PROF ONWUALU TASKS NIGERIAN SCIENTISTS ON COMMERCIALISABLE RESEARCH

                                                                                      Chucks Ngaha

As Nigeria braces up to the global challenge of diversifying its economy base to the less volatile non- oil sector, the Director- General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Eng (Prof.) Azikiwe Peter Onwualu, has called on scientists in the country to move forward from basic research to actual production; emphasizing that research activities needed to be repackaged to address specific requirements by the industrial Sector.  

Inaugurating an Interdisciplinary Technical Committee on Jute Bags Production from Kenaf, in the Council, recently, Prof Onwualu stated that the low capacity utilization in the industrial sector today was due to unavailability of local technology for processing industrial grade raw materials required in the manufacturing sector.  

The DG also said that the country was losing much foreign exchange through importation of raw materials that could have been sourced locally.  Particularly, he noted that the Jute bag Packaging industry in Nigeria was currently spending over N400 million annually on imported jute bags, which did not meet the quantity of  468.56 metric tones required by the industry. He added that Nigeria, in 2002, had lost about 22,300mt of cocoa beans valued at N2.5b in the international commodity market for packaging in poly bags and not using jute bags as recommended by the International Committee on Commodity Exports. 

Revealing that the Council was already spearheading the boosting of Kenaf production in Nigeria, in collaboration with Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), based on its position in the manufacture of sack for agricultural produce for domestic and international markets, the DG urged the new Committee led by Dr. Afolabi Fapohunda, the managing Director of AFLON Computers, to come up with the best recommendations for the development of Kenaf in Nigeria. He also charged them to create the enabling environment to encourage private sector participation in this venture and suggest measures required to decisively deal with the problems of Kenaf production in Nigeria. 

Other terms of reference given to the Committee included assessing the status of RMRDC/FIIRO Retting Project and advising on next line of action, formulating strategies for developing local capability for producing jute bag from kenaf, and formulating strategies for developing local capability for fabrication of equipment for jute bag production from kenaf.