A United States-based engineering professor, Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua, has urged the Cross River State Government to invest in smart manufacturing to transform the state’s cassava, cocoa and oil palm into globally competitive products and create jobs.

Ekeng-Itua, who made the call while interacting with journalists in Calabar, lamented that the state continued to lose the economic benefits of its agricultural resources by exporting raw materials instead of processing them into finished products.

She said investments in modern manufacturing could position Cross River as a major producer of cassava flour, biodegradable plastics, chocolate and renewable energy, while expanding employment opportunities for young people.

According to her, growing concerns about gluten intolerance associated with wheat have increased the potential market for cassava-based products, which the state could exploit through local processing and industrial production.

“Cross River State is well-endowed with rich agricultural produce. It is time we became a global manufacturer of our produce. The world is now looking for cassava because of gluten intolerance associated with wheat. So why can’t Cross River manufacture cassava flour and other by-products?” she asked.

The professor, who is the founder and chief executive officer of the African Technology and Innovation Institute, disclosed that her laboratory had successfully developed edible and biodegradable plastics from cassava flour.

She said the innovation could provide an alternative to conventional plastics, which contribute to environmental pollution, while creating additional markets for cassava farmers and processors.

“We don’t need more plastics that harm the environment. We have cassava that we can use to manufacture useful plastics,” she said.

Ekeng-Itua also identified cocoa processing as an opportunity for the state to retain more revenue from its agricultural production, noting that exporting raw cocoa and importing finished chocolate products denied local producers and businesses the benefits of value addition.

“We have rich cocoa, but we send it off and buy chocolate at a thousand times more than the value we sold our cocoa,” she said.

On oil palm, she said the state could generate additional income by processing different parts of the plant into products for the cosmetics, food and beverage industries, as well as renewable energy.

She added that palm fruit chaff could also be explored as a source of biodegradable energy, stressing that industrialising agricultural waste would create new economic opportunities and reduce environmental challenges.

The professor, who spoke on bridging the skills gap in smart and additive manufacturing in Nigeria, said collaboration among government, industry and academic institutions was necessary to build a sustainable manufacturing ecosystem.

She explained that the African Technology and Innovation Institute was established to help bridge the gap between technological research, industrial production and the skills required by modern manufacturing businesses.

Ekeng-Itua, who is described as the first Black woman globally to earn a PhD in Cybernetics, also urged Nigeria to prepare its young population for emerging employment opportunities in the digital economy.

She cited projections by the African Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation that more than 260 million digital jobs could be created in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030, urging governments and educational institutions to equip young people with relevant technical skills.

To encourage local production, she called for tax incentives for companies that manufacture goods locally and source their raw materials from within the country.

She said such measures would encourage investment in processing industries, strengthen domestic supply chains and enable agricultural communities to benefit more directly from the resources they produce.