FIIRO, Liberia partner on cassava processing technologies

In search for cassava processing technologies, to promote industrial research in the area of agriculture and to foster national unity between Nigeria and Liberia, delegates from Liberia, last week, visited to the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO).

Led by the Assistant Minister for Planning and Development, Ministry of Agriculture Liberia, Patrick Tarmu Worzie and a cassava expert for African Development Bank (AFDB), Mrs. Adetunji, the Liberians came to harness one of the perfected over fifty cassava processing technologies ready for commercialization in order to develop the food sector of their economy, establish profitable businesses with the technology and generate millions of employments directly and indirectly.

Director General (DG)/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FIIRO, Prof. Gloria Nwakaego Elemo, said: “We promise that any technology we have in processing and refining cassava, we would release to you to be able to explore and at the end we can be able to sign the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU).

“The institute has made a lot of contribution in assisting micro small medium enterprises which we believe will grow tomorrow to become world class enterprises. We do research that is market-driven and we have been able to identify lists of raw materials of relative advantages through our researches. Our area of concentration now is on agriculture in order to help the Nigerian government in their zeal to improve the sector.

“FIIRO pioneered the research of cassava processing in Nigeria and Africa. The products we have been able to derive from cassava ranges from mechanized gari, soy gari, gari flour, high quality cassava, cassava based adhesives, enriched cassava tapioca, cassava chips, cassava macaroni, high density biscuits and host of others.”