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Prof Adeyemo, Oyo SSG, Reappointed to HLPE-FSN’s Steering Committee

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Prof Adeyemo, Oyo SSG, reappointed to HLPE-FSN’s Steering Committee

Prof Adeyemo, Oyo SSG, Reappointed to HLPE-FSN's Steering Committee
Prof Adeyemo, Oyo SSG, Reappointed to HLPE-FSN’s Steering Committee

Professor Olanike Adeyemo, the Secretary to Oyo State Government, has been reappointed to the Steering Committee of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

This was contained in a statement by HLPE-FSN, on Friday October 27.
The reappointment is in recognition of her immense contribution to food security and human nutrition globally.
The HLPE-FSN is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to global food security and nutrition.
The HLPE-FSN is governed by a Steering Committee of 15 world-renowned scientists drawn from academia, research institutions, the public and private sector, civil society and other constituencies.
Professor Adeyemo is one of the three African members of the Steering Committee, including Mr. Serraj Rachid from Morocco and Hettie Schonfeldt, a national of South Africa. She will serve for two additional years.

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The letter conveying her reappointment reads in part: “Your reappointment reflects your exceptional experience and expertise, and it is a remarkable achievement that shows the high regard in which you are held within the FSN community.”
Professor Adeyemo, who was appointed the Secretary to the Oyo State Government in July 2023 in recognition of her contributions to the development of the state, has led extensive research works whose results have had positive impact on food security and human nutrition.
Adeyemo bagged the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Master’s degree in Veterinary Public Health (MVPH) and Ph.D. Veterinary Public Health, in 1994, 1998 and 2005 respectively from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
A COMSTECH Distinguished scholar and the Pioneer Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships) at the University of Ibadan, between 2017 and 2021, she joined the services of the university in March 1999 as Lecturer Grade II in the Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine. She became Lecturer in 2002, Senior Lecturer/Assistant Professor in 2005 and Reader/Associate Professor in 2008. In October 2011, she became a full Professor.
From August 2013 to July 2015, she was a Schlumberger Foundation-sponsored Visiting Scholar at the Center for Human and Environmental Toxicology, Department of Physiological sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
A 2013 Fellow of the College of Veterinary Surgeon, Nigeria and a Registered Veterinary Surgeon, Adeyemo is a Fellow of many academies, such as the International Science Council (ISC), The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Mitigation, the Nigerian Academy of Science, the African Academy of Sciences and the African Scientific Institute (ASI), USA.

She is also a member of many learned societies, including Society of Toxicology (SOT), the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), the Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON), the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association (WAVMA) and the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSDW).

Professor Adeyemo’s scholarship and leadership are around “One Health” trans-disciplinary research that cuts across traditional boundaries and paradigms to create novel conceptual, methodological, and translational innovation at the environment-livestock-wildlife-human interface with significant policy implication for Nigeria, the African Continent, and the rest of the world.

She is the host PI on the project (2020–2023) titled “Improving Biosecurity: A Science-based Approach to Manage Fish Disease Risks and Increase the Socio-economic Contribution of the Nigerian Catfish and Tilapia Industries” in collaboration with colleagues at Mississippi State University, USA and WorldFish, Malaysia is facilitated by USAID grant under the Fish Innovation Lab for Fish. The project is aimed at improving Nigerian aquatic animal production bio-security and health management.

Signed
Sulaimon Olanrewaju
Chief Press Secretary to the Oyo State Governor
October 28, 2023

Agriculture Business Oyo State Updates

Oyo Will Be Number One In Soya Beans Production – Makinde

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Oyo will be number one in soya beans production – Makinde

Oyo Will Be Number One In Soya Beans Production - Makinde
Oyo Will Be Number One In Soya Beans Production – Makinde

 

Governor ‘Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has declared that the state will soon emerge as the number one in soya beans production in the country.

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The governor stated this on Monday when he conducted a facility inspection tour to Amo Farms in Akinyele Local Government and Awe town in Afijio Local Government Area of the state.

Commending the effort of the company in promoting agribusiness and agriculture in the state despite the challenges posed by the unstable economy, Makinde stressed that the state government is also ready to partner private investors under public private partnership arrangements in order to derive the desired benefits and development for the people of the state as well as the government.

The governor maintained that Oyo State is the first in cassava and day-old chick productions throughout the country and that he remained optimistic that the state would soon be number one in soya beans production as well.

He said: “Individuals are doing a lot under a very challenging environment here. So, what we have done is, we visited their locations, tried to understand the things the government can do deliberately to support the business and also to take us as a state to where we want to be.

