LAGOS – Prof. Gbenga Ogunmoyela, Dean, College of Food Sciences, Bells University, Ota, Ogun, on Monday in Lagos urged the Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO) Oshodi, to devise new strategies to commercialise research products.
Ogunmoyela, who is also the technical consultant, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), said the need for FIIRO to overhaul its approach to marketing of researched products was necessary to expand the nation’s employment window and accommodate numerous skilled Nigerians.
According to him, the time has come for FIIRO to begin inclusive commercialisation of its more than 250 research products as part of efforts to diversify the nation’s economy and reduce unemployment.
“Training is not enough, but we must look at how FIIRO will be able to create a new model, an initiative that would actually encourage commercialisation of those products.
“For instance, FIIRO should seek partnership with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) or the Ministry of Trade and investment on how to bring about more value addition through the export industrial and ready-to-use products.
“You don’t just go out and train people, and leave them to start on their own. There are so many skilled people, especially the youths, out there doing nothing.
“We must also encourage people to go into partnerships; government must also be a facilitator, seeing how we can get investors to invest in them on a regular basis.
“So it is good that FIIRO has created awareness, but we should not let these things die on the laboratory shelves.
“We want to begin to see our research results in the supermarkets, and for industrial use and follow-up is very important, to make things work,” he said.
NAN recalls that the Director-General of FIIRO, Mrs Gloria Elemo, had in October, announced that the institute has more than 250 Research and Development results, which could generate about three million new jobs.
Elemo said that the research products included by-products of sorghum, cassava, palm-wine, soya and maize.
She also announced that FIIRO had embarked on free training session on entrepreneurship from research and technology, for 300 youths from the six geo-political zones. (NAN)
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