In a bid to curtail theft and sabotage, the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research and an Edo-based private palm producing company, Luscei Investment Limited, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the latter to host the institute’s Extension Works Seed fields.
According to a statement made available to the press, NIFOR said based on the MoU, it would supply the planting materials for the 40-hectare field free of charge, while the company would manage the planting, maintenance and harvesting of the field under the supervision of NIFOR technical personnel.
The Executive Director of the institute, Dr. Celestine Ikuenobe, while speaking at the signing of the MoU in NIFOR headquarters near Benin City, highlighted the decline in the operations of the institute due to human activities such as theft and sabotage.
He, however, stated that partnerships with organizations such as Luscei Investment Limited, were necessary to restate best practices of NIFOR’s core mission.
Ikuenobe, who was represented by the Director, Research, Technology and Product Development Department, Dr Isona Gold, said, “In the past, it was a taboo to be seen around plant breeding and agronomy fields but overtime the scientific culture of the institute has eroded, resulting in the disregard for science.
“In some cases, staff of the institute do not have an understanding of our experimental fields and view these fields as places for theft, with little knowledge on the Institute’s cash flow potential, and the negative impact of such activities on the relevance of NIFOR in the global scientific community. The consequence is that many years later, we do not have reliable yield records from our fields to market our products.”
Furthermore, a Director of Luscei Investment Limited, Oluseyi Adeleke, said the agreement would last for 20 years.