“Right now, we are number one in cassava production in Nigeria. We want to be number one in soya bean production in Nigeria. Oyo State is number one in day-old chick production. So, we want to take that to livestock but we cannot do it by leaving investors to carry all the investment alone. Now, we are saying we want to support.”

The governor described the facilities at the farms as world-class, noting that his government would continue to encourage the private investors through provision of good roads and incentives for the expansion of their business.

He equally ordered that palliative repairs be carried out on the road to the farm by Akinyele Local Government to ease transportation, adding that the rehabilitation of the road would be included in the 2024 budget.

The governor added that the government would support in the area of power supply to ensure reduction in the cost of production to make the investment and the state competitive among others

Signed
Sulaimon Olanrewaju

Chief Press Secretary to the Oyo State Governor

October 9, 2023.

Agriculture Business Oyo State Updates

Just In: Oyo Govt Rolls Out Safer Loans For YEAP Beneficiaries, Gives Directive On Application Method(Click Here To Apply )

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SAfER: Oyo rolls out loans for YEAP beneficiaries

Just In: Oyo Govt Rolls Out Safer Loans For YEAP Beneficiaries, Gives Directive On Application Method(Click Here To Apply )
Just In: Oyo Govt Rolls Out Safer Loans For YEAP Beneficiaries, Gives Directive On Application Method(Click Here To Apply )

Participants in Oyo State’s Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP) are to benefit from the N500million loan the government is rolling out to support agribusiness as part of its Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery (SAfER).

YEAP is an Oyo State programme targeted at training young people in modern technology-driven agribusinesses and providing them with enterprise support.

SAfER is a multi-prong intervention emplaced by Oyo state government to ease the economic burden foisted on the people as a consequence of subsidy removal on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol.

The N500million earmarked by the state government as loan for agro-entrepreneurs is one of the measures put in place by the government to empower those in the sector and reinvigorate the economy.

The Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), which handles YEAP, facilitated the training of about 3,300 youths in 2021.

According to a statement by OYSADA, the gesture by the state government is to enable the YEAP beneficiaries “apply their knowledge and skills in profitable agribusiness ventures and reshaping the agri-food sector, not just in Oyo State, but across Nigeria.

Method of Application

The statement added that interested beneficiaries should apply at:

https://www.dashboard.farmsured.com/yeap_safer

OYSADA has been providing beneficiaries of its programme with enterprise support on an ongoing basis.

In 2021, the agency provided an opportunity for about 100 of youth agro-entrepreneurs to practise the skills they acquired when some of those in the crop production enterprise were given one hectare of farmland at the Fasola Agribusiness Industrial Hub.

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Another set of youths were supported in various farm groups in 11 Local Government Areas with over 200 of the YEAP beneficiaries receiving 25 bundles of cassava, 2.5 bags of fertiliser, and one litre of herbicide each.

The SAfER agribusiness loan will create an opportunity for many of the YEAP beneficiaries to launch their agribusiness initiatives.

Signed

Sulaimon Olanrewaju
Chief Press Secretary to Oyo State Governor

Agriculture Health Oyo State Updates

Anthrax: Oyo Govt. Seals Pharmacy, Operating Illegal Vet Services[See Photos]

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Anthrax: Oyo Govt. Seals Pharmacy, Operating Illegal Vet Services

The Oyo state government has sealed FinRel Pharmacy Supermarket and Bakery, Ibadan for violating the Oyo State Veterinary Practicing Premises Registration Regulation 2018, Oyo State Private Veterinary Premises and Veterinary Establishment law, 2017 and Animal Diseases Control Act, 2022.

Anthrax: Oyo Govt. Seals Pharmacy, Operating Illegal Vet Services
Anthrax: Oyo Govt. Seals Pharmacy, Operating Illegal Vet Services

Sealing the premises on Monday in Ibadan, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye said FinRel was operating an illegal veterinary pharmacy and engaging in Veterinary Clinical Services.

He also stated that this can put the health of members of the public in danger.

The Commissioner, speaking through the Deputy Director, (Monitoring), Dr. AbdulRrazzaq Lawal, said the move was in line with the Oyo State Government efforts to curtail and prevent the outbreak of diseases, adding that government would not relent in its effort to ensure safety of lives and properties.

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Barrister Olasunkanmi stated that the move was not to witch-hunt anybody but to ensure sanity in the veterinary service delivery in the state.

Anthrax: Oyo Govt. Seals Pharmacy, Operating Illegal Vet Services
Anthrax: Oyo Govt. Seals Pharmacy, Operating Illegal Vet Services

According to him, “we discovered through our surveillance that the owner of the premises is operating an illegal veterinary pharmacy and engaging in Veterinary clinical services without registration with the Veterinary Council of Nigeria and Oyo State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development which against the law, using of unapproved location for sale of Veterinary products as well as treatment of sick animals that can put post health risk to humans, as their customers can contract zoonotic diseases from the location”.

