Unilorin, UK group partner on agric value chain initiative – VC

Prof. Wahab Egbewole, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, on Thursday said the institution would partner with De Montfort University, Leicester, UK, on Agricultural Value Chain (AVAC) initiative.

Egbewole stated this at the inauguration of the Agricultural Value Chain (AVAC), an African Agriculture Knowledge Transfer Partnership 2022 to 2023, a project sponsored by Innovate UK.

Egbewole said the university was pleased to be part of the initiative, which is one of the major interventions in the value chain of agricultural projects in Africa.

The vice chancellor said that value chain in agricultural products couldn’t be overemphasised because a lot of wastage is happening on the farm.

According to him, such initiatives will stop the wastage in agriculture, create value, ensure that our farmers are happier, and our society will accommodate whatever is produced and the opportunity to export quality products.

He pointed out that while the Innovate UK project is on, he expects that the AVAC programme will end up innovating Nigeria as a country and the university as an institution.

He congratulated Prof. Joshua Olaoye and Dr Musliu Sunmonu of Unilorin and African Knowledge Base Supervisors of the project, for winning the project fund for the institution.

Egbewole assured the partners that the university would follow due process and commitment, while ensuring that the institution will monitor all steps for the 15 months that the project will be on.

He also encouraged the farmers to ensure they key into the initiative, saying the process is designed to improve their work and to ensure new innovation.

On his part, Dr Suleiman Yerima, the Academic Supervisor of the project from De Montfort university, said that his institution partnered with Unilorin because of the track record of the indigenous people involved and the track record of the university.

He explained that both universities would partner on the project, which is targeted at producing long and short-term technological solutions to notable agricultural problems, which might likely extend the partnership beyond this project.

Yerima, a Senior Lecturer of Cyber Security, said with the indigenous idea that could provide a solution to the problem of society, every partner in the project must develop “a can do it’’ attitude.

He added that the partnership would take on the challenge of achieving the prevention of food wastage, enhancing food security, and promoting the emergence of new businesses through support for institutions and farmers.

Speaking earlier, one of the facilitators of the project who doubles as the African Knowledge Base Lead, Olaoye said that the objectives of each programme was to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology.

He added that it was also to spread technical and business skills to the company, stimulate and enhance business-relevant research and training undertaken by the knowledge base.

“It will also enhance the business and specialist skills of a recently qualified graduate,” he said.