Agric technologies can keep youths engaged, says FIIRO boss

Millions of Nigerian youths can significantly contribute to the economy and get profitably employed if various technologies developed by research institutes and universities will be adopted, up-scaled and escalated to every local government.

This was the submission of the Overseeing Director-General of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Dr. Agnes Yemi Asagbra, at Technology and Innovation Expo 2022, organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology, in Abuja, recently.

The director-general specifically called on states and local government authorities to play greater roles in employment creation and food production and value chain development by adopting value chain technologies to industrialise various commodities in each local government.

The FIIRO boss said the institute alone has over 250 technologies that could be adopted in each of the governments in Nigeria based on available local agro-based raw materials in 774 councils of the country.

She said: “We have a lot of technologies for entrepreneurs and graduates to key into, and by doing so, they will be able to grow the economy.”

“As an indigenous institute, our research products are need-based and over the years, we have been able to find solutions for people’s technological advancement, and with modern equipment, we can compete favourably with the outside world.”

Asagbra added that FIIRO had produced over 25 by-products from cassava to support the Federal Government school feeding programme and it had redefined bread and confectioneries making and saved Nigeria huge foreign exchange.

“As a major player in entrepreneurship development in Nigeria, we have things to invest on and link to get startup funds. We want to focus majorly on youths and women through the grassroots, local governments and constituency empowerment projects.”  

“With these, we will give hope to would-be investors such as micro, small, medium or large-scale investors. Virtually, we are the largest engagers of students on industrial training, and our technologies have won laurels locally and internationally,” she added.

Also, Director of Technology, FIIRO, Dr Adekunle Lawal, observed that technology is a high tech business, especially in the production of enzymes, to meet the need of the end-users in agriculture and other sectors of the economy, saying: “we do research using animals and man.”

He said: “We have been in the vanguard of enzymes research in Nigeria back in decades, and we have produced 10 kinds of enzymes, such as syrup and magnifying juices used in local industries and processes are already established in our institute.”