FRESH DAILY NEWSLETTER 18TH - 25TH AUGUST - FOOD AND HEALTH

Good Day,


I hope this reaches you in good health and happiness. This past weeks have been extremely busy weeks for us. The communities we are delivering to are expanding and our well laid delivery plans would need to be re designed to get maximum efficiency on our end which would translate to less fuel consumption and more off time for my staff. I sincerely apologize to those estates we have not been able to keep to a set delivery dates. I PROMISE WE WOULD BE BETTER. We have been able to sign up a new restaurant in Wuse II . They are called Uncle D's restaurant and wholly dedicated to selling organically grown food, the owner is a chef passionate about food it's worth giving them a try at some point.


During last weeks deliveries I have learnt alot about food and health from some of you. It's always taken for granted that food is the best form of medicine, I dedicate this weeks edition of our newsletter to re-enforce that amongst our community. The rates at which stomach ulcers, high blood pressure and diabetes is been diagnosed amongst us has reached epidemic proportions. BP tablets are been bought like sweets, I met a 22 year old patient in a hospital diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes. He looked healthy and virile as far as my eyes could see by the prognosis was damning. The good news is that since the problem is our food, we can always reverse the trend. Taking time out to plan a proper diet and delve deeper into our food is the best preventive and curative measures we can take. I heard someone say we are the most overfed and yet under-nourished generation and I totally agree. The food we eat needs to have the right nutrients and released properly without exposing us to toxins. Vegetables and fruits are vital to a diet that promotes optimum health. You can find out more about what vegetables are would aid you in claiming back your health from here

Our range of vegetables are expanding thanks to a generous contribution of organic seeds delivered to us by one of our supporters. We now have more rocket salad seeds which by the way Americans call Aragula for some weird reason, more varieties of lettuce, more tomatoes and yellow pepper. Yes we finally have yellow sweet peppers and in a couple of months we would be filling your boxes with an extra burst of sunshine.


Thanks a lot for choosing us and continue claim back your health and food systems. Building sustainable communities and a better world can only be achieved when we have optimum health.

Peace, Love and Blessings

Kabir Onimisi ADEMOH

FRESH DAILY NEWSLETTER 26th July - 2nd August

Good Day To You,


This week I have had various enquiries about if we are planning to OR currently rearing any chickens, are they organic? Local or free range? What my views are on imported frozen chicken and so much more.


Firstly, I find imported frozen chicken distasteful. Its insulting and demoralizing to think that in Abuja alone we have over 3 million birds of various varieties growing under varied methods for a population of just over a million people. That is in simplistic terms, 2 chickens to one individual every week. The capacity to produce birds locally surely should make importation of birds a silly silly idea. We actually don't need the government to place a ban on imported chickens for us, we just all need to say no to chicken pumped full of preservatives transported from thousands of miles away to but this people out of business. Common sense and common will of a people would always defeat an imposed version of reality. If you are not worried about the economic and health reasons, you should be worried about the taste. It takes a lot more effort and spicematics to get your preserved frozen chicken tasting like a bird that has been sourced locally without any preservatives. Why? Because the preservatives keep the birds inert. Immune to intrusion of any foreign particles be it pathogens or your lovely spices. It's a victory for physical sciences but a defeat for the chefs, foodies and culinary experts. Save your spices, save your health and buy your chickens from a poultry you trust. Trust been the keyword.


We at Fresh Daily currently stock just about enough birds for the consumption of my family and a few immediate neighbors. My birds are not organically sourced but are reared organically and semi-intensive. We feed them corn grown on our farm and never use growth hormones or antibiotics. For that reason it has been hard to stick large quantities to include with our weekly vegetable boxes. I have had alot of suggestions from qmonhst our community of running a CSA for the birds. This is where you buy shares on the poultry pen, that goes towards feeding and rearing the chicks and you get your dividends paid off as chickens supplied to your home over a two month period. For example paying #12,000 would yield a return of 10 birds supplied over a 2 month period. We are still working on the plan and would see how viable it would be. It would eventually all boil down to what the collective community of Fresh Daily users decide.

On the vegetable front, it keeps looking greener and redder. The Veronica Tomatoes have ursurped the Eva Tomatoes. Eva got to the end of her harvest cycle so you would notice a fuller, rounder and redder version of tomatos in your vegetable boxes for the next month. Our lettuce has been a resounding success. The mixed pack lettuce has yielded so much colour to our growing tunnel, that Taiwo my head Agronomist and I have become full time selfie-ists.

I hope you all enjoy your vegetables and the rain this week. Keep thinking and living green. We at Fresh Daily wish you health, happiness and blessings. Thank you for choosing us.


Best Regards

Kabir Onimisi ADEMOH

CELEBRATING UNITED NATIONS WORLD YOUTH SKILLS DEVELOPMENT DAY

Training young people to become market gardeners and poultry farmers is an innovative answer to stimulating agricultural growth, reducing high unemployment, crime and generating income for self-improvement.
Our training imparts valuable and applicable life skills for all involved.

