NIGERIA: TOMATO UNION SEEKS CBN’S INTERVENTION IN RAW MATERIALS SOURCING

Worried about their inability to access triple concentrates needed to produce tomato paste, Tomato Union of Nigeria (TUN) has sought the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in aiding access to raw materials through its foreign exchange policy.

Spokesman for the Union and Managing Director, Sonia Foods Industries Limited, Nnamdi Nnodebe, said the present forex policy continues to encourage smuggling of inferior tomato paste brands through the borders.

“The only way to save the industry is for CBN to either remove tomato paste triple concentrate from the FX policy restrictions or provide the raw materials in question to the industry; if the local producers of tomato paste get the raw materials directly from CBN this would save the industry from collapse and also help the government avoid creating more job loss.”

“It is no more profitable to produce locally hence the closures. How do you expect producers of tomato paste in Nigeria to compete with their foreign counterparts that have uninterrupted power supply, good roads and distribution network, subsidised loans from their governments. The major material used by the local brands, triple concentrate, has been taken away through this Forex policy” Nnodebe lamented.

Tomato Paste Triple Concentrate is a crucial ingredient used to process consumer products such as packs of tomato paste, ketchup, sauces, among others.

Hitherto, stakeholders had emphasised the need for government to recognize the necessity of the packing industry as an essential component of the tomato paste value chain, without which there can be no link between the farmer and the final consumer.

Nnodebe said: “Christmas and New Year celebrations were dry and if you can remember, we predicted this because you cannot talk about the Christmas or New Year rice and stew without talking about tomato both fresh and paste, as most people use both to bring out the best in their cooking. So many people couldn’t afford tomato products during the festive season and if the FX policy is not lifted Easter celebrations will be the same.”

SOURCEAll Africa

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SCIENTISTS INVENT TECHNOLOGY TO END TOMATO EBOLA

A team of Nigerian scientists from the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, Oyo State, said they have discovered a remedy that will reduce the plague of tuta absoluta, a disease that ravaged tomato in 2015.

Leader of the team, Dr. Abiola Oke, while speaking with journalists in Kaduna on the team’s sustainable management of the pest, commonly referred to as tomato ebola, explained that the technology had proved to be effective in handling the challenge.

She said they were on ground to sensitize the farmers on methods they could use in overcoming the challenge which led to loss of billions of Naira by tomato farmers in the country in 2015.

Dr. Oke, who is an Entomologist/Researcher, said the technology was developed after careful research and has proven to tackle the challenges for which it was conceptualized.

She said that all they did was to study the tuta absoluta and they found out that it is a pest that is active at night and is also attracted to light, hence, the development of the technology which involves using a tray and rechargeable lamp.

She added,” The technology is the use of tray and rechargeable lamps, the tray is filled with water, sprinkled with a little detergent and a stone is placed inside. A rechargeable lamp is placed on the stone and once the tuta which lays the eggs that damage the tomatoes come to the light, they will fall into the tray and are trapped, hence drown and die in the water.”

When asked how affordable the technology is to farmers who are mostly in the rural areas, she said that each set costs less than N1,000, which is used for purchasing the major tools; a plastic tray and a lamp, adding that the research and the tools for the setup of the technology and the funding is being sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

On how the scientists aim to reach out to all the farmers in the tomato area, she said their team on a first phase, would be touring tomato producing states in some states, where they would donate trays, lamps and detergents to the farmers.

“As a sustainable scheme, we would organize meetings and workshops for leaders of farmers groups within the catchment areas from where there would be a multiplying effect as they go back and train others,” she assured.

A farmer in one of the locations visited in Samaru-Zaria, Kaduna State, Malam Isa Ibrahim, expressed optimism over the technology and promised to reach out to other colleague in order to end the scourge.

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY DEVELOPS SOIL SAMPLING SOFTWARE

With low commodity prices and high input costs, accurate soil data is more important than ever. Not only can it help you maximize yields, but also it can lower operating costs by optimizing nutrient applications.

To help you better track soil samples throughout your fields, Clemson University agricultural engineer Kendall Kirk has developed software that pairs a global positioning system (GPS) with a laptop computer to pinpoint exactly where soil samples are taken as they are collected. This will ensure that you collect adequate samples within a management zone that has common soil characteristics and will likely require similar nutrients.

Samples then can be sent to local Clemson Cooperative Extension Service offices for testing at the Agricultural Service Laboratory.

“What you’ll have is a soil sample ID for each sampling zone. Send that to Clemson, and you’ll get it back with a nutrient recommendation,” says Kirk. “These soil samples are guiding your nutrient-application rates, your potassium and phosphate applications. At the end of the day, we are trying to boost profitability.”

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the beta test version of the free software, contact Kirk at kirk2@clemson.edu.

ALABAMA REPORTS THREE CASES OF BIRD FLU IN POULTRY

CHICAGO, March 14 (Reuters) - Alabama has found bird flu at three poultry facilities in the northern part of the state, its agriculture department said on Tuesday, near the location where two cases were detected recently in Tennessee.

Alabama has “not received any definitive” test results that confirm its cases are highly pathogenic, which is the more lethal form of the virus for poultry, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries said.

On March 5, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the first U.S. case of highly pathogenic flu in commercial poultry in more than a year at a chicken farm in southern Tennessee. Days later, the state said it had detected less dangerous, low-pathogenic flu at another chicken farm nearby.

