PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari Saturday inaugurated Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Development Institute in Lafia, Nasarawa project, describing NASENI as a reliable institute.
The president who commended NASENI for meeting the January 2023 completion target, said the establishment of the institute and others across the six geopolitical zones was part of the ongoing efforts by his administration to revolutionize the agriculture sector.
It would be recalled that the president had in August and November last year inspected the AMEDI project in Lafia to ascertain the level of work done.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari, he said the institutes spread across the six geopolitical zones in the country would transform the country into agro-allied technology hub, boost food production.
Speaking during the commissioning, the Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Professor, Mohammed Sani Haruna, said the commissioning of the AMEDI in Nasarawa was the second in the series of NASENI projects embarked on by the administration of the president.
AMEDI Lafia is the first to be completed among the six equals across the geo political zones of the country”, Prof Haruna stated.
The Executive Vice Chairman, said the conceptualization of the model institute was targeted at the use of science
and engineering infrastructure to support the presidential efforts in the attainment of food and nutritional security in Nigeria and for Nigerians.
“The peculiarity of our soil with inherent factors and peculiar topography require the production of made in Nigeria agricultural implements, machinery and equipment that can support responsible and productive agricultural practices in the face of climate change.
“We are conversant with
the Sustainable Development Goals and our national expectations to end hunger and create decent cum inclusive jobs for our youth and women.
According to the NASENI Executive Vice Chairman, the main workshop in the institute shall become a model of SMART factory that will leverage cutting edge technologies to deliver made in Nigeria products and market demand driven services that are suitable for both our farmers and arable lands.
The institute has installed modern equipment for the processing of fruit juices, milk and other dairy products such as tomato processing.
“This institute is equipped with Central Research Laboratory that will support the research activities of the institute along the various value chains of the target product lines of the institute.
