Recognizing the First Generation Inventors

Recognizing the First Generation Inventors

Let me start with utopian scenario; imagine a land or situation whereby all your wishes are met effortless courtesy of technological facilities, available and accessible to you. Imagine a driverless car, you enter with your wish of travelling to a choice destination in your mind, the car simply drives you and stop at exact point you had in your mind without making any effort. On the other hand, let us imagine another scenario, opposite to first one; the present technological facilities making our lives easier and happier cease to function. No telephone to speak with others few kilometers away from us, no plane to crisscross the continents, no car to travel long distances, no weapon of mass destruction, and many other things making our lives comfortable, enjoyable and sometimes fearful. With these two scenarios, one cannot but doff his hat for the inventors of the various technologies worldwide for their ingenuity and creativity.    What is the history of invention and what was the first invention done by mankind? A difficult question to precisely answer as invention predated the Paleolithic period. The inventions then, before Stone Age were those of fire control, cooking, fabrication of stone and bone tools, weaving, cave painting and few others. These inventions were found through evidences recorded by archaeologists in various historical places. Then, came to Neolithic period, more inventions were witnessed with relative superiority and complexity over inventions made in earlier years. Such period witnessed the invention of wheel, ship for sailing, needle; the earliest needles were invented in 4400 BC in Naqada Egypt as reported by Wikipedia. Those needles were made of bone and wood different from the modern ones manufactured from high carbon steel wire.

Then, came the first millenniums BC, which witnessed advancement of inventions; lenses, watermill and cranes in Ancient Greece, mirror, glass blowing and warship in Lebanon, gears, paper and blast furnace in Ancient China.  The Ancient engineers in the Roman Empire invented segmental arch dam, bridge and some hydraulic structures for water flows and controls. These and many similar inventions were made between 8th and first century BC.  In that Era of the first millenniums; 8^th to 1^st century BC, there were many inventors scattered globally but the most renown and famous was Archimedes. He was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. He was and is still regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. He was generally considered as the greatest mathematician of all time. Archimedes was genius enough to anticipate the upcoming of modern calculus and algebra. This, he demonstrated by applying the concept of infinitesimals and the method of exhaustion to derive and rigorously prove a range of geometrical theorems such as area and circumference of a circle, the surface area and volume of a sphere, and the area under a parabola. Among other important things he developed that is still being applied by many of us is “pi”, a constant parameter with a value of 22 over 7. This magic “pi” is used for computations of many trigonometric, cycles and volumes of structures. He also developed the Archimedes screw for lifting up water from mines or wells. The famous exclamation of 'Eureka!' was credited to this ancient Greek scholar Archimedes. He was reportedly proclaimed "Eureka! Eureka!" (Twice) after he had stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose, equivalent to the volume of water displaced by part of his submerged body. He then intuitively understood that the volume of irregular objects could be measured with relative precision, a hitherto an intractable problem to human race. He was said to have been so eager to share his discovery with public that he leapt out of his bathtub and ran through the streets of Syracuse naked. This was how the word “Eureka” became a so famous that every scientist worth his/her salt knows it. Another important discovery made by Archimedes was his famous principle code named “Archimedes’ principle”. It states that the upward buoyant force that is exerted on a body immersed in a fluid, fully or partially submerged, is equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces and acts in the upward direction at the center of mass of the displaced fluid. This means that an object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. This is a fundamental law of physics applicable in fluid mechanics, whose practical application led to the design of ships, complicated hydraulic structures and similar practical applications very useful to mankind. Archimedes lived for 75 years between the year 287 BC and 212 BC. His life was full of useful discoveries that are being used to date. He was killed in 212 BC during the siege of Syracuse by a Roman soldier despite orders that he should not be harmed. Cicero, one of the Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists, visited Archimedes tomb decorated it with a sphere and a cylinder as symbols of his mathematical discoveries. This was done to fulfill the Archimedes request before his death.

Another notable inventor of the first millenniums BC was Cai Lun. He was a Chinese inventor of paper. He was a Chinese political administrator credited with inventing modern paper. His invention included the use of raw materials such as bark, hemp, silk and fishing net. The sheets of fibre were suspended in water before removing for drying. In ancient times writings and inscriptions were generally made on tablets of bamboo or on pieces of silk. But silk being costly and bamboo heavy, they were not convenient to use. Tshai Lun [Cai Lun] then initiated the idea of making paper from the bark of trees, remnants of hemp, rags of cloth, and fishing nets. He submitted the process to the then Chinese emperor “Yuan-Hsing” and received commendation for his noble invention. That invention revolutionized the art of writing and record keeping, which up to date is very useful to mankind. This is why there are more records of inventions in the first millennium AD after that discovery as many people were able to record the inventions in writing.

