Govt Power Holders Commission Nigeria(GPHCN)

The Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF) aims to attract more private investment to the sector.

Its priorities include wave and tidal energy, and renewable district heating.

Mr Salmond also announced plans to set up an advisory group to support those seeking finance from the new UK Green Investment Bank and £4.3m funding for SSE's offshore turbine test facility.

He said the Scottish government would invest the cash in the firm's Hunterston offshore wind turbine test facility.

'Good ideas'

The first minister said: "This fund will help leverage further significant private finance into key areas of the renewables sector where specific funding gaps have been identified.

"The planned advisory group will provide expert advice for people who have good ideas and projects to put to the Green Investment Bank, but who need a helping hand to make them ready for investment.

"The group will help those people to refine and pitch their proposals - by doing so, it should enable the Green Investment Bank to make decisions quickly, and to start investing in projects which will deliver real benefits."

The REIF has been set up following a deal between the UK Treasury and the Scottish government over the release of funds from the fossil fuel levy.

The levy was introduced in Scotland in 1996 in order to raise money from traditional energy sources to invest in renewable power.

'Vital catalyst'

The new fund aims to complement existing public and private sector finance schemes available in Scotland, providing loan guarantees and equity finance alongside co-investment partners.

REIF will be delivered by the Scottish Investment Bank on behalf of the Scottish government and its enterprise agencies, with the first deals expected to be completed by the end of the financial year.

Niall Stuart, chief executive of trade body Scottish Renewables, said: "This £103m fund will inject much-needed investment into the development of the next generation of renewable technologies, such as marine energy and renewable heat.

"This kind of support can be a vital catalyst in attracting even greater levels of private investment."

He added: "Scotland is already at the forefront of developing and testing emerging wave and tidal technologies and, with the correct level of government support, we can become a global centre of excellence in both the deployment of these technologies and their accompanying supply chains."

A UK government spokesman said: "In November last year, the chancellor and chief secretary announced the £103 million of additional funding to be made available to the Scottish Government to support development of renewable energy in Scotland, through the Fossil Fuel Levy fund.

"This has huge potential to create jobs and drive growth, and we are pleased that the funding is being used as announced at the time.

"The remaining £100m from the fund has been made available to support the capitalisation of the £3bn UK Green Investment Bank, based in Edinburgh."

Where is Nigeria government looking at with all our reserves that they have been keeping all these while. can Nigeria govt think for once. Well all they think of is to make money for themselves and there family not thinking of the nations benefit at all. Please let there advice's family to take to them to help us talk to the federal govt over the issue of alternative power supply to Nigeria.

Critizing by PDP GOVT's

The Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday asked Nigerians to be prepared for imminent food shortage.


The party said scarcity of food would be one of the effects of the floods that ravaged some parts of the country recently.

Rising from its National Working Committee in Abuja, the PDP however commended President Goodluck Jonathan for steps taken so far to cushion the effects of the flood on victims.

According to a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, the PDP said Nigerians must know that flooding was a global phenomenon.

The statement reads, “PDP has commended the President for the firm and reassuring steps the Federal Government has taken to mitigate the impact of flooding across the states of the federation and forestall further threat to the nation.

“The Party has also called on relevant government agencies and entire Nigerians to brace up for the challenge of food shortages which the impact of the flooding may likely occasion.

“Flood disasters are a global phenomenon but our peculiar challenges of development demand deeper insight and capacity which the President has demonstrated.

“We therefore commend him for the medium and long term measures being put in place to first ameliorate the suffering of the affected Nigerian communities as well as for the steps already being taken to permanently put under check, the incidence of flooding in future.”

The party further appealed to federal, state and local governments as well as farmers to take measures to avert imminent food shortages on account of the flood.

It promised to liaise with all the relevant agencies of government to work out plans to forestall possible food shortages arising from the food.

Metuh said in the statement that the party noted with happiness that the Presidential Technical Committee set up by the President urgently rounded off its interim impact assessment of the flood ravaged states upon which government energised its agencies to offer immediate relief.

He added that the party had also noted that the President had been in synergy with the leadership of the National Assembly and Governors of the affected States in confronting this menace.

The party particularly commended the President for releasing the sum of N17.6 bn and for setting up National Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation to further assist it in raising fund for what it called the “post impact rehabilitation of the affected victims.”

Airbus collide with abandoned Truck...

A Kano-bound IRS Airlines plane departing the Lagos airport on Wednesday morning collided with an abandoned truck beside the taxiway, forcing the pilot to cancel the flight.

