It is said that 'knowledge is the bedrock of existence'. As such, this blog serves to freely inform the general public about the importance of agriculture. The blog also serves to educate people on the different products that could be used on plants and animals to boost their growth and minimise loss and mortality.
CORN, BEANS LOWER IN OVERNIGHT TRADING; EXPORT SALES UP WEEK-TO-WEEK, MISS AVERAGES.
1. CORN, SOYBEANS LOWER AFTER USDA STOCKPILE PROJECTIONS TOP FORECASTS
Corn and soybeans were lower in overnight trading after the U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its outlook for global carryout of both crops beyond expectations.
World corn inventories at the end of the marketing year will total 220.7 million metric tons, topping forecasts for about 219 million tons, the USDA said in a Thursday report. Brazilian production is pegged at 91.5 million tons, well above industry estimates for just under 88 million tons
Soybean stockpiles globally will total 82.2 million metric tons, up from forecasts for about 81 million tons, the government said. The USDA pegged production at 108 million tons, beating expectations for 106 million.
Corn futures for May delivery fell 1½¢ to $3.65½ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Soybean futures declined 5¾¢ to $10.05¼ a bushel in Chicago. Soy meal lost $1.90 to $326.60 a short ton, and soy oil declined 0.18¢ to 32.93¢ a pound.
Wheat futures for May delivery fell a penny to $4.43 a bushel overnight. Kansas City futures declined ½¢ to $4.62 a bushel.
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2. EXPORT SALES REPORTS MIXED AS SALES RISE WEEK-TO-WEEK, MISS AVERAGES
The Department of Agriculture’s export sales report was mixed as it showed sales rose week-to-week for corn, beans, and wheat, but were down from the average.
Corn exporters sold 741,100 metric tons of the grain in the week that ended on March 2, the USDA said in a report on Thursday. That’s up 7% from the previous week but down 7% from the prior four-week average, according to the government.
Japan was the big buyer, taking 318,800 tons. South Korea was next on the list at 175,800 tons, and Mexico bought 165,000 tons. Saudi Arabia purchased 113,100 tons and Colombia took 61,700 tons.
Soybean sales totaled 485,500 tons, up 14% from a week earlier but down 8% from the average, according to the USDA.
Mexico was the biggest buyer at 151,500 tons, topping China, which bought 84,300 tons. Japan was in for 77,800 tons, Taiwan bought 70,900 tons and Indonesia purchased 70,100 tons.
Wheat exporters sold 391,600 tons of the grain, up 21% week-to-week but down 14% from the prior four-week average, the agency said.
Japan bought 56,400 tons, Bangladesh took 55,000 tons, Yemen purchased 50,000 tons, Mexico was in for 41,000 tons and the Philippines purchased 36,700 tons, according to the USDA.
3. FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF MISSOURI, PARTS OF SEVERAL STATES
After several days of red-flag warnings from warm, dry weather, a freeze warning is now in effect for parts of the lower Midwest.
Much of Missouri, southern parts of Illinois and Indiana, and most of Kentucky are under a freeze warning this morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Temperatures are expected to fall well below freezing for a few nights in a row. Any uncovered plants including soft-red winter wheat in the area may suffer damage from the cold, the agency said.
“A cold Canadian high-pressure (system) will surge southeast across the area, setting the stage for a hard freeze over portions of the region late tonight and Saturday morning,” the NWS said in a statement early Thursday. “Low temperatures in the 20s will be common over the next several nights heading into next week.”
Beans ended the week on a weak note, as the trade continued to price in yesterday’s bearish report.
The Chinese market was under pressure on liquidation last night, and that spilled into the U.S. market as well. Macro headwinds added to the negative tones as the crude and metal markets were under liquidation pressure all session long. It seems that some of the inflationary money that had been coming at the commodity markets recently is now leaving.
With both the world as well as the U.S. balance sheets expected to get worse over the coming months, it will be hard for rallies to be sustained without a major weather issue.