The first millenniums AD marked the boom of discoveries as many groundbreaking inventions were witnessed. From 1000 AD to date, there were 100s of notable inventors whose impacts have made significant positive changes to human race. Among these important and noble men was Leonardo Da Vinci, an Italian artist, scientist and polymath. Da Vinci invented a sundry machines and structures. These included prototype parachutes, tanks, flying machines and single-span bridges. He was also credited with the inventions of optical lens, grinder and various hydraulic machines that were fully adopted and used by various communities globally. Vinci was a famous Italian Renaissance polymath whose areas of interests cut-across invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. He has been variously called the father of palaeontology, ichnology, and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Wikipedia reported that many historians and scholars regard Vinci as the prime exemplar of the "Universal Genius" or "Renaissance Man", an individual of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination". According to art historian Helen Gardner, the scope and depth of Vinci interests were without precedent in recorded history, and "his mind and personality seem to us superhuman, while the man himself as mysterious and remote”. That famous man lived his life between the year 1452 and 1519 AD.

The next was Sir Isaac Newton. Newton was another famous inventor who lived his life between the year 1642 and 1726 AD. To date, the humanity uses the invention of this great achiever. He was an English scientist. Newton invented the reflecting telescope. This single invention greatly improved the capacity of telescopes and reduced optical distortion. (To be continued next week)

 

 

 

Peeping at the Research and Development Centres: IAR, NAERLS and NIHORT Successful Fight Against Tuta Absoluta on Tomato Production in Nigeria II

Peeping at the Research and Development Centres: IAR, NAERLS and NIHORT Successful Fight Against Tuta Absoluta on Tomato Production in Nigeria II

The outbreak of Tuta Absoluta in the country resulted into colossal loss of billions of Naira worth of incomes to small-scale tomato producers across the nation. The problem became so alarming that the authority, the tomato producers and indeed the whole nation were disturbed and looking for succor in all directions. It was apparent that something urgent has to be done to curtail the menace otherwise the situation could be calamitous. It was at this moment of urgency that three agricultural research Institutes woke up to the occasion and deployed their expertise to bring succor to the nation. Two of the three Institutes are Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) and National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS). They are both Ahmadu Bello University based research centres under the strict supervision of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Abuja and coordination of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN). The duo set up a multi-disciplinary   team of scientists to conduct a study of the Tuta Absoluta affected areas. The study was aimed at identifying the problems, their solutions and measures to prevent future occurrence. The team was similarly expected to ascertain the nature and severity of the moth attack.

The team had to use a combination of research methods to successfully accomplish the task within the time frame of one month allocated to it. Scientific field survey techniques such as Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRR), Focus Group discussion, and key informant interview and questionnaire administration were employed for the study. Three locations in three local government areas were purposely selected as samples of the Tuta Absoluta affected areas. Similarly, a major tomato market was visited in Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Some of the visited tomato production areas were Galama River Irrigation Scheme in Zaria Local Government Area, Fadama areas in Nasarawa Buhari, Sabon Gari Local Government Area and Maraban Guga in Giwa Local Government Area. Others included Ikara, Kubau and Soba LGAs. At the end of the study, an impressive result was obtained that led to the control of the menace.

IAR and NAERLS assiduously worked to curtail the Tuta menace in the north, which was the most affected area in the country. In similar vein, National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) was worked through massive campaign to address the problem. NIHORT is the only Horticultural Research Institute in Nigeria and West African with a mandate to carry out research on fruits, vegetables, spices and ornamental plants. NAERLS has the national mandate for disseminating agricultural technologies while IAR has the mandate, amongst other research activities, for improving the faming systems and agricultural practices in North West States of Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Kastina, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi States. The concerted efforts of the three Institutes revealed the gravity of the Tuta menace as well as offered management techniques for its control.

