In a bid to add value to food production chain in Nigeria, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, through its technology delivery arm, Business Incubation Platform, has partnered Reeyor Food and Beverage Processing Machines Company to launch a showroom of a wide range of food processing machines for farmers and local processors.
Among the tools (locally fabricated and imported) on the display list in the showroom at IITA are the de-oiling machine, cashew nuts shelling machine, leafy vegetable cutting machine, chin-chin producing machine, peanut roasting machine, blanching machine, tea bag packaging machine and flour mixing machine.
On the partnership, Dr Jackson Osuh, a top official of Reeyor, said that the aim of the company is to boost the food value chain and curb the losses being incurred by farmers.
He said that “We partner IITA because of their direct relationship with farmers and food processors. We want to get into that hub and make our services available to users of our products and services.
“Now, we have an outreach centre which is based in IITA. The reason for bringing this centre to IITA is to be able to reach out to farmers and food processors that have contacts with IITA. Reeyol is into fabrication of food processing machines which cover every form of farm produce, including cassava, fruits, nuts, tomatoes and vegetables.”
On the objectives of opening the showroom, he said, “We have a challenge in Nigeria which is adding value to our farm produces. It is affecting the farmers. If they can’t sell immediately after harvesting, their food products would get spoilt. But, if they are able to process, add more value and package it well, they would make more money and it would have longer shelve life. Now, we provide solution to that problem. Sometimes, we even link the farmers to companies where their processed products are needed.
“We also provide technical manpower to support our farmers who patronise us in terms of after-sale services like maintenance. We have relationship with clusters of farmers in their local communities to be able to give them orientation on how to add value to the food chain.”
With this, he said, food production would improve in terms of quality of products for consumers and profitability for farmers.
According to Osuh, having known what the farmers require in their fields, the company would place an order to meet their specific needs rather than selling products that may not be suitable to them.
Mrs Victoria Ayeni, an official of BIP, on the occasion, expressed the commitment of the business platform to make technology handy to farmers across Africa in line with its mandate.
Ayeni said, “We have people from IITA mechanisation unit who will ensure that farmers are aware of the equipment; we plan to do stakeholders’ meeting to sensitise farmers on the use and importance of the equipment.
“We are committed to partnering companies such as Reeyor to achieve the aim of lifting Africans out of poverty through research to nourish Africa.”
Dr Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director, Research for Development, IITA, restated the institute’s commitment to boosting agriculture through research and by providing strategic partnership to stakeholders on food production and processing.
Dashiell said, “One of the ways to partner private sectors is what we are doing here today.”
The Chairman, Agricultural Development Farmers Association, Alhaji Salihu Imam, who lamented the challenges being faced by farmers in the country, lauded the initiative.
Imam, who doubles as the Oyo State Chairman, Coffee and Tea Association of Nigeria, said that “The partnership between IITA and Reeyor on provision of food processing equipment would help in boosting food production, processing and packaging.
The Chairman of Reeyor, Gbolade Julius Famoriyo, who described the company’s partnership with IITA as very strategic, assured stakeholders in the agric sector of production of range of quality machines tailored to the specific needs of farmers and food processors.
