lomprico:

You r being partisan too! What of our research centres? Why cant ur government get samples of this grass and let them develop it?

Can you kindly point to my partisanship in my submission?

I wouldn't discount the role of our research institutes but we must understand these researches can take considerable time before results are achieved. Hence It is not out of place if we bring the grass with a view to replanting while our research institute seeks ways to develop superior breed of same that are adaptive to our local environment.

We can blame the government if it embarks on a repeat purchase.

locosis007:
Nigeria virtually imports everything ... from Rice to toothpicks... now Grass!! pathetic!

what's wrong with growing ours here... there are countless of land space in the country. import kel cos u want to exploit !

Learn to read. Read the freaking article. Stop commenting after reading a title.

obailala:
Go get yourselves an education first and stop exposing your black man ignorance.

You exposed your black man ignorance when you failed to know the diff btw CHANGE and TRANSFORMATION and you went ahead and voted CHANGE. Fool!!!

Importing grass!!!!
I obviously didn't see that coming..

5thcolm:


Bros...I dont realy no wat to say to

Did u just say that wat does grass got to offer?

Did just say that the livestock shud not be taken care of so human can eat?

So wen there is no livestock wat shud human be eatin

I fear opposition o

lol...wat av day bin feeding livestocks with frm time immemorial in nigeria? y s it now dat day wan to import grass? I ddnt say dat day sudnt take care of livestocks na, u quotin me wrong, abi grasses for naija don finish?

teemy:
A long while ago a country's research team came down to Nigeria and 'imported' our oil palm tree samples. That country today is one of the largest producers of oil palm. My brother who is a farmer was recently contemplating importing elephant grass stems from India to replant for cattle feeding. Even in the long epistle, it was stated that they would be crossbred with local ones but this could be skipped and just simply multiply it since Nigeria has a similar climate with Brazil.

The aim of the agric ministry was to get hybrid grass for local planting (not direct feeding) so that there would be much available in coming seasons and encourage ranch husbandry compared to nomadic husbandry which has been detrimental to cattle, farmland and human lives.

The only blame the ministry has is not carrying along stakeholders which would not have made this issue misunderstood. Do not let your good be evily spoken of dear minister. cheers

WHat you need to understand is that 90% of those castigating this laudable idea have not read any of the articles on it (they read only titles), do not have a clue what it's about and most especially, THEY DO NOT WANT TO KNOW. Their position on the issue is driven purely (95%) by political sentiments; the remaining 5% is out of pure ignorance and misinformation. So no amount of sensitisation would be able to pass the message effectively because you can hardly educate someone who doesn't want to learn (for obvious reasons).

Please who finished that Shakespear story.....Tell us what He was talking about...................Shebi Nigeria no get Grass again??@Mr. Minister

Mboi:

You exposed your black man ignorance when you failed to know the diff btw CHANGE and TRANSFORMATION and you went ahead and voted CHANGE. Fool!!!

LEarn to read, read the article and get some education into your skull. Nobody here is talking of elections of TRANSFORMATION and CHANGE. You are obviously lost and, just like several others of your colleagues here who are still stuck in the past 2015.

Anyi3:
See Nigerian youths. Everyone above me didn't read the epistle before commenting. What a shame.

The writer made serious sense. Malaysia imported our palm trees back in the days and are reaping benefits. There's absolutely nothing wrong in importing agricultural raw materials and then developing your economy.

Again big shame that people above me didn't read or don't know how to.

how can you compare palm tree with grass? Don't u know palm tree is an economic tree? U want to compare it with grass?why can't they task our research insttitutes to produce high yield grass? Na import dem one go import. Shame on you for supporting rubbish..the hypocrisy of psychophants of this government knows no limits

Nigeria which way? Ban the importation of rice, which is a stable food for millions of Nigerians and advocating the importation of grass, the stable food for animals.

Is it really this bad and backward in my beloved Country? Have our leaders lost their sense of direction and priority? What about empathy and humanity, is that also lost? Shouldn't we make sure humans have food on the table, before thinking of animals?

By the way, why is the government going into the business of importing grasses for cow? If the cattle owners needs better nutrition for their animals, shouldn't they be the ones doing this import? Is the government going to send some of those nutritional grasses to the south to feed our goats? What about the sheeps? Poultry farmers also need government help in importation of chicken feeds and medicinal supplies to increase their yield, is the government going to do that also?

ATTENTION PLEASE: Is the cows for our Country Nigeria or is it PMB's cows, goats etc?

What we have here is recycled leaders, Ogbeh is a minister in the 80s,and the longest chairman of PDP,the giant strides made by the last agriculture minister that made foods and crops morevbountifull this year is not in his priority lists.....Na to import grass for cattles...placing more premium on animals than man.....

cjfavour:


Understand importation of grass with high nutrient? Which one were d cows eating when roaming about? Abeg dnt support these evil politicians we have in d country and their wacked theories.

u still don' t understand it

obailala:
WHat you need to understand is that 90% of those castigating this laudable idea have not read any of the articles on it (they read only titles), do not have a clue what it's about and most especially, THEY DO NOT WANT TO KNOW. Their position on the issue is driven purely (95%) by political sentiments; the remaining 5% is out of pure ignorance and misinformation. So no amount of sensitisation would be able to pass the message effectively because you can hardly educate someone who doesn't want to learn (for obvious reasons).

