A Professor of industrial chemistry, Olujimi Folarin, has urged the Federal Government to invest heavily in large scale palm oil production for foreign exchange revenue in order to diversity and boost Nigeria’s economy.
Prof. Olujimi Folarin gave the advice yesterday at the 6th Inaugural Lecture of Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa in Ondo State.
The inaugural lecture was titled: “Vegetable Oil: A Veritable Industrial Raw Material”.
Folarin, also the Dean, School of Science, OAUSTECH, described palm oil as a goldmine, which was untapped but capable of fetching the Federal Government huge foreign exchange revenue.
The don, in his lecture, said palm oil alone could change the fortune of Nigeria, and save it from its present predicament.
He urged both Federal and Ondo State Government to return to the olden days of agricultural policies and investments in agriculture to turn around the tide in the country.
According to him, Malaysia, the second largest palm oil producer in the world, collected it’s oil palm seedlings from Nigeria in the 60’s and have benefitted from its economic prosperity.
“Nigeria is lagging behind and has to expand its foreign exchange earnings base. Vegetable oil production is the best way to achieve this.
“We still import vegetable oil in spite 70 per cent of our land being arable. There is need to produce vegetable oil to meet local demands and export the surplus.
“Vegetable oil is a renewable resource capable of of replacing petroleum feedstock in many industrial applications because of its presence in different functional groups in the fatty acids.
“There is also the need to set up teams of scientists from relevant fields, who will be saddled with the responsibilities of non-concessional oil seeds plants.
“Nigeria farmers should have access to financial services that allows them to adopt new technologies and increase their resilience to economic shocks.
“Government should empower small-scale farmers financially to increase their production capacity for export,” he said.
Folarin urged small-scale farmers to form cooperative groups to be able to enjoy financial assistance from government.
The don also urged government to strengthen the weak research extension linkage system for technologies and innovations generated to be effectively delivered to farmers
Meanwhile, OAUSTECH’s Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof. Temi Ologunorisa, commended Folarin for his articulated lecture, academic acumen and dexterity in his field of industrial chemistry.
“There is no doubt that everyone at the lecture have benefitted immensely from his wealth of knowledge,” he said.
NAN also reports that professors, academia, staff, students and other members of the public attended the inaugural lecture, which held at the institution’s main auditorium.