(Reporting by Tom Polansek; editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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FG warns Nigerians on smuggled harmful frozen fish

The Federal Government has alerted Nigerians that smugglers are beginning to flood the markets with harmful frozen fish illegally imported into the country through land borders.

This was revealed by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri while speaking at the Abuja headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).

According to him, the harmful frozen fish include tilapia, red pacus, river bream, pangassius, horse mackerel, sardine and croaker.

The Minister noted that those involved in the act were undermining the efforts of government despite the fish importation policy and ban of frozen farmed fish importation into the country.

He lamented that the circulation of unhealthy fish and fishery products in Nigerian market had resulted in grave health implications such as kidney disease and cancer.

“It has become necessary for the Federal Government through the FMARD to address the Nigerian public on the sale of smuggled unhealthy frozen fish, especially farmed tilapia, in Nigeria. These smuggled frozen fish are very harmful to the health of Nigerians” he said.

The minister therefore warned those involved in the illegal importation to desist, as anyone caught will be made to face the full wrath of the law adding that the government had been collaborating with countries in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria Customs Service, maritime police, Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Agriculture Quarantine Service.

“The ministry is using this medium to warn all those involved, colluding, aiding and abetting these nefarious activities to stop or face the full wrath of the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Importation of fish without licence attracts five-year imprisonment or a fine of $250,000, or both, in addition to forfeiture and destruction of the vessel and its products” he vowed

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has put in place measures to arrest, detain and prosecute offenders as provided in the Sea Fisheries Act Cap S4 laws of the Federation 2004. Such persons will be dealt with as criminals and economic saboteurs” he stated.

Getting more eggs from injected female catfish broodstock

When a female catfish brood stock is injected, depending on the room and water temperature, it starts releasing eggs from the eight hour.

For the average fish breeder, fish is assumed to be available once eggs are seen trickling out. From my own experience, it is better to let the fish stay for not less than 11 hours after administering the pituitary or hormonal injection.

When the eggs start coming out from the eight hour, the first thing a farmer should do is to tactically immobilize the fish by putting it in a large sieve.

Secondly, the eyes of the fish should be covered. Most animals like falcons, eagles, giraffes and fishes usually calm down once their eyes are covered. It has been noted that even man sleeps better in a dark room than in a room with bright lights filtering through the windows or from electric lamps.

So instead of leaving the fishes in water where they can move and ‘waste’ the eggs, it is wise and advisable to adopt the method above in order to have more eggs.

Getting more ‘sperm egg’ available from male catfish broodstock during breeding.

There are times when a 3kg male catfish selected for breeding will not have the anticipated quantity of milt.

In fact, some males have been seen to possess just one single lobe of milt sac, instead of the required two. A big and well matured male catfish can fertilize eggs stripped from five to six females.

When this is to be done, it is advisable to increase the chances of every egg fertilized by the numerous eggs contained in the milt. The simple way a farmer can achieve this is to ‘multiply’ the medium that carries these SPERM eggs.

This can be achieved by emptying the SPERM from the sac into saline water. In pharmacy stores, it is referred to as normal saline. This milt sac is carefully lacerated using a small sharp scissors and the white, milk like fluid is emptied into the saline water.

This does not increase the quantity of eggs in the sperm sac, but increases the chance of an individual sperm egg, getting attached to an individual egg from the female, thereby increasing fertilization rate during the breeding process.

by

Lanre Ogunsina

SMALL SCALE WOMEN FARMERS SEEK MORE GOVT. SUPPORT

Women farmers under the auspices of  Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) has lamented the inadequacy of support from government and stressed the need for proactive effort to address such inadequacy.

At a 2-day workshop organized for the women farmers by Trust‎ Africa funded project which is aimed at advocating for government commitment to the Malabu declaration which Nigeria is a signatory, the women farmers also lamented the lack of equipment and machines for processing, storage facilities and the lack of transportation amenities.

The workshop which was also an interface meeting between SWOFON and government representatives in accessing government intervention in various value chain programs in Kaduna State.

It was also aimed at sensitizing the Women farmers on government programs and rate government intervention that will help to increase production.

Challenges identified by the service providers include funding, inadequate manpower, inadequate logistics, insecurity of ‎farmers and un-timeliness of intervention. On the part of the service users where the women farmers belong, challenges such as inadequacy of support in terms of inputs and technical support such as poor information spread, insurance, stiff critiria for accessing land and funding among others were also identified.

In their assessment at the end of the workshop using laid down indicators, the women farmers who are service users scored the government bad in terms of private sector engagement, public Private partnership, access to credit and information services.

The women farmers numbering about 22 randomly picked from across the local governments in the state also scored the state government very bad in the area of infrastructural development, innovation and technology, and inclusion.

In the area of   ‎organization and linkage, the women scored the government good and okay in the area of enabling policies, regulation and institution.

In their various contribution, the state coordinators of SWOFON, Hannatu Soni and Agera Temileti ‎all commended the Trust Africa funded project for an opportunity provided them to voice out their challenges.

On their part, Aisha Abba from the Ministry of Agric and forestry and Deborah L. Yusuf Head of women in Agric‎ulture in KADP also lauded the workshop and it’s organizers.

One of the women farmer who participated at the workshop, Rhoda Gaya said, she is committed through farming to contribute to the economy growth of the nation, but stressed the need for governments assistance

SOURCELEADERSHIP