The Ministry of Science and Technology has declared that it has created over 1000 technologies suitable for youth empowerment in all the local governments in Nigeria.
This was stated at the plenary session of the 2016 Offshore West Africa conference taking place at the Eko Hotels, Lagos. In an address given on behalf of the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, by the Director General, Federal Institute of Food and Industrial Research, Oshodi, Dr Gloria Elemo.
She stated that the government objective is to use technology to drive employment by focusing on various economic opportunities available through enterprise creation and development.
“Any nation that does not see the vibrancy of the youth is in danger. Youth restiveness is the result of inability of youths to gain employment.”
Presenting figures from the ILO, she stated that it was a global phenomenon. The unemployment figures for Europe was 1.2million higher than 2013 figures and it is projected to reach 212 million in 2019. Citing figures from NBS, Nigeria’s unemployment rate is put at 23 per cent.
She noted that automation of production process is contributing to global unemployment rate.
In response to this situation, Elemo stated that her parastatal is in the process of developing economic blueprint for science and technology training to turn youths into job creators.
One of such areas, she noted is in the agricultural sector. In the cassava subsector, there is potential to create 3 million jobs by the inclusion of cassava flour for bread and save N120billion in imports.
She stated that they have achieved results in the Brewery sub sector with the substitution of sorghum with barley and helped to drive the value chain.
She invited the event participants to join the efforts of her parastatal as they have come up 250 technologies that are “low hanging fruits”
The Institute of Food and Industrial Research, Oshodi, a parastatal under the agency of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, FIIRO was the idea of an economic mission sent to Nigeria in 153 by the World Bank. It was established in 1956.
The agency has the mandate of assisting in accelerating the industrialization of the Nigerian economy through funding utilisation for the country’s raw materials and upgrading indigenous production technologies to identifying and characterising local raw materials for use in industries, developing appropriate technologies, upgrading indigenous technologies in the area of food and agro-allied processing.
ISAAC ANYAOGU
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