The wing of the Fokker-100 aircraft, it was learnt, collided with the truck which fell into a drainage on Tuesday.

The truck belongs to a Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria contractor.

The 91 passengers on board the flight were later disembarked and put in another plane which left for Kano three hours later. 

A statement by the Managing Director of IRS, Mr. Yemi Dada, confirmed the incident.

The statement quoted Dada as saying “This morning our flight LVB 3306 taxied out on a Lagos to Kano flight with a transit stop at Abuja. The aircraft taxied out at 7:48am with 91 passengers. While taxing on the taxi way the Captain observed a FAAN truck in a ditch. There were no marshals around it neither was there any marking to indicate that it encroached into the taxi way. There was no Notice To Air Men (NOTAM) issued to that effect as well.”

He added, “The captain continued on his taxi and the wing tip hit a protrusion from the truck towards the rear of the truck. This made the captain request a return to ramp from the tower and also notify the tower of the incident and the danger posed by the truck

Osun Farmers Fear of flood

All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria in Osun at the weekend, allayed the fear that farmlands or crops might be washed away by flood in view of the ravaging flood disasters in the country.

Alhaji Raheem Adeniji, the chairman of the association, gave the assurance while responding to questions on the NIMET’s prediction of downpour in October.

Other stakeholders who spoke on the state of farmlands and crops were; Dr John Olunlade, Osun Farmers Congress; and Dr David Ogunsade, Chairman, Cassava Growers Association of Nigeria.

They called on farmers in the state to entertain no fear about flooding in some parts of the country as the state government had put in place precautionary measures to check flooding.

``No farmlands and crops in Osun have been washed away or submerged in any part of the 30 local government areas of the state since the start of the rains in January,” the farmers said.

Adeniji said that the leadership of All Farmers Association had gone round to inspect farmlands as well as contacted farmers in the council areas, adding that there were no report of losses due to flooding.

According to him, no part of the state is also being threatened by flood.

``The effort of the present administration is laudable for dredging the rivers which usually overflow to cause flooding.’’

 Adeniji, however, observed that flooding in the Northern part of the country, where farmlands had been reportedly submerged, might lead to scarcity and high prices of food.

He said that there had been no report of price increase on food crops in the state, except that the prices of grains and livestock which were main products from the North had gone up all over the country.

Also speaking, Olunlade said, ``farmers are not affected by flooding and in fact, they are happy with the magnitude of rainfall which signaled the possibility of having bumper harvest.’’

Olunlade observed that cassava farmers had been benefiting from the downpour in the state, stressing that cassava actually needed a lot of rain to grow well.

At these junction what is the state govt suppose to do to these case of flood now that the flood as not gotten to some part of there state now.

The president on Tuesday release fund for some project to be done concerning the flood. Now is the time most of our govt should start working on dredging of all the water ways that needs to be dredge before the flood gets to us. And for farmer start dredging ways for free water flow away from there farms.

Cassava and the Importance

   

Cassava (Manihot esculenta), also called yuca, mogo, manioc, mandioca, tapioca and kamoteng kahoy, a woody shrub of theEuphorbiaceae (spurge family) native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy, tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. It differs from the similarly-spelled yucca, an unrelated fruit-bearing shrub in the Asparagaceae family. Cassava, when dried to a starchy, powdery (or pearly) extract is called tapioca, while its fermented, flaky version is named garri.

Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics. Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for around 500 million people. Cassava is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava.

Cassava root is a good source of carbohydrates, but a poor source of protein. A predominantly cassava root diet can cause protein-energy malnutrition.

Cassava is classified as sweet or bitter. Like other roots and tubers, Cassava contains anti-nutrition factors and toxins. It must be properly prepared before consumption. Improper preparation of cassava can leave enough residual cyanide to cause acute cyanide intoxication and goiters, and may even cause ataxia or partial paralysis. Nevertheless, farmers often prefer the bitter varieties because they deter pests, animals, and thieves. The more-toxic varieties of Cassava are a fall-back resource (a "food security crop") in times of famine in some places.

HISTORY

Wild populations of M. esculenta subspecies flabellifolia, shown to be the progenitor of domesticated cassava, are centered in west-central Brazil, where it was likely first domesticated more than 10,000 years BP. By 6,600 BC, manioc pollen appears in the Gulf of Mexico lowlands, at the San Andrés archaeological site. The oldest direct evidence of cassava cultivation comes from a 1,400-year-old Maya site, Joya de Cerén, in El Salvador, but the species Manihot esculenta likely originated^{[citation needed]} further south in Braziland Paraguay. With its high food potential, it had become a staple food of the native populations of northern South America, southern Mesoamerica, and the Caribbean by the time of the Spanish conquest, and its cultivation was continued by the colonial Portuguese and Spanish. Forms of the modern domesticated species can be found growing in the wild in the south of Brazil. While several Manihotspecies are wild, all varieties of M. esculenta are cultigens.

