NAN-H-14
Foods
Lagos, Oct. 20, 2016 (NAN) The Nigeria Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), on Thursday said that bridging all gaps in the food supply system would bring positive change.
The National President, NIFST, Dr Chijioke Osuji, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He said that gaps like mechanisation when closed, would lead to greater output.
“The dramatic change in the economy has produced far-reaching impact both positive and negative on the food supply system in the country.
“What exists is the sharp rise in prices of foodstuff and not their unavailability.
“There is need to close the mechanical gap because most operations done by local farmers are done manually; whereas there are machines which can be employed to quicken their production,’’ he said.
Osuji said that the present economic situation in the country which people thought negative, had opened opportunities in other directions and if well-sustained would help tackle prices of things.
He cited an example of cassava and local rice farmers who had gone back to their farmlands to cultivate and produce.
Osuji said that, “If food scientists and technologists are well equipped with machines in carrying out their harvesting, peeling and processing of their farm yields, it would be a source of job opportunity for thousands of Nigerians.’’
He also called for capacity building, which he described as very expensive.
“In the food industry, for one to do capacity building that will be beneficial to the recipient, it has to be hands-on,’’ he said.
Osuji said that there was need to invest in innovations; introduce new products that would serve as substitutes; and widen the scale that would employ people in various fields of agriculture.
He advocated promotion of the professional contributions of food scientists and technologists toward the economic growth of the country.
“For the past two years NIFST has made robust adjustments to continue to position the association for sustained contributions toward achieving national food security.
“The association is now connected to the international community more than ever before with new partnerships with organisations such as the IFT of USA; Zenith International of USA; and a number of international research organisations.
“If expert members are leveraged upon in the various food value chains, they can foster the linkages that will take the profession and the agric sector to higher levels in the next few years.
“These linkages will expose investors to new technology, ingredients and markets in the country,’’ he said.
Osuji said that there were a lot of gaps to be filled and the tempo must at least be sustained or increasing, to ensure complete success.
“The economic situation in Nigeria demands that we constantly review and fine tune our strategies to escape the present recession.
“For this purpose, research needs to be intensified; timely dissemination of relevant scientific information is crucial as well as continuous training and retraining of stakeholders.
“This is very critical to ensure the successful steady export of food products.
“We must increase our share of the exports market in order to obtain the needed foreign exchange for our escape from recession,’’ Osuji said. (NAN)
CAN/FF/AJA
==========
(Edited by Fela Fashoro/Adeleye Ajayi)