This was disclosed by Prof. Mohammed Haruna, Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, during the Agricultural Machinery and Development Institute (AMEDI) groundbreaking ceremony yesterday in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State.
According to Haruna, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the agency to use contemporary technologies to revolutionize agricultural and food processing as part of the decision to locate AMEDI in the state.
The NASENI director claimed that the organization had been successful in developing a few pertinent pieces of machinery for use throughout the entire food value chain, from cultivation to planting, weeding, harvesting, and food preservation.
This institute is required to build on this accomplishment and act as a pilot site for the implementation of the agriculture agreement between Nigeria and the Czech Republic, as approved by President Buhari for the Presidential Implementation Committee, he said.
NASENI and AMEDI Lafia will conduct research, develop tools, and provide training in agriculture, food production, harvest and post-harvest, processing technologies, food preservation, and packaging while cooperating with the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic. Among other things, it will turn agricultural waste into renewable energy.
Additionally, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Development Strategies, Ambassador Abdullahi Omaki, who was standing in for Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to the President, assured Nigerians that the current administration would keep using science and technology to advance agriculture throughout the nation.
The effort, according to the governor, aims to increase wealth and reduce poverty in the nation.
Through the development of jobs, youth empowerment, and the acquisition of skills for value addition, he explained, “This project is targeted toward turning the agricultural sector into an industrial hub.
“It is important to note that the Federal Government’s involvement in the design and location of this project is based on the assumption that Advanced Manufacturing Technology drives 80{c59f2d9e93250d9a3f00f33c4784bba748f246721195afccc412c2cbc44f328a} of the global economy.
“I’m pleased to announce that NASENI has also established the North Central Skill Development Center in the state’s Keffi Local Government Area. These initiatives would be crucial in transforming our beloved state into a business hub and will undoubtedly increase the pool of skilled labor available to meet the surge of businesses and organizations that have expressed interest in operating there.
A distinguished son of ours, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of NASENI, deserves special praise for his visionary leadership and for supporting the development of the AMEDI in Lafia. This action will live on forever in the sands of time.
