NAN-AE-67
Research
Calabar, Nov. 1, 2016 (NAN) Mr Ilem Owali, the Cross River Chairman, Association of Oil Palm Dealers, has called on the Federal and State Governments to increase the funding of the nation’s agricultural research institutes.
Owali made this call in Calabar on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He stressed the need for increased funding of the institutes, adding that the resource centres would serve as the answer to Nigeria’s quest for food sufficiency and export.
Owali said: “My worry is that the Federal Government is not funding agricultural research institutes in the country as it should be.
“I pray that government at both the state and federal levels should review the funding of the research centres to have more positive impacts on the nation’s agriculture sector,” he said.
He stated that the critical role of agricultural research institutes in food production could not be over-emphasised.
According to him, the institutes have the capacity to train farmers, raise nurseries, provide expertise and certified planting materials for farmers at the appropriate time.
Ilem, who is the former State Chairman, Commercial Agriculture Development Association (CADA), advised the personnel of research centres to live up to expectations, even with the little funding at their disposal.
He added that if the research institutes were well funded, Nigeria would achieve a milestone in agriculture.
Ilem regretted that Nigeria was still importing more than 1.7 tonnes of oil palm into the country yearly, saying that only Cross River could produce even close to that with adequate inputs from research institutes. (NAN)
BEN/MOL/YEMI
Edited by Mustapha Lamidi
Controlled by Yemi Idris-Aduloju