By Bushrah Yusuf-Badmus
The Federal Government has restated its commitment to agriculture development by supporting the country’s research and training institutions.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mahmood Abubakar, stated this after his inspection visit to the Nigeria Stored Product Research Institute (NSPRI), Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMYl) and National Centre for Agriculture Mechanisation (NCAM) in llorin.
Abubakar said it was not by accident that these three institutions were situated in Kwara, that they are related and their synergy will produce and develop agriculture more than what one single institute will produce.
The minister commended the executive directors of the three institutions for their efforts at upholding the mandate of their establishments.
”All the three institutions are doing well, and with what I have seen here, I am impressed, we do not need to look outside for machines needed in agriculture starting from the ones needed for cultivation, to processing and storage,” he said.
Abubakar added that the institution was in tandem with what the policy of President Muhammadu Buhari, an Executive Order No. 3, which is to materialise local content.
He said the present administration was focused on research and development which these three institutions stand for, and there is no way there will be true agricultural development without research and innovation.
Abubakar added that the cliche of the Buhari adminstration is that we must grow what we eat and as well export is justified because we no longer import rice.
”We are not only rice sufficient, we are number one producer of rice in Africa and number four in the world as well as number one producer of cassava, yam and other farm products.
”So, this administration has in the last eight years moved Nigeria upward in terms of agriculture and export as well,” he said.
The ARMTI Executive Director, Dr Olufemi Oladunni, said the visit was like a corrective measure for the institute to improve on already established policies.
He said the institute now has three regional training centres out of the six intended ones, all thanks to the minister.
Similarly, the NCAM Executive Director, Dr Kamal Abdulgafar-Rasheed, said the visit was a great boost for the centre to continue in its resolve to recognise home grown mechanisation technology and to a great extent reduce importation.
On his part, the NSPRI Executive Director, Prof. Lateef Sanni, said the visit allowed the minister to see the value and the strength in value addition which was just added to the institute’s mandate apart from production alone.
He said they were able to display the technologies that are small holder friendly which would eventually be adopted and maintained by them.
In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Abdullatif Gidado, also pledged the state government’s support for the three institutions. (NAN)