The charts are turning negative and that will only add to the bearish tone. We do not expect higher prices for soybeans in the short or medium term. We suggest this market is on the path to hit $8.84 for the early-summer low basis the November contract. We do see a good chance for a rally in the July/August time frame (one that does not hold). But our key focus is on the sharply lower pricing expected over the next three months.
If you have not yet, we continue to urge sales on all remaining old crop and work on new crop. We do not want to have to bet the farm, a literal issue this year, by hoping for a summer rally by turning down the chance to sell +$10.00 beans.
LEAN HOG COMMENTARY
Hog futures did well this week, with a 45¢ gain on the books for the dominant June contract. Considering the bird flu news, three cases this week, that was good. While some would suggest bird flu is bullish from consumers turning away from poultry, the opposite is more likely. U.S. consumers generally have little actual change in meat demand based on meat safety fears.
The actual impact to pork is negative. If there are export bans enacted, then that means more chicken left in the U.S. to compete against pork. The phrase, “...sell it or smell it” is apt here.
According to USDA’s weekly estimate that comes out at 1 p.m., this week’s kill will run 2.313 million head. That would be 3.4% over last year, right next to the 3.6% gain seen over the previous six weeks. As of two weeks ago, weights are even with last year. Total supply this week, slaughter x weights, will total 491.1 million pounds. That would be 3.3% over last year. The recent six weeks have run 3.5% over.
Smithfield Foods reported that several thousand hogs in a hog farm in Laverne, Oklahoma, were killed due to the wildfires. The breeding herd farm in question housed a total of 45,000 head. If all those sows were killed, you are looking at something like 1.1 million head of potential market hogs lost on an annual basis assuming about 25 pigs per litter per year. Assuming a 5,000-sow loss, you would be looking at 125,000 head for the whole year.
It may seem heartless to say but with these events, the headlines and news stories are usually more threatening to supply than the actual loss in head from a market impacting basis.
Perhaps the biggest issue here is this week's action may have tested the support from a Head and Shoulders top formation on the charts. The potential H&S top in the cattle mentioned three weeks ago was never activated by a close below a similar support level. Next week’s trade will be important to monitor.
USDA reported the monthly meat export numbers today, converted over from the Census Bureau data. This is separate from the normal weekly export numbers that only include carcass meat, and that may be a little incomplete. The monthly meat trade release is considered the solid data. Pork exports in January ran 457.958 million pounds. That was 20% over last year. This is even better than the 9% to 15% year-over-year gains posted in the previous three months. Pork imports also held good news. At 83.878 million, they ran 15% under last year. That was better than the 4% to 11% year-over-year declines from the previous three months. More exports and fewer imports – positive news.
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Rich Nelson Allendale Inc. 815-578-6161 This material has been prepared by a sales or trading employee or agent of Allendale Inc. and is, or is in the nature of, a solicitation. This material is not a research report prepared by Allendale’s Research Department. By accepting this communication, you agree that you are an experienced user of the futures markets, capable of making independent trading decisions, and agree that you are not, and will not, rely solely on this communication in making trading decisions.
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Cynthia Mosunmola Umoru, is the CEO of Honeysuckle PTL Ventures and she is a farmer , one of the most successful ones in Nigeria. As a young girl her passion was to study Medicine but was forced to attend another university due to political violence in the north. It was while studying zoology in the university that her interest in agriculture grew. Refusing to limit herself, she took courses in fisheries, and multi-level marketing.
In her final year in the university, armed with the zeal to chart a new course, be her own boss she launched Honeysuckles PTL Ventures with the main aim of selling processed food produce. Honeysuckle focuses on high quality food products using modern packaging and fast delivery, and has its own farms and ponds.
Today we present to you a passionate Nigerian who sees herself as an agrovangelist. She is the technical adviser to the minister of Agriculture on Youth and Women
What prompted you to be a farmer?
My journey started straight out of college about 13 years ago. I decided to venture into agribusiness. I did a vertical integration in agricultural production. So we produce Chicken, Snails, Catfish. Now we are looking into vegetables and some cash crops.
