The Nanotechnology Research Group (NANO+) at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, is to partner with Lagos based Pan-Africana Strategic and Policy Research Group (PANAFSTRAG), in exploring the health and economic benefits of kola plants beyond consumption.
The maiden hybrid international conference on Kola plants which has been slated for 6-9 May, 2024, will discuss the various benefits of kola nut, bitter kola, wonderful kola, monkey kola and their relatives.
The world production of kola nuts was about 311,331 tonnes in 2021 with Nigeria accounting for about 55.06 percent. Nigeria along with Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, and Sierra Leone accounted for 99.80 percent of global production.
The nut is traded across countries beyond West Africa. It is exported to the USA, Europe, Mexico, India and China. In 2022, kola nut was priced at $2,500-4,800 per ton, creating the need to extract more economic gains from kola.
Agbaje Lateef, head, NANO+ research group, stated that kola nut tree is a perennial cash crop that is grown because of its seed (kola nut), which is widely cultivated in West Africa but now found in Asia, South America and the Caribbean.
According to him, kola is rich in chemicals that give it stimulating effects when eaten. He stated further that the caffeine found in it along with other chemicals make kola nuts have a bitter taste.
Read also: Exciting times for Nigerian cocoa exporters as prices soar
Accordingly, the strategic partnership with PANAFSTRAG and CRIN would provide a sustainable development roadmap agenda for kola in Nigeria and other West African countries.
“Kola nuts are part of African culture and tradition. In Nigeria, it is an object of hospitality among Igbo ethnic groups. It is used for divination and in ceremonies by Yorubas, but chewed by Hausas as a stimulant to reduce appetite. Because of its rich phytochemicals, kola nuts are widely used in folk medicine to treat different ailments.
He highlighted the importance of the conference to rally scholars, policy makers, regulatory agencies, industrialists, farmers and other stakeholders to deliberate on the immense importance of kola plants for sustainable development.
Lateef also stated that their investigations have shown that kola nuts hold a lot of potential that are not currently explored. “Wastes of kola nut processing are gold mines that must be used positively to create wealth by producing valuable products through a circular economy.”
Read also: Nigeria’s bitter kola farming gains steam on high demand
He stated further that though Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of kola nut, its cultivation should be expanded to include new high-yielding varieties needed to increase productivity. According to him, this will afford material resources that can be deployed feasibly in biotechnology, catalysis and nanotechnology.
Lateef disclosed further that Razaq O. Rom Kalilu, acting vice-chancellor of LAUTECH, will chair the conference, while Ishola Williams (a retired major-general) and executive secretary of PANAFSTRAG will be co-chairman.
Omotoye Olorode, an erudite scholar and a Pan-Africanist, who had worked on the genetics and breeding of kola nuts will be the keynote speaker for the conference. Other plenary speakers from USA, Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire would present papers at the conference.
