WAAP-Nigeria equips 50 farmers with new technology

The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP-Nigeria), has presented a new technology to 50 farmers from the North-west zone of Nigeria. National Project Coordinator, WAAPP-Nigeria, Dr James Ocheme Apochi, said at the event in Katsina that the objective of the project was to generate technologies and build the capacity of farmers in order to increase […]

The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP-Nigeria), has presented a new technology to 50 farmers from the North-west zone of Nigeria.
National Project Coordinator, WAAPP-Nigeria, Dr James Ocheme Apochi, said at the event in Katsina that the objective of the project was to generate technologies and build the capacity of farmers in order to increase agricultural productivity.
“My joy will be that this technology that we are going to give to you today, you should take advantage and make use of it because if we develop technology and the farmers do not put it to use, it means the money we put into research is a waste,” he stated.
The programme is training 50 unemployed youths and women from each of the six geo-political zones of the country on selected technologies based on raw materials of comparative advantage in each of the zones.
  For the North-west, it is sorghum processing into different beverages (production, packaging and preservation), tomato processing and ‘Zobo’ production, packaging and preservation.
The technologies were developed by the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Lagos, which is noted for its research outcomes in agricultural produce post-harvest value addition.
Some of the technologies include sorghum malting and tomato processing machines among others.
The director-general, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Lagos, Dr Gloria Elemo, whose speech was read by James Mordi, said the institute had developed over 250 indigenous technologies covering virtually all the agro-commodities in the country.
The special assistant to the minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on Donor Agencies, Mr. Auta Appeh said WAAPP as a programme played very important role in the  green alternative that has been launched by the federal government.
Some of the beneficiaries expressed gratitude to WAAPP for changing their lives, adding that the technologies received would be put to use for employment generation in their communities.