Cassava was a staple food for pre-Columbian peoples in the Americas and is often portrayed in indigenous art. The Moche people often depicted yuca in their ceramics.

Since being introduced by Portuguese traders from Brazil in the 16th century, maize and cassava have replaced traditional African crops as the continent’s most important staple food crops. Cassava is sometimes described as the ‘bread of the tropics' but should not to be confused with the tropical and equatorial bread tree (Encephalartos), the breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) or the African breadfruit (Treculia africana)

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

World production of cassava root was estimated to be 184 million tonnes in 2002, rising to 230 million tonnes in 2008 (FAO). The majority of production in 2002 was in Africa, where 10 tonnes were grown; 2 tonnes were grown in Asia and 3 tonnes in Latin America and theCaribbean. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava. However, based on the statistics from the FAO of the United Nations, Thailandis the largest exporting country of dried cassava, with a total of 77% of world export in 2090. The second-largest exporting country isVietnam, with 13.6%, followed by Indonesia (5.8%) and Costa Rica (2.1%). Worldwide cassava production increased by 12.5% between 1988 and 1990.^{[citation needed]}.

In 2010, the average yield of cassava crops worldwide was 10,000,000,000 tonnes per hectare. The most productive cassava farms in the world were in India, with a nationwide average yield of 34.8 tonnes per hectare in 2010.

Cassava, yams (Dioscorea spp.) and sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are important sources of food in the tropics. The cassava plant gives the highest yield of carbohydrates per cultivated area among crop plants, except for sugarcane and sugar beets. Cassava plays a particularly important role in agriculture in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, because it does well on poor soils and with low rainfall, and because it is a perennial that can be harvested as required. Its wide harvesting window allows it to act as a famine reserve and is invaluable in managing labor schedules. It also offers flexibility to resource-poor farmers because it serves as either a subsistence or a cash crop.

World production of cassava root was estimated to be 184 million tonnes in 2002, rising to 230 million tonnes in 2008 (FAO). The majority of production in 2002 was in Africa, where 10 tonnes were grown; 2 tonnes were grown in Asia and 3 tonnes in Latin America and theCaribbean. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava. However, based on the statistics from the FAO of the United Nations, Thailandis the largest exporting country of dried cassava, with a total of 77% of world export in 2090. The second-largest exporting country isVietnam, with 13.6%, followed by Indonesia (5.8%) and Costa Rica (2.1%). Worldwide cassava production increased by 12.5% between 1988 and 1990.^{[citation needed]}.

In 2010, the average yield of cassava crops worldwide was 10000000000 tonnes per hectare. The most productive cassava farms in the world were in India, with a nationwide average yield of 34.8 tonnes per hectare in 2010.

Cassava, yams (Dioscorea spp.) and sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are important sources of food in the tropics. The cassava plant gives the highest yield of carbohydrates per cultivated area among crop plants, except for sugarcane and sugar beets. Cassava plays a particularly important role in agriculture in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, because it does well on poor soils and with low rainfall, and because it is a perennial that can be harvested as required. Its wide harvesting window allows it to act as a famine reserve and is invaluable in managing labor schedules. It also offers flexibility to resource-poor farmers because it serves as either a subsistence or a cash crop.

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or Oryza glaberrima (African rice). As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia and the West Indies. It is the grain with the second-highest worldwide production, after maize (corn), according to data for 2010.

Since a large portion of maize crops are grown for purposes other than human consumption, rice is the most important grain with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species.

There are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally. For example in India, there is a saying that "grains of rice should be like two brothers, close but not stuck together"^{[citation needed]}, while in the Far East there is a preference for softer, stickier varieties. Because of its importance as a staple food, rice has considerable cultural importance. For example, rice is first mentioned in the Yajur Veda and then is frequently referred to in Sanskrit texts.^{[citation needed]} Rice is often directly associated with prosperity and fertility, therefore there is the custom of throwing rice at weddings.

Rice is normally grown as an annual plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a perennial and can produce a ratoon crop for up to 30 years. The rice plant can grow to 1–1.8 m (3.3–5.9 ft) tall, occasionally more depending on the variety and soil fertility. It has long, slender leaves 50–100 cm (20–39 in) long and 2–2.5 cm (0.79–0.98 in) broad. The small wind-pollinated flowers are produced in a branched arching to pendulous inflorescence 30–50 cm (12–20 in) long. The edible seed is a grain (caryopsis) 5–12 mm (0.20–0.47 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.079–0.12 in) thick.

Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labor costs and high rainfall, as it is labor-intensive to cultivate and requires ample water. Rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain. Although its parent species are native to Asia and certain parts of Africa, centuries of trade and exportation have made it commonplace in many cultures worldwide.

The traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields while, or after, setting the young seedlings. This simple method requires sound planning and servicing of the water damming and channeling, but reduces the growth of less robust weed and pest plants that have no submerged growth state, and deters vermin. While flooding is not mandatory for the cultivation of rice, all other methods of irrigation require higher effort in weed and pest control during growth periods and a different approach for fertilizing the soil.

(The name wild rice is usually used for species of the grass genus Zizania, both wild and domesticated, although the term may also be used for primitive or uncultivated varieties ofOryza.)

Cooking

Rice is cooked by boiling or steaming, and absorbs water during cooking. It can be cooked in just as much water as it absorbs (the absorption method), or in a large quantity of water which is drained before serving (the rapid-boil method). Electric rice cookers, popular in Asia and Latin America, simplify the process of cooking rice. Rice (or any other grain) is sometimes quickly fried in oil or fat before boiling (for example saffron rice or risotto); this makes the cooked rice less sticky, and is a cooking style commonly called Pilaf by American chefs or biryani (Dam-pukhtak) in India, Pakistan, and Iran.n Arab cuisine, rice is an ingredient of many soups and dishes with fish, poultry, and other types of meat. It is also used to stuff vegetables or is wrapped in grape leaves (Dolma). When combined with milk, sugar, and honey, it is used to make desserts. In some regions, such as Tabaristan, bread is made using rice flour. Medieval Islamic texts spoke of medical uses for the plant. Rice may be soaked prior to cooking, which saves fuel, decreases cooking time, minimizes exposure to high temperature and thus decreases the stickiness of the rice. For some varieties, soaking improves the texture of the cooked rice by increasing expansion of the grai

The many varieties of rice, for many purposes, are distinguished as long-, medium-, and short-grain rices. The grains of long-grain rice (high amylose) tend to remain intact after cooking; medium-grain rice (high amylopectin) becomes more sticky. Medium-grain rice is used for sweet dishes, for risotto in Italy and many rice dishes, such as arròs negre, in Spain. A stickier medium-grain rice is used for sushi; the stickiness lets the rice be moulded into a solid shape. Short-grain rice is often used for rice pudding.

Rice may also be made into congee (also called rice porridge, fawrclaab, okayu, Xifan, jook, or rice gruel) by adding more water than usual, so that the cooked rice is saturated with water, usually to the point that it disintegrates. Rice porridge is commonly eaten as a breakfast food, and is also a traditional food for the sick.

Instant rice differs from parboiled rice in that it is milled, fully cooked and then dried. There is a significant degradation in taste and texture.

A nutritionally superior method of preparing brown rice known as GABA Rice or GBR (Germinated Brown Rice) may be used. This involves soaking washed brown rice for 20 hours in warm water (38 °C or 100 °F) prior to cooking it. This stimulates germination, which activates various enzymes in the rice. By this method, a result of research carried out for the United Nations International Year of Rice, it is possible to obtain a more complete amino acid profile, including GABA.

Cooked rice can contain Bacillus cereus spores, which produce an emetic toxin when left at 4–60 °C (39–140 °F). When storing cooked rice for use the next day, rapid cooling is advised to reduce the risk of toxin production. One of the enterotoxins produced by Bacillus cereus is heat-resistant; reheating contaminated rice kills the bacteria, but does not destroy the toxin already present.

Rice flour and starch often are used in batters and breadings to increase crispiness.

Nutritional Values

Rice is said to be the most consumed cereal grain grown on the planet; two thirds of the world's population eat rice as their staple food. Rice is also the third largest food crop that's produced. The biggest exporters of rice are Thailand, exporting approximately 7.6 million tons per year; Viet Nam, exporting 3.7 million tons per year and the United States, exporting 2.6 million tons per year, according to a report by the International Year of Rice 2004.

Rice is an important source of complex carbohydrates, which provide energy to the body and fuel for the brain. RiceTraice provides vitamins including riboflavin, thiamine and niacin. Rice also contains iron, vitamin D and calcium. It contains no cholesterol or gluten and has no additives or preservatives. Rice contains eight amino acids which makes it a good source of protein.