Can you take us on a journey into the food business?
We have gone through some exciting time, a phenomenal learning curve where a green horn out of the university ventures into enterprise, tried getting clients, getting markets, raising finance, going bankrupt, starting all over again, acquiring land and so many other things but I must say it’s been a very exciting journey. Every experience is a significant learning curve for me. One that has transitioned into being a young lady who has found her calling in the agribusiness space, I have become extremely passionate about food, farming and the community at large. there’s a greater burden to actually impact the food space in Nigeria with focus on primary production, value addition and now we have discussing a lot about export and import substitution.
As the Technical adviser to the Honorable Minister of Agriculture on Youth and Women, can you tell us about the steps currently undertaken to engage the youths in Agribusiness?
From the government’s perspective, it is a continuous process. We are in a society where we want the magic wand to be raised and things just happen overnight. The Federal Government has put some policies in place to actually build the capacity of young men and women especially around areas of mechanisation, skills development for productivity in the agric sector. So you are going to go across varying value chains though the requirements vary.
One of the biggest agenda on the table is how we invest in extension service proviso, within the sector. there is the Npower project running from the office of the Vice President that will recruit and train, about 30, 000 extension service providers in the first phase, though the phase has been approved to scale to a 100,000 hopefully in the next 3 to 5 years.
There is a huge skills gap that is deficit in the agricultural sector, where young people who go to the university acquire certain skills that may not be relevant in the agric sector space so one of the things the government is looking into doing is how they create in partnership with the state government to create training programmes that will actually get the young people into the agribusiness space. Skills like mechanization, tractor operation, farm management, farm business, book-record keeping, and other of those skills will be given and some other programs will be across varying value chain to help young people actually begin to leverage the opportunities and potentials in the agricultural sector. So there are a lot of plans but they will be phased, they all can’t be rolled out in one sweep.
What is your advice to the youths?
Like I will say to anyone who wants to venture into any enterprise at all, life is in stages, and you must enjoy every phase on the way to where you are going. There is need for resilience. We are naturally tenacious people but I will recommend that we seek information, knowledge is power, knowledge is key. Gain requisite knowledge the enterprise you are going into, do not go into that journey blinding, there are mentors, there are people who towed that line before, it is important that you get all the support you need, to leverage people’s experience, read, you know, go online, go for short course, programs, improve on your skill set then your staying power in the business will be elongated.
In line with efforts to promote active participation of Nigerian youths in the ongoing Nigerian Agriculture Awards 2016/2017 Project and Essay Competition, AgroNigeria has extended the timeline to the March 23, 2017.
According to the organisers, the competition themed “Building a Crop of Young Agroprenuers”, which commenced on February 20, 2017 has been extended till the March 23rd 2017.
They added that the extension would allow more participants employ their ingenuity to effectively contribute to the development of the agricultural sector.
The competition is open to Corp members/students in tertiary institutions and secondary schools. Interested participants are advised to visit www.agronigeria.com.ng for more information.
Sokoto is famed as a key producer of carrot, a popular root vegetable which experts have noted to be very rich in Vitamin A, dietary fibre, antioxidants, and minerals.
It is cultivated in Kware, Ilela, Goronyo, Wamakko, Gada and Dange Shuni local government areas of the state.
On a weekly basis, not less than 10 trailer loads of 400-450 sacks of carrot are said to leave Sokoto to other states across Nigeria.
However, carrot farmers in the state have stressed the need for a processing factory in the state for value addition and adequate utilisation of carrot for local consumption and export.
“We need a carrot processing factory so that we can sufficiently use carrot as ingredient for making soap, juice, pomade and medicine as it is being done in places like Ghana,” Secretary, Sokoto Carrot Farmers and Sellers Co-operative Union, Alhaji Malami Muhammad, said.
He observed that carrot is more popular than many other vegetables in the state. “It is second only to cabbage in demand and supply,” he said.
