Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and the National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT), Zaria, have partnered to fabricate a fertilizer blending plant using extracts from Moringa oleifera plants, Director-General of NARICT, Prof. Idris Mohammed Bugaje, has revealed Bugaje, who was special guest of honour during the RMRDC Special Day at the 35th Kaduna International Trade Fair, said the prevailing tropical climate, savannah vegetation as well as the topography of Kaduna state had made the state richly endowed with abundant mineral and agricultural raw materials capable of changing the industrial climate of not only the state but the nation at large.
He said: “RMRDC has never left anyone in doubt over its commitment to the diversification of the economy of Kaduna state in particular and the country in general. This has been well demonstrated by Council’s intervention in establishing some investment projects and provision of improved seedlings. It is also noteworthy that RMRDC has partnered with NARICT to fabricate a fertiliser blending plant using extracts from Moringa oleifera plants.”
In his remarks on the occasion, Director General of the RMRDC, Dr. Hussaini Doko Ibrahim, said the establishment of the Council in 1988 had its background in the prevailing situation in the industrial sector of the economy from the early 1980s,namely over reliance on imported raw materials and spare parts, a highly dependent economy on imported goods and services including food, a mono economy with petroleum oil accounting for over 90 per cent of our income ,etc. This situation became worrisome thereby necessitating the clarion call by the private sector for government intervention.
“Consequently, series of meetings and consultations spearheaded by the organised private sector led to the formulation of a policy for the establishment RMRDC by the federal government and the Council was mandated to promote support and expedite industrial development and self-reliance through optimal utilisation of local raw materials as input to the nation’s industries.”
