Author: Isah Mukhtar

Land

By Kudirat Musa

Abuja, July 10, 2018 (NAN) Climate Adaptation and Agribusiness Support Programme (CASP), has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) on sustainable land management activities in six states.

Mr Abdullahi Surajo, the Communication Officer of IFAD-CASP, made this known via a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

NAN reports that the MoU was signed by CASP National Programme Coordinator, Muhammad Lawal Idah and the ICARDA Director General Aly Abousabaa and it would last till July 31, 2019.

He said that MoU was signed to establish an effective collaboration on Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) and water harvesting adaptation techniques in the rainfed production systems and technology packages.

“ It aimed at supporting sustainable climate resilience agriculture in the seven participating States of Borno, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

“CASP also aims at mainstreaming climate change adaptation measures through a landscape rehabilitation approach focused on sustainable land management, encompassing soil erosion control, water harvesting and soil and water conservation in the CASP areas.”

According to him, demonstration sites will be established to show innovative techniques to mitigate land degradation and to rehabilitate degraded land.

“Communities would be encouraged to implement the landscape rehabilitation interventions that will be identified by means of Participatory Land Use Mapping exercises.

“ICARDA on the other hand has been working and delivering positive results towards sustainable livelihood improvement in dry areas globally.

“CASP and ICARDA will work together in Nigeria to identify and implement location specific, effective and innovative SWC and water harvesting adaptation practices.

“The ICARDA scientists will provide specific guidance and training including support of demonstrations at farmers’ fields,’’ he said.

Surajo added that other key areas to be identified include: development of improved cereals/legumes seeds (dryland and tropical crops), technology packages to improve crop yields and the health and sustainability of farming systems.

“It will also improve increase water use efficiency in agriculture and measures to combat land degradation and desertification.

“CASP is determined to ensure that farmers are provided with the necessary tools, knowledge, and skills to mitigate climate impacts on agriculture.

“We want to make agriculture, climate smart and climate resilient”, he said. (NAN)

ROK/AAB/MZA

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Edited By Adeboye Ajayi/Maharazu Ahmed

Support
By Kudirat Musa
Abuja, July 5, 2018 (NAN) The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, says the Federal Government has been supporting rice farmers with machines at subsidised prices and capacity building in good agronomic practices.

The minister, who was represented by Dr Fahma Aliyu, the Desk Officer of Rice Value Chain in the ministry, said this on Tuesday said at the Rice-Africa’s 6th International Conference on Rice Market and Development in Abuja.

He said that rice was a staple food for over 50 per cent of the world’s population and the most rapidly growing source of food in Africa, adding that its importance to food and nutrition security on the continent could, therefore, not be over-emphasised.

He said that the policies of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had provided the enabling environment for sustainable rice production, while creating synergy among stakeholders, particularly the private sector, to engender rice revolution in the country.

“Our domestic milled rice output now stands at about 6.4 million tonnes, up from about 5.3 million tonnes in 2015.

“The feat was achieved by expanding the areas under rice production, encouraging dry-season rice farming and increasing the average yield per hectare.

“The average rice yield rose to 4 tonnes per hectare in the wet season and 5.5 tonnes per hectare in dry season via irrigation,’’ he added.

Ogbeh said that the government also recognised the need to improve the quality of domestic and home–grown milled rice; hence the sale of over 300 rice mills and destoners to small and medium rice processors across the country.

“Other support given to rice farmers includes the provision of agro-chemicals and machines at subsidised rates as well as capacity building in good agronomic practices and post-harvest handling nationwide.

“Our belief is that Nigeria will not only be self-sufficient in rice production but will also join the rice export market by the turn of 2020,’’ he said.

The minister said that the government was committed and ready to support programmes which were geared toward providing the needed platform for the exchange of existing research information on rice production and linking research with the policy process.

“This is done to strengthen the rice sector and foster equitable integration of small-scale rice enterprises into market-oriented systems,’’ he said.

In his speech, Mr Tayo Adewumi, National Programme Coordinator, FADAMA III Additional Financing (AFII) Programme, said that the programme had cultivated over 124,000 hectares of rice farms, while producing more than one million tonnes of rice.

Adewumi, who was represented by Mr Abdullahi Salisu, FCT Project Coordinator of FADAMA, said that the rice production, which represented 29 per cent of the total rice production of Nigeria in the 2017/2018 cropping season, was achieved with the resources made available under the FADAMA project.

“The funds for FADAMA III (AFII) programme, which total 200 million U.S. dollars, were given by the World Bank to support the production of four staple crops — rice, cassava, tomato and sorghum.

“If we are able to achieve this much in rice production, you can imagine what FADAMA would have been able to achieve in the production of all the four crops if more funds are made available.