The study revealed the infested crops as tomato, pepper, Cucumber and carrots. The larvae heavily mined leaves of the plants leaving dry patches and ragged. In most cases the plants were completely defoliated. Within two days of attack, some of the fields were completely devastated leaving a seemingly fire-scorched field. Most fields experienced 100% loss so much so that the farmers abandoned the fields. Where fruits were produced, there were holes and crevices, which served as entry points for soft rot pathogens. Thus, the fruits rotted thereby reducing the market value. Infested cucumber leave looked crinkled, withered, distorted and scorched particularly the younger parts; while the older leaves showed evidence of being mined. Fruits from affected portions develop white skin, skin, become gritty and hard. Such fruits develop bitter taste. Again, the study found that the Tuta larva was voraciously feeding mesophyll tissues, producing large galleries in leaves, burrowing in stalks, and consuming apical buds and green and ripe fruits, which caused a substantial loss of tomato production. In addition, Tuta was suspected to be a vector of virus disease. This is because some of the infected tomato plants on the fields were stunted and showed virus symptoms.

At the end of the field study conducted by IAR and NAERLS, recommendations were made for the farmers to control the infestation. The recommendations are classified into short, medium and long-term measures: The short measures are:

Ø  Application of systemic insecticides e.g. chlorpyrifos, imidacloprid, indoxacarb, Tihan (Spirotetramat + flubendimide), The insecticides should be applied late in the evening NOT in the morning in correct recommended rates (actives ingredient(s) concentration)

Ø  Tomato should be rotated with non-susceptible crops crops to break the pests cycle.

Ø  Burning residues of infested crops and clearing alternate hosts to maintain Field hygiene.

Ø  Adopting Tomato close season in which all residues to tomato plants of previous season will be burnt and discarded to prevent the continuity of the pest.

The Medium-Term Measures are:

Ø  Further research work involving both laboratory and field studies of the Tuta insect in order to understand its biology in Nigeria

Ø  Conduct on-station and on-farm trials using candidate insecticides and integrated management strategies to manage the pest.

Ø  Conduct training sessions to train farmers to understand the biology of the insect and cultural strategies that will help in managing the pest in a sustainable manner. Training should be conducted at States’ ADP zonal levels.      

The Long term Measure involves:

Ø  Undertake efficacy evaluation of different control options individually and in various combinations to come up with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) package with little or no probability of resistance development by the organism

Ø  Source for alternative pesticides to be substituting/rotating with the available pesticides currently in use to avert resistant strains development,

Ø  Monitor the pest population by trapping to determine when to commence pesticide application

Ø  Monitor the adoption of recommended management practices extended to farmers/ training offered and

Ø   Detect promptly development of resistance to any/some insecticide(s) to allow for quick rotation of insecticides.

While some of these measures were being promoted, NIHORT was vigorously sensitizing farmers on the effective control of the Tuta menace. The sensitization involved the use of campaign materials to educate farmers. Some of the strategies contained in the campaign materials are:

Ø  Use of Trapping: Adult Tuta population are monitored right from nursery to the field continuously to detect infestation before damage becomes severe by setting up Tuta Trap Tray (TTT) to attract and kill adult moth. A wide tray of about 5 cm deep can serve as TTT. The tray is filled with water plus small quantity of detergent and a flat stone placed at the centre of the tray to sit a rechargeable lamp. The tray must be placed on the soil between plants in the field. The lamp should be put on to attract adults in the night when they mate and lay eggs.

Ø  Use of parasitoid and predator: parasitoid is an insect that develops on or within the body of another insect called a host and eventually kills the host.  Predator is an insect that feeds on other insects. Both parasitoid and predator are natural enemies of Tuta Absoluta that can kill the moth before it becomes menace. NIHORT have identified three parasitoids and four predators on Tuta Absoluta in Nigeria.

Ø  Use of Bio-pesticides: Bacillus thuringiensis is registered as Antario (Russel IPM), it is a bio-pesticide and not harmful to Tuta predators and parasitoids. This can be used to control Tuta menace. It is done by mixing 45g of Antario in 100 litres of water and applies on an acre of land. Another bio-pesticide is use of neem seeds or fresh leaves. Mixing 5kg of neem seed or fresh leaves in 100 litres of water for 24 hours, sieve and applies to an acre of land. Substituting the neem seeds or leaves with that of eucalyptus can do similar treatment.

The nation witnessed the outbreak of Tuta Absoluta during the 2015/2016 dry season farming. It caused astounding loss of billions of Naira worth of incomes to farmers and the nation imported tomato paste in the country. No doubt, the efforts of IAR, NAERLS and NIHORT were commendable and helped the country to overcome the menace. However, there is need for continuous vigilance as well as synergy among the three Institutes to accomplish the long-term measures recommended herein.

