UZOMATIK FOOD AND DRINK FIESTA, WILL SHOWCASE THE QUALITY OF NIGERIAN FOODS,SAYS UZO.

The city of Lagos will come alive this December as all is now set for the maiden edition of Uzomatik Food and Drink Fiesta (UFDF), a one day exhibition of sales of online/offline foods and beverages, food technology/security among others.

in the words of  the brain behind this noble projects Isinguzo Uzoma a.k.a Uzo Ododo Oba  of  wazobia fm  , Uzomatik Food and Drink Fiesta is designed to showcase the quality of Nigerian food varieties with opportunities in the local and international markets, the talented broadcaster further stated that it aims to project the diverse angles of the food industry by connecting various businesses involved in the production and sales of food related items to a cosmopolitan audience of food enthusiasts," it will be a worthwhile event, for everyone" she submitted.

According to the organizers , the event  comes at  Ndubuisi Kanu Park, Mobolaji Johnson Avenue, Alausa Ikeja on Saturday 2nd, December, 2017, beginning from 10am, and it is not all about food as there will be lots of music and comedy by the likes of AFRICAN CHINA, JAYWON, LAMBOGINNY,  DWANA, CORNEL AND  RATATA ,Comedy by IGOS, BABAKHAY, IT IS IKECHUKWU, MR HYENANA, MC I GO DO, I AM SHORT FAMILY and many more, UFDF will also feature  eating and drinking competition, cultural performances, games, kiddies corner, fun rides, freebies, this event is getting place to gather all food and drink lovers at one place and to celebrate together.

Uzomatik Food and Drink Fiesta is powered by Strong Voice Media  an indigenous organization that offers top notch audio-visual production,event management and media consultation services. We have been dedicated to this goal since its inception. Strong Voice Media is coordinated by top Radio Presenter Isinguzo Uzoma  at WAZOBIA FM -  and her team of young talented media professionals. Admission to the event is absolute free. as supported by 

Wazobiafm,Wazobia Max, Clem Best,Angels Craft,Aulmedia Services,Kleems Creations,Bamboo Craft, lagoshappens.blogspot.com,Original Kel Media Concept, Happnings Magazine and YOU. 

COST OF IMPORTING FOOD POISED TO RISE 6% to $1.413 TRILLION IN 2017 .

While food commodity prices have been generally stable, the cost of importing food is set to rise in 2017 to $1.413 trillion, a six per cent increase from the previous year and the second-highest tally on record. This was stated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in its latest Food Outlook report, which was published recently.

The higher import bill was driven by the increased international demand for most foodstuffs as well as the higher freight rates. Of particular concern were the economic and social implications of the double-digit increases in the food import bills for least-developed countries (LDCs) and low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDCS).

“Higher bills do not necessarily translate into more food being bought by them, as the cost of importing has

greatly escalated,” said Adam Prakash, economist, FAO.

The higher import costs come at a time when inventories are robust, the harvest forecasts are strong and the food commodity markets remain well supplied.

The food commodity outlook, issued twice a year, takes a close look at the markets of key food categories, including cassava, the livestock and dairy sectors, fish, vegetable oils and the main cereal grains.

While production trends are broadly strong across the board, average prices in international transactions can mask more specific trends.

For example, while international wheat prices have been flat, US Hard Red Spring wheat, a popular high-quality variety with enough protein content to make noodles and pasta, was 40 per cent higher in July 2017 than it was a year ago.

Aromatic rice varieties have risen eight times faster than the FAO All Rice Index, which is up four per cent on the year.

Likewise, the FAO Butter Price Index has risen 41 per cent so far in 2017, more than three times as much as the Dairy Price Index, of which it is a component.

The livestock and dairy sectors are particularly dynamic. The meat import bill is set to reach an all-time high of $176 billion this year, up 22 per cent from 2016.

World milk production is predicted to grow by 1.4 per cent, led by a robust four per cent expansion in India, even as more stringent environmental regulations and quality controls in China may lead to a contraction there.

The world output of oilseeds oils - vegetable oils and animal fats are the largest items in the LIFDC import bills - is expected to increase slightly this year after last year’s strong season.

