News from Nigeria

Agricultural earnings increased by N759bn in 2012 Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has said the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) has proved a success yieldin... Nigeria Seeks Economic Diversification in Agriculture Push Nigeria's agriculture ministry has attracted $8 billion in foreign investment and aims to boost that to just over $10 billion by 2015, the country's m... Hargrave: Mechanisation, the Way out for Nigerian Agriculture Managing Director, Dizengoff West Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Mr. Richard Hargrave, speaks about the enhancement of Nigeria’s agricultural productivity ... World Bank pledges $1 billion to boost agriculture in Nigeria THE World Bank has pledged to commit one billion dollars to support Nigeria’s agricultural sector in the next five years. Its Country Director, Ms ... LCCI Makes Case for Bank of Agriculture, SEC The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has appealed to the Federal Government to give the Bank of Agriculture the same level of attention c... Oil, agriculture, banks to boost Nigerian growth Nigeria’s economy was expected to grow at a speedy 6.75 percent this year, driven by progress in agriculture, banking and oil, while high inflation ra... Dutch court to rule in Nigerian farmers' case against Shell A Dutch court will decide on Wednesday whether Shell should clean up oil damage that destroyed a group of Nigerian farmers’ land, a case that could se... Agriculture sector to create 3.5m jobs President Goodluck Jonathan Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland, hosted the first meeting of Nigeria’s new Eminent Persons Group (EPG). The newly formed gr... Nigeria seeks financial support to boost agriculture The Nigerian government on Friday called on local and foreign financial institutions to utilize the financing opportunities in the country's agricultu... FG to Boost Rice Production in 10 States The Federal Government has inaugurated a special intervention programme aimed at boosting rice production in ten states of the federation, an effort w... Nigeria may miss food production target, says official As the nation counts its losses following to the recent flooding, the Special Assistant to the President on Social Development and Special Duties, Mrs... There will be no food crisis in Nigeria says minister The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adeshina, has given the assurance that the country will not experience any food shortage next year as a resu... Nigerian farmers sue Shell in Dutch case with global reach Four Nigerian farmers take on Shell in a Dutch court, accusing the oil giant of destroying their livelihoods in a case that could set a precedent for ... Flood: FG plans to grow more food through irrigation The Federal Government is working out a special food production plan to grow more food through irrigation in the forthcoming dry season. This is t... Agriculture: Panacea for unemployment Some decades ago, specifically before the discovery of oil in Nigeria, the coun try prided itself on being an agrarian nation. Then, agriculture was t... World Bank to invest $1bn in Nigerian agriculture The World Bank is to invest N160 billion ($1 billion) into Nigeria’s agricultural sector, as part of efforts to boost food production and alleviate po... UN agencies seek ‘swift action’ against food crisis The heads of the three United Nations (UN) food and agricultural agencies have called for swift international action to prevent repeat of world food c... Farmers earn $136 million from cassava export to China The cassava production initiative of the Federal Government has started to yield the expected dividend as farmers may have earned $136 million (about ... Nigeria can lead Africa in agriculture The President, Rockefeller Foundation, Dr. Judith Rodin, has said Nigeria had the capacity to be the agricultural hub of Africa and the continent’s le... Nigeria to boost food supply by 20m tons Nigeria, which spends $10 billion a year importing wheat, sugar, rice and fish, plans to boost domestic food production by 20 million metric tons by 2... US firm to invest $60m in Nigerian agriculture ADCO, a US manufacturing firm, plans to invest $60 million in Nigeria’s agricultural sector, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwu... Youths in agriculture: strengths and opportunities The feedback received from readers on youth involvements in agriculture is overwhelming. It is just a confirmation that Nigerian youths are intereste... Nigeria sows seeds for agricultural rejuvenation The agricultural sector, once the bedrock of the Nigerian economy, has witnessed a steady decline since the discovery and commercialisation of Nigeria... Federal Government should focus on agriculture for employment generation The high rate of unemployment,especially among the youth, should be cause for concern for government at all levels, especially the Federal Government.... Agriculture key to development, says Gov Obi Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State yesterday said that agriculture remains the key to development of countries, just as he called on the people of th... FG to create 3.5m jobs in agricultural sector The Federal Government is to create 3.5 million jobs in the agricultural sector by 2015. