Former Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Prof. Suleiman Elias Bogoro, has proposed investing ₦250 billion annually for three years to restore grazing reserves, modernise ranching and increase livestock production in Nigeria.
Bogoro presented the investment proposal at the fifth Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) Ambassadorial Lecture, which Igbinedion University, Okada (IUO), hosted in Edo State on Thursday, 8 October.
Held under the theme “The Existential Imperative of Agro-Value Chain: Deploying Innovative Technology Towards Nigeria’s US$1tr GDP Target,” the lecture brought together recommendations on agricultural production, processing and the commercial application of scientific research.
Speakers linked those recommendations to Nigeria’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030, calling for investment in technology and infrastructure alongside closer cooperation among government, universities and businesses.
Bogoro argued that scientific research and technological innovation should play a larger role in improving agricultural productivity and food security. He said they could also help convert raw farm produce into industrial products with greater economic value.
He put the contribution of agriculture, livestock and food security to Nigeria’s gross domestic product at about 17 per cent.
His recommendations extended beyond livestock funding to improved animal breeding, agro-processing zones, subsidised credit and stronger agricultural extension services. He also advocated reforms aimed at ending open grazing and reducing conflicts between farmers and herders.
The university’s account of the lecture recorded his call for stronger agricultural research and development, loans for rural farmers and entrepreneurs, and better access to feeder roads, water and electricity.
NAS President, Emeritus Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo, who chaired the lecture, addressed the difficulty of turning scientific findings into commercially useful products.
Sambo said research from universities and institutes too often remained outside the marketplace. He urged government, academic institutions and industry to strengthen their relationships so that scientific work could support businesses, employment and export earnings.
He also called for the establishment of the proposed National Research Fund and identified artificial intelligence as a tool that could help organisations raise productivity, lower costs and improve decision-making.
Edo State Head of Service, Dr. Anthony Osas Okungbowa, focused on the activities that follow agricultural production. He urged greater investment in processing, packaging and marketing to increase the value Nigeria earns from its produce.
Okungbowa said the state government’s SHINE Agenda supported oil palm development, agribusiness and youth entrepreneurship. He argued that technology could help reduce losses after harvest, connect producers to wider markets and create employment.
IUO Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lawrence Ikechukwu Ezemonye, said scientific work needed stronger connections with public policy and practical development. Researchers, he said, should produce solutions capable of addressing the country’s problems.
Ezemonye linked the lecture’s subject to food security, sustainable development and economic growth. He described the NAS lecture series as a means of bringing researchers, policymakers and the wider public into discussions about national development.
He said the participation of state government officials demonstrated the relevance of cooperation between public institutions and universities. Stronger relationships between the two, he added, were necessary to translate knowledge into development.
The Vice-Chancellor also pointed to opportunities for joint research, mentoring and collaboration in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. He said engagement with NAS fellows could encourage students and young scientists to contribute to scientific and technological development.
Ezemonye associated the university’s hosting of the programme with its work in science, innovation and public service over more than 27 years. He acknowledged IUO’s founder and chancellor, Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, the Esama of Benin, crediting him with establishing Nigeria’s first private university.
The speakers encouraged policymakers, researchers, businesses and young Nigerians to pursue agricultural innovation and enterprise, with investment in research commercialisation, infrastructure and technology supporting those efforts.