Entrepreneurial skills will give participants real-life simulations and applications to the agriculture sector. The impact of operating a self-sufficient agricultural training centre like ours will ensure a sustainable revenue stream for youths, while also creating a ‘real-life’ holistic training environment for participants. The Foundation currently has 48 young individuals that have participated in the training so far but plans to train 3000 individuals per quarter (every 3 months) in one centre which would equate to 12,000 youths in a year. In training one individual to create their own market garden, they have the potential to create employment for three individuals when we consider the multiplier effect this would mean we would be able to create a minimum of 36,000 jobs from a year of training in just one centre. Empowering the youth and stimulating the agriculture sector may provoke a high impact value on alleviating poverty and creating a life-long learning generation.

Growing food for our community is our skill and we join the rest of the world to celebrate the UNITED NATIONS WORLD YOUTH SKILL DEVELOPMENT DAY.

NEWSLETTER 12TH - 19TH July - Touching The Soil

Good Day To You,

Staying in touch with the soil is the surest way to shape our world.
With the fast pace of life nowadays, it's easy to feel like we are been shaped by a world that holds little regard for our dearest opinions. There is more and more of everything giving us less than ever before.

Lucky for you and me, we have found a way to shape our lives, our communities and consequently our world through the most abundant tool available to us - the soil. The soil holds all of our collective history and information. The soil yields us our food and through reconnecting with the farmers and farms that provide our food we get to touch the soil again, appreciate it's beauty, and it's value to our existence.

Farming sustainably and bio-intensively means we respect the soil and try to preserve it's properties. The dangers of our conventional food consumption and production patterns is apparent in the pollution of our soil. We wouldn't need to think outside the box into hydroponics and genetic engineering , if we amend and preserve the soil properly as farmers.
This is not an easy task and at times it's not cheap. Fresh Daily constantly encounters losses because we refuse to use pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones and inorganic fertilizers when manure, composting and careful planning can still produce tasty, healthy crops for our families. We like all other organic farmers have decided to maintain the integrity of the earth we have to grow not bigger but better. So sometimes we would incur loss of crops, some weeks we would have less quantities but always, always you would be guaranteed tasty, healthy food delivered to your door.

The soil is our tool of shaping that world one meal at a time to mirror our own will and beliefs. I hope you enjoy your produce this week and before you rinse your vegetables take a moment to appreciate the soil caked on your delivery.
Wishing you all health, happiness and blessings

Regards

Kabir Onimisi Ademoh

Of Red Gold and Our Food System

After the madness, the season after. As a few baskets of tomatoes are trickling into our market stands one can only hope that the lessons of this tomato scarcity are not lost with the euphoria of seeing the worlds most popular fruit on display again.

We all heard the stories, we all experienced it in our own unique way. In my house we replaced the efficient rice and stew with the festive jollof rice but we were not celebrating. A different kind of party was starting that would really make me take a hard look again at our food value chain. As a farmer and an avid foodie, the picture was grim. The tomato scarcity was buzzing on social media, conventional media and every neighborhood media. Some people started the Tomatoeless stew, Tomatoeless jollof and all sorts of Tomatoeless recipes. Bride price was calculated in tomato baskets!! It was just insane. I found it quite telling that the buzz about the scarcity was everywhere while not much was said two months earlier when tomato farmers and sellers were cursing their luck with the glut of products in the market. Big baskets of tomatoes were going for 2000 naira and nobody raised any alarm. Why was it so suddenly abundant,? How were tomato growers faring? Can this process be sustained? The truth is after every season of abundance invariably comes scarcity.

The main cause of the scarcity was attributed to a form of tomato disease ravaging the three key Northern states that grows majority of the countries tomatos and all other vegetables for that matter. Also there were stories of massive paste manufacturing companies opening up across the country competiting with the open market for tomatoes. All this factors combined to create the worst tomato scarcity that the Nigerian economy had experienced. The main lesson I drew from this scarcity was that 1. Today it's tomato tommorow it could be rice, ground nut oil, egusi, yam or palm oil 2. Large scale agribusiness isn't a silver bullet to solving the issues of food security.

Our politicians have collectively made our consciousness irritated by certain words. Food security is one of such words. But don't be fooled by the hype the threat is real. Our food systems needs to be designed to be able to withstand any disruption to the production or supply pattern. The continued emphasis on monocropping by big Agro firms is not just dangerous but diabolical. Monocropping increases the chance of pest infestations, disease proliferation and destruction of soil structure. The other more serious issues is of our disjointed food systems. When the food we eat comes from miles away, their is a high level of threat to our food security. Not only is food with high mileage bad for the environment it creates a level of ignorance amongst the consumers leaving them susceptible to eating anything you put on their plates without thought of how it was produced, where and how the rice on your plate affects the livelihood of the grower. The disconnect between grower and food consumer damages our environment our economy and more importantly our health.

