Agriculture

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Sen Barau launches N2.79bn agriculture loan scheme for farmers in North East

Abuja, Feb. 6, 2025 – Jibrin Barau, the Deputy Senate President on Thursday unveiled a N2.79 billion agriculture loan scheme for farmers across the 186 local government areas in the North-West geo-political zone of the country. Barau, representing the Kano North Senatorial District, said 69 farmers each from Kaduna and Sokoto states would benefit from the initiative, while 132 from Kano, 63 from Kebbi, 102 from Katsina, 81 from Jigawa and 42 from Zamfara would benefit from the loan scheme. He said the project, which would start in April, planned …

UN agency to spend $2.5bn to fight hunger, malnutrition in Nigeria 

Abuja, Feb. 6, 2025 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has budgeted $2.5 billion for its 2023 – 2027 Nigeria Country Strategy Plans to achieve zero hunger and improved nutrition in the country. Seriene Loum, the Head of Programme in WFP, said this this in Abuja at the Co-creation workshop organised by the organisation in collaboration with the National Social Investment Programme Agency. Loum, who represented by the WFP Country Director, said WFP strategic goal was to ensure a world without hunger in line with the Sustainable Development Goals …

FG advises states to pay 10% counterpart funds to participate in rural development project

Abuja, Feb. 3, 2025 – The Federal Government has advised state governments to contribute 10 per cent counterpart funds to the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP). It said this would enable them to qualify for participation in the project. Aliyu Abdullahi, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, gave the advice in Abuja on Monday at the opening of the 8th RAAMP Implementation Support Mission. He said states willing to take part in the project must irrevocably commit 10 per cent counterpart fund to the project. …

Nigeria, IFAD partnership on agriculture has impacted farmers positively – IFAD

Abuja, Jan. 29, 2025 – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says its partnership with Nigeria to transform agriculture in Niger State is having positive effects. It said the collaboration was having positive impact on the farmers, particularly those in the rice value chain, celebrating improved livelihoods through the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP). Hajiya Isah, the State Programme Coordinator of the VCDP, said this after a media tour of rice farming and processing communities in the state. She said the intervention particularly had positive impacts on farmers in …

Fed. Ministry of trade to partner health ministry to check irregularities on food export

Abuja, Jan. 15, 2025 – Jumoke Oduwole, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, says her ministry is partnering the ministry of health and social welfare to check irregularities in Nigerian food export processes. She said the collaboration was to unlock and transform the healthcare value chain for more effectiveness. Oduwole said these in Abuja on Wednesday while receiving Dr. Muhammad Pate, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, who paid a courtesy visit to her office. Also at the meeting was Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General of the National …

Tomato farmers seek FG’s intervention to curb post-harvest losses

Lagos, Jan. 7, 2025 – The National Tomato Growers, Processors, and Marketers Association of Nigeria is seeking the intervention of the Federal Government to reduce post-harvest losses of the produce. Rabiu Zuntu, the Chairman of Kaduna State Chapter of NATPAN, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Tuesday. Zuntu said the government’s intervention would help the sector to cut down on post-harvest losses. He said that with the appropriate equipment and facilities tomato farmers would reduce post-harvest losses of the produce. This, …

Global food prices drop 2% in 2024 – FAO

Rome, Jan. 3, 2025 – World food commodity prices declined by 2.1 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year, the FAO said on Friday, but they remain considerably higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s overall Food Price Index averaged 122.0 points — 2.6 points or 2.1 percent lower than the average value in 2023. However, food prices increased over the course of the year, with the index climbing from 117.6 points in January to 127.0 in December. The index rose 6.7 percent from …

FG distributes subsidies inputs to 6,000 wheat farmers in kano

Kano, Dec. 19, 2024 – The federal government is distributing subsidised inputs to about 6,000 wheat farmers in Kano State. Abubakar Kyari, the minister of Agriculture and Food Security, said this on Thursday at the commencement of the distribution exercise in Alkamawa village in the Bunkure Local Government Area. He said the programme, which is under the Federal Government’s special programme on wheat production, is expected to boost wheat production. The minister, who was represented by Isa Hotoro, the State Coordinator, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, said the government …

FG to provide N30bn to universities of Agric to start mechanised farming 

Abuja, Dec. 17, 2024 – The federal government is to provide N30 billion to the 30 universities of agriculture in the country for them to commence mechanised farming. Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, disclosed this on Tuesday while declaring open a retreat organised by the Ministry of Education for pro-chancellors of federal universities. He said each university would receive N1 billion as take-off grant for the mechanized farming. The federal government had also directed specialised universities to focus strictly on their core mandates and stop offering unrelated courses. …

FG, World Bank to scale up rural access, agricultural marketing

Abuja, Dec. 14, 2024 – The federal government has said it was collaborating with the World Bank to scale up the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) in Nigeria. Aliyu Abdullah, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, disclosed this in Abuja on Friday at a news conference. He said the RAAMP project was an on-going project and had been implemented across 19 states of the federation. The minister said out of the 19 states, 16 had already passed laws establishing their state’s rural access rule authority …