The Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) on Sunday urged food scientists to create wealth through conversion of raw produce into value added products.
The appeal is contained in a statement by Dr Chijioke Osuji, NIFST’s President and made available to the the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
According to the statement, in creating wealth through the conversion of raw produce into value added products, certain measures need to be in place to prevent post-harvest losses.
“Attaining high volumes of production of various commodities could easily be counter-productive if measures are not in place to prevent post-harvest losses.
“And this can be done by creating wealth through conversion of raw produce into value added products,” it said.
The statement said that there was need for measures to be taken as the issues of food and agriculture were the topic of discussion in this year’s political campaign.
It said that the trend would likely continue in the coming years as the revenue from petroleum continues to fall below the budget estimates.
It urged food scientists and technologists to appreciate that the increasing economic relevance of agribusiness demonstrated a huge widening of opportunities throughout our food commodity value chains.
The statement also urged food technologists and partners to move fast to ensure utilisation of the food produce and take advantage of the developing trend.
“The dwindling cost of petroleum products implies reduced cost of operation for food companies and improved profits.
“So, food business now has a good chance for growth as well as innovative and knowledge-driven development if well planned,” it said.
Source: (NAN)