The tomato scarcity for one made alot of people start asking questions about Tomatoes, what is happening? Is this from Jos? Kano? Or a greenhouse down the road? I explained with relish the various cultivars of tomatoes their taste and texture differences with keen interest from buyers because tomato had suddenly become red gold. The various factors that shape our food prices became objects of interests to the consumers. Which can only be a good thing. Don't get me wrong, this scarcity was not a blessing but rather an opportunity to restructure our food system in this country and all over the globe to gain resilience. Various innovations are coming into agriculture which can help. The rise of Community Structured Agriculture (CSA) where farmers grow in smaller micro farms to cater for the need of a specific community is becoming popular and essential. These farmers boycott the traditional middletraders I. E. Supermarkets, distributors, wholesalers to sell directly to homes and restaurants. There is also a case for farming using urban spaces that lay to waste thereby distributing production closer to the consumer. This is very much in tune with the 21st century approach to production where the consumer becomes a prosumer - a producer-consumer. They dictate the production process and products to their own needs and tastes. Agriculture has adopted this model with high level of success. Feeding people locally helps create resilient communities and generate a deeper level of connection that is absent in the current food system. If you know the family that would eat your chicken, you would think twice about what antibiotics or feeds you use on the birds. The other rewarding aspect of locally produced food with low mileage is that food prices are relatively stable all season long and not subject to other factors like fuel costs.

There is no silver-bullet for food security challenges but a diversified approach and more public inclusiveness in the food systems would help avoid another tomato scarcity like the one we just experienced. It's time for our communities to claim back our food value chain.

- KOA

BioDigester Project At Rije Village CONTINUATION

It started as a whimsical idea passed between two professionals over linkedIn and now two years later we are a team of almost 30 individuals working tirelessly across language barriers, personal challenges and differing work schedule to bring electricity to an off grid community. Rije residents are impatiently waiting for our innovation to kick off. The first phase of the project is finished. We have finished with the biodigester now waiting on our methane generator and the electric metres to start our mini-grids to the community.

We have managed to identify three individuals in the community who would be managing this project for their community once we up and leave them with their new innovation. Its been a beautiful struggle but we are just starting. there are still over 100 off grid communities in Kuje Area Council alone. With almost 600 families per community and preliminary energy audit showing that families use an estimated $20 a month on power needs, that equates to $12, 000, 000 worth of energy consumption not catered for by the national grid. the numbers are mind-blowing but what is even more mind blowing is how quickly technology can be adopted. the energy profile of this small community would triple in the first month of our grid going live.

KOA

Workers Day, Tomatoes and Dangote

Happy Worker's day to all my people with jobs and hoping to get jobs. It has been a long weekend to unwind and re-evaluate career choices.
Workers Day also called Labour Day is a globally accepted day to acknowledge the role of the labour force in our development and how they gained their right to proper working conditions, welfare and recognition.

A large number of us are without jobs and bear very bleak prospects of finding any. This day thus takes on extra significance in the face of gross youth unemployment we are witnessing. Those who dare to take the entrepreneurial route are lucky to have something worthwhile doing but please do not forget that your workers welfare is non-negotiable. All over the world we witness that it's different scenarios but our struggle is universal : better jobs, better lives, fairer practices, basic needs in a complex time.

Talking of complex times, the prices of tomato is at an all time right now. The quantities I used to buy for 250 naira now retails for 1500 naira. Tomato traders all over the country are feeling the pinch. My preliminary research shows that massive losses incurred during storage as usual have spiked tomato prices again. Some other reasons I am hearing is that the Dangote tomato processing plant has kicked off production buying large volumes directly from tomato growers in the north thereby creating a scarcity in the open market. My heart jumps with joy as Africa's richest man invests in agriculture but I would send a cautionary note of how big scale industrial agriculture might not be a silver bullet for food security. A diversified agricultural chain where both small and large scale agribusiness can thrive would lend resilience to our food system.

Salute to all workers all over the world, salute to Mr Dangote and salute to everyone striving to create a fairer, Humane and positive world.

KOA

Four Agricultural Fields With Goods Job Prospects

When you hear the word “agriculture,” images of a farmer atop his tractor may come to mind, but there are a slew of other related professions to pursue, from engineering to economics.

Earlier this year, a study led by Purdue University determined that in the next five years there would be close to 60,000 job openings annually in fields related to agriculture, food, the environment, and renewable natural resources. We spoke to three professors at Purdue—a major research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana, which is consistently ranked as having one of the top agricultural sciences programs in the country (and world for that matter)—on which professions are emerging in this field.
Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Agricultural engineers can focus on machine design, design, and processes of getting food produced at the farm to your plate, or environmental challenges working with soil, water, and air, says Bernard Engel, head of Purdue’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. Careers include working for equipment manufactures in the agricultural, forestry, construction, and military industries. On the environmental and natural resources end, there are jobs with various government agencies or consulting firms.

Engel says the all of the programs in his department are in high demand right now. “Many of the advances in agriculture right now are coming in this area. The future looks bright as well, given expectations of even more technology being used in agriculture in the future,” he says in an email.

Biological engineers deal with issues that include food processes, things like making food taste better or making it last longer; and cellular and biomolecular engineering, which concerns “finding better ways to get value from by-products or getting energy from biological materials.” The food industry is a major employer. Engel says there is also a demand in research and development for these graduates, not only in the food and pharmaceutical industries, but also in genetic engineering in plants.

Agricultural Systems Management graduates help make agricultural technology easier to understand and use, says Engel, and students in this area are “highly sought after in careers with machinery, grain handling, and precision technology.”

Soil Science

Students can focus on soil ecology, chemistry, physics, conservation, and soil landscapes—mapping the soil attributes of a certain area—among other fields of study. John Graveel, an agronomy professor and director of the Natural Resources and Environmental Science program at Purdue, says job prospects for soil scientists right now are very strong.

