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NIOMR, EG take trainees to Thailand for shrimp production
A partnership that would make food readily available and export the excess had been formed in Lagos. Called NIOMR-EG Public Private Partnership Arrangement, the partnership as way of demonstrating its seriousness are also sending a four-member team of the Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research to undergo training course in shrimps breeding in Thailand. (20 Jun 2008) Vanguard
20 June 2008
by Daniel Gumm, and agency reports
A partnership that would make food readily available and export the excess had been formed in Lagos. Called NIOMR-EG Public Private Partnership Arrangement, the partnership as way of demonstrating its seriousness are also sending a four-member team of the Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research to undergo training course in shrimps breeding in Thailand.
In an address at the epoch making event, Executive Director/Chief Executive
Officer of NIOMR, Dr. Olajide Ayinla said the collaboration was designed “to
move Nigeria’s research agenda forward to achieve Federal Government's programme
on Food Security and job creation which are integral part of President Umar Yar’
Adua’s seven-point agenda.”
The ED said the factors militating against remarkable achievement in research programme is lack of critical mass of well trained scientists and technologists to address the area of need apart from poor budgetary allocation to the institute in the past.
He added that the event which would jump-start shrimp culture in Nigeria was made possible by the good budgetary provision in 2008 by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abba Ruma Sayyad.
He also pointed out that to explore the training of the "critical mass of scientists and technologists in Thailand is strategic to jump-start the process of developing full package of shrimp culture in Nigeria."
But Managing Director of Erste Graceland Limited (EG), Chidi Ulelu, who would be leading the delegation of trainees to Thailand said the key to "our national revival and food security in Nigeria is when we commercialise innovations on agriculture."
Ulelu explained that “we have all these things here but our people cannot eat them until we make them available and affordable at all times," charging the four people going on the trip “to be prepared to be agents of change that are needed in our country.”
He said there was already a counterpart funding for the project to make it a success, and appealed to banks to also be prepared to guide the project to logical success when it commences.
He noted that though the institute had what it takes to succeed but added that the NIOMR needed the private sector input to make the place like a business otherwise it would not move to the next level, according to him “that is what informed the partnership.”
He also said Asian companies trawled in “our economic zone and packaged the shrimps for the export market and the average price is about $10," saying that “as I have said what informed this partnership with NIOMR in essence is that we are trying to drive the food security project from all fronts. It is the need to produce affordable sources of protein for Nigerians whose per capital consumption of protein is the lowest in the world. To drive the project, we need fish, shrimps, cassava, yams and rice.”
The EG boss said research institutes worldwide “have a lot of ideas and knowledge which their challenges in Nigeria in particular has not taken the initiative to commercialise, emphasising that “in Thailand where we are taking these people to train, every research institute has a shop; the Maize Research Institute sell maize, canned maize, processed maize and maize seedlings; Fish Research Institute sell fish up to the process of canning; so we believe that by this partnership we can take the institute to bring some of the innovations that they are going to learn for use of the public.”
On whether the innovations would be going for sale, since he mentioned selling of products, he said his organisation's expectation "is that since NIOMR is a government institution, the basic funds — seeds, shrimp fries, fish fingerlings — in other places when research institutes produce them, they are highly subsidised so that a farmer can get a shrimp fries for less than N1.00. We expect that by the time they start producing these things, the other agencies can come forward to sponsor them so that results of research institutes can get to the public at affordable prices."
The ED said the factors militating against remarkable achievement in research programme is lack of critical mass of well trained scientists and technologists to address the area of need apart from poor budgetary allocation to the institute in the past.
He added that the event which would jump-start shrimp culture in Nigeria was made possible by the good budgetary provision in 2008 by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abba Ruma Sayyad.
He also pointed out that to explore the training of the "critical mass of scientists and technologists in Thailand is strategic to jump-start the process of developing full package of shrimp culture in Nigeria."
But Managing Director of Erste Graceland Limited (EG), Chidi Ulelu, who would be leading the delegation of trainees to Thailand said the key to "our national revival and food security in Nigeria is when we commercialise innovations on agriculture."
Ulelu explained that “we have all these things here but our people cannot eat them until we make them available and affordable at all times," charging the four people going on the trip “to be prepared to be agents of change that are needed in our country.”
He said there was already a counterpart funding for the project to make it a success, and appealed to banks to also be prepared to guide the project to logical success when it commences.
He noted that though the institute had what it takes to succeed but added that the NIOMR needed the private sector input to make the place like a business otherwise it would not move to the next level, according to him “that is what informed the partnership.”
He also said Asian companies trawled in “our economic zone and packaged the shrimps for the export market and the average price is about $10," saying that “as I have said what informed this partnership with NIOMR in essence is that we are trying to drive the food security project from all fronts. It is the need to produce affordable sources of protein for Nigerians whose per capital consumption of protein is the lowest in the world. To drive the project, we need fish, shrimps, cassava, yams and rice.”
The EG boss said research institutes worldwide “have a lot of ideas and knowledge which their challenges in Nigeria in particular has not taken the initiative to commercialise, emphasising that “in Thailand where we are taking these people to train, every research institute has a shop; the Maize Research Institute sell maize, canned maize, processed maize and maize seedlings; Fish Research Institute sell fish up to the process of canning; so we believe that by this partnership we can take the institute to bring some of the innovations that they are going to learn for use of the public.”
On whether the innovations would be going for sale, since he mentioned selling of products, he said his organisation's expectation "is that since NIOMR is a government institution, the basic funds — seeds, shrimp fries, fish fingerlings — in other places when research institutes produce them, they are highly subsidised so that a farmer can get a shrimp fries for less than N1.00. We expect that by the time they start producing these things, the other agencies can come forward to sponsor them so that results of research institutes can get to the public at affordable prices."