The carrot farmers/sellers scribe said: “Carrot farming is a major employment creation sector with many youths involved in it. We have over 1,000 youths, who engage in various activities around carrot farming and trading from which they earn their living.
According to him, the carrot farmers /sellers union has over 4,000 members in the state.
He added: “Medical experts have even assisted to decongest our carrot markets by advising people to consume it to enhance their sight, so we have more and more patronage.”
Muhammad, however, lamented that the seed they use, is not available in Nigeria but has to be imported from France.
“There is only one dealer from Zaria across Nigeria, who is importing the seed from France and has complete monopoly of the market thereby dictating the price,” he disclosed.
Muhammad said a 100g sachet of carrot seed which hitherto cost just N600 now goes for N4,000 in the market.
“This is due to its scarcity and the Nigerian seed is substandard. The foreign seed is sweeter and consumed more,” he stated.
He called on the state government to provide loan to farmers or the co-operative to purchase enough seeds for sale to farmers at subsided rate.
On carrot cultivation, the farmer who noted that it is a dry season vegetable, explained that it grows after the rainy season – during the harmattan.
“It takes three months to grow to appreciable size and level and can be allowed to remain without harvesting for as long as 10 months,” he said.
On challenges, Muhammad said carrot at its early stage of growth faced the problem of locusts which ravage its plants.
“Farmers have to have pesticides before even planting the seed,” he added.
He also said when there is large supply, farmers lose a lot from glut.
The secretary called on carrot farmers to continue farming the produce despite the dearth of seedling because of its health and economic values.
Musa Garba who hawks carrot on a wheelbarrow, said the demand for the vegetable is high.
“In a day , I get N1,000 from a N2,000 sack I buy. People consume it a lot especially during the hot season. It is the season now, so I abandoned sugarcane hawking for carrot, that’s what many of us do. As far as we the hawkers are concerned, during this time, carrot overtakes sugarcane.”
He said they need to constantly water the carrots to keep it fresh.
Garba, however, said during rainy season supply diminished
TRAITS CAN BE WORTH THE MONEY, BUT PROFITABILITY DEPENDS UPON PEST PRESSURE AND OTHER FACTORS.
Farmers quickly gobbled up corn and soybean transgenic traits when federal regulators first approved them in the 1990s. Initially, those traits zapped weeds and insects with nary a hitch.
For the most part, genetically modified traits still work. “Some have struggled with resistance issues, but these traits do what they say they will,” says Joe Lauer, University of Wisconsin (UW) Extension agronomist. “Conversely, they are expensive, but with all the licensing and regulations, companies have to make a buck, too.”
Therein lies the rub. As a rule, traited hybrids cost more money than conventional ones.
SO ARE THEY WORTH IT?
Superficially, the decision seems simple. “Buy the traits you need,” says Lauer.
If you farm in east-central Illinois where corn rootworm can swarm cornfields like flies on a rotting animal carcass, a rootworm trait needs to be part of your rootworm-management program. If resistance to one trait has developed, another trait in a pyramid package will do, coupled with tools like crop rotation and a soil-applied insecticide.
Meanwhile, farmers in northern Wisconsin who rotate alfalfa and soybeans every so often with their corn, where rootworm is seldom a problem, likely don’t need a corn rootworm trait. That’s because by themselves, traits don’t increase yields.
Since corn traits hit the market 20 years ago, U.S. annual corn yield gains have clipped along at around 2 bushels per acre. Compare that with the mid-1950s yield gain from .8 bushels to 1.9 bushels per acre as a result of widespread use of hybrid corn, pesticides like 2,4-D, commercial nitrogen fertilizer, and on-farm mechanization.
Although traits have maintained the annual rate of U.S. corn yield gain, they haven’t increased it, says Bob Nielsen, Purdue University Extension agronomist.
“Current transgenic traits protect yields,” adds Lauer. Sill, yields won’t increase if pests are not present.
Seed price, though, complicates matters. Hybrids with trait packages don’t always cost more than conventional hybrids. Often, though, they do.
