NSPRI awards NYSC member N2m grant in Kwara

Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), Kwara State, has presented a N2 million grant to a serving corps member for greatly reducing post-harvest losses.

The winner of the 2023 grant award, Miss Zainab Adam, engaged in a smoked fish business activity and was honored at the training programme titled: Skills Acquisition for Corps Members on Value Addition to Agricultural Commodities in Kwara State, sponsored by Synergy Impact Consultants Limited.

Speaking at the five-day training program for 50 selected corps members in the state, the executive director of the NSPRI, Prof. Lateef Sanni, said that post-harvest losses have led to an increase in prices of agricultural commodities.

Sanni, who lamented the effects of 40-55 percent losses in post-harvest losses of agricultural commodities in the country, said that close to $200 million are lost globally, adding that 10 percent of annual post-harvest losses in Nigeria is nothing less than $5 billion.

He said that the effects of post-harvest losses in the country are seen in high prices of agricultural commodities.

He said,”Why? Because the little we have cannot service over 230 million people. But if we can reduce the post-harvest losses even by 25 percent, nobody would be saying that there’s a high price of commodities. By that, everyone, in all parts of the country, will have intermediate products that could be saved for some days before you process them.

“One of the beneficiaries displayed tomato paste in a sachet. If it’s only tomatoes alone that we can work on in the country, because it’s very huge in the North, and if some kind of homemade facilities could be made for people, it would help us a lot in the country.”

The NSPRI executive director also said that a reduction in post-harvest losses would reduce the loss of income among farmers and agricultural processors.

“Economically, there will be a reduction in loss of income, and farmers, processors, loaders, off-loaders, etc., would have more money. This is talking about products that can be stored for months and transported across long distances.

“Also, there are going to be employment opportunities. If we can reduce post-harvest losses, the implication is that there’s going to be a natural flock of youth that will surround peri-urban environments for storage and post-harvest haulage activities. It will create that traffic in that environment.”

Also speaking, the commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Oloruntoyosi Thomas, commended the NSPRI for teaching the corps members skills on value addition, post-harvest losses, and the presentation of grants.

The commissioner, who said that the organization’s efforts would go a long way to propel the corps members to fortune in their future engagements, added that it could also transform the agricultural landscape in the country.

Speaking on behalf of the NYSC state director, Onifade Joshua, a director in the scheme, Mrs. Omolabake Adeniyi, said that 50 corps members were selected from a total number of 8,000, advising the beneficiaries to utilize the opportunity maximally.