Highzic blog

Nigerians have been assured of a significant reduction in the price of rice as from June this year - President of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria says a 50 kilogramme of the commodity will be sold at N10, 000 - He however says rice farmers in Nigeria still face the challenge of quality seeds                      Aminu Goronyo, national president of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) says a 50 kilogramme of the commodity will sell at N10, 000 as from June 2017. While speaking on the current development in the rice industry, he said rice which is being sold in Nigeria presently at the rate of N20,00 will start selling at half that price in three months’ time. NAIJ.com learnt that rice farmers under the association now have direct access to fertiliser. “Fertiliser was a very big challenge, but today it has become a history. We have signed MoU where the fertiliser is sold N5, 500 per bag of fertiliser, an...

Ibadan—Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has said that the country will be self sufficient in rice production by November, which he said will force a reduction in the price of the commodity. He frowned on what he called the people’s unbridled penchant and taste for foreign foods, most of which, he said, were not as healthy and nutritious as those produced locally. The minister bared his mind while addressing a town hall meeting on sustainable agriculture, which was attended by farmers, youths, women and other stakeholders in agriculture, held at the Oyo State Secretariat, Ibadan, yesterday. The dialogue, which featured question and answer session, was hosted by the Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, and the Commissioner for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Prince Oyewole Oyewumi. The meeting, which was called to chart a new path for agriculture rebirth, climaxed a two-day working visit by the minister to agricultural faciliti...

Venture capitalists invested more than $2 billion in agriculture technology startups in 2014 and again in 2015. That trend is expected to continue in 2016 because the demand for innovative farm technology is high, and when inventors show results, modern farmers have demonstrated a willingness to embrace those inventions and new techniques. With that in mind, here are seven emerging technologies that can literally change the agricultural landscape in the years ahead.                          1. Soil and Water Sensors Perhaps the equipment having the most immediate effect are soil and water sensors. These sensors are durable, unobtrusive and relatively inexpensive. Even family farms are finding it affordable to distribute them throughout their land, and they provide numerous benefits. For instance, these sensors can detect moisture and nitrogen levels, and the farm can use this information to determine when to water an...

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) have commenced quality guideline training of bee farmers across the country. Dr Gideon Mshelbwala, the Director, Veterinary and Pest Control Services in the ministry, made the statement in Goshen, Nasarawa State. He said the training was aimed at enabling Nigeria meet European Union requirements for export of honey. He added that the training would also help to build the capacity of bee farmers on modern bee keeping practices for them to comply with international standards in honey production. The director said that the Federal Government was supporting bee farmers with inputs like bee hives and protective clothing and gloves to enable them boost production. “ Nigeria is ready to host the Africa Apiculture Expo in 2018 and we have paid the 50,000 dollars bidding fee.Bee farmers are ready for the programme and that is why we are training them ,’’ Mshelbwala said. Also ...

Vice Chairman of Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association in Ogun State, Dr. Taiwo Jolaoso, who delivered a discourse titled ‘Acceptable U se of Antibiotics’ commended the farmers for coming together to promote pig production in Nigeria. He noted that the forum was timely because Nigeria has realised the needs to focus on agriculture. In his lecture Dr. Jolaoso cautioned that antibiotics should not be used on animal and man indiscriminately, as it could lead to antibiotics resistance. “When resistance occur you can no longer guarantee the safety or health of the animals. And farmers are prone to contact the disease since they touch and eat the meat,” he noted. He explained that when farmers take proper care of their animal and employ well-trained farm workers, fewer drugs are needed to raise healthy livestock. Speaking further, Dr. Jolaoso advised young people want to venture into farming to acquire adequate knowledge before starting the business. This, he said, woul...

In 1938, the Big Dutchman founders invented the world’s first automatic chain feeder for poultry in the USA. Today, the headquarters of the company are located in Vechta, Germany. In regard to housing and feeding systems, the poultry equipment supplier is considered to be the international market leader: On five continents and in more than 100 countries around the world, Big Dutchman is a trademark for lasting quality, reliable service and unsurpassed know-how.  A prime example is Asia’s largest and most advanced, fully integrated layer project in the Chinese district of Pinggu (Beijing Province): An impressive number of altogether 30 closed poultry houses accommodating four million birds have been fully equipped by Big Dutchman. The state-of-the-art facility belongs to the Thai Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) and was put into operation in 2012.  The birds are kept in 18 layer and 12 rearing houses. The Univent poultry cage, which CP decided to install, is a classic...

Israeli researchers have found that droppings from turkeys, chickens and other poultry could be a viable alternative to coal as energy source. According to a study by researchers from Ben-Gurion University, poultry excreta can be turned into combustible biomass that can replace 10 per cent of coal used for electricity production. The author of the study, Amit Gross, told journalists on Wednesday in Tel Aviv that “you get more energy than you invest, making this a possible alternative to fossil fuels.” Mr. Gross, who is Chair of the Department of Environmental Hydrology and Microbiology at Ben Gurion University, says the droppings is heated up to 250 degrees celsius in a process called hydrothermal carbonisation. He says the result is solid fuel similar to coal called hydrochar. Mr. Gross’ study estimated that if the entire world’s available poultry faeces were converted to hydrochar, it could replace 10 per cent of coal used for electricity generation. According to 20...