But global soybean production, despite a planting boom in the Northern Hemisphere, is set to decline as yields return to normal levels after last year’s nearly optimal weather. 

Opportunities loom for tropical fruits
“Tropical fruits are increasingly stars in global trade, with export volumes of mangoes, pineapple, avocado and papayas on course to achieve a total combined value of $10 billion this year,” according to the Food Outlook.

Their popularity is promising for poverty relief and rural development as almost all production takes place in developing countries, usually through smallholder farmers with fewer than five hectares.

FAO estimated that the total production of the four fruits could reach 92 million tonne this year, compared to 69 million tonne in 2008.

Currently 95 per cent of that output is consumed locally, but the rising incomes and the changing consumer preferences will likely boost the export volumes, especially if freer trade and better market access stimulate further technological gains in distribution.

Major producers of tropical fruits include India (home to about 40 per cent of the global mango production), Costa Rica (which supplies a large share of the world's pineapples), China and Brazil, besides Mexico, which is the largest exporter.

Africa may set record for cassava output
As well as providing detailed analyses of the production, trade and demand for major cereal and oil crops, the Food Outlook updates trends for cassava, which has been one of the fastest-expanding staple crops at the global level, and is the third most important source of calories in the tropics, after rice and maize.

Production in sub-Saharan Africa may reach a record high this year of 156 million tonne, buoyed by various commercial expansion programmes aimed at curbing the reliance on food imports in the region.

“Still, global production of this root will likely contract slightly in 2017 - to 278 million tonne - after two decades of uninterrupted growth, due to a combination of drought conditions, depressed prices and policy changes,” said FAO.

Indonesia loses WTO appeal on food import restrictions.

New Zealand and the US have welcomed the decision by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to reject Indonesia's appeal over its restrictions on imports of food and animal products.
The countries were co-complainants to the WTO in 2013 after failing to persuade Indonesia to re-think its 2011 decision to restrict the importing of certain food products, such as beef and poultry.
The WTO ruled against Indonesia's restrictions last December and has now upheld that decision by kicking out Indonesia's appeal.

David Parker, New Zealand's minister for trade and export growth, said: "This decision from the WTO's highest dispute settlement body is an important result for our agricultural exporters and should pave the way to grow New Zealand exports to the Indonesian market."
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said: "This is a significant win for US farmers and ranchers.

"Given Indonesia's market size and US competitiveness, we should be selling many more agricultural products to Indonesian consumers."
Indonesia had argued that its rules were based on health concerns and halal food standards, or aimed to deal with temporary surpluses in the domestic market.
Other products the import ban covered included apples, grapes, potatoes, onions and dried fruit.
New Zealand said the restrictions meant an 80% drop in the nation's exports to Indonesia of beef and horticultural products. Prior to the ban, Indonesia was New Zealand's second-largest market for beef.
Indonesia appealed the original WTO decision in February this year and the appeal was declined in a ruling dated 12 October.

New Zealand trade minister Parker said the restrictions "are estimated to have now cost the New Zealand beef sector close to a billion dollars of lost exports into an important market".
He added: "I look forward to working with my Indonesian counterpart over the coming months to finalise resolution of this long-standing trade issue."

Source:Just-food.com

RICE SMUGGLERS TO GO TO JAIL. FG.

The Federal Government has promised to seek out and punish those who smuggle rice into the country. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, in his briefing during the FEC meeting, lamented that smugglers were compromising the progress being recorded in local rice production in the country.

Ogbeh pointed out that smuggled rice in the country came mainly from Benin Republic and Niger Republic. He added that delays in rice supply from local rice millers are caused by smugglers who seem determined to frustrate the millers’ efforts by dumping bags of smuggled rice at a price they cannot compete with.

Audu Ogbeh. Hon Minister of Agriculture . 

“The delays happen because many of the millers tell me that they can’t mill because of the activities of smugglers. They mill the rice. The smugglers dump them at N12,500. And the smugglers can dump at N12,500 because they are subsidised from Thailand. They are determined to see that we don’t succeed. We can’t do that because we can’t subsidise to that level,” he said.

