The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, on Tuesday, directed the management of the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) to ensure that its outstations were functional for full-scale activities.
Nanono gave the directive in Benin during the ongoing four-day 2021 seed meeting, in-house research review and 2nd Annual South-South Research Extension Farmers Inputs Linkage System (REFILS) workshop organised by NIFOR, with the theme “sustainable and Climate Smart production of palms and shea for improved Livelihood and Economic Diversity.”
Represented by the Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, (ARCN), Garba Sharubutu, Nanono directed ARCN to ensure full compliance in line with its mandate of coordination, supervision and monitoring.
The Minister called on the research institutes and colleges to come up with suggestions for the establishment of more outreach centres to carry out extension activities to farmers to augment the efforts of the various state governments.
Nanono further called on NIFOR to seek partnerships with local and international partners with a view to multiplying seeds for the farmers.
“I want to commend the management of NIFOR for its efforts so far towards improving the livelihood of people by unlocking new possibilities in the industry. We had as one of our cardinal agenda the diversification of the economy with agriculture as our primary area of focus,” he said.
He described the choice of the theme of the review as “apt because the challenges and risks of climate change are evident through the erratic and extreme weather events which are becoming rampant by the day.”
“Such climatic anomalies called for innovative solutions, some of which are expected to be articulated at this workshop. To address the challenges of the sub-sector in the face of climate change and the pandemic,” he added.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha said that the Federal Government was committed to revamping the agricultural sector through its various agricultural programmes.
Represented by Mr Paul Kanuh, Deputy Director, Economic Affairs, Mustapha commended NIFOR for its efforts geared towards providing seeds and improved technologies to farmers in the country.
Mustapha called on agricultural experts and stakeholders to partner with NIFOR to advance oil palm production in Nigeria.
Also speaking, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, congratulated the management of NIFOR for the improvements in the oil palm value chain in the state.
Obaseki, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Peter Aikhuomobhogbe, said the state had allocated 45,000 hectares of land to six oil palm investors.
“The plan is to have 200,000 hectares of oil palm developed in the state. The Central Bank of Nigeria is supporting with about N69 billion,” he said.
Also, the governor of Niger State, Abubakar Bello, promised to continue to support all NIFOR activities, especially in shea butter production.
Represented by the state commissioner of Environment and Forestry, Barr. Mohammed Zakari, Bello said the state had provided over 40,000 hectares of land to the National Shea Products Association of Nigeria (NASPAN) for the production of shea butter.
According to Bello, “Niger state has the largest landmass in Nigeria. Our land is arable and fertile for all agricultural activities.”
The Executive Director, NIFOR, Dr Celestine Ikuenobe, who welcomed participants to the meeting, said the institute was carrying out its role as a designated institute to carry out research on palms.
Ikuenobe noted that the meeting was designed to review the institute activities and evaluate the performance of the institute and provide solutions to growers and processors of crops.
He noted that the REFILS in the south-South would also be evaluated.
“The event in the next few days will provide us opportunities to report to our farmers and stakeholders on our work, validate and give directions to our future thrusts,” he said.
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