“With a $100- to $200-per-bag hybrid difference, I question if you can make up that difference through traits,” says Lauer.
YIELD IMPACT
Lauer bases these findings on the Wisconsin Corn Hybrid Performance Trials dating back to 1973. Each year, this trial tests more than 500 hybrids at 14 sites around Wisconsin with the goal of providing unbiased performance comparisons of hybrid seed corn for the state’s farmers. Lauer began including traited hybrids in the trials when they debuted in 1996. Along with UW agricultural economists Guanming Shi and Jean-Paul Chavas, Lauer conducted a statistical analysis showing that yields of hybrids with genetically modified traits varied widely.
In most cases, higher yields did result with traited hybrids. That was particularly true with European corn borer (ECB)-resistant hybrids. On average, ECB-resistant hybrids outyielded conventional hybrids by more than 6 bushels per acre.
“Hybrids with this trait had no yield drag,” says Lauer. “It (the ECB trait) did well right from the start.”
That’s not the case with corn rootworm traits, though. On average, yields of hybrids with these traits trailed the trial average by 12 bushels per acre.
“As a group, growers need to be careful with rootworm-resistant hybrids,” says Lauer. “Some years they do well, but most years, they don’t.”
Stacked traits helped. One example is a triple stack in which a herbicide-tolerant hybrid is teamed with traits that resist ECB and corn rootworm. In these cases, yields were 2 to 3 bushels per acre higher than those of conventional ones.
Still, that’s good, isn’t it?
On a yield basis, it’s questionable, especially if you’ve paid a hefty premium for the trait package. “Yield increases have been underwhelming,” says Lauer.
Let’s say you have a triple-stack hybrid that gleans a 10-bushel-per-acre corn yield edge over a conventional one. With $3-per-bushel corn, you can pay up to $30 per acre more in seed costs – or $69 a bag. (This assumes one bag plants 2.3 acres.) If seed costs more than that, be wary.
“The bottom line is that if there is a price difference between hybrid A and B that is greater than $75 per bag, be careful about buying the more expensive hybrid,” says Lauer.
REDUCING RISK
There’s more to your seed decision than yields, though. You’d probably have steam churning out of your ears akin to the cartoon character Yosemite Sam if a hybrid that yielded 250 bushels per acre dropped to 100 bushels the next year. That’s another perk of traits, as they can reduce this variability. The UW scientists found that even if transgenes produced only slightly higher yields in hybrids, they lower year-to-year yield variability. In a sense, this mimics a slight yield increase. Shi, Chavas, and Lauer found the downside risk of lower pest pressure mimicked a 0.8- to 4.2-bushel-per-acre yield spike, depending on the hybrid.
“Reducing yield extremes is one route in which transgenics can help,” says Lauer.
Lower variability that translates into more consistent yields between years eases agronomic and economic farm planning.
This variance reduction is most pronounced in low-yielding environments, says Lauer. The UW trials show that grain yield rises among lower yielding hybrids with transgenic traits compared to conventional hybrids.
Thus, the more transgenes a hybrid contains, the lower the variance, he says.
PESTS STILL EXIST
Pest pressure also can determine the trait payoff.
“Last year, we didn’t see a lot of rootworm pressure in the heart of the Corn Belt,” says Jeff Hartz, director of marketing for Wyffels Hybrids. “That can push some growers toward a double-stack trait (herbicide-tolerant and European corn borer-resistant).”
Just don’t get caught. Corn rootworm still lurks in cornfields, and it can slice yields.
In 2016, the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) On-Farm Network found many eastern Iowa fields had high beetle numbers. If eggs laid last summer hatch this year, it could set the stage for infestations. In some fields last summer, beetle numbers were more than seven times the threshold for adult beetle numbers.
Ditto for ECB. Although it’s almost vanished, ECB can overwinter on 200 types of plants.
“It is still there,” says Hartz. In eastern Iowa, there have been cases where ECB has sliced non-GMO yields by 30 to 40 bushels per acre, he says.
