PEPPER SOUP ADDICTS, BEWARE OF CATFISH

Catfish production and sales are enjoying unprecedented boom in Nigeria. Thanks to the hype in fish farmers patronage by pepper-soup joint operators who dot strategic points on streets of cities and urban centres in the country. These outlets are also called Point and Kill poimts. Experts on Yahoo health has published a list of 10  fish species to be avoided by consumers, and top on the list is the common catfish – Clarias gariepinus. 

Cat Fish 

Many reasons were adduced, but the fear is that the fish have antibiotics already banned in the United States of America (USA).  Among the other nine species listed by the Yahoo experts, many were fingered as having high content of mercury.  Mercury,  easily absorbed as methylmercury through the consumption of fish and shellfish, is  highly toxic to humans.  Once in the circulatory system, mercury passes through the blood-brain barrier and accumulate in the brain, damaging the central nervous system. As the body tries to rid itself of these toxins, gaseous mercury is oxidized to divalent mercury which accumulates in the kidneys and later cause kidney damage.  Other fish species implicated in the report includes Shrimps, eel fish, shark, mackerel, seabass, swordfish and tuna. 



Shrimp

HOW SNAILS DO THEIR THING

Sexual intercourse is of high essence when the need arises to have new offspring or just express love and may be lust. Their are different styles between man and woman and for different animals. The pix below shows how snails do it. They were caught in the act in a cool night inside the vegetable garden in Ipaja, Lagos. What do you call this style?

Two Achachatina species of snails mating

WHY NIGERIA'S PRESIDENT MUST SIGN BIOSAFETY BILL INTO LAW

Food production will soon take an upward swing following the passage of the National Bio-safety Bill, Director-General, National Biotechnology Technology Development Agency, Prof. Bamidele Solomon, has said.

 Solomon, who spoke at the celebration of African Agricultural Technology Foundation in Abuja, said President Goodluck Jonathan would soon sign the bill into law to ensure food security in the country.

 

President GE Jonathan

According to him, the new law will usher in a new era in the deployment of biotechnology to boost food production, ensure food security and reduce the high incidence of food importation.

 He said, “Having a law will ensure the safe use of modern biotechnology while protecting human health, the environment and national biodiversity.

“It will also facilitate risk assessment exercises, monitoring and enforcement measures relevant to import, export, trans-boundary movement of the products of modern biotechnology, laboratory and field testing/use of modern biotechnology including handling, containment disposal, control, monitoring and release of biotech products.

“Therefore, biotechnology research will be given the opportunity to thrive as soon as the bio-safety framework is in place. It will soon be signed into law.”

The NABDA boss lauded the activities of AATF in Nigeria, especially for attracting biotechnology projects into the country and for supporting the process of the passage of the Bio-safety Bill.

 Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, Prof. Baba Abubakar, said biotechnology held the key to sufficient food production in the country and the African region.

 He said, “AATF chose the most expedient way to agricultural development in Africa by embracing and investing in proprietary technology acquisition, development, adaptation and adoption for use by the resource-poor farmers of Africa.

“African farmers have over the years faced many challenges in their attempts to increase productivity; pre- and post-harvest crop losses due to pests, diseases, weeds and droughts have resulted in low yields, as well as risks and fluctuations in incomes and food availability.

“Improved agricultural technologies were the key to agricultural development in many of the worlds developed economies of today and remain the key to development of the agricultural sectors in Africa.”

Minister of State for Agriculture, Alhaji Bukar Borno, said the projects embarked on by AATF in collaboration with NABDA would not only ensure food security but also ensure appropriate technologies.

 He added that one of the projects would ensure that Nigeria was self-sufficient in the production of rice as well as boost the nation’s revenue.

ADAPTED FROM THE PUNCH 14/JULY 2013