Day: January 18, 2022

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Nominations open for the Africa food prize 2022

KIGALI, The Africa Food Prize committee is pleased to announce the launch of 2022 nominations for the Africa Food Prize. The Africa Food Prize is the preeminent award recognizing an outstanding individual or institution that is leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa—from a struggle to survive to a business that thrives.

The funding partners AGRA and UPL are inviting nominations from organizations, institutions, and businesses that have created opportunities for Africa’s farmers to gain viable livelihoods from their trade.

The nomination criteria, procedure, and online application are available at www.africafoodprize.org/nominate. Nominations will close on May 16.

The prestigious US $100,000 Prize puts a spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to create a new era of food security and economic opportunity for all Africans.

Winners will be selected by the Africa Food Prize committee led by Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, and will be announced at the AGRF Summit 2022 to be held in Kigali, Rwanda in September.

“The Africa Food Prize celebrates Africans who are taking control of Africa’s agriculture agenda to create wealth and jobs for the continent, its economy, and people,” said Obasanjo.

In 2021, hundreds of robust nominations were received and after rigorous evaluation, the Prize was awarded to The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) for work that has improved food security across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Between 2007 and 2019, ICRISAT led a collaboration of partners to deliver the Tropical Legumes Project.

The project, undertaken together with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), developed 266 improved legume varieties and almost half a million tons of seed for a range of legume crops, including cowpeas, pigeon peas, chickpea, common bean, groundnut, and soybean. These new varieties have helped over 25 million smallholder farmers become more resilient to climate change, as well as pest and disease outbreaks.

The Africa Food Prize began as the Yara Prize, established in 2005. It was moved to Africa and rechristened the Africa Food Prize in 2016.

Source: Nam News Network

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Nigeria Unveils Massive Pile of Rice Marking Production Progress

ABUJA — Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is unveiling a massive pyramid of rice harvested by farmers to pay back bank loans they borrowed to expand their production. Nigerian officials say the low-interest loans helped more than double the average yield of rice and maize, ending the country’s dependence on rice imports. The Central Bank of Nigeria plans to sell the rice at below market rates to reduce the high prices that consumers have been paying for the staples.

The massive pyramid of rice bags stacked one on top of the other was unveiled Tuesday at the chapter office of the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce in Abuja.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari presided over the ceremony, with top government officials, including from the Central Bank and various state governors, in attendance.

President Buhari praised the farmers and urged more of them to participate in the loan program.

“It is my desired hope and expectation that other agricultural produce commodities will emulate the rice farmers association of Nigeria in supporting our administration drive for food self-sufficiency,” he said.

The Anchor Borrowers Program was launched in 2015 by Nigeria’s Central Bank. The plan provides rice farmers with loans and technical advice so they can expand production and increase yields while limiting the nation’s dependence on imports.

Authorities say more than five years later, the program has yielded the desired result, reducing rice imports significantly, and boosting local production from about 4.5 tons a year to nine.

Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, says the resilience of farmers has paid off.

“Permit me to commend all our holder farmers and the leadership of their various associations for their diligence, bravery, patriotism and [adaptability],” he said. “The past few years your Excellency has been quite challenging for these people as they have battled with insurgency, banditry, lockdowns and other related setbacks. Indeed, we lost some of our farmers to insurgency attacks nationwide, while some could not access their farms for several months.” Nigeria banned rice imports in 2015 with the aim of producing the staple locally.

At Tuesday’s launch, authorities expressed confidence that adequate quantities of rice could be produced locally, saying the trend could affect the domestic price of rice.

Meanwhile, the Rice Farmers Association urged Nigeria to leverage this opportunity and export the commodity to other West African nations.

Source: Voice of America