Hybrids high in traits like SmartStax, which contains eight herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant traits, will be under scrutiny by farmers for 2017, says Hartz.
“It will be a harder sell in 2017,” he says. “But farmers also have to make sure they don’t cut too many corners.”
In the case of Noah Hultgren and his family, who farm near Raymond in central Minnesota, a diverse rotation (sugar beets-kidney beans-sweet corn-field corn-soybeans) has helped keep insects at bay. “We have not had to face as many issues as some,” he says. “We have had some glyphosate-resistant weeds, though.”
To counter them, the Hultgrens have planted Liberty Link (glufosinate-tolerant) hybrids on some corn acres before planting LibertyLink soybeans for the first time in 2016. In their Roundup Ready sugar beets, they also have resorted to some cultivation and hand weeding due to glyphosate-resistant weeds.
In the more intensive rotations of the Corn Belt, though, resistance has been more severe.
“We’ve considered cutting down or going without traits, but the risk of yield loss is still too great,” says Ron Moore, a Roseville, Illinois, farmer. In his own neighborhood, ECB infestations have occurred in non-ECB-resistant corn and caused yield losses.
Moore’s concern also extends to weeds. In 2017, Moore plans to plant some Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans accompanied by an approved dicamba herbicide formulation.
“We are seeing some herbicide-resistant weeds,” he says. “Preventive treatments that prevent weed escapes are cheaper than rescue treatments. Traits cost money, but the benefits are more than the cost of seed,” he explains.
In some cases, trait use transcends agronomics. “We have producers who have 50,000- to 60,000-acre grain farms in western Canada,” says Jay Bradshaw, president of Syngenta Canada. “They want technology to control disease, weeds, and insects. But when you talk more with them, it is also about time management. There are fewer people available to do on-farm work. Traits can help them manage their farms.”
SEED FIRST
Think of buying seed like buying a pickup. “You have different options, but at the start, you focus on the truck itself,” says Cole Hansen, portfolio marketing leader for Mycogen Seeds. “You can buy all the traits there are, but it won’t mean increased yield without pest pressure. Selecting the correct hybrid for that individual farm is key before addressing pest concerns.”
Low corn and soybean prices have caused seed firms to ramp up offerings of less-expensive seed.
“We have expanded our trait choices, which include lower-priced options,” says Duane Martin, Syngenta commercial traits lead. When pest pressure is high, stacked traits with multiple modes of action are a sound agronomic choice. Where pest pressure is low, though, a single trait can provide the needed protection, he says.
“With margins like they are, I think farm managers can make a difference by employing field-by-field insect infestation history and by putting the best fitting soybean varieties and corn hybrids on those acres,” he adds. “There are cases where growers want to focus more on genetics and less on traits, and vice versa. We want to make sure those choices are available to growers to help make sound and cost-effective trait decisions.”
TRANSGENIC WILD CARD
Transgenes inserted in seed offerings can often be a yield wild card. “There can be a tremendous yield difference when we switch transgenes in and out of a hybrid,” says Joe Lauer, University of Wisconsin Extension agronomist. Swings of 20 bushels per acre or more have occurred either way between conventional and assorted trait packages in Wisconsin Corn Hybrid Performance Trials.
“There will be interaction between transgenes and underlying genetics,” he says. “The point is, there are yield interactions (including yield drag) that go on. Within trait technologies, there are good and bad hybrids. Each hybrid has to stand on its own.”
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS KEY HYBRID SELECTION
Each year, you spend time deciding whether or not to use products promising to coax just a few more bushels per acre out of your corn. Just don’t let these distract you from spending time on the decisions like seed that can literally cost you your family’s farm.
Each year, the Wisconsin Corn Hybrid Performance Trials test more than 500 hybrids at 14 Wisconsin sites with the goal of providing unbiased performance comparisons of hybrid seed corn for the state’s farmers. Year in and year out, there’s a 72-bushel-per-acre difference within relative maturities between top and bottom yielding varieties, says Joe Lauer, University of Wisconsin Extension agronomist.
