Due to its inability to attract grants from local and international grant-making foundations and organisations, Nigeria’s agriculture research sector loses about $100 million each year.
The Agriculture and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) in Ilorin, Kwara State, opened a week-long training workshop on grantsmanship for agricultural research officers on Tuesday. The institute’s executive director, Dr Olufemi Oladunni, said the country needs agricultural research to improve food production, reduce food shortages and poverty, and create jobs.
According to the ARMTI’s director, the institute believes it is necessary to contribute its fair share to improving the skills, knowledge, and research competence of the country’s scientists “in order to encourage them to develop more, better, quality, and high-yielding varieties to improve Nigeria’s food security.”
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“Despite the fact that some commodities, such as crops, livestock, fisheries, and even agroforestry, are already produced in the country, the volume of our output is far below international output.”
“Nigeria does not lose anything less than a $100 million grant every year due to its inability to attract both domestic and international grants.” And you know what that can do in the agricultural research system. When you look at the research value chain, there is a lot to gain for research scientists and other actors in the research value chain who are missing out on this opportunity.
“For example, in soya bean production, the highest output per hectare available today is 1.3 tonnes, compared to 10 tonnes in other climates.” You can see how important what we’re saying is. It’s not just about the production style, but also about the varieties that are being planted. This is where research comes into play. Research must be able to increase the yield of production. To reduce food shortages, poverty, and increase employment within the system, we must improve the tonnes of food we produce in this country. Some of these things can only be accomplished if you have the right mix of commodities spanning livestock, fisheries, and crop production.
“Having research institutes and agricultural faculties in our tertiary institution is essential because agricultural research is not limited to research institutes.” Every participant is expected to participate.
“Grantsmanship; obtaining funds is not something that the government can do on its own. There are foundations all over the world, even outside Nigeria, that are willing to fund these projects, but we aren’t getting them because we don’t have fundable research proposals.
“That is why ARMTI is stepping forward to contribute its fair share to improving our scientists’ skills, knowledge, and research competence so that they can develop more, better, quality, and high-yielding varieties to improve Nigeria’s food security.”
“Almost every research institute in the country is represented, and faculties of agriculture around us and outside here, including our own staff are involved,” said Dr. Oladunni, who added that “almost every research institute in the country is represented and faculties of agriculture around us and outside here, including our own staff are involved.”
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Dr. Ishaku Leo Elisha of Vom, Plateau State, spoke on behalf of the participants, saying that they would collaborate through networking to spread the knowledge gained during the programme and make the training worthwhile.