Actually I do not blame them but rather the ministry that has not made it a point of import to carry the people along and rebutt the misinformation early. By now every ministry should have a nairaland moniker to give true official stories and until they do proper online policies the media would have a field day with misrepresenting facts as well as doling out half truths.

pyxon:
Hahaha. That's how pests and insects that are alien to Nigeria will follow the grass and enter our beloved and bring both plant and animal diseases that we never used to suffer before

I suspect ZIKA VIRUS bro cos its from that region

pyxon:



I don't want your approval

I could not but add a 'like' to your comment. looking for people's approval does not do one well. e.g king saul. cheers

KingAdeOluomo1:
I suspect ZIKA VIRUS bro cos its from that region

actually i read online our health ministry confirming that we've always had zika in nigeria but have grown immunity to it.

APC and Buhari eeeeeeh

teemy:


Actually I do not blame them but rather the ministry that has not made it a point of import to carry the people along and rebutt the misinformation early. By now every ministry should have a nairaland moniker to give true official stories and until they do proper online policies the media would have a field day with misrepresenting facts as well as doling out half truths.

Yeah I totally agree with you. The level of poor information dissemination in the country, especially with the explosion of social media today is truly disturbing. I find it strange than majority of the reports on this continuously come up with misleading titles about "importing grass for consumption." A lot of respondents actually have no idea that the grass is being imported for planting.

zinachidi:
[img]http://3.bp..com/-chZcl6hSFSQ/Vhz3fxTnXjI/AAAAAAAG8ok/HI6XC7ytju4/s1600/unnamed.jpg[/img]





www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/why-we-are-importing-grass/

Get samples of the grass and multiply in large quantities here in favourable parts of the country. Besides,the grasses could just be wasting away in one part of Nigeria without knowing. Show Nigerians the grass(es) you intend to import and Nigerians will show you in a jiffy where to find it in this country.Why do we have all the PHD holders and researchers in Agriculture? I also advice you involve IITA and other relevant government agencies responsible for agric. Infact they should be the one in the forefront of this campaign with execute mandate. We should also avoid a reversal of this plan when another minister comes on board. Let's get it right now before we have another cabal who will hold Nigerians by the jugular with grass importing business. We have more than enough already.

teemy:


actually i read online our health ministry confirming that we've always had zika in nigeria but have grown immunity to it.

MUST we be part of this bad bad bad stuff ni eeeeeeeh I can't just understand ......... Bad bad stuffs

Anyi3:
See Nigerian youths. Everyone above me didn't read the epistle before commenting. What a shame.

The writer made serious sense. Malaysia imported our palm trees back in the days and are reaping benefits. There's absolutely nothing wrong in importing agricultural raw materials and then developing your economy.

Again big shame that people above me didn't read or don't know how to.

Seeing the headline kept me aghast also but when I commenced reading it, I found it quite educating and enlightening. Some didn't read it at all. They just comment having read the seemingly trivial headline or little part of the long story.
Researches have shown that Nigerian grasses are low in nutritional value, be it in South or North for animal consumption. Hence the need to import better grass for cross-breeding.
Restructuring the livestock farming in Nigeria requires some steps which the half-educated or those with low intelligent quotient or poor orientation will take as an avenue to crticize the beautiful innovation.
This will not only prevent conflicts between herdsmen and other farmers, improve livestock yields but will go a long way in improving the nation's economy and allowing vitals statistics to be easily collected for management.
Let's always be patient!

KingAdeOluomo1:
MUST we be part of this bad bad bad stuff ni eeeeeeeh I can't just understand ......... Bad bad stuffs

At a point I almost stopped reading news online as baddies seemed to be the order of the day. so guess what I stopped reading the politics and crime sections and reduced my 'Graphic Image' viewing and did more of the business and investment sections. Better to feed myself with betta things faa.

ikbnice:
Nigeria is condemned to enrich other countries through importation. We would soon begin to import people to teach us our local customs and traditions.

I now feel asham by this news to teach students that the black shield of the Nigerian coat of arms represent the fertile soil of Nigeria.

you should rather be ashamed of urself for making comment before reading the text.

obailala:
Learn to read. Read the freaking article. Stop commenting after reading a title.

uncle, you've not made your point clear. I dont see the need for such long article in the first place. WE ARE IMPORTING PREMIUM GRASS SEEDLINGS. Full stop!
Which can be argued and won't affect our forex in any way. Even you can gift it out as an 'APC' chieftain concern. Just say its your quota to national growth.
Trust me, there are several variants of fresh grass down south. Just a few reserve in cross river can feed all the cows in Nigeria four times over.
For me seedings that can survive in the north yes, grass NO.

fulanimafia:
^^Reading will not kill all of you.

The writer presents such a compelling argument in favor of importing enriched grass for our livestock, that its hard not to see the sense in it.

In summary...

Who er u Where is it ever done??