“Soil science students are getting some training in geographical information systems [GIS],” Graveel tells Modern Farmer in a phone interview. (GIS is a computer system that is used for collecting and displaying data as it relates to geographic points on the Earth’s surface.) “It’s hugely in demand right now by consulting firms to have people on staff who know how to do GIS.”

Agricultural Economics

Agricultural economics is the practice of applying economic principles to public and private decisions made in the agricultural sector, explains Kenneth Foster, head of Purdue’s Agricultural Economics Department. The field includes sales and marketing, agribusiness, farm management, policy making, and natural resource and energy economics.

Job prospects are “pretty strong” for graduates in this “heavily data and metric driven” field, Foster says. “We placed 98 percent of our graduates last May by the end of the summer. Well over 100 students got jobs.”

Pro tip: Foster says because we’re entering an era of data-driven decision making, “the students who can position themselves to be strong from an analytical and problem-solving perspective are going to have an edge in the market.”

All three professors agree on what students interested in these fields should be focusing on: math and science. You get a bonus for taking part in extracurricular activities that help build leadership, communication, and organizational skills.

Startups

Finally, let’s not forget the entrepreneurs out there who are tech savvy and like to go it alone. Agricultural technology startups are blooming right now. Last year the industry grew by 170 percent and had more than $2.36 billion in investment, according to the website TechCrunch.

“I think the agricultural tech industry is doing well because it’s been overlooked for awhile. I think that’s really going to change and it’s going to continue to grow,” says Jason Aramburu, founder and CEO of Edyn, a startup that makes a smart watering sensor for crops.


By Andrew Amelinckx for Modern Farmer

University of Ibadan Alumni's Seek Policies That Would Promote Agricultural Research

THE alumni of the department of Agricultural Extension, University of Ibadan have called for innovation in developing and implementing agricultural policies in the country.

Deliberating on agricultural production and its effects on Nigeria’s economy, as part of the line-up of events to mark the 40th anniversary and homecoming ceremony of the department, the alumni, in their various presentations noted that agricultural policies had to be well thought through if the nation was to be self sufficient.

Director General of Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, who was guest speaker at the event held on Saturday, emphasised the importance of innovative policies in agriculture to bring about wealth creation, food security and youth employment.

“If we must exploit the potentials in this country, science and technology and innovation must be fully utilised. This will boost agricultural productivity in Nigeria and aid the emergence of Nigeria as a food self-sufficient nation,” he said.

On the importance of innovation in agriculture, Akinbamijo added, “innovation is not the end. It is a means to an end. We are not short of science and technologies, and farmers. All we have to do is make these things gel. We have to translate these innovations into wealth creation, food security and youth employment.”

He also called for the joint efforts of the private and public sector so as the drive the policies.

Director General, Office of Economic Development and Partnerships (OEDP), Dr Charles Akinola, called for innovation in developing and implementing agricultural policies in the country.

Akinola, in his address, on agricultural policy and its implementation, harped on the need for stakeholders and concerned Nigerians to critique existing policies with a view to coming up with strategies and policies that meet today’s demands of agriculture.

“Concerning agricultural policies and implementation, we need to reengage and restrategise. For change to occur in Nigeria’s agricultural sector, innovation and technology should be introduced. With this, we will have great opportunities working with youths. Young people should be encouraged to embrace agriculture as this will boost agricultural production in Nigeria,” Akinola said.

The Head of Department of Agricultural Extension, Professor A.E Adekoya, appreciated the alumni for honouring the call and contributing in building and sustaining the department.

Other alumni at the event included, Professors Janice Olawoye, Terry Olowu, Idowu Oladele, Muhammed Yahya, Yomi Alfred, Dr, Idris Badiru, Dr Tola Oyedele of NIHORT and Mr Hamzat of IART.

Waste, Storage Facilities and Food Prices

The next food revolution is here: stemming the tide of food waste. Roughly 70 percent of the food produced in Nigeria never reach our plates. This is in contrast to the high amount of malnourishment and hunger amongst vulnerable sections of the population.

The shopping, cooking, and eating habits of every day consumers are responsible for the bulk of wasted food, which is actually good news—it means we have the power to make a significant and immediate change in the food waste equation.
Of course there are also big structural issues at play—from regulations that encourage grocery stores, market sellers and transporters to discard food prematurely due to quality issues, storage challenges or aesthetics reasons.

Recently traders at the boundary market between Kogi and Benue states have called on the states and federal government to enhance storage facilities for their food produce. A substantial amount of their products are lost as post harvest losses due to this problem. They travel several kilometers from the hinterland to the market with their farm products, and on a good day the market for yam, garri, cassava flour and tomatoes go well and they smile home, but on other not so good days, when the market go sour, the products, especially garri and tomatoes, are wasted for lack of storage facilities.

The traders who made their position known to the government when speaking to LEADERSHIP in Lokoja, yesterday, noted that for sometime now even at the expense of sacrificing other things to engage in farming, there is no encouragement from the government both at the local or national level.

The leader of the market women, Alhaja Junai Shaibu, who narrated the harrowing experience of what the traders go through every market day pointed out that the quick intervention of the governments for the traders will be the provision of storage facilities for their unsold products.

