Three federal institutions are currently working on a collaborative effort aimed at enhancing growth in the agricultural value chain in Nigeria. They include the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending and Petroleum Technology Development Fund.
Director-General of the Institute of Industrial Research, Prof. Gloria Elemo, in a statement, said that the most beneficial effort of the partnership would be to enhance the agricultural value chain.
“I would like to say that the most beneficial objective of this partnership would be a partnership that brings agricultural value chain development to the fore, especially enhancement of agricultural value chains, where Nigeria has an utmost comparative advantage.”
According to her, the targeted value chains are rice, cashew and cassava, where the institute has the competency to fabricate and install processing machinery and equipment at micro, small and medium levels as well as rendering technical consultancy services to large-scale enterprises in the value chains.
The Managing Director, NIRSAL, Aliyu Abdulhameed, added that the agency was well funded by the government with over $500m in its kitty to finance agriculture, commending that the partnership with FIIRO was to take advantage of the research facilities at the institute.
He disclosed NIRSAL’s readiness to adopt the FIIRO Tomato Catalytic Model Plant already in operations in Kano, as a model for enhancing agricultural value chain in the country.
In the same vein, the Executive Secretary, PTDF, Bello Aliyu, said that the agency was going into the partnership in order to develop human capacity so that the country would be transformed industrially through indigenous technology
“I have seen the waste generated and losses recorded on agricultural commodities. That is why we are collaborating to check this colossal waste,” he stated.
Source: Footprint to Africa