“Nigeria spent over N1 billion daily importing rice before 2015; if those statistics stand, you can imagine what we were able to save from rice imports in just a month.

“If you put this amount into system which the FADAMA programme has established, you can imagine the kind of production we will be able to achieve for these crops,’’ he said.

“We need to encourage our local farmers to produce rice with good quality in enough quantities, while developing the rice value chain to make the rice acceptable to consumers and for export,’’ he added. (NAN)
ROK/OOK
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Promotion

By Kola Adeyemi

Lokoja, July 4, 2018 ( NAN) Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Mr Ali Janga, has charged the 106 newly promoted officers of the command to be part of ongoing efforts at providing effective policing in all parts of the state.

The state Police Public Relation Officer, DSP William Aya, in a statement issued in Lokoja on Wednesday, quoted Janga as giving the charge while decorating the officers with their new ranks.

Aya quoted Janga as telling the officers to see their elevation as a challenge to give their best to the nation.

While congratulating the newly promoted officers, the Commissioner said that the promotion was in line with the vision of the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that officers and men of the force were not denied their well-deserved promotion.

Janga said the regular promotion being witnessed in the police force was part of the new initiative of the IGP to enhance the welfare of policemen.

He reiterated the resolve of the command not to allow criminals any room to operate in the state, saying the his men were ready to provide security cover for life and property across the state.

Six Superintendents of Police promoted to the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police and six Deputy Superintendents of Police promoted to the rank of Superintendent of Police were among those decorated at the ceremony.

Twenty-six others, including the state Police Public Relation Officer, William Aya were moved from the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police to Deputy Superintendent of Police, while 68 policemen were promoted from the rank of Inspector to Assistant Superintendent of Police.(NAN)
KKA/SOA

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Edited by Oluwole Sogunle

Produce
By Kudirat Musa
Abuja, July 3, 2018 (NAN) The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) is working hard to end  the European Union’s three-year ban on some Nigeria’s produce before the end of 2018.

Dr Vincent Isegbe, the Coordinating Director, NAQS, dropped the hint in Abuja on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Isegbe said the service and other relevant government agencies were seriously working to prevail on EU to lift the ban as soon as possible.

NAN recalls that the EU in June 2015 suspended some of Nigeria’s food items like beans, sesame seeds, melon seeds, fried fish, meat, and peanut chips amongst others from entering European countries till June 2016.

The EU, however, extended the ban to three years in 2016.

The development took place when two containers of Nigerian goods not yet cleared were intercepted during the suspension.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, the rejected beans were found to contain between 0.03mg per kilogramme to 4.6mg/kg of dichlorvos pesticide.

The acceptable maximum residue limit is 0.01mg/kg and the excess chemical in the products was said to be harmful to health.

Isegbe said NAQS has engaged various stakeholders, suppliers, producers and exporters on how to unban the country’s agricultural produce in the international markets.

‘‘We had a meeting with forwarding and clearing agents in Lagos last month during which we involved critical stakeholders along the value chain to make them see reason that we have to collaborate.

‘‘If the quarantine does its certification and other value chain have to collaborate to give good result; we believe that any mistake is a collective failure.

‘‘These are the linkage we are trying to strengthen to ensure everything is put in perfect place.

‘‘We are working hard and our desire and hope is that at the shortest possible time we will be able to have sufficient things in place.

‘‘The EU is monitoring and watching what we are doing and we will approach them to lift the ban,’’ he said.

He added that NAQS would soon conclude with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council on the inspection of containers.

He explained that no matter the number of times the commodities were inspected, if the container was infected it will definitely contaminate the produce.

According to him, these are the small things we need to sort out and we will plug in any critical hole we identify and then strengthen the system to ensure that we do exactly what we are suppose to do.

‘‘To avoid any occurrence in the future, we have formed associations like exporters, suppliers and growers’ associations which has registered members and each association has self regulatory powers.

‘‘Even before their produce gets to us, they regulate themselves to avoid spoiling their business and it reduces our activities and enables us to reach out to other critical areas.

‘‘Only registered sub-suppliers can supply to suppliers.

‘‘If you are not a registered exporter, quarantine will not approve your commodity for export and each of those steps has rules and regulations that must be obeyed.

‘‘So that before the commodity comes to us, it must be perfect and all we need to do is final inspection and certification and do backward investigation by checking periodically all the value chain.

‘‘If there is any commodity with challenges, we know how to handle it,’’ he said.

