In a bid to ensure food sufficiency in the state and Nigeria at large, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), on Saturday, unveiled the Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Institute in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.
The project had been flagged off by the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, on August 1, 2022.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, the President said the establishment of the institute and others across the six geo-political zones was part of his regime’s commitment to revolutionise the agricultural sector in the country.
He commended the management and staff of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure for meeting the January 2023 completion target.
Buhari said the institute would transform the country into an agro-allied tech hub and boost food production in the country.
“I want Nigerians to produce what they eat and eat what they produce and also keep enough for exports,” the President added.
Earlier, while speaking with newsmen, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Professor Mohammed Sani-Haruna, said the entire structures, road networks, workshops laboratory, gate house, among others were constructed within the span of five months.
He said the speedy delivery on the presidential directive was not only to justify the new status of the Agency but also to hasten transition of Nigeria to a manufacturing economy.
He said, “AMEDI Lafia is the first to be completed among the six equals across the geo-political zones in the country.
“The conceptualisation of this model institute was targeted at the use of science and engineering infrastructure to support the President’s effort in the attainment of food and nutritional security in Nigeria and for Nigerians.
“So, we resolved at NASENI to use the platforms of the AMEDIs to modernise agribusiness in Nigeria and ensure sustainable scaling of agro-enterprises for new jobs and wealth creation.”
The NASENI Vice Chairman explained that the institute was equipped with Central Research Laboratory that would support the research activities of the institute along the various value chains of the target product lines of the institute.
While hinting that the institute had installed modern equipment for the processing of fruit juices, milk, tomatoes and other products, Professor Sani-Haruna expressed gratitude to President Buhari for his immense support which assisted the Agency to complete the project at the stipulated time.
Our correspondent reports that President Buhari arrived Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital at exactly 10:30 am at the Government House, on a presidential jet 5N-FG2, on Saturday.
Those on hand to receive the President were the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, and his counterparts in Kogi and Niger states.
Others were the All Progressives Congress National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu, former governor of Nasarawa, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Nasarawa State Speaker, Ibrahim Balarabe-Abdullahi, among others.