So how do you sort out the diamonds from the dogs?
“Use independent yield-trial data and multilocation averages to pick hybrids,” says Lauer. Picking multiple locations is more accurate than on-farm trials, he says.
On-farm trials do have merit. A random hybrid pick has a 50:50 chance of beating the trial average. Meanwhile, planting the best hybrids from on-farm trials can beat trial averages 67% of the time.
However, findings in the Wisconsin performance trials show hybrid selection with a multi-location assessment can beat trial averages 71% to 74% of the time. The more locations you have, the better the odds have been of hybrids beating the trial average, he adds.
Gleaning these results can enable you to concentrate on the top-performing hybrids. “Don’t care about all hybrids, just care about the top-yielding top 20%,” he says.
Look at individual hybrids, too, whether or not they are traited. Lauer notes when traited hybrids were first introduced in 1996, their yields eclipsed those of conventional hybrids.
“But in the last three to five years, conventional hybrids have come back,” says Lauer. We still always find conventional hybrids in the top 10 of the same relative maturities.”
Don’t be distracted by a hybrid family. Seed companies will often sell a new hybrid as belonging to an outstanding family. Like your own family members, though, there can be stark differences among them.
“We see a big difference among individual (trait) technology packages within a hybrid family,” he says. “Each one has strengths and weaknesses. Try to measure just genetics. Hybrids within a family are not the same.”
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has moved in to tackle the outbreak of Avian Influenza virus known to affect the poultry industry, which currently has been identified as a health threat to humans.
NCDC has reportedly visited health facilities around affected farms and live bird markets, to review patients health as regards the current outbreak of the Virus.
Samples have been collected from patients in five hotspot zones in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, with Influenza like illnesses or Severe Acute Respiratory Illnesses to be tested.
Outbreaks of some avian influenza A viruses in poultry have been associated with illness and death in people in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Pacific, and the near East.
More updates on the outbreak will be communicated as soon as NCDC reveal their findings from samples collected.
Scientists have said that the Arctic sea ice could vanish in summers this century even if governments achieve a core target for limiting global warming set by almost 200 countries.
The ice has been shrinking steadily in recent decades, damaging the livelihoods of indigenous people and wildlife, such as polar bears, while opening the region to more shipping and oil and gas exploration.
According to Inquirer.net, with the total population of polar bears reduced to around 26,000, the struggle to survive without the floating ice platforms from which they hunt seals and other prey would be their only chance.
Under the 2015 Paris agreement, governments set a goal of limiting the rise in average world temperatures to well below 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial times, with an aspiration of just 1.5C.
However, according to some lecturers at Exeter university, United kingdom, Dr. James screen and Dr. Daniel Williamson, “The 2C target may be insufficient to prevent an ice-free Arctic”.
These scientists stated this in the Nature Climate Change journal after a review of ice projections.
They said a 2C rise would still mean a 39 per cent risk that ice would disappear in the Arctic Ocean in summers, They estimated a 73 per cent probability that the ice would disappear in summer unless governments made deeper cuts in emissions than their existing plans, adding that temperatures would rise 3C based on current trends.
Screen and Williams however noted that with 1.5C of warming the Ice was virtually certain to survive, and this would come a relief to indigenous peoples whose way of life, and livelihood, depend on ice persisting through the summer months
This month the extent of Arctic sea ice is rivaling 2016 and 2015 as the smallest for the time of year since satellite records began in the late 1970s. The ice reaches its coldest season in March and warmest in September.
There is no doubt that the agricultural sector continues to experience sizable growth and is a productive and competitive force for national economic development. To this end, AgroNigeria believes that operators in the agricultural space who are making things happen, deserve to be recognised.
Hence, the NIGERIA AGRICULTURE AWARDS 2016/17 designed to celebrate individuals who have performed exceptionally in contributing to the development of the agricultural sector in Nigeria, across varied value chains will be holding alongside, the Feed Nigeria Summit.
