Edo to develop masterplan for rubber production

*Partner NIEPA to train educationists

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki yesterday said his administration would create a master plan for the cultivation and production of rubber which he said would add to the foreign earnings of the state

He stated this when he received the management of the Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria (RRIN) at the Edo State Government House.

He‎ noted that rubber was a major source of foreign earnings for the country before the advent of crude oil, and that investment in rubber would be worthwhile investment because it was a global commodity.

“We want to know the locations and soil types where rubber can do well in the state. We want to agree on how much land we should make available for rubber cultivation, the quantity of yield to expect and to know the key investors”.

He however said, “the state government would not be directly involved in rubber production but would give the needed support to boost and sustain rubber production in the state.

“We will support local farmers and investors to grow rubber. We need to understand the value chain and the stakeholders in the rubber cluster to make Edo a key rubber producing region on the continent. These were the crops that helped the state to generate foreign earnings before the advent of Crude but Crude Oil made us to forget rubber”.

The governor said that the state would adopt an MoU with the institute to allow for inter change of human capacity, while requesting a round table meeting to put about 100,000 hectares of land for rubber plantation in Edo in the next five years.

Earlier, the Acting Executive Director of the institute, Dr. Airguamen Aigbodion said the institute had developed rubber clones, which were believed to be some of the highest yielding clones in the world capable of yielding 2,500kg.

A‎igbodion said that the Institute was involved in provision of technical assistance in all aspects of rubber production to farmers and capacity building for youth and women group involved in rubber production.
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He added that the state government could collaborate with the institution in rubber nursery development and budding operation to enhance production of certified planting materials for plantation establishment.

Meanwhile, Ondo State-based National Institute for Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA) has declared its intention to collaborate with the Edo government to equip educators, education planners and Administrators in the state with relevant skills to enable them raise education standard in the country.

The Head of the Institute, Prof Lilian Salami, disclosed this at the Edo Government House in Benin City on Monday after presenting a proposal to partner with the state government on the training of its education practitioners to Governor Godwin Obaseki.

She expressed the belief that when educationists and administrators were equipped with the requisite skills and knowledge, they could translate such skills and knowledge to students.

Giving a brief about the Institute, she said, “NIEPA was established in 1992 by the Federal Government in collaboration with UNESCO to revive the standard of education in the country. Our mandates include training of education managers, planners and administrators, performing evidence based researches to help inform policies formation and dissemination of such information to educationists,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Governor Godwin Obaseki acknowledged the need to train education practitioners, noting that ‘you cannot give what you do not have’.