Peeping at Research and Development Centres: IAR, NAERLS and NIHORT’s Successful Fight Against Tuta Absoluta on Tomato Production in Nigeria

Peeping at Research and Development Centres: IAR, NAERLS and NIHORT’s Successful Fight Against Tuta Absoluta on Tomato Production in Nigeria

Nigeria is ranked as the 14th largest producer of tomatoes in the world. It is also the largest producer of tomatoes in sub-Saharan Africa. Ironically, Nigeria is the eighth largest importer of tomato paste in the world after Iraq and Japan. This is because Nigeria could not produce enough to meet the local demand. For instance in 2009, the Federal Government had to spend a wolfing sum of 16 billion Naira to import tomato paste to support the local demand of the country. Tomato is an important crop in Nigeria responsible for the economic growth of many communities. It is consumed daily by millions of households in Nigeria. Currently, the production is estimated to be about 2 million tons of fresh tomato annually while the national demand by the consumers for fresh tomatoes in Nigeria is estimated to be between 2 and 3 million tons every year. The tomato paste importation is estimated to be as much as 300,000 tons annually from China alone, amounting to millions of USD from the country’s foreign exchange. The reason for the massive importation of tomato paste into the country is directly linked to colossal loss of production as over 50% is lost due to post production challenges. The challenges ranged from poor storage system, poor transportation to lack of processing enterprises. This has made the tomato marketing as the most elastic and volatile market compared to any other agricultural produce in Nigeria. A measure of tomato costing at N300 for instance, can be sold at N3,000 in the same market within one to two months interval. Despite this large production, the tomato production in Nigeria is still below its potential as reported by many research works. The production is beset with many problems, such as diseases, nematodes, insect pests, high flower drop, all these resulting in low yield and poor quality fruits. Every year Nigeria loses about 750,000 tons of tomatoes due to post production and poor food supply chain of the commodity. Certainly, this costs millions of Naira that could make different to the producers and other chain actors along the tomato value chain. It also leads to the inadequacy of tomatoes in the country thereby causing the price volatility. Perhaps, these problems were the driving factor for the international business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote to invest millions US Dollar in the tomato industry.

Few years ago, Aliko Dangote decided to take part in the production and processing of tomato in Nigeria. Dangote, a household name, a multi billionaire has been the richest man not only in Nigeria but the whole of Africa. He opened a tomato processing facility in Gafan village in Kano State. The venture was reported to worth about $20 million investment. According to the plan, the tomato processing plant in Kano should gradually replace the tomato paste importation and meet the local demand through production increase, reduction in tomato wastages and enhancement of income of the tomato producers. The new processing tomato plant was built by a Swiss Company. The plant has the capacity to process and produce about 400,000 tons of tomato every year. The lofty objectives of Dangote were sure to succeed as there are huge tomato markets in Nigeria and the neighbouring countries. In addition, the investment is seen as multi solutions capable of overcoming the problems of tomato production and supply chain.  It was at the point of productioncommencement of Dangote’s tomato plant that a tomato ravaging pest named “Tuta Absoluta” visited Nigerian tomato farms. It was like a thunder falling on a tree; sudden and devastating with colossal destruction.

Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera; Gelechidae), popularly called “Tomato Ebola”, is a leaf miner, a devastating pest that could ravage the whole tomato production and reduce it to near zero in a very short time (within 48 hours). .It is also very difficult to control as it has a high mutation capacity with the ability to develop a resistance to commonly used insecticides. Tuta is a noctuid moth; active in the night and before the day dawns. It mates lay eggs during this active period and can lay as many as 260 eggs individually on the underside of the leaves during its life cycle of 7 to 9 days. Tomato is the main host plant, but Tuta Absoluta also attacks other crop plants including potato, eggplant, pepper, cucumber and other vegetables. It is found also on many weeds. Tuta Absoluta originates from South America, Peru and was first detected in Spain in 2006 It was later found in France, Italy, Greece and Malta. This pest was reported in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya in 2009. It arrived Turkey In 2010. The advance of Tuta Absoluta continued with exponential proportion to the east to reach Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Iran. Further advances southward reached Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and the rest of the Gulf States. In Africa, Tuta Absoluta moved from Egypt to Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya. Its presence was also reported in some West African countries like Senegal. Ghana and Niger. It was first reported in Nigeria possibly in 2014 but became a serious problem in 2015. During the 2015/2016 dry season, Tuta Absoluta was virtually reported from all the states of the North where tomatoes were being produced. The North West and Eastern states of Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Katsina and Sokoto, were all visited by the destructive moth.  