It is time we started reducing our food waste by adopting new ways e.g. purchasing directly from farmers, preservation by partially cooking, sun drying and other affordable ways we could use in reducing food waste footprint in our homes, lives and economy. This alone cannot solve the problem as storage still needs to be addressed by the government and investors in agriculture.

Obasanjo and AGRA Cohorts Launch Africa Food Prize

Participants at the just concluded 12th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) in Accra, Ghana have called on the private sector to translate Malabo commitment into bankable business plans that can attract required resources necessary for accelerated implementation.

Former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo with Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) President , Dr. Agnes Kalibata, at the launch of the Africa Food Prize at the just concluded 12th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) in Accra, GhanaFormer Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo with Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) President , Dr. Agnes Kalibata, at the launch of the Africa Food Prize at the just concluded 12th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) in Accra, Ghana The call formed part of the recommendations made at the end of the CAADP PP meeting which focused on, “Innovative financing and Renewed Partnerships to Accelerate the Implementation of CAADP.”

The CAADP PP, brought together over 400 African and global leaders from international organisations, African Governments, including parliamentarians from AU Member States, private agribusiness firms, farmers, NGOs and civil society organizations. The 12th CAADP PP was designed to deliver on the AU Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Africa Agricultural Growth and Transformation and the AU Agenda 2063, through speeding up CAADP implementation as a result of financial innovation and partnerships. Delegates at the meeting underscored the need to innovate so as to address the gaps in the financial products and delivery of financial services. The meeting also highlighted the need to implement the Malabo Declaration with greater coordination across sectors on the continent and within regions. The participants added that development finance policies and efforts exist but the delivery of the development finance services is clearly the weakness. On innovative delivery financial services, participants asked the stakeholders to consider how the digital revolution in financial services could be used to collect the much needed data for planning and risk management.

Participants also called on stakeholders to educate the smallholder farmers and the small and medium enterprises on how to conduct business and improve business skills. On agriculture and food insecurity risk management, it was agreed that stakeholders shall address the quality of data requirement collectively together with the national planning data and financial services to reduce the unit cost of investment, but to also create the opportunity for this investment to be considered as a public good. “Member states shall continue to out in place the necessary infrastructure, building capacity and creating a good environment for the risk management markets to make it more attractive.” One of the key messages from the meeting is the call for a coherent linkage across regional markets that ensure coordination but also address the multi- sectoral dimensions of agriculture and rural development. It was noted that the public sector needs to do the heavy lifting so as to create an attractive environment for the private sector. The meeting also reaffirmed the vital role for agriculture in leading African development and serving as a catalyst for the needs of the youth and women. Speaking during the opening session, African Union Commission (AUC) Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, reiterated that the only way to sustainably deliver on the Heads of State Commitments on Malabo was to, “mobilize our own continental human and financial resources and build strong partnerships for an accountable and efficient implementation of the CAADP Agenda.” She informed the gathering that the Malabo Declaration, in line with Africa’s Agenda 2063, reiterates a call for action and delivery of results and impact and an expedient process of translating the commitments into results. “We have made a tremendous effort to align the global indicators set in the SDGs with those of the 10-year Plan of Agenda 2063 stipulated in the Malabo Declaration and translated into the CAADP Result Framework and Implementation Roadmap. “This will facilitate our Member States to customize both the SDGs and the CAADP-Malabo targets,’’ she said. “Agriculture is proven to reduce poverty 11 times compared to other sectors. Hence my plea to all Member States is to follow through on their 2003 Maputo commitment reiterated in their 2014 Malabo Declaration to invest at least 10 % of their public budget in agriculture.” Tumusiime said renewed partnerships built on mutual accountability would help Governments, the Private Sector, Farmers and Farmers organizations as well as development partners to deliver on results and Impact for a transformed Agriculture and reach the targets set by the CAADP, Malabo Declaration and the SDGs.


Ghanian Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, said the agricultural sector was of critical importance to stimulate broad economic growth as he called for more enhanced investments from the private sector into agriculture. Speaking during the opening ceremony, the CEO of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, said that agriculture still remains the best sector that offers the continent escape from poverty. He said of all the challenges that Africa faces, agriculture is one that transcends and embraces all the other. “Agriculture, which employs or provides livelihoods to 60% of the population while contributing 20-30% to Africa’s GDP, is the sector that could by itself enable to save the greatest number of Africans from extreme poverty while giving them their dignity back.” Speaking yesterday at the opening of the 12th CAADP PP taking place in Accra, he said regrettably, agriculture attracts less than 5% of lending from financial institutions on the continent, leaving farmers and agricultural enterprises starved of the capital they need to operate and grow their businesses. “Our continent today runs the risk of missing a unique opportunity to develop and offer its youth the jobs it has the obligation to provide if it wants to avoid social implosion. Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki said “Africa can only make it happen if we collectively innovate and collectively agree to account for the resources injected and results and impact that ensue. Indeed, as a continent, with a community of destiny, we cannot afford to invest into our agriculture the same way we have been doing thus far.’’ Dr. Mayaki urged Africa to demonstrate how proactive it is in injecting its own resources into agriculture and to have a more inward looking approach into self-reliance on domestic resources. During the opening ceremony also, Tumusiime chaired a session that saw President. Obasanjo, President Kufour and Dr. Agnes Kalibata, launch the Africa Food Prize.