NAN reports that the three-year ban will expire in 2019 but quarantine is working hard to ensure the ban is lifted soonest.(NAN)
ROK/MOL/AFA
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Edited by Mustapha Lamidi/Felix Ajide
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Federal University Lokoja expels 13 final year students over exams malpractice
Expulsion
Lokoja, July 2, 2018 (NAN)The Federal University Lokoja, in Kogi, has expelled 13 final year students for alleged examination malpractice.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Angela Freeman-Miri disclosed this while speaking with newsmen on Monday in Lokoja.
Freeman said that all the students were from the department of economics.
According to her, the students ran into trouble when one of the question papers allegedly leaked to them was extended to others who promptly informed the authorities.
She said their expulsion followed laid down process, stating that each of the students was given opportunity to defend himself against the allegations before final decision was taken.
“They were made to face the students’ disciplinary committee.
“The examination misconduct committee sat at different times to look into the allegations against them.
“The reports of the two committees were later sent to the 47th senate meeting of the university which eventually approved their expulsion,’’ Freeman-Miri said.
Responding to allegation of unfair treatment by Miss Lydia Lawal, one of the affected students, the Vice Chancellor said all the students were free to appeal their expulsion by sending written application to the governing council of the university.
She said that some members of staff suspected to have link in the examination leakage have been investigated by the Staff Disciplinary Committee which has already forwarded its report to the Staff Management Committee.
“The Staff Management Committee has also submitted its report to the governing council for final decision,’’ Freeman-Miri said.
She said however that it was too early to know the exact number of staff that would eventually be disciplined for involvement in the matter.
Angela -Miri, said that the university’s decision was to serve as signal to other students who may want to cut corners by resorting to examination malpractices.
“No university will compromise its academic standard, especially the quality of examinations as degrees being awarded sell the image of the university to the outside world,” She explained.(NAN)
KKA /ABI
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Edited by Ali Inuwa

Seminar

By Ishaq Zaki

Gusau, June 27, 2018 (NAN) The Zamfara government has declared intention to partner with the organised private sector, especially the  Shippers’ Council of Nigeria (SCN), for the promotion of agricultural and economic activities.

The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Alhaji Ahmad Maradun, who represented the governor, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Yari, stated this in Gusau on Wednesday at a one-day seminar organised for stakeholders.

The governor said the state was blessed with large number of farmers, fertile soil and various mining activities due to its endowed mineral resources.

He said one of the major policies of the state government was to complement the Federal government policy of reviving the nation economy with agriculture.

The governor urged farmers and the business community in the state to cooperate and participate in all the programmes organised by the council.

Earlier, the Coordinator, North-West Coordinating Office, SCN, Hajiya Karimatu Othman decried inadequate knowledge of the export market by Nigerian exporters, describing the development as a source of concern.

She said that SCN had been organising seminars and workshops for operators to provide them with the requisite knowledge on export marketing.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the Seminar is “Standardisation and Packaging of Agricultural Commodities/Solid Minerals for export”, with participants drawn from Sokoto Kebbi and Zamfara.(NAN)

IZ/AO/DUA

Edited by Dada Ahmed

Motorists
By Kelechi Ogunleye

Abuja, June 27, 2018 (NAN) The Director, Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Bodinga Wadata, on Wednesday expressed displeasure over persistent breaking of traffic rules and regulations by motorists.

The director said this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

He said the greatest challenge facing the agency was how to tackle the continued disobedience to traffic regulations by motorists.

“This ranges from excessive speed, breaking of traffic light, driving without drivers’ license and driving vehicles with worn-out parts among others.

“This attitude and other variables have limited the management of the sector.

”Knowing the mental state of the drivers and status of the vehicles matter a lot,’’ he said.

He said many motorists intentionally flouted traffic rules and regulations without recompense to the penalties.

Wadata also said that most of the drivers had violently confronted VIO officers when cautioned, adding that arrangements were on to increase the punitive measures against lawless drivers.

He also warned handlers of tricycles and motorcycles as well as and unpainted taxi operators to desist from plying routes they were not allowed to operate.

Wadata, therefore, urged commuters to stop patronising tricycles, motorcycles and unpainted taxi operators to break the agency set regulations.

He said that that the patronage had encourage operators concerned to ply routes they were not expected to ply.

“If the public stop patronising them, we will naturally flush them out of the banned routes’’, Wadata said. (NAN)
KAYC/OMO/

Edited by Martins Odeh/Dada Ahmed

Training

By Kola Adeyemi

Lokoja, June 27, 2018 (NAN) The Catholic Diocese of Lokoja has trained 130 community leaders on how to improve water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure in their various communities.

Rev. Fr. Leonard Odomeja, the Coordinator of the Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) JDPC in the diocese, disclosed this in a statement he issued in Lokoja on Wednesday.

He said that the JDPC, an agency of the church, conducted the training sessions for the community leaders in Lokoja, Idah Ayangba between June 18 and June 25, 2018.

He said that the participants included traditional rulers, youth leaders, women and representatives of socio-cultural groups.

