THE Federal Government will soon commission Agricultural Machinery and Development Institute (AMEDI) in Mbotu, Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo state.
Speaking when he visited the Institute at the weekend, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu disclosed that the institute would design and produce agricultural machinery for farming, planting, processing, and harvesting of agricultural produce.
In a statement by the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations Unit of the ministry, AbdulGaniyu Aminu, a copy of which was made available to the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja, on Monday, Dr Onu further said the institute was established in order to ensure food security in Nigeria.
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According to him, my visit to the institute is to enable me to assess the level of work in preparation for the commissioning.
“The institute is not for actual production, our interest is for them to do the design and do the necessary research so that the commercialization will be done by the organized private Sector.
“If we involve our businessmen and women all over the world, the level of commercialization will be much higher. We would not only be in a position to produce this machine to be used locally in Nigeria but also for our export.” He added.
He described the past situation in which Nigeria was the highest importer of rice as unacceptable, adding that “today we are doing very well, we are importing very little and producing rice in abundance though we still need to produce more”.
Dr. Onu stressed need to mechanize our agriculture and introduce lot technology and innovation that will make agricultural processes to be very stress-free and competitive.
“We need to train our people, boost agricultural capacity if we have enough people who have this capability to design of machines, we would be in a position to start exporting some of these machines,” he added.
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Dr, Onu further disclosed that the workshop of the institute is 80% completed while the administrative block is at an advanced stage, adding that the equipment is available in Mbutu and will be installed as the building is nearing completion.
Earlier, the Director-General, the National Agency for Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Professor Muhammed Haruna, who was represented by a director in the agency, Mrs. Nonye Onyiyechi said that institute was established to boost agricultural production through mechanization.
She expressed hope that with the visit of the minister, the project would be concluded before the end of the year
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