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Kano State Produced Five Tonnes Of Crops In 2010 – MD

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15 years ago

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Crops production in Kano State rose to five million tonnes in 2010, the Managing Director, Kano State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (KNARDA), Alhaji Muhammed Kura, has said.

 Kura told newsmen recently in Kano that the annual crop production in 2003 was only 1.9 tonnes.

He said the increase in production was due to various schemes introduced by KNARDA and the implementation of some World Bank assisted projects including the National Fadama Development Programme and the Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP).

He explained that the five-year poverty alleviation Fadama programme with a portfolio of 1.7 million dollars attracts an annual counterpart funding of N57 million from the state government.

“There are 86,000 hectares of Fadama land in Kano and more than 200 communities from 20 local government areas are participating in the project at the moment,“ he said

He said that more than 1.5 million beneficiaries were targeted to benefit from the programme by the end of the fifth year.

According to him, the communities are provided assorted inputs and services such as fertilisers and agrochemicals as well as equipment including irrigation pumps, irrigation wells, milling machines.

Other assets include community warehouses and the maintenance of irrigation canals, he said.

He further explained that the Commercial Agriculture Development Programme (CADP) was aimed at supporting small and medium scale farmers to commercialise their activities including production, processing and marketing.

Kura said that the CADP was targeted at three agricultural areas including rice, maize and dairy production.

“In the last one year, we have been able to support 30 small and medium enterprises with grants to enable them to adopt newly introduced technology in production and other activities.

“As part of the CADP initiave, KNARDA also provided infrastructure for producers and processors under the ‘Farm Eergy and Farm Access Roads Scheme’, he said.

 The managing director said that a number of rice processing clusters had been surveyed and would be provided with alternative energy sources.

According to him, five different farm access roads covering a total of 80 kms will also be constructed in the state.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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September 22, 2025

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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September 22, 2025

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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9 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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