General
Wheat Development Programme Yield Underscores Role of Research and Trials
Nigeria’s aspiration for wheat production self-sufficiency is being pursued on diverse fronts by stakeholders in the value chain including government, policymakers, farmers, researchers, scientists, institutions, millers, etc. under different aegis and initiatives.
For the Flour Milling Association of Nigeria (FMAN), that initiative would be its Wheat Development Programme (WDP). Under the auspices of the FMAN WDP, millers have continued to invest over N500 million annually to support local smallholder wheat farmers amongst other activities aimed at boosting local wheat production in Nigeria.
This intervention included a scaled out-grower programme that provided the high-yielding seed for smallholder wheat farmers in the wheat-producing belts of Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Borno, Yobe and Zamfara States. It also included a sustained working relationship with the Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria (WFAN), funding of the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI) located in Maiduguri and the expansion of the seed varietal testing and multiplication sites in Kano, Sokoto, Kaduna, and Jigawa States.
The outcome of all of these efforts underscores the efficacy of research and trials, which today is glaring for all to see. According to the latest wheat harvest yield data released for the 2021 harvest season, the average wheat harvest yield across the Wheat Farmer Service Centres established under the WDP in Jigawa, Kebbi and Kano rose from 1 ton to an average of 4 ton per hectare.
Going by the harvest yield data, the aggregate total yield derived from the 15 wheat collection centres located in the wheat farming belts of Northern Nigeria stood at over 800 tons. The leap in wheat yield per hectare in the current harvest season is expected to rise even more to a remarkable aggregate sum when the harvest season rounds off this June 2021.
The current improved harvest yield is in stark contrast to the previous experience recorded in the wheat production value chain in previous years. This is hugely because the tendency of achieving wheat sufficiency in Nigeria has been marred by disinterest and apathy by stakeholders in the agro value chain in the past 3 decades.
Although the country recorded some feat in its wheat development drive between 1987 and 1991, the departure from the programme in the subsequent years wiped off most of the gains derived from the previous development efforts.
However, the pivot to wheat derivative food consumption by Nigeria’s teeming population since 2016, and the oil shock of the same year stimulated renewed interest in developing the wheat production value chain to tap the export potential of the crop and meet the demand for quality, nutritious and affordable foods by the masses.
From inception, there are quite a number of hurdles to sale to be able to raise the local wheat production levels. The hurdles include a traumatizing security issue across the wheat-producing belts, the low access to high-yielding wheat seeds and critical farming inputs, and the dearth of mechanized and modernized farming practices along the wheat farming segment. These hurdles impact the quality, quantity and price of the little wheat produce delivered locally. They have also led to sub-par performance on regional wheat production levels.
The landscape is gradually shifting though. This is because the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and FMAN rose to the challenge to push the country forward in its goal of achieving wheat production self-sufficiency.
Through the quality partnership with various wheat development experts such as the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), Tractor on the Go and the Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria (WFAN) amongst others, priority was given to deepening agronomic practices in the wheat production segment.
Smallholder wheat farmers were supplied with quality input to enhance their harvest yields, the level of research was scaled to ensure high-yielding seeds were experimented with and released at improved frequency. Relevant modern infrastructural facilities were also made available on the farmlands. An out-grower scheme was introduced to extend timely loan resources to the wheat smallholders.
The intervention data has been outstanding. In the 2020 and 2021 wheat cultivation and harvesting seasons alone, over 800 wheat farmers benefited from the FMAN’s out-grower scheme. Mechanized harvesting and threshing support were extended to 493 farmers. Wheat seed production has been significantly raised to 80 tons. The scaled seed tonnage would adequately cover 800 hectares when the next cultivation season begins.
Although the financial cost of these huge intervention efforts may be massive, the result is turning out to be impressive, encouraging and makes it worthwhile. The notable outcome and growth in the wheat harvest yield was announced and applauded during an event organized by FMAN to celebrate the smallholder wheat farmers who put in so much effort to deliver the bountiful wheat yield.
Tagged the Wheat Farmers Yield Championship, the event was held in Jigawa State on Wednesday, May 2021. While giving the welcome address at the event, Sarah Huber, the Head of FMAN, said, “Our wheat development efforts at FMAN are beginning to yield remarkable results. A larger percentage of the wheat farmers that participated in our 2020/ 2021 Out-grower programme has been able to increase their wheat yield from 1 ton to 4 ton per hectare”.
She added, “The improved wheat harvest yields can be attributed to the sheer level of hard work put in by wheat farmers and we are proud of their commitment to the goals of achieving local wheat production sufficiency in Nigeria. This new achievement foreshadows what we will be able to achieve together in the next 4 years, considering our scaled level of investment into research, distribution of high yielding seeds, provision of crucial farming inputs and training for the farmers”.