“We say if everything goes well without the smugglers, our people should be able to sell here at N13,500 per bag. They agreed, but then the smugglers are coming and the millers are holding back. I, alone can’t solve the problem. That was why the president had to say yesterday (Tuesday) that we will come down hard on activities of smugglers because they are doing us a lot of damage. We keep fighting, a little here, a little there. We ‘ll get there,” the minister added.

According to the World Bank disclosure, rice smugglers’ activities cost Nigeria a whopping $5 billion annually.
In a similar development, the federal government has approved the sum of N5.567 billion to check erosion in six states of the country.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, stated this recently at the end of a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, listed the states as Sokoto, Kano, Ondo, Enugu, Bayelsa and Osun. The Erosion Control Intervention and Acceleration body will be overseeing erosion management in the benefitting states.

HARVESTPLUS SET FOR NUTRITIOUS FOOD FAIR 2017.

 All is now set for the  2017 edition of Nutritious Food Fair which will open on November 28 through 30 at Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, in partnership with Enugu State SME centre, Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Education, Budget and Planning. Over ten thousand participants will attend this year’s event to exhibit nutritious food products, strengthen business skills and linkages, identify new partners, communicate brands for enhanced marketing and participate in a host of competitions targeted at promoting the consumption of nutritious foods by Nigerians. Participants will include farmers, processors, marketers and consumers of nutritious foods. Others include food industries, seed companies, input dealers, research institutions and students. One of the objectives of NFF 2017 is to create 3000 new job opportunities in the nutritious food sector.

Today’s food is highly essential for tomorrow’s growth and we must begin to connect the dots between food, health and GDP growth for Nigeria, said Paul Ilona, the Country Manager for HarvestPlus. With increasing vulnerability to hidden hunger, a condition where people do not get enough essential vitamins and minerals in their daily diets, cases of disabilities associated with micronutrient deficiencies (poor immune system, low IQ, diarrhea, night blindness, anaemia etc) will continue to grow if not checked. In a country where about 50% of the population live in the rural areas, micronutrient malnutrition will lead to increased pressure on national health budgets and a weak labour force that cannot drive agricultural production to meet demands of the food and industrial sectors. The World Bank estimates that Nigeria loses about 450 billion naira in GDP annually due mostly to micronutrient deficiencies. HarvestPlus and partners in Nigeria are developing and promoting nutrient rich staple crops and foods as a complementary strategy to reduce micronutrient malnutrition.

According to Ilona, Country Manager Harvest Plus, the nutritious Food Fair, which is gradually becoming the signature event in the food industry, has recorded a year-on-year 25 percent growth in the number of exhibitors, and some 50% growth in the number of participants during the past three years.  This year’s fair, which will feature exhibitions from different parts of the country, will contribute to increasing the production, value addition, marketing and consumption of more nutritious foods particularly those made from biofortified staple crops such as vitamin A cassava, vitamin A maize and orange sweet potato; and lay a foundation for the introduction of zinc rice, iron sorghum and iron millet. 

In addition to showcasing the opportunities for engaging small, medium and large-scale investors in the country, the Fair will engage Master Trainers to mentor participants and provide post-training technical support.  Participants will acquire new knowledge and business guides on best farming practices by commercial farmers, best processing practices by medium and large scale processors, access to micro-credit by banks, access and use of inputs by agri-input dealers, product distribution by food industries and equipment use/maintenance by fabricators. Knowledge and business guides for sustainable and profitable investments will be articulated in specialized seminars for business enthusiasts.  

The most attractive segment of the Food Fair is the fun to catch. Consumers will find a world of nutritious food and drink options, traditional and masquerade dances, including special events such as the grande-finale of NutriQuiz competition for secondary schools, NutriYield competition for farmers and NutriCook competition for caterers. In addition, the largest nutritious cassava dish in the world will be unveiled for a Guinness record and a new platform for women called ‘SMART MOTHER’ will be launched to give women a voice in nutrition. 