Tuta Absoluta causes losses of up to 100 % of the production through mining of leaves and burrowing into tomato fruits.  Nigerians were severely affected by the scarcity of tomatoes during the ravage of this nocturnal moth. Tomato, a key ingredient in most of the delicacies prepared in many Nigerian households became a scared commodity, where it was available, became unaffordable to many Nigerians. The price of the fruit increased by more than 400 percent; Nigerians were paying around 200 Naira for the same quantity of tomatoes that was hitherto 50 Naira few months ago. The economic loss caused by Tuta Absoluta was beyond imagination as there was   no reported study on the monetary loss to the nation. However, report from Today, an online newspaper indicated that Tomato growers in Kano State lost over N2 billion to Tuta Absoluta, the pest which ravaged their tomato farms in 2016. The paper quoted the Kano state Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Nasiru Gawuna, made the revelation when the governments of Kano, Jigawa and Kaduna states were signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Rockefeller Foundation on the implementation of the YieldWise project. The YieldWise project is a three-year programme that is aimed at reducing post-harvest losses in the tomato value chain in the country. He said that the state government was able to estimate the loss after setting up a committee under Kano State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority to evaluate the damage caused by Tuta Absoluta to tomato farms across the state. “We are happy to say that this season, a lot has been done and we have not heard any reports of an outbreak of the disease,’’ he was quoted by the newspaper.  Kano state, with its vast irrigated land and the biggest public owned irrigation project; Kano River Irrigation project (KRIP) is refuted to lead other states in tomato production. If N2 billion Naira worth of tomatoes were lost then the nation must have lost N5 to N6 billion Naira as a result of Tuta Absoluta in 2016.  This is because there are 9 major tomato producing states in Nigeria. They are Kano. Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Sokoto and Taraba states, respectively. How was the fight against Tuta Absoluta won in 2016? What were the joint roles of Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), National Agricultural Research and Liaison Services (NAERLS)? What was the role of National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) in the fight against Tuta? To be continued next week

            

Bio-energy Revolution in Nigeria: Ahmadu Bello University Zaria Leads the Pace II

Bio-energy Revolution in Nigeria: Ahmadu Bello University Zaria Leads the Pace II

In my last week article, it was reported that ABU was being forced to source for alternative energy as a result of unaffordable and unsustainable electricity bill the university shoulders monthly. However, the university looks beyond the payment of electricity bill but moves to turn this adversity to prosperity. Use the technology to build human capacity for the nation. Can ABU succeed?

X-raying the human resources and infrastructure at the university’s disposal, ABU requires only technical and financial supports to succeed in this venture. In fact, ABU is one of the leading Ivory Towers known for championing a technological development for the benefit of Nigeria and humanity in general. For instance, in recent times, ABU was reported to have designed and successfully built a mini-refinery using locally sourced materials for economic and academic usage. The motivations for the building of the refinery were the concern of the university for the huge foreign exchange invested to repair and undertake the so-called turn-around maintenance of the refineries in the country. This was succinctly captured by Prof. Ibrahim Ali Mohammed-Dabo, the team leader of ABU Refinery Research Team who was quoted by Daily Trust, a national daily in its edition of 26^th January, 2017.  He said, “One of the refineries located in Kaduna was built by Chioda, a Japanese Chemical Engineering Company. Ironically Japan is not an oil producing country but has invested hugely and developed a petroleum refinery technology exporting it to other countries. Another motivating factor is that whenever some components or sections of the Nigerian state-owned refineries develop faults the original designers have to be called upon to rectify the problems”. No doubt, this feat is the first of its kind in Africa as stated by Prof. Dabo “This ABU mini-refinery is the second refinery housed within a university globally. The first is in Spain. Many universities have facilities for oil and gas related teaching, research and development but domiciled in laboratories unlike our own which is completely in the field mimicking the real industrial set-up”. The acquisition of technical-know–how to build refinery with local materials has huge potential for foreign exchange earning to the nation. Ordinarily, this area should attract investors.

Back to the bio-energy revolution in Nigeria, Biogas is one of the alternative sources of fuel that can supply both electricity and cooking need. Some of the advantages of Biogas in addition to electricity and fuel for cooking, the waste generated from the digester is a rich and refined organic fertilizer. Use of bio fuel for cooking automatically eliminates the use of fuel wood by the rural farmers thereby reducing deforestation, a menace with serious ecological consequences. Above all, biogas is cheaper than all forms of conventional energy in Nigeria while improving agricultural productivity and sustaining the environment. Hence, biogas technology is the most reliable and adequate means for a sustainable livelihood that should be championed by all and sundry.