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Ak... Banks stifle growth of agriculture sector The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Edo has accused Nigerian banks of stifling the growth of the agriculture sector of the economy. Ab... Channel large chunk of subsidy funds to Africa Gov. Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State has urged the Federal Government to channel a large chunk of the fuel subsidy funds to agriculture. He made the ... World Bank boosts Nigerian agriculture with $300m The World Bank has disclosed plans to boost the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) with the sum of $300 million. The Wor... Nigeria to benefit from cocoa initiative The ongoing drive of the federal government to give more attention to the agricultural sector received a boost at the weekend with the selection of Ni... Lagos state’s plan to feed citizenry The Lagos State government has recently set up a Farm Service Centre where farmers will be periodically trained to improve their knowledge and skill; ... Nigeria can't develop without agriculture Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has urged the Federal Government to evolve an agricultural policy that will effectively trickle down to the g... US investors to build tractor factory in Nigeria As the Nigerian economy continues to attract foreign investors, a group of Americans have concluded plans to establish a tractor manufacturing firm in... Nigeria’s cocoa output may be cut by 50% Nigeria’s 240,000 metric tons per annum cocoa output, which is trailing behind Cote d’Ivoire’s towering 1.3 million metric tons per ... Jonathan warns agric ‘saboteurs’ President Goodluck Jonathan has spoken tough against forces that are trying to frustrate the administration’s agricultural transformation progra... Why Nigeria may not achieve food security A lecturer at Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU) Ikeji-Arakeji in Osun State, Prof. Olu Odeyemi has said Nigeria may not achieve food security any ... African farmers in $7m in US project Farmers in six African countries: Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania will benefit from the second phase of the Commercial Products ... Paradox of Nigeria's economic growth Ordinarily, the recent rating of Nigeria as the third fastest growing economy in the world should elicit some cheers from Nigerians. Sadly, a lot of N... World Bank pledges $900m to boost agriculture Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, disclosed yesterday that the World Bank had made commitment to support the nation’s agricultural... Food import growing rate unacceptable President Goodluck Jonathan, at the weekend, lamented that the country’s food import was currently growing at an unacceptable rate of 11 per cen... Nigeria to benefit from equity deal In a landmark transaction announced last week, Zeder Investments Limited, a South African listed agricultural investment company managed and 40% owned... Govt eyes US investors in agriculture As part of the Federal Government’s efforts to diversify the economy, steps are being taken to attract the American public and businessmen to in... Farmers seek more incentives from Govt Farmers in the South-West zone of Nigeria, under the aegis of the National Programme for Food Security (NPFS), have appealed to the Federal Government... Agriculture is fastest means of job creation Regular meetings of the National Council of Agriculture and Rural Development have always been an opportunity for state commissioners in charge of agr... $40m rice farm coming, says Minister A $40 million rice farm that will reduce imports by 15 per cent and cut costs by N54 billion ($342 million) a year is to be established, Agricultu... Nigeria rice consumption to reach 35m tonnes Nigeria’s rice consumption is projected to reach 35 million tonnes by 2050, from five million tonnes currently, rising at the rate of 7 per cent... Spanish farmer to boost rice production in Kwara Agriculture is increasingly undergoing a process of revolution in Kwara State, starting with the exploits of the Zimbabwean farmers in Shonga. A Spani... Nigeria removes tariffs on agriculture equipment President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday presented a N4.749 trillion budget proposal to the National Assembly with a promise to offer zero... How can the Gov't make agriculture blossom Nigeria has the population, vast arable land and a friendly climate for agricultural activities to flourish, but lacks the zeal and capacity to utilis... Cocoa farmers band together for better prices Nigerian farmers are joining cooperatives that promise better prices from the global cocoa market by helping them improve crop quality, the country&rs...