The Africa Food Prize is a transition from the Yara Prize, Africa’s most prestigious award recognizing outstanding contributions to reducing hunger and poverty. It is also a response to the recommendation by AU Heads of State and Government in their Malabo Declaration to institutionalize a system for peer review that encourages good performance on achievement of progress made in implementing the provisions of the Declaration and to recognize biennially, exemplary performance through awards. Agnes Kalibata, AGRA President disclosed that the US $100,000 accolade will recognize outstanding individuals and institutions that are changing the reality of farming in Africa from a struggle to survive to a business that thrives. “Winners will be selected by a panel of independent and distinguished leaders in African agriculture chaired by President H.E Obasanjo. “The Africa Food Prize will shine a bright spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to help millions of smallholder farmers deliver a new era of sustainable food security and economic opportunity. “We encourage you to embrace this opportunity to honour the best and brightest in African agriculture by nominating candidates for the Africa Food Prize who are dedicated to putting smallholder farmers at the centre of Africans growing economies.”

By Babatunde Jimoh

AfDB Invest $300 Million In Agriculture

The African Development Bank (AfDB) in its continued efforts at providing fund for youths involved in agriculture would be investing about $300 million as part of innovative funding mechanism for youths in agric-led employment initiative. The funding as revealed by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Heineken Lokpobori would help develop the country and encourage youth in aghriculture.

This is news we can only hope the usual challenges of engaging the youth is overcome with this extra push coming into this critical sector of the economy. I would advice serious agro entrepreneurs to keep an eye out for some grant opportunities and loans from AfDB soon as they seek to achieve the mandate laid down with this kind of investment. Anyone with innovative social enterprise projects they wish to develop and possibly gain funding for, they should click here to get help incubating and accelerating such projects.

Have a productive day.

KOA

Renewable Energy Conferences and Farm Sales

Good morning people, it has been a little while. I hope everything has been going on well with your daily endeavors. A lot has been happening. There is a conference on Solar & Off-Grid Renewables West Africa 2016 been held in Accra Ghana. We are patitently waiting to hear all about the latest development from our delegate at the event. You can follow the conversation on twitter using the #SORWA16 and #AfricaPV hashtags. You can read more about the conference here

Meanwhile I came across this video of a Fish farm for sale along Ibadan express way. I am going to contact the uploader of the video to get more information. I cant help but think of the employment this site can generate, you guys could all tell me what you think.

N12bn Worth of ‘Strange Projects’ Discovered in Agriculture Ministry’s Budget

Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh and his team have reportedly found 386 strange additions worth N12.6 billion in the ministry’s budget proposals – which were believed to have been inserted by the National Assembly.

The said projects were allegedly fixed into the budget after the N40.918 billion earlier proposed had been reduced to N31.618 billion.

A source told the Nation Newspapers that Ogbeh and his team were shocked at the strange inclusion found in the budget after they discovered about 3 projects that aren’t linked with agriculture in the budget.

Some of the projects are erosion control in Federal University, Kashere, Kwadon and Garin Alhaji at N200 million, N100 million and N45 million.

A source reportedly told the news outfit that: “In the Agric sector, 386 projects were inserted, which totalled about N12.6 billion.”

“While N5.3 billion of the main ministry’s budget is taken away, about N7.2 billion is infused into almost 40 agencies and parastatals of the agric ministry.”

Also, 58 boreholes for 29 rural communities worth N175 million as well as another 50 boreholes for 50 communities worth N150.4 million were also added to the budget.

According to the source “curiously, the communities are not named.”

“Similarly, of the N90 million allocated to the Cocoa Research Institute in Ibadan, various sums are allotted the following ýof the seven sub-heads: provision of rubber seeds and seedling in Igbotako, Okitipupa, (N5m), training and empowerment of youths in poultry farming in Oluyole, Ibadan(N20m) and provision of cassava processing plant in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State(N10m).”

“Of the four sub-heads under the Rubber Research Institute, Benin, two areas are equally outside the focus of rubber. These are training and empowerment of youth and women in fish farming in Ndokwa, Delta State as well as fabrication and installation of cassava processing machines in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State at N10m and N20m.”


“Also, N1 billion was allocated to two projects in Kwara South Senatorial District, including the construction of rural roads for N700 million as well as empowerment of women and youths in agricultural products for N300 million.”

Meanwhile, a member of the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee has revealed that the projects were fixed into the budget without the knowledge of the committee’s members.

“We are happy that the Speaker hinted that the issue of the budget will be revisited this week. But what some of us want is the understanding of Nigerians on this matter.”

“The issue of this controversial budget has to be carefully done this time around because some persons who think they were smarter had already led the entire parliament into collision with the executive and indeed Nigerians.”

“They have done this by inserting projects without the knowledge of others either in the appropriation or relevant sectoral committees and presenting same as the collective decision of the house or the entire parliament.”

“To the best of my knowledge, as a member of both the appropriation and agriculture committees in the House of Representatives, I did know that we reduced the ministry’s N40.9 billion proposal by about N9.3 billion.”

“But the surprise here is that while a decision was not taken where to infuse the reduced sum, some of us were surprised to see that so many projects were passed on to the President for assent, which he declined.”

“The implication is that if the President did not insist on details, most National Assembly members would not have had the opportunity to know what went behind them.”

