Agric

FIIRO, NIRSAL, PTDF collaborate to enhance agric value chain

Published

6 years ago

January 24, 2018

Funke Ishola

The Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, (FIIRO), Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) said they were collaborating to enhance growth and improve food production.

The Director-General of FIIRO, Prof Gloria Elemo, said that the tripartite agreement would utilise indigenous technologies to diversify the nation’s economy, create jobs, improve the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and impact on the socio-economic wellbeing of citizens.

She said that the partnership would fast track development of the agricultural sector through special focus on commodities that the nation had comparative advantage in producing.

Elemo said that FIIRO would utilise its competency to fabricate and install processing machinery and equipment for micro, small and medium enterprises as well as renderingtechnical consultancy services to large scale enterprises in the value chain.

She stressed that the partnership would focus on the agricultural sector based on its strategic role to drive the nation’s diversification plan.

The Managing Director of NIRSAL, Alhaji Aliyu Abdulhameed, said the agency was well funded by governmentwith over $500 million in its purse to finance agric projects and its value chain.

Abudulhameed said that government had empowered NIRSAL to play an active role in tackling and coordinating key issues in agriculture sector to ensure that increased food production and proposed industrialisation agenda would become a reality.

Abudulhameed reiterated NIRSAL’s readiness to adopt FIIRO’s Tomato Catalytic Model Plant already operating in Kano as a model for enhance agricultural value chain in the country.

He said that NIRSAL’s interventions would increase producer’s access to credit, boost income and standard of living and assist in the realisation of a stronger post-oileconomy.

The Executive Secretary of PTDF, Bello Aliyu, said that the agency was in the partnership to develop human capacity toward transforming the country into an industrial hub through indigenous technology.

He said that technologies would assist the country stem the tide of post-harvest losses in agricultural commodities andboost activities of farmers and agro-processors.