Buhari commissions agric machinery, equipment development institute

Determined to make Nigeria a hub and supplier of agro-allied technology, equipment and machinery toward the development of the agric sector and create jobs for the youth, President Muhammadu Buhari will today commission the Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Development Institute (AMEDI), Lafia, Nasarawa State for the North Central geopolitical zone. Equipped with modern laboratories and […]

Determined to make Nigeria a hub and supplier of agro-allied technology, equipment and machinery toward the development of the agric sector and create jobs for the youth, President Muhammadu Buhari will today commission the Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Development Institute (AMEDI), Lafia, Nasarawa State for the North Central geopolitical zone.

Equipped with modern laboratories and machines for mechanised farming and agricultural development in the country, the AMEDI is built for the purpose of making Nigeria a hub and supplier of agro-allied technology, equipment and machines towards achieving agricultural revolution and to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on importation of foreign technologies for agricultural implements.

Recently, President Buhari approved the establishment of six agricultural machinery and equipment development institutes, one per geopolitical zone of the country and another six industrial machineries and equipment development institutes spread across geopolitical zones of the country.

According to the president, recently, at the groundbreaking ceremony of the institute carried out by his chief of staff, Professor Ibrahim A. Gambari, the AMEDI symbolizes federal government’s commitment to the development of a technology-based national economy, saying that one of the prominent issues in public discourse is how to boost the economy of the country through deployment of technology.

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“The AMEDI, Lafia, just like five others, is expected to host a demonstration farm, which would serve as a pilot farm to showcase new farming methods using modern techniques in agricultural processing, innovation and technology, and a means of providing extension services to Nigerian farmers and agro-allied industries in the country.

He said that with the establishment of the AMEDI, Lafia, building on the remarkable success of the other National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) development institutes across the country, it would serve as the cradle for nurturing professional engineers and scientists who are proficient in the design and manufacturing of diverse agricultural machinery and equipment.

“ I am sure that the AMEDI will in no time emerge as a centre of excellence in agricultural machinery and equipment designed to enable Nigeria scale new heights as the paradise for agricultural produce and a hub for agro-allied technology,” he stated.

The AMEDI, Lafia has the mandate to develop agricultural machineries, equipment and related technologies and to cede developed products and technologies to the private sector for mass production and commercialisation, having the primary focus on the North Central zone of Nigeria, and is expected to look into solving the agricultural and agro-allied technology challenges of Nasarawa, Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Niger and Plateau states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Also, at the on-spot inspection of the ongoing construction works of the AMEDI, Lafia, the chief of staff to President Buhari commended NASENI for keeping to its words of ensuring that it will be commissioned in the shortest time possible.

So far, in two months, about three workshops of the institute in Lafia have been fully constructed. The administrative building has been completed. Moved by the level of speed of work and satisfaction with the quality of work, Professor Gambari expressed hope that the institute would be up for commissioning during the lifetime of the President Buhari administration.

Today, the institute is being commissioned as planned; Kudos to Mr President.

According to the chief of staff, the intention of President Buhari with the establishment of the agricultural institutes was not only to ensure food security for Nigerians but also for the purpose of exporting food and other agricultural implements to neighbouring African countries.

He said, “President Buhari wants Nigerians to produce what they eat and eat what they produce and also keep enough for export.”

The executive vice chairman/chief executive of the NASENI, Professor Mohammed Sani Haruna, while showing the chief of staff round the complex, thanked him and the president for the encouragement, enabling environment and support that had aided the agency to carry out its statutory mandate.

He said the NASENI had taken up the challenge of assisting the federal government’s plans to promote food security in the country through the speedy completion of the Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Development Institutes and also design and fabrication of a long list of agricultural process machines, including planters and harvesters, all aimed at making the agricultural sector viable and attractive to investors and farmers alike.

According to Haruna, the AMEDI and other centres will soon be commissioned as soon as construction works are completed. He added that more of them will be commissioned within the lifetime of this administration.

“President Buhari was inspired by the mandate of the AMEDI, Mbaise, Imo State and had directed the NASENI to establish similar institutes in the six geopolitical zones of the country. Nigeria is going to witness a genuine agricultural revolution soon, as well as real farming mechanisation when these institutes come to full stream”, the NASENI boss said.

The NASENI, in order to ensure that the desire of the present administration is fulfilled in making Nigeria a hub for agro-allied technology, has entered into partnership with other countries who have leveraged on their achievements from the agric sector to adopt a similar thing to Nigeria.

One of the countries is Czech Republic and the collaboration between the NASENI and the country, is specifically on fostering infrastructural development in agriculture, mining and general manufacturing (specifically for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises – MSMEs).

In line with the focus of the agreement, the following projects have been finalised and are at different stages of implementation:  Applied Research and Technology Transfer for Agriculture, Mining and General Manufacturing, Smart Irrigation Project/Establishment of Irrigation Equipment Manufacturing Plant and Valves & Fittings Manufacturing Company collaboration with Aqua Industrial set ups, establishment of  Ecopanel Manufacturing Plant in collaboration with Ekopanel Czech Republic, Defence Technology Transfer Projects for the Nigerian Navy through the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic.

However, to keep the promise made, President Buhari will today commission AMEDI, Lafia for the North Central geopolitical zone, equipped with the state-of-the art laboratory equipment and food processing machines for the take-off of agricultural revolution agenda  of the federal government.

Ekwuazi is the chief information officer, NASENI