Economy
IITA, MEDA to Plans Sustainable Seed System for Cassava
By Dipo Olowookere
Cassava farmers and processors in Tanzania have another reason to smile as a new project to address one of their major challenges―the lack of access to clean planting material of new improved, disease-resistant varieties―is launched.
The five-year project titled Building an Economically Sustainable Seed System for Cassava in Tanzania – BEST Cassava seeks to set up an accessible and affordable commercial seed system for quality assured planting material of improved, disease-resistant varieties. It is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
It will be implemented by the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) with the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MALF), and IITA in 11 regions in Tanzania.
The project was recently launched by Engineer Mathew Mtigumwe, the Permanent Secretary (PS), Ministry of Agriculture, at a ceremony in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It comes hot in the heels of a recent announcement of a US$1 billion partnership between Tanzania and a Chinese firm to commercialize cassava farming and processing. The PS applauded the project as he noted its timeliness in the ongoing efforts to exploit cassava’s great potential to boost the income of farmers and fight rural poverty.
“The production of cassava in Tanzania is affected by two devastating diseases―cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD). Therefore, providing farmers access to high quality planting materials of high-yielding, disease-resistant, improved cassava varieties will allow them to exploit this new opportunity and others to unleash widespread economic impact on smallholder farmers and lead to positive ripple effects throughout the community,” he said in a speech read on his behalf by Hussein Mansoor, the Director of Research and Development (DRD) in the Ministry.
MEDA’s Stephen Magige, Project Manager of BEST Cassava, said that the project aims to “have a commercialized cassava seed system in place that will facilitate farmers’ access to cassava planting materials of improved varieties for increased farmers’ productivity and incomes”.
The project will support more than 430 privately owned cassava seed entrepreneur businesses that will directly target approximately 29,000 smallholder farmers and indirectly benefit over 1 million farmers and their households.
Regina Kapinga, Head of Advocacy and Resource Mobilization, who is leading the team from the IITA side, noted that increased commitment and investment by the government in the development of the cassava seed sector will lead to improved livelihoods of smallholder farmers. The other researchers from IITA are Edward Kanju, cassava breeder, and James Legg, plant virologist.
The commercialized seed system will provide farmers access to new improved varieties developed by the national breeding program in collaboration with IITA.
“The national cassava breeding program has released new varieties which have the potential to produce more than 20 t/ha without the use of fertilizers and irrigation. These varieties also have tolerance to cassava mosaic and cassava brown streak diseases. The seed systems will ensure that they reach farmers quickly and cost effectively,” said Geoffrey Mkamilo, the National Coordinator for the Root and Tuber Crops Research Program from the Ministry of Agriculture.
The project builds on the successes and lessons and the teams from three previous projects funded by the Gates Foundation launched in 2012. These are: the Cassava Varieties and Clean Seed to Combat CBSD and CMD (5CP) project led by IITA; Commercially Sustainable Quality Assured CassavaSeed System, implemented by MEDA; and the Community Action in Controlling Cassava Brown Streak Disease through the Clean Seed project led by the DRD.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
For the fourth consecutive trading session, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed higher on Friday by 0.63 per cent on sustained renewed buying pressure.
Apart from the energy and industrial goods sectors which closed flat, every other sector ended in the green territory, according to data obtained from the bourse.
Business Post reports that the insurance index appreciated by 1.52 per cent, the banking space improved by 0.63 per cent, and the consumer goods counter expanded by 0.46 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 617.47 points to settle at 99,378.06 points compared with the preceding day’s 98,760.59 points and the market capitalisation went up by 375 billion to close at N60.242 trillion, in contrast to Thursday’s closing value of N59.867 trillion.
The volume of transactions on Customs Street yesterday grew by 11.13 per cent to 544.2 million shares from the 489.7 million shares transacted a day earlier.
The value of transactions increased during the session by 49.30 per cent to N10.6 billion from N7.1 billion and the number of deals went up by 1.93 per cent to 8,464 deals from the 8,304 deals posted in the previous trading session.
The busiest equity for the trading day was Japaul with the sale of 71.7 million units valued at N158.0 million, eTranzact exchanged 70.7 million units worth N477.5 million, Tantalizers sold 57.3 million units for N101.2 million, FCMB traded 33.0 million units worth N297.3 million, and Universal Insurance transacted 27.1 million units valued at N9.6 million.
A total of 36 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart, while 15 stocks finished on the losers’ table, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The trio of Aradel Holdings, Ikeja Hotel and Caverton gained 10.00 per cent each to trade at N550.00, N8.80, and N1.98, respectively, as Africa Prudential rose by 9.87 per cent to N17.25 and Golden Guinea Breweries soared by 9.64 per cent to N8.64.
On the flip side, Austin Laz lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1.62, ABC Transport crashed by 8.00 per cent to N1.15, Royal Exchange slumped by 7.69 per cent to 60 Kobo, Secure Electronic Technology plunged by 5.26 per cent to 54 Kobo, and The Initiates crumbled by 4.26 per cent to N2.25.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil climbed by about 2 per cent on Friday on expectations that additional sanctions on Russia and Iran could tighten supplies and that lower interest rates in Europe and the US could boost fuel demand.
Brent futures went up by $1.08 or 1.5 per cent to settle at $74.49 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures expanded by $1.27 or 1.8 per cent to close at $71.29 per barrel.
European Union ambassadors agreed to impose a 15th package of sanctions on Russia this week over its war against Ukraine, targeting its shadow tanker fleet.
The sanctions would target vessels from third countries supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine and add more individuals and entities to the sanctions list.
The sanctions package is likely to be formally adopted at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday and will target close to 30 entities, over 50 individuals and 45 tankers.
Also, the US is considering similar moves that might target some Russian oil exports, before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Britain, France and Germany told the United Nations Security Council they were ready if necessary to trigger a so-called “snap back” of all international sanctions on Iran to prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The move comes as Iran has suffered a series of strategic setbacks, including Israel’s assault on Tehran’s proxy militias Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and the ouster of Iranian ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Meanwhile, data from China this week showed that crude imports in the world’s top importer grew annually in November for the first time in seven months.
There are expectations that China’s crude imports will remain elevated into early 2025 as refiners opt to lift more supply from top exporter Saudi Arabia, drawn by lower prices, while independent refiners rush to use their quota.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) increased its forecast for 2025 global oil demand growth to 1.1 million barrels per day from 990,000 barrels per day last month, citing China’s stimulus measures.
The Paris-based energy watchdog forecast an oil surplus for next year, when nations not in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, OPEC+ group, are set to boost supply by about 1.5 million barrels per day, driven by Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Guyana and the US.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), an OPEC member, plans to reduce oil shipments early next year as OPEC+ seeks tighter discipline.
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