Economy
Climate Change: Agric Experts Advocate Smart Farming Practices
By Bon Peters
Agriculture experts have advocated “smart farming practices” to combat climate change, improve productivity and enhance food security in the country.
They noted that if climate change challenges were not nipped in the bud, more than 52 per cent of the country’s agricultural production would be threatened by 2050.
The experts under the aegis of the Society of Action in Nigeria (SCAN), in collaboration with the University of Port Harcourt, disclosed this during a workshop organized for women and youth leaders on Thursday in Port Harcourt the Rivers state capital.
A Senior Lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Extension and Development Studies at the University of Port Harcourt, Dr Clara Ifeanyiobi, who was the project lead of the programme, said the aim of the workshop was to equip farmers with adaptative skills on climate change.
She noted that the project was a micro grant from Adaptation Research Alliance to the Society for Climate Action in Nigeria (SCAN) in collaboration with the University of Port Harcourt and the University of Nigeria Nsuka.
According to Ms Ifeanyiobi, when these skills are incorporated in agri-business, huge losses usually associated with climate change would be averted while farmers’ livelihoods would also gain a positive turnaround.
In her words, “Today’s training is tailored to the identified areas of need which is majorly in the area of crop and soil management practices for cassava, maize and vegetable farming.
“We are excited that there will be a huge turnaround in this year’s harvest, we’ve been in the business of equipping farmers with climate smart agricultural practices for over 10 years and our results from our target farmers have been quite laudable.
“This one is a lot bigger, haven synergized with key agencies like the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IIT).
“Beneficiaries are also expected to go to their various communities and establish the climate smart rural women and youth groups.
“We are also going to support the various trainings at the community level. So, we look forward to a bumper harvest across the 23 local councils of the state.”
The don also stated that improved crop varieties like cassava stems, maize (SC- 526) were also distributed to participants of the workshop (farmers) drawn from the 23 local government areas of the state.
Another resource person, Dr Doris Akachukwu, a Senior Lecturer at the Micheal Opara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, urged the federal government to utilise agricultural resources in the country to tackle current food crises.
“Here in Nigeria, we have the land and manpower; rather than desire things that are far-fetched, we should put in more commitment and funding for agriculture.
“Nigeria should begin to look inward, fund large scale production to ensure food sufficiency and employment for our teaming youths,” she said.
Ms Akachukwu expressed worry over poor commitment to Agriculture by farmers and youths in the country, adding that lack of basic techniques, seedlings and environmental pollution, effects of greenhouse gases were some of the impediments to Agricultural productivity in the Niger Delta area.
Similarly, Dr Bassey Udom, an Associate Professor, and soil scientist at the University of Port Harcourt, said that the training would help the farmers on innovative soil practices to help cushion climate change.
He also urged the Federal Government to tackle security which he highlighted as key to agricultural prosperity.
Our correspondent reports that various resource persons in the field of sciences especially soil scientists and crop scientists proffered solutions to some of the challenges and complaints by the participants.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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