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Farmers Decry Poor Funding Of Agriculture

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13 years ago

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The Association of Small Scale Agro-Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN) has decried poor funding of agriculture by the three tiers of government.

The National Vice President of the association, Mr Joshua Mabinuori, made the observation in an interview with newsmen on Thursday in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun.

Mabinuori stressed the urgent need for government at all levels to invest more in agriculture to avert food crisis.

The ASSAPIN boss urged the government to implement the 10 per cent budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector recommended by African heads of State in their 2003 Maputo Declaration.

According to him, four per cent budgetary allocation or below as has been the practice cannot solve the problem of food crisis in the country.

He suggested that Nigeria should emulate Malaysia which spent 25 per cent of its annual budgetary allocation on agriculture for 25 consecutive years.

“It is a well known fact that Malaysia is not the only country that has adopted this strategy. Developed countries with annual food surplus do allocate substantial percentage of their budgetary allocation to agriculture.

“ We therefore want to use this opportunity to call on the Federal Government to pay urgent attention to the deplorable situation of agriculture in the country and proffer solutions to ameliorate the problems.

“If government refuses to allocate substantial amount of money to agriculture where do we get money to subsidise production cost and ameliorate the climate change that impedes smooth food production from time to time.

“We want government to note that no nation attain food sufficiency without proper and adequate funding of agriculture.”

Besides, Mabinuori also urged the government to take steps towards subsidising farm produce to enhance food security in the country.

He explained that such step would encourage farmers to produce more food and discourage food importation.

“ The small-scale farmers, therefore, urged government at all levels to purchase farm produce at a predetermined, appropriate and profitable prices from farmers at the farm gate rather than subsidising inputs.

“In other words, the problems and challenges of Nigerian farmers is not the cost of input but the poor price offered to the farmers for their produce at the market place.

“If government can subsidise farm produce, farmers will be able to break even and this would in turn encourage farmers to produce more food.”

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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2 days ago

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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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2 days ago

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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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2 days 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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