She thanked the farmers for their contributions to the success of the FMAN’s Wheat Development Programme. As part of the wheat post-harvest event, FMAN awarded branded products, fertilizer and lots more to the three best performing farmers from 3 states in the wheat farming belts. Hassan Usaini, a wheat farmer from Jigawa state, was announced as the best wheat farmer for the 2021 harvest season. Nalami Abdulmuminu, a wheat farmer from Kano came second. He was followed by Samaila Hassan, also from Kano.
For his outstanding wheat harvest yield, Hassan Usaini was given an excellence award. A female farmer was also awarded for being the only woman that participated in the 2021 wheat harvest season.
While receiving his award, Hassan Usaini extended gratitude to FMAN for the investment efforts put into ensuring that farmers improve in farming practices and can access high-yielding seeds and quality inputs when due. He remarked that he had acquired enough agronomic training and advice that he would build upon to raise his wheat harvest yields to a better level in subsequent years.
Meanwhile, Ashish Pande, Managing Director of Crown Flour Mill Limited, a subsidiary of Olam, which is a major contributor and key member of FMAN, also spoke about the impressive wheat harvest yield.
He said, “The outstanding 2020/ 2021 wheat harvest yield has further deepened our local wheat sufficiency drive and reinforced our support for a research-based development approach in order to raise the level of local wheat production and achieve the local wheat production sufficiency goal of the government. CFM is committed to scaling the wheat harvest yield results in the coming years and will be unfolding other development initiatives to drive local production levels higher as part of efforts to ensure that Nigerian households continue to have access to more nutritious and affordable wheat derivative food brands such as our Mama Gold semolina brand and the non-sticky Crown Premium Pasta to nourish their families.”
Among the dignitaries that attended the FMAN Wheat Harvest Yield event were Alhaji Rabiu Ali Taura, District Head of Taura in Kano state, Alhaji Abbas Yau, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture in Jigawa state and Alhaji Rabiu Gwarzo, Vice Chairman of Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc.
Given the improved 2021 wheat harvest yield, it can be said that Nigeria is on track to attaining its wheat self-sufficiency target. When fully attained, the coveted non-dependence on imported wheat will significantly reduce the nation’s trade deficit and ensure Nigerians continue to access the highly nutritious semolina, pasta, noodles and pastries products at their preferred prices.
The WDP is a research-based development approach to help raise the level of local wheat production and ultimately achieve the local wheat production sufficiency goal of the government.
You Don’t Need Mods to Have Fun
It’s pretty common for people to throw in dozens of mods before they even begin a new world. Bigger caves, new mobs, extra weapons, hundreds of blocks. It sounds fun, and sometimes it is.
But after trying all that, I usually end up going back to the basic game.
There’s something nice about joining a world where everyone plays with the same rules. No complicated mechanics. No long list of commands to remember. Just Minecraft as it was meant to be played.
That’s one reason a minecraft vanilla smp still attracts so many players. The game already gives you plenty to do without changing everything.
Every Server Feels Different
People often think vanilla servers are all the same. They really aren’t.
I’ve joined servers where everyone built together in one town. I’ve also played on worlds where players spread out for thousands of blocks and only met each other once in a while.
The rules can be almost identical, but the community changes everything.
One server might become a trading hub with shops on every street.
Another turns into a group of friends building giant farms.
And sometimes the funniest moments have nothing to do with building at all. Someone gets lost. Another player accidentally blows up part of their storage room. Everyone laughs, then helps rebuild it.
Those moments are hard to plan. They just happen.
Starting From Nothing Is Part of the Fun
Joining a fresh server always feels different.
Nobody has enchanted gear.
Nobody owns stacks of diamonds.
Even finding enough iron for a full set of armor feels like progress.
The first house is usually a small wooden box. Maybe there’s a bed inside if you’re lucky.
A few days later the same area starts looking completely different. Roads appear. Farms get bigger. More people join. The empty field slowly turns into a real town.
Watching that happen is one of my favorite parts of survival multiplayer.
Small Projects Add Up
When I first started playing, I thought every build had to be huge.
Now I do the opposite.
I’ll build a bridge because crossing the river is annoying.
Then I add a path. Later I put lanterns along it.
None of these projects take all that long on their own, but together they make the whole world feel way more alive. The same thing happens on multiplayer servers.
One player plants trees. Another builds a dock.
Someone else creates a marketplace.
Weeks later nobody remembers who built what, but the whole place feels like a shared project.
Meeting Other Players Changes Everything
Playing alone is relaxing.
Playing with other people is less predictable.
Sometimes you’ll log in planning to mine for an hour. Then another player asks if anyone wants to explore an ocean monument.
Your original plan disappears.
Instead, five people grab boats and head across the map.
One random journey is sometimes all it takes to create a story the whole group remembers. That’s the magic of a vanilla minecraft smp compared to playing alone.
chatgpt.com
Good Servers Stay Busy
A busy server doesn’t mean there are hundreds of players online every minute.
Sometimes twenty active players are enough.
You’ll always find someone building, trading, fishing, or working on a farm.
The world feels lived in. Shops have supplies.
