BrainsAgroBlog

Benedict Emmanuel Mitchel   FG  on solar cold chain facilities for tomato preservation The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said the Federal Government will provide solar-powered cold rooms in Kano State for the preservation of tomatoes. He made this known at the First National Tomato Stakeholders Summit in Kano few days ago‎. He said the FG plans to install the cold room in  about 15 locations in Kano state. He also said the federal government will also provide cold trucks to transport tomatoes from one location to the other. ‎The minister disclosed that Nigeria and Brazil had signed a $1.2 billion credit scheme for the procurement of 10,000 tractors for farmers; and to boost the agricultural sector. The minster also hinted that the Bank of Agriculture would be re-positioned, adding that 40 per cent of the shares would go to farmers. He urged farmers, youths and women to buy shares in the bank‎...

Benedict Emmanuel Mitchel Nigeria Earns $35m Yearly From Hibiscus Exportation — NAQS THE Coordinating Director of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), Dr. Vincent Isegbe, has said that Nigeria was set to resume the export of hibiscus (zobo) to Mexico. Dr. Isegbe made this known when the Mexican Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Marco Antonio Garcia Blanco, paid him a courtesy visit at the NAQS headquarters in Abuja. The CD of NAQS remarked that the issue of Trogoderma granarium has been resolved in collaboration with stakeholders across the value chain; paving the way for Nigeria to restart trade with the largest importer of Nigerian hibiscus. NAQS took the proactive step to suspend hibiscus export to Mexico following the detection of the storage pest in some hibiscus consignments from Nigeria. Dr. Isegbe said: ‘’In a couple of weeks, we will resume shipments to Mexico. Our farmers are eager and the fields are near ready. The harvest season of hibiscus w...