Attracting thousands of participants in the public and private sectors annually, the  Food Fair has become an annual flagship event of HarvestPlus Nigeria and one that many people nationwide look forward to. In due course, the annual food fair can be expected to enhance the Nation’s tourism product and strengthen its culinary and hospitality sector. Everyone can be part of NFF 2017. Just register online at www.nutritiousfoodfair.org to attend for free.

FEED NIGERIA SUMMIT NOW SLATED FOR 2ND-3RD MAY.

The Feed Nigeria Summit has been rescheduled to hold on Tuesday, 2nd and Wednesday, 3rd May, 2017 at the Intercontinental Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos. With the theme  “Feed Nigeria; To Feed Africa”,

Organized by Agronigeria, with technical support from the African Development Bank and the Songhai Centre for Development, the Feed Nigeria Summit is a key collaborative intervention between policymakers, the private agro-sector, the development community and the academia-research community to ensure the continued growth of the Nigerian agricultural sector, particularly for the benefit of the primary producers.

The Summit will feature a Special Session on the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) of the Federal Government, which shall be chaired by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, and will feature the Ministers of Agriculture (the Host Minister) and other key Ministers of the government. The need for this all-important discourse comes to the fore because AgroNigeria, and indeed the agro-private sector, firmly believe that, especially with multi-stakeholder buy-in, the HGSFP has massive potentials to promote inclusive growth in Nigerian agribusiness, boost the economic benefits accruable to smallholder farmers and increase the volume of domestic food production, while ramping up agro-industrial investments.

According to a statement made available to us by the organizers, the Keynote addresses will  be delivered by Prof (Fr) Godfrey Nzamujo, Director of the Songhai Centre, Porto Novo, Benin Republic and Ms. Atsuko Toda, Director of Agricultural Finance at the African Development Bank. Expected dignitaries include the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, the President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, key Governors and prominent players in the private agri-sector in Nigeria.

In the words of the Director-General of the Feed Nigeria Summit Secretariat, Barrister Richard-Mark Mbaram, the Summit is expected to tackle issues such as sustainable agriculture, the Nigerian imperative to feed Africa, policy dynamics in agri-sector competitiveness, nutrition, food systems enhancement and food security, value chains across the genres, including youth and gender inputs, best practices for improving farm productivity, and smart financing for sustainable growth in agriculture.

Key deliverables include agreements on how local production can assuage the needs of the HGSFP, mechanisms for Nigerian food companies and SMEs along the food value chain to engage in the HGSFP, key incentives and financing packages for agro-stakeholders, veritable and scalable initiatives for attracting investments and relevant regulatory and policy frameworks critical to the attainment of set objectives.

attendance at the Summit is strictly by invitation, registration can be accessed via the Summit website; www.feednigeria.ng

0VER 250 EXHIBITORS EXPECTED TO ATTEND FOOD WEST AFRICA CONFRENCE 2017.

Food West Africa provides the largest platform for both international and regional food and beverage companies to meet, network and establish business ties in Africa’s largest economy – Nigeria. Food West Africa 2017 is the place to be to source suppliers, manufacturers and distributors for those involved in the food and beverage industry.
The event comes up from 17th to 19th May 2017,  over 150 exhibitors from over 25 countries are expected to showcase their products at the largest Food & Beverage trading platform in West Africa .
According to the organizers exhibitors will the opportunity to meet industry leaders from regional, national and international organisations, over the three days, showcasing an extensive range of the latest products and services all under one roof. Registration is on going at  www.food-westafrica.com/en/home.htm


Food West Africa conference is a three-day multisector meeting which will discuss current issues in the food supply chain management. It will present latest modern channels of food distribution in the region, advances in food handling and logistics, updates on safety management, and regulations on importation and exportation.
It aims to provide a learning and networking avenue for the industry’s major stakeholders including food importers, exporters, distributors, agents, wholesalers, retailers from both new and traditional markets – to determine challenges and help improve current systems and procedures in doing business.
Regional experts from domestic and international large-scale food companies, government, local agencies, and associations will be represented and will give their insights on improved technologies and advanced measures on how to consolidate and implement better measures in food distribution retail in West Africa