Nigeria to be self-sufficient in snail, mushroom farming – Onu

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has said that the country will soon be self-sufficient in the farming of snails and mushrooms. Speaking  in Okwudor  in Njaba council area of Imo State when he performed the foundation laying ceremony for the establishment of the Bioresources  Development Centre being undertaken by the National Biotechnology […]

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has said that the country will soon be self-sufficient in the farming of snails and mushrooms.

Speaking  in Okwudor  in Njaba council area of Imo State when he performed the foundation laying ceremony for the establishment of the Bioresources  Development Centre being undertaken by the National Biotechnology Development Agency as well as  the South East  Zonal Training  Centre of the Nigeria Institute of Leather Science and Technology being undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the minister said that the centres  when completed would transform the community and the entire state as the people would benefit abundantly from the centres in the required skills of Bioresources training.

He said: “What we are doing today is very important but many people may not see the significance until the centres come into full operation. What we are doing today was done in Odi in Bayelsa State some years back and the impact has been tremendous because the former militants who were being trained abroad in Bioresources and Leather technology are today being trained in Odi.

According to him, the  centre would provide skills tied to technology and it will enable the people to become experts in the farming of edible mushrooms and snail farming and there is a ready market for it in Nigeria and also for export because of the high demand and people can become rich without corruption.

He added, “Again, this Institute of Leather Science and Technology is the only accredited training institute in the country where people can really be trained in leather technology and certificated. So, having a zonal Centre here in this community is indeed a blessing for the community because leather export today contributes a lot to the national economy.”

Onu implore the people to protect the facilities and the workers as it is in their own interest to do so and also to encourage the federal government to do more. He assured that the projects have already been captured in the 2019 budgets.

The Acting Director – General  of the Nigeria Institute of Leather Science and Technology, Dr. Opara E Ngozi, said that  the Centre will train people to be proficient in leather development and technology to stimulate production for export.  She disclosed that the institute has already trained over 100 person in Aba.

She implored the people of the community to support the realization of the project which would not only improve their local economy but would also provide them with skills.

The traditional Ruler of Okwudor Community, Eze Anayo Ernest Durueboruo, expressed the gratitude of the people to the federal government  saying  that they have always pray that they would be remembered by the Federal government.

He promised  that the community would stick with the Memorandum of Understanding reached and that the people will not allow this opportunity to slip away through their fingers by ensuring that the community cooperates with the federal government.