L-R: Director, Academic Planning, Prof. Adekojo Waheed; Director, Agro-Allied Department (RMRDC), Dr. Moyo Jolaoso; DVC (D), Prof. Kolawole Salako, former DVC (D), Prof. Segun Lagoke and representative of the Consultant, ABOD Success, Mr. Tunde Odunuga, during the facility assessment of the Cashew Processing Plant of the University.
Management of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), are poised to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), seeking to help revive the University’s Cashew Nut Processing Plant.
The collaboration will strive to complement the productive capacity of the Plant, through the installation of equipment like the boiler, shelling machine and oven, so as to make it more functional in meeting the high demand for Cashew in the market.
Speaking during the facility assessment of the Plant, the Director, Agriculture and Agro-Allied Department of RMRDC, Dr. Moyo Jolaoso, stressed that the Council would only require to complement the already established good processing culture of Cashew nuts by the University.
Responding to the issue of marketability of the produce, Dr. Jolaoso said, “our Consultant is ready to have a buy-back arrangement until the time you (FUNAAB) will be able to push your products straight to the market”.
On packaging, Dr. Jolaoso emphasized that the products will be aesthetically branded, to attract prospective buyers.
Speaking with FUNAAB Bulletin, the representative of the Consultant, ABOD Success, Tunde Odunuga, mentioned that the equipment will be arriving the University by the first week of December, promising that his Council will be on-ground for a month, to train FUNAAB staff on how to use the equipment.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development), Prof. Felix Salako, disclosed that the essence of the initiative was to boost capacity building, noting that RMRDC was supporting FUNAAB in the area of capacity building in the processing and production of Cashew.
“They will be giving us some equipment and they will also be giving us a variety of Cashew nuts that are high yielding, which we will plant on our plantation”, he added.