President and Chairman of Council of NIFST, Mr. Oluwole Toye, who made the appeal at the 10th Dr. J.K. Ladipo Biennial Memorial Lecture, held in Lagos recently, said the bill had passed the three readings at the National Assembly.
Toye said the bill, when passed into law, would go a long way to empower the Institute to achieve its mission to harness the abundance of talents and knowledge amongst food professionals in Nigeria, towards food sufficiency and good nutrition of the masses.
“If due recognition is giving to food professionals, because we are trained as professionals, we are the ones that will ensure that your food is safe from the farm to the table. NIFST believes and knows that the first medication is safe and nutritious food.
“It is key that we get this bill assented to by the President, so that we know that we are putting square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes”, he said.
The Lecture with the topic: “Research Collaboration and Industrial Linkages: a Sustainable Partnership”, was organised by NIFST in commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the home calling of the renowned food technologist who was once a former president of the institute.
Speaking on the topic, Toye who expressed concern over lack of collaboration between researchers, research institutes, academia and the industry over the years, said the institute was trying to ensure that research findings were geared towards what the industry needs, which he said would create wealth and employment.
In her presentation, the Keynote Speaker and Dir
ector-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said there were lots of benefits when the industry, research institutes, academia, professionals and the practitioners collaborate.
Prof. Adeyeye who was represented by her Technical Adviser on Food and Stakeholders, Mrs Simidele Onabanjo, stated that there was need for policy frame work to enhance collaboration between the industry and researchers, because the result at the end of the day, would be exponential.
“The snyergy will benefit both parties; knowledge will be created, eventually it will translate to social and innovative solution to some of the challenges facing the country.
“Like it is being done in the developed countries, all of us in the food value chain need to work together to ensure that we maximize our strength for the development of Nigeria,” she said.
For Acting Director-General/CEO, Nigerian Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Dr. Chima Igwe,
without collaboration, there will be no wealth creation.
Igwe said: “I said this because in any industrialised setting, every technical input into the industry must be as a result of science, technology and innovation. There is need for collaboration between researchers and the industries to use research results to bring about industrialization and grow the economy”.
On his part, Chairman of the occasion and Former Deputy Governor of Kano State, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar spoke on the benefits awaiting Nigerians if the Charter Bill was signed into law by the President.
According to him, when food profession is recognised, it means it would be able to develop the food value chain.
“It means we will create wealth and jobs and the bill will guarantee food safety and promote the health of the nation.
“Food profession needs to be regulated for Nigerian foods to be accepted by the international community, because regulation brings about standard and promote quality. It will boost trade between Nigeria and other African countries”, he said.
The food experts extolled the legacies of late Dr. Ladipo, whom they said contributed immensely to the growth of food profession and industry in the country.
