By: Mandy Park
Dr. Philips Nto, a renowned agricultural expert and university teacher, has called on the Nigerian government at all levels to harness research findings in agriculture to enhance food security.
This call emphasizes the importance of translating research into practical solutions to address the country’s food security challenges.
According to Nto by leveraging agricultural research, Nigeria can improve crop yields, enhance farming practices, and ultimately increase food availability, thereby boosting food security.
He regretted that research findings by institutes and universities were gathering dust at various libraries without any attention by the government.
Dr Nto, the Director of Agribusiness Incubation Centre, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, made the call in his office when his former schoolmates from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, paid him a courtesy visit.
According to him, volumes of research findings that can enhance agricultural production were lying waste at various institutions in Nigeria without being made use of either by government agencies or private concerns.
He said his expectations were that the government would not only make use of those research findings but celebrate the researchers as was being done in more advanced countries.
” I believe that we should honour and celebrate these researchers whose contributions to national development are unquantifiable. I feel bad when government officials gather to commission roads instead of celebrating the products of research,” he lamented.
Said the renowned academic, ” serious minded developed countries like America, China and Europe celebrate cutting edge research outcomes in agriculture and not a few kilometres of road “
Nto said that, on the contrary, many researchers and their products in Nigeria are dumped in university archives and libraries used only for promotion exercises.
The former Abia state Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning deplored what he described as a disconnect between research agencies and government, saying that there’s no encouragement of researchers by government.
According to him, most of the results and research findings in Nigeria are not used by the government for the development of the society, and regretted that many improved varieties of crops and livestock have been abandoned in research agencies.
He told his visitors, who consisted of lecturers, researchers, and scientists, that they should join the advocacy to persuade the government to patronise research findings that deal with agriculture.
He commended them for finding time to visit Umudike to assess what his team was doing at the Agribusiness Incubation Centre.
Dr Nto, who is the immediate past Provost of Abia State College of Education, Technical, Arochukwu informed them that the centre has been engaging the farmers within its catchment areas of innovative methods of farming for improved yield.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Dr Charles Osita of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, commended Dr Nto for his commitment and diligence in enhancing food security in Nigeria through the centre.
He was happy that Dr. Philips Nto was using the centre to revolutionise the practise of agriculture in this part of the country and described him as a good ambassador of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Dr. Nto’s plea highlights the need for policymakers to prioritize the application of research findings in agriculture, ensuring that scientific discoveries benefit the nation’s food systems and ultimately, its citizens .