UBA Reiterates Importance of Small Businesses, Hosts MSME Workshop

 

In its continuous bid to support the growth of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) and equip them with the necessary tools aimed at strengthening and sustaining their businesses, Pan African Financial Institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc is set to organise another MSME Workshop for entrepreneurs.

The workshop which will hold on Wednesday via Microsoft Teams, will host professionals who will share their experiences and give essential tips to MSME and business owners on how to their businesses to the next level.

This Workshop which will be in two separate sessions, will specifically target financial record keeping in business which has been established as one of the major challenges that business owners face and it promises to be an eye-opener to participants.

Covid-19: An Opportunity to Reset Africa - Tony Elumelu

 

The Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Tony Elumelu, has stated that the Coronavirus Pandemic currently ravaging the world presents an opportunity to reset the African continent so that Africans can be empowered to become more productive and self reliant. 

 

He said this today at the high-level Round-table discussions made up of African leaders including Dr. Ngozi Okonjo - Iweala, the Special Envoy of the African Union on Covid-19 and Tidjane Thiam who is also a Covid-19 Special Envoy responsible for mobilising international economic support for Africa.

TAAT excites Nigerian Youths with new irrigation technologies for dry season farming

 

Ayuba Abimiku, a young rice farmer at Gidan Mai-Akuya community in Nasarawa state, North-central Nigeria, is excited.

Ayuba is witnessing the operation of a pressured plastic-piped sprinkler for the first time!

“This system allows for proper water management and the farmer can determine the right amount of water needed in the field per time,” he enthused.

“With this, less water is required, unlike the old method which often floods our farms,” he said.

“This technology has made dry season rice farming attractive to the youths, who hitherto do not want to get themselves dirty,” Godiya Ovey, from Madagba community, said.

“This is a system that does not require much effort once you know how to set it up. You can combine it with other endeavours,” he added.

Moses Tsaku, another youth farmer from Azuba-Bashayi community, says the pressured sprinkler and the wet and drying scheduling irrigation technologies have made dry season farming a lot easier.

“These technologies have completely changed my perception about farming,” Moses declared excitedly.

UBA to Provide U$14 million COVID-19 Relief Support Across Africa

 

United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) today announced a donation of over 5 billion Naira (USD14 million), through the UBA Foundation, to catalyse a comprehensive pan-African response to the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic.

The donation will provide significant and much needed support to Nigeria and 19 other African countries, by supplying relief materials, critical care facilities, and financial support to Governments. The UBA support programme will be allocated as follows:

Zambia hosts TAAT’s Fall Armyworm technologies demonstration day

 

All roads led to the Southern Africa Research and Administration Hub of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Lusaka, Zambia, as stakeholders from across the sub-region converged on the campus to assess the relative performances of different Fall Armyworm (FAW) management technologies under validation.

Organised by the Fall Armyworm Management Compact of Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) on the 10^th of March 2020, the technologies demonstration day created a platform for frank discussions on the progress made in coming up with sustainable and cost-effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technology toolkits for FAW management at the smallholder level.

The one-day meeting also provided an opportunity to distill participants views on how the technologies on display as well as others which are in use on-farm or have been recommended by various players are performing; and to proffer common position on the sustainable management of FAW in Zambia.

TAAT deploys climate smart technologies to boost sorghum production in the Sahel region

 

Sorghum is the fifth most produced grain globally.

This two-meter tall plant from the grass family is often grown in regions that have high temperatures and lower rainfall.

In wetter regions, its production is lower than that of more lucrative crops such as rice and maize.

Sorghum is a particularly essential crop in Africa, second to maize, as the staple grain for millions of people.

Although it is mainly consumed as a grain, sorghum is also prepared into a wide variety of other food products such as porridge, bread, lactic and alcoholic beverages, and weaning meals.

Africa’s third top producer of sorghum

Sorghum is the main cereal crop grown in Burkina Faso, with more than 1.5 million hectares. Along with pearl millet, it is the staple diet of rural populations in the Sub-Sahelian regions.

Burkina Faso is the continent’s third top producer of sorghum (after Nigeria and Sudan)

In spite of various interventions, its productivity remains low, with an average yield of approximately one tonne per hectare.

Many factors have contributed to the decreased productivity, including demographic pressure, ecological degradation, loss of soil fertility, and water erosion.

Other factors include negative effect of dry spells on crop growth and yield, negative effect of end of season drought, scarcity of organic amendment, improved seed and other farm inputs and output. 

TAAT excites wheat farmers with proven water management technologies

 

“These are very interesting and amazing technologies - with these, we will overcome many of the challenges we face now.”

With these words, Musa Shehu summed up the thoughts of many of the farmers in Alkamawa.

Shehu, who leads the Wheat Farmers Association in Kano made this remark at the just concluded Field Day to showcase proven water management technologies for improved wheat production in Alkamawa, Bunkure Local Government Area of Kano State in north-west Nigeria.

Organised by the Water Enabler Compact of Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) in collaboration with the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, the field day brought together over 200 stakeholders from across the densely populated state in northern Nigeria.

These include the representative of Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, the state’s Deputy Governor who also heads the state ministry of agriculture, the Managing Director of Kano State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (KNARDA) Hon. Suleiman Ibrahim who participated alongside 15 directors and Zonal Managers of his agency.

In attendance also were Directors of Engineering, Agricultural Services, Planning, and Veterinary departments of the Kano State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (KMANR), members of the Wheat Farmers Association, women, and youth groups.