Prof. AbdulGaniyu
Ambali, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, on
Monday said that a moringa processing factory
set up by the university would produce moringa-
based food products and health supplements on
commercial basis.
Ambali disclosed this in his address on Monday at
the second Moringa at the Leading Edge (MLE),
conference organised by the Moringa Plantation
Management Committee of the University.
The four-day conference has the theme:
``Emergent Moringa: Roles in Heath, Wellness,
Sustainable Development, Environmental
Protection and Global Food Security''.
The VC pointed out that the university was keenly
interested in the potential of the moringa plant.
He said that this was because of its contributions
not only to health and wellbeing but also to
diverse areas of the economy.
Ambali said that the conference offered an ample
opportunity to unlock knowledge and provide
information about the plant.
``The university is equally interested in the plant
with a view to demystifying it against the
backdrop of many fanciful claims made about it.
``This mystery creates scepticisms among those
who are scientifically-minded about its validity,”
he said.
He warned that the product had attracted abuse
from unscrupulous agents and quack
practitioners, hence the
need to tighten the control over the production of
herbal products including moringa.
In his own address, Alhaji Bature Masari, the
Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises
Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), said
there should be a deliberate linkage between the
academia, industry and government for
efficient partnership to drive innovation.
Masari, who was represented by Dr Friday
Okpara, Head, Public Private Partnership (PPP) at
SMEDAN, said this would help achieve food
security, employment generation and effective
response to raw-material needs.
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