Community projects keep growing.
Messages appear in chat every few minutes.
That steady activity makes a big difference compared to joining a server where nobody logs in anymore.
If you’re planning to create a long-term community, reliable hosting matters too. Slow chunk loading and random crashes get frustrating pretty quickly.
Many server owners compare different options before choosing free minecraft server hosting because stable performance becomes more important as the community grows.
Some also decide to use godlike host after looking at pricing, hardware, and available locations. Honestly, there’s no universal answer here. The right choice depends mostly on player count and how big the world is likely to become after a while.
Rules Don’t Need to Be Complicated
The best servers I’ve joined usually had only a few simple rules.
Don’t steal.
Don’t mess with other people’s builds. Be respectful to everyone. That’s pretty much all there is to it.
Nobody needed pages of instructions.
When people understand what’s expected, most problems never appear in the first place.
Simple rules also make the server feel more welcoming for new players.
Why Vanilla Still Works
The game isn’t anything like it was when it launched, yet survival is still just as enjoyable to start.
You collect wood. You build a house. You go mining.
Soon you’re helping another player with their project instead of working on your own.
Hours pass without anyone noticing.
That’s probably why vanilla minecraft smps continue to stay popular. They don’t rely on massive mod packs or complicated gameplay systems. The players are what make everything interesting, along with the world they build together and all the small stories in between. Still, not every session is exciting. Sometimes you only organize chests or harvest crops. Strangely enough, those quiet evenings often become part of what makes the server feel like home. That’s something mods can’t really create. It comes from people spending time in the same world and slowly turning an empty map into a place that everyone recognizes.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Salary increases of between 30 and 80 per cent have been approved for Nigeria’s armed forces personnel by President Bola Tinubu.
This was confirmed by a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
About 250,000 personnel are to benefit from the new deal, which takes effect on September 1, according to the statement. Officers above the rank of colonel will enjoy a 30 per cent salary increase. This applies to Brigadier-Generals, Major-Generals, Lieutenant Generals and Generals.
Personnel from colonel down to warrant officer will have a 50 per cent increase, while Private to Staff Sergeant will have an 80 per cent increase.
The President’s spokesman stated that the pay package will increase the yearly salary bill for the country’s armed forces personnel from N660 billion to N924 billion.
President Tinubu has always praised the courage and sacrifices of members of the armed forces as they confront the scourge of banditry, kidnapping and terrorism in some parts of the country.
“The men and women who help to keep us safe in our homes must be supported and appreciated in the course of their duties to our nation.
“Our administration will continue to prioritise troop welfare and modernise the armed forces by providing the weapons and technological tools needed to discharge their duties.
“Our administration believes that no nation can achieve greatness without security. We therefore remain resolute in mobilising all military and law enforcement assets to eliminate security threats and protect the lives and property of all Nigerians
“I urge our servicemen to take our gesture as a sign of our deep appreciation of the services they render to our fatherland. Together we shall prevail over the enemies intent on destroying the fabric of our nation,” Mr Tinubu was quoted as saying.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has issued a data protection compliance circular to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to promote public trust through data-driven governance.
The compliance directive is contained in Circular No. 59805/S.I/74, dated 27 July 2026, and signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr George Akume, according to a statement by the Head, Legal, Enforcement & Regulations, Mr Babatunde Bamigboye.
The initiative forms part of a continuum of regulatory measures that will be vigorously pursued as Nigeria advances towards the decisive frontiers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The circular drew the attention of MDAs to a statement of President Bola Tinubu, where he said: “Data is the new oil”.
Mr Akume then directed all Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies to capture the information rigorously and safeguard it under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act).
The circular also directed MDAs to ensure full compliance with the NDP Act, Regulations, Guidelines, and Directives issued by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) in relation to the processing of personal data.
To this end, the Circular directs MDAs to, designate suitably qualified officers as Data Protection Officers (DPOs) to oversee data protection compliance and advise management on all matters relating to the lawful processing of personal data, ensure that the names and contact details of their designated DPOs are communicated to the NDPC for registration and official records; engage licensed Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs), where required, to facilitate compliance with the NDP Act and support the conduct of statutory compliance audits.
It also directed them to provide adequate budgetary allocation for data protection compliance activities, including capacity building, awareness programmes, deployment of appropriate technical safeguards, and periodic compliance audits; and submit all mandatory Data Protection Compliance Audit Returns and other statutory returns to the NDPC within the timelines prescribed by law.
The circular further states that “Permanent Secretaries, Accounting Officers and Chief Executive Officers of all MDAs shall be personally responsible for ensuring institutional compliance with the Circular and the provisions of the NDP Act.”
The National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of the NDPC, Mr Vincent Olatunji, expressed the commission’s commitment to supporting data-driven governance.
Mr Olatunji maintained that data accountability is pivotal to achieving the eight Presidential Priorities. To provide full technical support to MDAs for the purpose of achieving compliance, the commission has constituted a regulatory clinic.