The Commissioner hinted that the Oyo State government would not allow any person or group of persons’ selfish interests put the entire state in danger of contrasting diseases from animals.

Barrister Olasunkanmi however enjoined the public to support the government’s effort in preventing outbreak of diseases. He also advised all unregistered veterinary premises to register according to the law.

Agriculture Health Opinion Oyo State Updates

We’ll Partner IITA To Ensure Food Security In Oyo, Says Makinde(Photos)

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We’ll partner IITA to ensure food security in Oyo, says Makinde

 

We’ll Partner IITA To Ensure Food Security In Oyo, Says Makinde(Photos)
We’ll Partner IITA To Ensure Food Security In Oyo, Says Makinde(Photos)

Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has expressed the readiness of his administration to collaborate with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to ensure food security in the state.

Governor Makinde stated this on Tuesday, while receiving the Director-General of the IITA and CGIAR Regional Director, Continental Africa, Dr. Simeon Ehui and his team at the Courtesy Room of the Governor’s Office.

The governor, who appreciated the Institute for its collaborative efforts with the state since he took office in 2019, said he would partner with the Institute to address the challenges of food insecurity and that by so doing, the state would have solved the poverty problem by a half.

 

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He maintained that his government is determined to tackle the challenge of food insecurity, saying: “As a country, we are going through challenges right now, in the economy, they have removed the lid on the exchange rates, and also PMS subsidy has been removed, so these have brought in quite a bit of hardship on the people .

“If you also look into the needs of the people, they say that if you take care of hunger then, poverty has been solved, so you cannot toy with the issue of food security. This means that leaders at this particular time in this country have to work three times as hard for anyone to even notice that they are doing something.

“With the IITA, if we focus on taking care of hunger through food security in our state, then we would have been able to solve half of the challenges ahead of us.

“So, I want to pledge that, even though it is a new DG, as a state we will continue to work together to tackle food security within our state and within the country and the continent. So, we will continue to partner with you,” the governor said.

Governor Makinde, who welcomed Ehui and his team, said he was looking forward to further profitable partnerships with the Institute, even as he added that the government would continue with the Start Them Early Programme (STEP), which trains secondary school students in Oyo State on agribusiness practices.

He said: “On behalf of the people of Oyo State, I welcome you back to your home and to your state. I like the idea that you have been here at IITA as a young researcher and now you are back as the DG after going around the world.

“What that means to us is that you have brought back all the knowledge you must have acquired and also you have the opportunity to do those things that, as a young researcher you had thought if I have this opportunity I can do this. Now, the opportunity is here so you have to file those things out.
“Personally also, let me use this opportunity to say thank you to the team at IITA.
“When we came in about four years ago, we sat down, of course I asked Dr Debo Akande, we have around Ibadan here almost six or seven research institutes, we have IITA, we have Forestry Research Institute, we have National Cereals Institute, Cocoa Research Institute, NIHORT, so I said what are we getting as a state from these research institutes? How have they benefitted us as a state?

“That interaction actually gave birth to STEP programme and it has been very successful and I am glad that the state government collaborated with IITA to focus on those youngsters.

“I would like to say that the programme will continue and now, we plan to extend it to other parts of the state. So, we will continue the programme.”
Speaking earlier, the IITA DG and CGIAR Regional Director, Continental Africa, Dr. Ehui, said the Institute is ready to work with the state government to improve the food security system in the state.
Dr Ehui acknowledged the fact that the food system in Africa is being challenged due to climate change, assuring the state of more support from the Institute, as it partners with it to deliver on their mandates.

Photos:

We’ll Partner IITA To Ensure Food Security In Oyo, Says Makinde(Photos)
We’ll Partner IITA To Ensure Food Security In Oyo, Says Makinde(Photos)
We’ll Partner IITA To Ensure Food Security In Oyo, Says Makinde(Photos)
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde (left); presenting a frame to the Director-General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (llTA), Dr Simeon Ehui, during a courtesy visit to the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan. PHOTO: Oyo Gov’s Media Unit.
Agriculture

Insecurity: Local Rice Price Jumps By 200%-Eagle’s Sight News

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Rising insecurity in the country, import ban and others factors have caused the price of one kilogramme of local rice to rise by 201.52 per cent in seven years, according to findings by The PUNCH.

This happened despite a multibillion naira funding support of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the nation’s rice value chain aimed at boosting production.

Data from the Selected Food Prices Watch Report of the National Bureau of Statistics analysed by The PUNCH showed that the average price of 1kg of local rice rose from N172.74 as of February 2016 to N520.84 as of February 2023.