Alfalfa is the grass they are importing and we don't have it here in Nigeria. it is high in nutrients, good meat and milk production. can also be used in poultry for good egg production. so we need to improve on so many things to meet demands. for examples, in maize farming, american produce 26 tons per hectare and it is more in chilli . but here we have 6-9 tons per hectare. how can we produce more using the same size of land is the question. so importing the grass will be of great help to farmer.

HEIR:
uncle, you've not made your point clear. I dont see the need for such long article in the first place. WE ARE IMPORTING PREMIUM GRASS SEEDLINGS. Full stop!
Which can be argued and won't affect our forex in any way. Even you can gift it out as an 'APC' chieftain concern. Just say its your quota to national growth.
Trust me, there are several variants of fresh grass down south. Just a few reserve in cross river can feed all the cows in Nigeria four times over.
For me seedings that can survive in the north yes, grass NO.

Yeah, the point is very simple, they plan to import high nutrient grass seedlings for planting in reserves, the grasses are not being imported for direct consumption and the importation would be a noe-off. These high nutrient feedstock have the capacity to greatly improve beef and milk production and in addition, the plan to restrict movement of the cattle from place to place would also help to produce more healthy and fatter cows (more beef).

kenchylala:


Who er u Where is it ever done??

Anywhere that common sense prevails.

Have you ever complained about our importation of milk? Does it make sense to refuse importation of grass that boosts the milk production of our cows, among other benefits, and promote the importation of milk itself at a higher cost? When we can still get better meat, leather and other derivatives from the same cows?

As I said. Common sense.

So d research institutes cant work on our local grasses? Lie lie

teemy:


Actually I do not blame them but rather the ministry that has not made it a point of import to carry the people along and rebutt the misinformation early. By now every ministry should have a nairaland moniker to give true official stories and until they do proper online policies the media would have a field day with misrepresenting facts as well as doling out half truths.

You know why some of our previous government failed? They try to pacify some a retrogressively selfish populace. I want to dualise a major road that has been a major cause of traffic lock jam for 20 years... Next thing interest groups will start mobilizing against it because their fences will be demolished. Okay o in order to reduce malpractices in UME I try to introduce CBT next thing association of miracle centers will start mobilizing... Okay o you will stop dumping refuse in drainage o or u pay fine if caught... Next thing market women will start rally against it... You must not carry 2 people in front of a car, before u know what NURTW will declare strike... Okada rider must use helmet o, next thing na for the Okada driver to start burning tires... Wan sack NFA because officials dey embezzle, next thing na FIFA sanction... If you plan to make changes , better u focus on your mission and allow the result to speak for or against you. If the ministry of agric believe that importation of grass seedlings from Brazil will transform our livestock terrain... If it will at least stop Fulani onslaught, fine. If it will improve production by 600% great... Why waste your time explaining to people that are not willing to understand

obailala:


One of the greatest impediments to the progress of the black man and the black race is our inability to read, our inability to discern and our inordinate urge to 'respond' even before we listen.

The article simply exposes the ignorance of all those castigating the plan to import high nutrient grass seedlings for cultivation in Nigeria. This firstly, is standard practice in agriculture all over the world, but common sense is obviously not too common especially when political sentiments are involved. I can swear on my life that 95% of the respondents above did not read beyond the 3rd line, but mostly read the title and proceeded to comment. Maybe if they read the article, they would have firstly realised it was written by an independent veterinarian and not the minister (as the title implies) and they would have also seen some sensible points.

If it takes decades of research to genetically create a new specie of high nutrient grass which has the capacity to boost beef and milk production beyond our imagination, then my common sense tells me it is definitely silly trying to re-invent the wheel; the sensible thing to do is to take the short-cut by simply obtaining those already optimised grass seedlings and growing them here in Nigeria. Just the same way we imported improved flood resistant rice seedlings some years back which has in no little way contributed to the rice revolution in different parts of Nigeria today. For clarity for those who are oblivious of this, "grass is not grass" and there is a reason why people spend several years studying agriculture in the university and research institutes even when our great grand fathers knew exactly how to sow and reap basic food crops.

A point of note in the article is milk production, Nigeria imports over 90% of the milk it consumes spending over $200m annually on this. A typical Nigerian milk cow produces 200kg of milk annually whereas a typical European milk cow produces up to 6500kg of milk annually, i.e. over 3000% more milk production. The main difference is the nutritional content of the feedstock these cows consume. Ironically, the same people who protest the plan to import improved grass seedlings (for planting) to improve our beef and milk production do not protest the billions we spend importing milk yearly; these same people (probably because of warped political logic) did not also see anything wrong when improved rice seedlings were imported few years back to help boost Nigeria's rice production capacity.

What I find most disheartening about these comments I have quoted is that most of the respondents here are youths, educated youths; and then we begin to wonder why the old have refused to relinquish power. They may claim not to be agriculturists, but that is definitely no excuse for this ignorance because anyone with even partial education should be able to discern these things. If only we can sometimes purge our minds of flimsy political sentiments, then some of these things are just common sense.

What happened to planning How long does it tk for grass to grow? How long would it tk to import grass n grow some for urself n channel d cash too something else?