The priest said that the leaders were trained on how to engage duty-bearers and philanthropic organisations on ways of improving water, sanitation and hygiene in their communities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that duty-bearers are those actors who have a particular obligation or responsibility to respect, promote and realise human rights and to abstain from human rights violations.

The JDPC’s coordinator said that the participants were drawn from 13 communities spread across the three senatorial districts of the state.

Odomeja said that the commission organised the training in furtherance of its 2018 Legislative Advocacy Project being implemented in Ege, Idoji, Adogo, Obangede and Idah.

He listed other communities benefiting from the project to include: Ankpa, Ayingba, Ejule, Agaliga, Adankolo, Kabawa, Felele and Sarki Noma.

He said they were selected from Kogi Central, Kogi East and Kogi West Senatorial Districts.

According to him, the training is an intervention designed to equip the communities on how to write and present charter of demands to duty-bearers.

He said that the trainings covered areas such as objective of citizens’ charter of demands, good practice of citizens’ charter and steps in formulating citizens’ charter.

He said that the participants were also trained on contents of a charter and the fundamentals of a good charter of demand.

The coordinator said that the trainings were important parts of legislative advocacy project being implemented in the benefitting communities.

He said that the JDPC was impressed that the participants were able to realise that there was the need to logically engage their duty bearers after the training.

“They also expressed their readiness to begin to engage their representatives at various levels and those seeking their votes into various elective offices, “the statement said.

The JDPC said that it would look into the possibility of extending the training to some other communities in the state as recommended by the participants.

The JDPC in the statement also appealed to the Kogi State Government to expedite actions on the ongoing rehabilitation of water projects in Okene, Lokoja and some other communities.

The coordinator said that the JDPC team visited the project site of the Okene Water Works which was inaugurated by the state government on April 7, 2018.

Odomeja said that the team was also at the Ministry of Water Resources where it gathered that contractors would soon be mobilised to return to site.

“When it commences work on the old Okene Water Works, it  will reticulate the  Lokoja Water to Felele and Sarki Noma communities in Lokoja,” the statement quoted Odomeja as saying. (NAN)

KKA /PAD

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Edited by Peter Dada

Police
By Polycarp Auta
Jos, June 26, 2018 (NAN) Mr Bala Ciroma, has assumed office as the new Police Commissioner for the Plateau police Command.

ASP Terna Tyopev, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the command, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Jos.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ciroma replaced Mr Undie Adie, who was posted to the state late last year.

Tyopev said Ciroma was before his new position in charge of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID), FTC Command.

He said that the Yobe born police officer attended University of Maiduguri and graduated in 1988.

“He joined the force as Cadet Assistant Superintendent in 1990 and had served in various Capacities,” he said. (NAN)
AZA/NNO/DUA
Edited by Nick Nicholas/Dada Ahmed

Border
By Kudirat Musa
Abuja, June 26, 2018 (NAN) ) The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has commended the Federal Government’s plans to shut the country’s land border with a neighbouring country to curb rice smuggling into the country.

Dr Vincent Isegbe, the Coordinating Director of NAQS, praised the government’s move in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.

Isegbe said that the quarantine service was very in much support of the statement of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, regarding plans to shut the land border between Nigeria and a neighouring country to stem rice smuggling.

“ Once the directive is given, we will make sure that it is passed to our officials in the affected border to ensure that no foreign rice enters the country.

“Our personnel have to double their work to ensure that nothing comes across; it is added responsibility for them because they have to be extra-vigilant and they will be actively involved,’’ he said.

Isegbe said: “One of major problems we are having is produce smuggling. As we speak, a neighbour of ours is importing more rice than China.

“They do not eat parboiled rice, they eat white rice, they use their ports to try and damage our economy.

“We all know very well that this foreign rice has been stored for 10 to 15 years and there is no guarantee that the rice is free from carrying pest.

“Any grain that has been stored for long time has propensity to have pest invasion, which means the exporters must have been treating the rice against pests for long and so, the rice is not good for human consumption.

“Kebbi, Ebonyi and Niger states are doing very well in rice production and of recent, they have been producing good quality rice that is tasty, clean and nutritious. Besides, our rice mills now have destoning machines, so there is no fear of having stones in our rice.’’

Isegbe also said that the increased consumption of local rice by Nigerians would save a lot of foreign exchange, hitherto spent on rice imports, for the country, while the savings would be used to fund more meaningful projects.

“We should all encourage our rice farmers to produce more. We should also guard against the conversion of Nigeria into a dumping ground for all kinds of produce, including the harmful ones.

“The exporters make a lot of money by dumping their produce here; we consequently suffer the economic and health consequences of the action, and in the end, we lose as a country,’’ he added. (NAN)
ROK/OOK
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