In 2015, the CBN stopped the importers of rice and 41 other items from accessing foreign exchange at the official window in order to encourage local production.

The Federal Government also banned rice imports across land borders and kept 70 per cent tariffs on imports coming through ports.

In line with these interventions, there seemed to have been an increase in the local production of rice.

The CBN recently unveiled 13 mega rice pyramids in Abuja, purportedly containing over one million bags of rice paddy.

While unveiling the pyramids, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), disclosed that the bags of paddy, when processed and supplied to markets, would drive down the price of the rice.

“I am aware that the bags of paddy will be moving straight from here to rice milling plants across Nigeria, which will lead to the release of processed rice to the markets by the rice millers. The measure will aid our efforts at reducing the price of rice in Nigeria,” Buhari had said.

However, contrary to what the president said, there has been no reduction in rice price, except a reported increase in production.

Commenting on the increase in local production, the Director-General of the Rice Processors Association of Nigeria, Andy Ekwelem, noted that before the ban, Nigeria imported about 1.24 million tons of rice from Thailand, but this dropped to 438MT in 2022.

He said, “So far, the Nigerian rice industry has enjoyed considerable support from the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Before the current administration, Nigeria officially allowed imported rice into the country. As of the last quarter of 2014, official rice import into Nigeria from Thailand was about 1.24 million tons of rice; by the end of 2015, these imports had dropped to about 644,131MT, and by the end of 2016, it dropped to 58,260MT. In 2017, the imports further dropped to 23,192MT but by 2022, it dropped to an all-time minimum of 438MT.”

He further noted that the support from the Federal Government and the CBN through programmes such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the Paddy Aggregation Scheme, the Private Sector-Led Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme, the Real Sector Support Facility, among others, have led to a significant increase in the number of large-scale integrated rice processing facilities in the country.

Ekwelem said, “Nigeria boasts of over 100 large-scale integrated rice processing facilities scattered across the country. This is more than 700 per cent increase from the mere 13 large integrated mills operating in the country between 2010 and 2014.”

The RIPAN DG added that all these interventions, including the import ban, made rice production to hit 8.4 million tons in 2021 from 8.2 million tons in 2020 when the border ban policy was introduced.

He said, “The dividend of all these, was that the demand for Nigerian homegrown and locally processed rice increased quite immensely, causing an increase in both the production of paddy rice as well as a rice processing facility. In 2020, during the COVID era, Nigeria farmers produced as much as 8.2 million tons of paddy rice and another 8.4 million tons in 2021.

“At the time, all the paddy produced was off-taken by the rice processors/millers who processed them and supplied good quality finished rice to Nigerians. Even as the borders were closed and COVID Pandemic raged on, Nigeria didn’t suffer a lack of food, particularly rice.

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Just In: Makinde Visits Israel, Signs Agribusiness Deal With University Of Jerusalem

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Just In: Makinde Visits Israel, Signs Agribusiness Deal With University Of Jerusalem

Eagle’s Sight News reports that Oyo state governor, Engr Seyi Makinde who has been away to Israel in his continous efforts and commitments to move the state forward has signed an agreement of cooperation with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to develop an agribusiness knowledge economy in the state.

This reliable online newspaper ‘Eaglessightnews’ quoted Westernmirror exclusive news gathered from a source at the meeting in Jerusalem today that this development will trigger Agric revolution which will culminate into rapid development of agribusiness in the state as one of its economic mainstays.

It will be recalled that the Executive Adviser and Director-general of Oyo state Agribusiness Agency, Dr Debo Akande recently hosted the Netherlands Condular-General and his team and other foreign and local investors in Ibadan in a bid to fashion out a new course of action to develop Agribusiness in the state.

According to Dr Akande during the one day event recently held in Ibadan, Oyo state has recorded a 27billion naira direct private sector investment in the state within the last three years following the consistency of the state government in its Agribusiness policies and drive.

Governor Makinde, as part of follow up to the state government’s commitment towards what it called agricultural revolution which is expected to create a strong value chain and employment opportunity has penned down a deal with the Israeli university.

According to words captured by this medium on his social handles,

“This afternoon, as part of our visit to Israel to meet investors and institutions that have shown interest in Oyo State’s agribusiness policies, we signed an agreement of cooperation with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to develop an agribusiness knowledge economy.

“The partnership includes scholarship offers, knowledge transfer and exchange programs between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Oyo State owned Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH).
We also met with Oyo State students at the university.

“During the course of our stay in Israel, we have visited 2 kibbutzes (farm settlements) – a dairy farm and another farm which produces lettuce and fish, to see agritech deployment in modern agribusinesses.”