
(Edited by Wale Ojetimi)

NAN-AE-5
Farm
By Kudirat Musa
Abuja,  Oct. 4, 2017 (NAN) On-farm demonstrations in Ogun State, a project under the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), have produced average yields of 27 tons per hectare surpassing the national average of about eight tons/hectare.

Dr Patience Olorunmaiye, a scientist at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) said this in a statement issued by Mr Godwin Atser, the Communication and Knowledge Exchange Expert on Wednesday in Abuja.

Olorunmaiye said the demonstrations were conducted in 2016 in three senatorial districts of Ogun, using an integrated weed control package developed by IITA-CWMP.

According to her, the Cassava Weed Management Project (CWMP) is being managed by the IITA as a demonstration farm project.

Olorunmaiye said that the yield from the demonstration plots were impressive and a proof of the concept that if farmers adopted improved weed management practices, they would be better off.

The scientist said that the highest yield from the demonstration farms was 32 tons per hectare with 96 per cent of the demonstration farms recording more than 20 tons per hectare.

The statement also quoted Prof. Friday Ekeleme, the Principal Investigator of IITA-CWMP as saying “the results clearly showed that weeds were a major factor limiting the potential of cassava in Africa’’.

“In the last four years, the IITA-CWMP with funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made a bold decision to unravel the puzzle of weeds menace in cassava.

“Working with a coalition of partners including FUNAAB, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, the National Root Crops Research Institute, and extension partners; the team set up trials in the three agro-ecological zones of the country.

“These include the humid forest, derived savannah and the southern guinea savannah.

“These trials led to the selection of safe and environmentally friendly herbicides with other agronomic practices that formed the package that was used in setting up the farms in Ogun and other states of Nigeria.

“Results from the other states are also being compiled for analysis.’’

Ekeleme said the results from Ogun state was a thing of joy not only to the project team, but also to the country at large.

He said the results indicated that the project was achieving one of its major objectives, which was to double the national average yield of cassava, generate wealth, and reduce the burden of weeding in cassava farming systems.

“Grown by over 4.5 million people in Nigeria, cassava is a major staple crop contributing to food security and wealth of the nation.

“Although, Nigeria is a major producer of the root crop accounting for over 54 million tons per annum, average yield per hectare is low with weeds being responsible as a major block.

“Researchers say farmers cannot grow cassava more than they can weed a situation that limits farm size and subject farmers to perpetual penury,’’ he said.

Dr Alfred Dixon, a Director with IITA and Project Leader for IITA-CWMP said the project would help Nigeria change the narrative of cassava production.

He called on the government of Nigeria to partner IITA in scaling up the findings of the project to millions of cassava farmers for national development and poverty reduction. (NAN)

ROK/JIE/EEE
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Edited by Julius Enehikhuere/Ese E. Ekama