The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State says it will leverage on Executive order Number five to commence mass production of Agricultural implements developed by the Agricultural Complex of the institution to promote agricultural mechanization.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kabiru Bala disclosed this during the 2022 National Agricultural Extension Review and Planning Meeting in Zaria on Tuesday.
The meeting with a theme `rethinking agricultural Extension Strategies in Disaster Era’ was organised by the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), ABU Zaria.
He said ABU was endowed with a fully developed Agricultural Complex with over 1000hectares of farm for cultivation with large quantum of research and innovations.
The Vice-Chancellor said the ABU was developing an innovation and incubation centre so that findings and innovations could be fully harnessed to promote agricultural mechanization and enhance food security.
“We will also leverage on the executive order number 5 which was hinged on the development of local technologies and innovations; anything that can be done in this country should not be imported.
“We have these farm implements and tools developed by the faculty of agriculture and Institute for Agricultural Research.
“The university would partner with places like `Panteka’ in Kaduna which serve as the innovation hub of Kaduna Polytechnic to develop some of these equipment,’’ the vice-chancellor said.
Bala added that ABU would not wait for fantastic building and equipment before it starts the production of such implements, stressing that some of the machines and innovations for agricultural mechanization developed by China and other countries were initially developed without sophisticated workshops.
The vice-chancellor lamented that the faculty of agriculture of the institution pre-dates ABU itself and the Agricultural Complex of the ABU had developed several innovation and agricultural mechanization tools which were left unattended.
Earlier in his remarks, The Executive Director of NAERLS, Prof. Emmanuel Ikani said it was high time for the government to fully embrace commercial agriculture and it should stop paying lip service to the sector.
He added that the University would strengthen its collaboration with the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation and Innoson Motors to enhance the production of farm implements to strengthen the agricultural mechanization drive of the Federal Government.
Similarly Prof. Mohammed Jaliya, Assistant Director Extension, Training and Outreach, NAERLS said the meeting was to enhance collaboration between NAERLS, State Agricultural Development Programmes and farmers.
The meeting was to discourse the activities of 2022 farming and planning for the 2023 farming season for policy brief to Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