The event birthed in 2014, has since been acknowledged as the ultimate medium for celebrating excellence in the agro-allied sphere. Against this backdrop, this year’s NAA promises a thrilling experience.
Venue: Grande ball room, Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos State
Date: Friday 7th April, 2017
For more enquiries, contact: 08099207555, 08033321575,
Sahel Capital, fund managers for the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (“FAFIN”) and CardinalStone Capital Advisers (“CCA”), a Nigerian Private Equity Fund Manager, are pleased to announce that definitive agreements have been executed for an investment in Crest Agro Products Limited (“Crest Agro”), an integrated cassava processor based in Kogi State.
Founded in 2013, Crest Agro was set up to harness opportunities in the cassava starch sub-sector. The Company’s vision is to become the leading producer of food grade cassava starch for industrial users in Nigeria and the broader West Africa sub-region.
The business is led by an experienced management team with deep sector expertise and a passion for the transformative power of agriculture in Nigeria.
With 13,000 hectares of land for farming and an outgrower scheme that has reached over 400 smallholder farmers, Crest Agro has developed a robust farming operation which is well positioned to meet the raw material needs for its starch processing facility.
With this transaction, Sahel Capital will be partnering with CCA, the promoters of Crest Agro, who have also decided to participate in this round of funding.
Commenting on the investment, Mr. Mezuo Nwuneli, Managing Partner at Sahel Capital, said, “The investment in the cassava sector speaks directly to two pillars of FAFIN’s investment strategy: import substitution and smallholder farmer impact, and after a thorough analysis of the opportunities in the sector, we decided to invest in Crest Agro. Crest Agro has consciously set out to address the structural challenges limiting players in the sector, and we were particularly happy with the quality of the team and the level of execution ability that they bring to the table.
We are also excited to be partnering with CCA, who are top notch investors, and look forward to the transformative impact that we will achieve with the investment in Crest Agro”.
Also commenting on the investment, Mr. Yomi Jemibewon, Managing Director at CCA said, “We believe that Crest Agro is on its way to successfully capturing the industrialization opportunity presented by Nigeria’s cassava value chain, and will play an important import substitution role for the economy.
This is in line with a pivotal aspect of our strategy at CCA, of making transformational investments in Nigerian SMEs. At every step throughout our journey with Crest Agro, we have made concerted efforts to seek out and attract partners who will help ensure that the Company delivers on its vision of pioneering the industrialization of cassava in Nigeria.
To this end, we are extremely excited to be joined on this journey by Sahel Capital — an investor with deep local roots and a strong understanding of the sector, who will also be bringing considerable operational expertise to the business.” There is strong demand for starch in the FMCG, brewing and pharmaceutical sectors, and as the Nigerian middle class grows and more companies look to enhance their ability to source raw materials locally, this demand-supply gap is expected to grow substantially.
Crest Agro is located in the number one cassava growing region in Nigeria (North Central) and with its starch processing plant coming on stream by the end of the year, the company is uniquely positioned to grow significantly and become a market leader within the next few years.
FAFIN and CCA’s investment in Crest Agro will be geared towards facilitating the setup of the company’s starch processing facility, as well as helping to expand farming activities.
Speaking on the investment, Mr. Dele Ogunlade, CEO of Crest Agro Products said, “I am truly excited by the challenge of building Crest Agro into Nigeria’s leading producer of cassava starch. My team has been laying the groundwork over the last few years, and the funding and strategic partnership from Sahel Capital and CCA will provide the support we need to achieve this vision.”
With this round of investment in Crest Agro Products, the Company’s Board of Directors will be reconstituted to include one independent director, who will be the Chairman of the Board, bringing years of corporate experience and industry expertise to the company. Mr. Mezuo Nwuneli and Mr. Olaniyi Oladejo from Sahel Capital as well as Mr. Femi Ogunjimi and Mr. Yomi Jemibewon from CCA will also be joining the Board of Crest Agro Products.