The Budget Minister, Udoma Udoma is expected to meet with the president on Monday, April 18 to brief him on the impasse.


Article by

Adebayo Emuleomo for ynaija.com

Poultry In Motion – The Inner Workings of Our Favourite Bird

Chickens are the most popular livestock in the world. We all love them; fried, grilled, sautéed, peppersouped, suya-ed, skewered, shredded, marinated, with fgarlic, with cumin, with maggi, with rosemary, in soup. Okay you get my drift. The list goes on but it’s always tasty. But have you ever thought of them as more than just meat or a source of fresh eggs? In 2004, chickens became the first bird to have their full genome sequenced, uncorking a deluge of scientific inquiry into their physiology, as well as their social behaviors and even their psychological dimensions. Some people believe that are smarter than your toddler and exhibit learning and communication behaviors on par with primates. Now that’s a food for thought.
Based on my religious inclination, I believe everything has a soul but yet I am not able to answer why the chicken crossed the road. But here are some curious facts

1. Communication - All that clucking is not random—chickens have a language of their own. Scientists claim that in addition to saying “cluck,” chickens “pok,” “brawk,” and “squawk.” And from these basic syllables, chickens are capable of at least 30 different calls. Imagine what your chicken is announcing “INTRUDER ! INTRUDER!!” Every time you go to pick an egg

2. Do Chickens Have Feelings- Yes, says British researcher Jo Edgar, who determined that hens, at least, experience empathy. He designed an experiment that simulated chick stress and found that the mother hens behaved as if they themselves were experiencing the pain—a classic sign of empathy. Chickens are also known to display mourning behavior when another chicken in the flock dies, and they will show signs of depression if they are removed from the flock and placed in solitary quarters.

3. A surprising number of people suffer from fear of chickens, a condition known as alektorophobia, which may not be as unreasonable as it sounds given what scientists have been discovering about them. Recent research has shown that chickens can distinguish between more than 100 faces of their own species and of humans, so they know who you are and will remember you if you treat them badly. They’ve demonstrated complex problem-solving skills and have super-sensory powers, such as telescopic eyesight (like birds of prey) and nearly 360-degree vision (like owls). Chickens are the closest living relatives of the Tyrannosaurus rex (researchers determined this in 2007 by testing proteins from a particularly well-preserved T-rex leg bone), and they outnumber human beings on the planet 3 to 1. There hasn’t yet been an Orwellian uprising of chickens revolting against farmers due to poor coop conditions, but to all those that use tiny “battery” cages, cut off beaks, and engage in other atrocities common to industrial chicken farming—watch out, your birds may be plotting against you.

4. Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road – This is still one question scientists don’t have a theory for. I guess we just have to settle for poultry in motion

Ps. If you have found this interesting or put a smile on your face, please drop a comment to let us know. This was inspired by The Modern Farmer article by Brian Barth

Youth Unemployment - Perspective

My experience working on the YAE project since 2012, exposed me to a variety of salient issues youths in Nigeria are confronted with. Some of these findings have shaped my perspective on the unemployment issue.

1. OPPORTUNITIES - During the initial research phase of the YAE project, a detailed survey was carried out to gauge the depth of the unemployment problems. The most noticeable issue exposed by the survey was the chronic lack of opportunities for the youth population. The lack of balanced participation and representation of young people amongst the policy-makers made it extremely hard to propagate laws that included youth problems amongst the policies been passed. Majority of young people I interacted with were keen on gaining useful employment mainly driven by the desire to gain independence and self-expression. The level of willingness demonstrated by most of the individuals was not proportional to the opportunities available. There are very few youth specific jobs created by the policy makers in the country to address youth unemployment and poverty. A pervading belief of solving youth poverty and empowerment by creating jobs for their parents was evident. This is main driven by the cultural view of empowering the parents and assuming that it translates as empowerment for their children.

2. INAPPROAPRIATE TRAINING AND SKILL SET - The 21st century has experienced incredible development in science and technology which has affected the socio-economic landscape globally. The job market is constantly shifting and evolving to match these developments. Job definitions are changing and valued skills set have evolved to the point that its completely contrary to those been proffered to youths in academic institutions. A lot of young people are been trained through formal education along the models and syllabuses created to suit the economy of the last century. The education we received was modeled after an economy that was driven on quantization and classification. Jobs had defined roles and expectations. A science student focused on learning the theories and concept valuable and isolated to the scientific world without the need to learn business skills, social sciences or consumer behavior while a student of the arts faculty would focus on their discipline without any understanding of the telecommunications, environmental sciences. The current global economy on the contrary places high value on dynamic and versatile personnel due to the complex overlap and interaction of various disciplines for a given job. This has led to an increase in young people spending valuable years in educational training and then ushered into a global economy that has no need for their skills set. Another factor that is often muted is the penchant for parents to coerce their children into studying disciplines that are traditionally viewed as reputable professions while the interest, the zeal and natural flair for that field might not be present in the individual.

