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The Scientific Equipment Development Institute (SEDI) has urged poultry farmers to partner with the institute to reduce the high cost of feeds in the country. The Acting Managing Director of SEDI, Mr David Dania, made the call recently in Enugu while addressing members of the Association of Heads of Federal Establishments (AHFEs). Dania said SEDI has machines that produce feeds in the farms, so, “You don’t need to go and buy feeds from outside because we have the equipment and local raw materials here in Nigeria. “SEDI has the mandate to produce scientific equipment like automated feed plants, tools for science laboratories in schools, tool kits and we also engage in recycling activities like plastics”, he said. He continued that the institute had produced tools and equipped science laboratories in many secondary schools in Enugu State and had trained science teachers on how to use the equipment adding that they were all doing well. “We have the mandate to develop products and technologies related to scientific equipment and other technical items including machines and passing same to the private sector for local mass production and commercialisation. “We also help local industries in equipment maintenance, local manufacturing of spare parts, machine design and building”. He stressed the need to develop scientific equipment in Nigeria with the abundant human and material resources available in the country. “We need scientific equipment to build the nation, to change our lifestyle, create jobs and wealth. “SEDI is here to help develop our economy with its technology. Technology is making everything faster and we need to be in the forefront and change the narrative,” he said. In his remarks, the Vice President of AHFE in Enugu State, Mr Augustine Musa, commended SEDI for sensitizing the members on its activities in the country. Musa, who is also the Director and head, Federal Ministry of Trade and investment, pointed out that technology advancements was the way forward to economic development. He said the association would continue to hold trainings to build capacities of its members. SEDI is one of the development institutes under the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).
Mechanisation Will Encourage Youths Into Agriculture – Perm Sec
The Federal Government says improving agricultural practices through mechanisation is a good way to encourage unemployed youths to embrace agriculture. Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Ernest Umakhihe, said this at the inauguration of a multi-purpose crop and grain dryer machine in Sheda, Kwali Area Council in Abuja. Umakhihe, who was represented by Mr Solomon James, Director, General Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, commended the Federal Department of Extension Services for introducing the machine to farmers. “One of the key goals of the Green Imperative project is to address deficit in agricultural mechanisation in Nigeria. “It will also attract investments, create massive employment and enhance the livelihood of farming families,” he said. Umakhihe expressed optimism that this new extension approach of providing necessary mechanisation to farmers group would guarantee treating agriculture as a business. He said this would attract the necessary investments, innovations and best practices for national development. “Improving agricultural practices through mechanisation is a good way to encourage the teaming unemployed youth into agriculture. “The Ministry will stimulate other necessary support which is finance, training and so on to facilitate the success of this new agricultural extension model,” he said. Earlier, Director, Federal Department of Agricultural Extension Services, Mr Frank Kudla, said the multi- purpose crop and grain dryer machine’s target was to support farmer’s group to reduce post-harvest losses. Kudla said that one of the advantages of GTR 750 mobile dryer technology is its collective usage by a number of farmers. He said mobile dryer had a plug and play machine which has its own loading, cleaning, drying, cooling and offloading technology. Kudla said that the machine also has a control panel which makes it easy to operate. Also, the FCT Coordinator, Small- Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), Mrs Comfort Sunday, thanked the federal government for providing the dryer machine for smallholder farmers. She called on the government to implement the ‘ Malabo Declaration’ which recommended 10 per cent of budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector across Africa.
Some poultry farmers in Port Harcourt have decried the continued rise in the prices of feeds in the market. They noted that the situation could lead to low productivity, shortage of poultry products and dwindling fortunes for dealers. They also appealed to the State and Federal Governments and other relevant agencies to take urgent steps to reverse the situation before it gets out of hand. A poultry farmer in Iwofe, Mrs Anne Chukwudi, expressed worry over the development, saying it had affected the poultry business in the area negatively. She said at the present, 25kg of feeds sells at between N11,500 and N12,000, depending on the brand, as against N8, 000 in September. She also expressed concern that a day-old chick, which sold for N500 in September, now goes for about N1,300. In his contribution, a fish farmer, Mr Moses Ajero, said the high cost of feeds not withstanding, fishes eat themselves if they are under-fed or hungry. He noted that all these are setbacks experienced in the cause of training and maturing these fishes. He emphasised the need for government to act fast in reducing the burdens on the farmers, adding that if drastic steps are not taken, “the loses would be much during the Christmas season”. Ajero also reiterated that the production cost of each fish go beyond the market price, making it difficult for farmers to make gains. Also, another poultry farmer, Mrs Gold Uzochi said there is urgent need for government’s intervention to bring down the prices of feeds to boost production and availability of poultry products. Uzochi said dealers in poultry products might be compelled to quit the business, if the market situations of feeds remained as it is now. She noted that agriculture remains the major way out of hunger and diversification from oil dependent economy, adding that the sector deserves more attention to boost the economy. “If government is serious about food security and employment creation, then playing with the sector becomes deadly,” she said.
Small holder farmers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have begun seeking out ways to put an end to low crop yield, using Genetically Modified (GM) crops. Similarly, stakeholders in the agricultural sector are seeking ways to end the present food crisis by encouraging farmers to key into GM crops. They said unlike the conventional crops, GM crops are resistant to a lot of pests, need less chemical applications which is good for the environment and has great yield. The Coordinator, Alliance for Science Nigeria, Opuah Abeikwen, said the idea is for farmers to see how science can help solve problems. He said this in Abuja when Alliance for Science Nigeria, in partnership with the Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), Nigeria, led small holders farmers to GM farms to understand the value of the crops. “We brought farmers to see how science can help solve our problems. We have been talking about GM crops for sometime now and many people don’t know what it looks like, “So, we brought farmers to the field where GM cowpea is cultivated so they can see first hand and compare it to the varieties they have been planting and see how science can help us solve some of our issues”, Abeikwen said. A farmer, and Chief Executive Officer, Yieldwise Seeds, Patience Koku, said the Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) cowpea that was introduced to the farmers are resistant to cowpeas’ most deadly pest, the Maruca worm. “We are here in a sampe 20T field and what we are growing here is the PBR cowpea which is resistant to the maruca. “As farmers, one of the biggest problems we have with cowpea production is a worm called Maruca. The maraca worm is so destructive that sometimes as farmers we cannot harvest at all, it would take all the pods, suck everything out and you have zero harvest. “Over the years our beans or cowpeas have continued to be more expensive because farmers harvest less, so what this variety of cowpea does for us is that it has enabled us to be able to overcome this challenge. “When we plant the cowpea, we spray less. Usually, farmers have to spray pesticides up to ten times to be able to get a good yield. But now, what has happened is that we spray far less, two to three sprays and you get a good harvest”, she said. “This variety also has other benefits, the bark or the pod when you harvest the seed is used as animal feed. What this variety does is that you have a good pod, meaning you have more to sell. “We also sell the leaves and with this variety, the pods dry out and the leaves are still green, which is good for farmers. So, farmers can make money from not only the seeds but residue. “We are excited that the variety is readily available in the market for farmers to buy, which means the general prices of beans in the market we expect would begin to drop in a couple of years and if we cannot produce beans effectively, it means the price would continue to go up.”
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