In Nigeria, there are pockets of biogas projects scattered nationwide as reported in my previous articles, some private sectors are also involved such as NASRUN Nig. Ltd. This company has facilitated the establishment of the largest Biogas Plant in Nigeria; the Kutunku Farms, Minna, Niger state. The Biogas Plant size occupies about 140 m³. The biogas project in Nigeria becomes necessary because the household sector has consistently accounted for over half of Nigeria’s total domestic energy consumption. It is based on this premise that the ABU – BIONAS partnership, consummated by signing of MOU rekindles hope and make ABU in the spotlight of the bio-energy revolution. During the groundbreaking ceremony for signing of the MOU, the Chief Executive Officer, BIONAS Nigeria, Umar Sani Gambo was quoted saying “the essence of the collaboration with Ahmadu Bello University is to transfer technology under the BIONAS brand. BIONAS is planning to develop a Centre for Excellence that would provide a training platform for the industries”. While appreciating the warm reception and encouragement from the ABU management, the BIONAS CEO said the company agreed to partner with ABU for national growth and development. He was similarly quoted saying “in order to reposition the firm well in Nigeria; it forged a relationship with the Federal Ministry of Environment”. Ms Zurina Amnan The Group Chief Executive Officer of Bionas worldwide was among the BIONAS delegation at the occasion in the University’s VC chamber.

ABU has found a good partner in BIONAS for achieving its lofty objective of sourcing alternative energy as the firm is refuted to be credible as a vanguard for green energy globally. BIONAS is present in over 50 countries driving the Jatropha Value Chain for bio fuel production. Its activities were widely reported last year indicating vigor to boost Nigerian economy through huge investment. It has started investing through a plan to establish a $2.5 billion factory for the mass production of bio-fuel from the Jatropha plants in Zaria.  The Group Chief Executive was reported saying that “Jatropha Plantation would soon be set up, while processing machines would be installed at Zaria Factory in short while as we don’t want to repeat the past mistake again.” Accordingly, BIONAS Nigeria plans to train over 200,000 Nigerians for the project, especially graduates of science or engineering and to acquaint them with the latest energy technology for bio-fuel supply and distribution. These trainees are expected to implement the Jatropha programme in other African countries, as there are huge markets for the bio fuel across the continent. In addition, BIONAS plans to invest in housing units, commercial clinic, schools, across the nation. However, the main focus is to build a new town for Jatropha project in Nigeria, while making BIONAS seeds available to farmers where Jatropha plants are produced for making bio fuel including aviation fuel, which sells at the same price with fossil fuel.

Jatropha curcas is a resilient shrub, which grows in a range of terrain including area considers as wasteland, sandy soil and saline soil where many crops cannot be grown. It is considered to be a drought tolerance plant, which requires relatively smaller quantity of water to survive. It does not require any particular soil type for growth and   can   perform   on   diverse   soil compositions. Jatropha cultivation is gaining popularity while scientists are actively investigating its suitability for the economic advantage over other crops as source for bio fuel. Research has indicated that Jatropha oil yield in Nigeria is above 40%. Nigeria has deforested and large chunks of wasteland mass, which can be utilized for the Jatropha cultivation. Hitherto, Jatropha was used essentially as a boundary plant for fencing farmlands and compounds in rural areas of Nigeria especially in the far north.

Coincidently, the ABU – BIONAS partnership is certainly to benefit from impressive research results on Jatropha conducted by Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), one of the oldest and most formidable agricultural research centre in the country. IAR is one of the twelve research centres under the authority of ABU. IAR is the only research Institute in Nigeria with mandate to genetically develop Jatropha alongside other crops. Already, IAR has characterized more than varieties of Jatropha in the country. Similarly, many research works on Jatropha has been going on in a nearby research centre; National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT), Zaria. Additionally, there is another formidable stakeholder; National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), which another ABU centre with national mandate for agricultural extension. NAERLS ability to mobilize farmers for mass crop production is splendid. Presently, NAERLS is directly working with over 7, 000 farmers under the adopted village concept within the three local government areas surrounding ABU. With these three research and extension centres in Zaria, ABU – BIONAS partnership is heading for success when these stakeholders are brought on board.