3. THE ENTREPRENEURIAL APPEAL – The focus on entrepreneurship as a tool of battling unemployment has been prevalent amongst majority of developmental organizations with interest in youth unemployment. This trend has become so popular because it’s a solution that typifies the bottom –up approach. Young individuals without jobs and a steady means of income invariably turn to various forms of entrepreneurship. This is usually an option driven by necessity. The increasing number of young individuals going through formal education and decreasing number job of opportunities has forced young individuals to create their own jobs. This option has become very popular with the high level of job insecurity. Jobs are created and destroyed at a faster rate than ever before in our history this has made the appeal of entrepreneurship stronger for young individuals that are about to start their careers. This factor along with the desire to express their own identity and beliefs in the global socio-economic landscape has led to a lot of youth wanting to become entrepreneurs. As a young person, we believe we have novel ideas, new ways of viewing the world’s challenges and new needs that can only be serviced by creating our own enterprises to solve them.

4. GLOBAL PEER LINKAGE - My experiences working with agriculture as a developmental tool in Nigeria has exposed me to the vast possibilities that lay abound in entrepreneurship in the country and the continent at large. Re-positioning the African youths to partake in the entrepreneurial pursuit and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive would play a massive role in helping Africa overcome its last major challenge outside of peace and security – youth unemployment. Attracting individuals and corporations with the know-how of developing enterprises and businesses in Africa would only be possible with strong ground work in investment finance, business networking opportunities and developing indigenous capabilities to trade with their global counterparts. A strong framework of business development across and between African countries would need to be in existence for this vision to be achieved.

Fulani, Falae and The Oldest Battle

I read with alarm and sadness that Fulani's have attacked the farm premises of Olu Falae in the Obaile residence of the elder statesman and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

According to Premium Times, about 10 Fulani herdsmen also attacked the farm of Falae, on Sunday, taking one of the security guards at the residence hostage. The security guard was later found dead on Thursday. His body was discovered by the police in a pool of water some miles away from Falae farm.

The matter was said to have been handled quietly by the police on the behest of the Falae family. The family reportedly deserted their house for fear that they will be attacked again. It would be recalled that the former SGF was last year kidnapped by some Fulani herdsmen, who are currently facing criminal prosecution for the abduction. Falae was, however, released by his abductors after paying N5 million ransom.

This constant battle between rogue Fulani men and farmers have been on the increase across the country. The whole of Plateau state and Benue are used to the constant battle between farmers and Fulani men. This has become a major problem that needs to be addressed by our policy makers. The agriculture community are aware of the importance of these nomads to our economy as intensive rearing of cattle are still above the level of sophistication displayed by most farms in Nigeria at the moment and with such large mass of land unused, that makes for perfect grazing grounds.

The problem is that Nigeria's grazing reserves have been systematically depleted or allocated to large corporations to use as farming lands. This combined with the rise in cattle rustling in the past years have made the Fulani's feel aggrieved and create a level of tension.

The Ministry of Agriculture would do the nation a massive favor in its push towards delivering milk to school students if we made the cattle and dairy industry an efficient entity. Grazing lands are a non-negotiable. Planting resistance and nutrient rich grazing plants like the alfalfa plant across vast grazing lands across the country would definitely help in sequestering the movements of these Fulani herdsmen. The battle between settlers and nomads is the oldest fight known to man. it can run deep and bloody so should not be ignored for much longer by the government. We need policies implemented to handle this situation.

My sympathies goes to those that were harmed or lost their lives during the attack on Chief Olu Falae's farm and hope the police would speedily conclude their investigations.

Have a good day.

KOA

VIDEO; Gardening Without Cutlass-GROWING Wild Okro

So I came across this inspiring young man growing Okro in the wild employing No-till cultivation method. This is such an amazing step as it reduces the energy input from the farm and conserves the integrity of the biological composition of the soil. No-till cultivation is gaining prominence in a lot of organic and bio-intensive circles. This young man even though motivated by profit is making a big move.
Salut to Mr Jerry Osazee!

Fuel, Food And Optimism

The fuel scarcity is hitting everyone hard. The small to medium scale businesses are really struggling as well and like the rest of the country we are begging for respite. Fuel scarcity also poses a major threat to our food security. The cost of transporting food round the country would increase which would also spike the food costs. Not good news at all at the moment. Losses are been incurred everywhere in the country.

I came across a news article regarding these losses from the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) which made it clear to the government that the issue of unavailability of petroleum products and its importation portrays our country in bad light. It shows us up as an incompetent manager of our resources.

“NNPC from the comments of it’s officials may have given up. We may seriously need to divest our refineries. Businesses and our economy are being battered from all sides. Forex, energy supply, infrastructure, security concerns. The list is endless.” He said
Businesses especially MSME’s have lost over N30B through inadequate supply of petroleum products. Labour productivity is low as employees have stayed off work since the hike of fares by providers and when they come, they are always late. NNPC banned the use of containers to buy petrol without considering that most households and small businesses run on petrol generating sets. This has forced them to close shops. Buying with kegs is not the cause of scarcity but inadequate supply of products.
According to Tony Ejinkeonye, NNPC over the years has not proffered any meaningful solution. They are fond of treating symptoms instead of addressing the issue, he concluded.

The fate of a business owner in Nigeria at the moment reminds me of a Late Koffi Awnoor verse;
"If I turn here, the rain beats me
If I turn there the sun burns me
The firewood of this world Is for only those who can take heart
That is why not all can gather it"


Naija, we are still pregnant with hope!