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From Obinna Odogwu, Awka
The Provost/Chief Executive Officer of Federal Cooperative College, Oji River in Enugu State, Dr. Ejikeme Obidiegwu, has said that the management of the institution is working hard to transform the institution into an agric innovation hub and a world class learning centre.
Obidiegwu spoke when a team from Kasetsart University, Thailand and Thailand International Cooperative Agency (TICA) led by the country’s ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Thirapath Mongtolnaun, visited the college recently for talks on the proposed Thai-Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Technology Learning Centre. Excerpts…
What exactly are the objectives of this Thai-Nigeria Sustainable Aquaculture Technology Learning Centre?
We want to support Nigeria in addressing food security challenges by improving the efficiency and sustainability of several crop production and aquaculture systems, thereby reducing risk of food shortages. We want to expand opportunities for Nigerian youth, students, and farmers to develop agricultural skills, enabling them to produce sustainable livelihoods, generate income in agricultural and related industries, while strengthening the gastric economy. We want to establish a network of researchers and agricultural officers and programme alumni to facilitate the transfer of integrated farming models and technologies based on sufficiency economic philosophy. In fact, it was from Professor Conson that I had the word, sufficiency economy philosophy. And it’s a working model for Thailand, and in his view, the project and whatever we are going to do will now borrow from that model and see what we can adapt from that model for the project we want to embark on. And number four is to develop Federal Cooperative College of Nigeria University into a regional hub for sustainable agricultural technology transfer and knowledge dissemination under the framework of South-South Cooperation. This will enhance human resource capacity; promote sustainable agricultural practices, while strengthening regional food security in a concrete and measurable manner. Now, what could be the measurable output of this system? We want to develop demonstration and pilot sites for one integrated farming demonstration, the model plots, and one rice demonstration plots, an aquaculture pond. Now, these facilities, integrated facilities, will serve as a practical learning platform for crop production, aquaculture, and livestock systems based on integrated and sustainable agricultural approaches. We hope to train at least 100 participants per year, including students, youths, and local farmers from surrounding communities to enhance their knowledge and skills in sustainable agriculture. Most important, the establishment of a Thai Corner within the learning centre includes at least 50 multimedia resources and publications serving as permanent knowledge on Thai agricultural technologies and innovation. Now, on a reflective note, the Thai-Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Technology Learning Centre will serve as a policy-driven, scalable platform for food security, job creation, and sustainable agriculture development in Nigeria.
How does this Thai-Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Technology Learning Centre align with the national policies?
We are aligning with the framework of national development. I would like to talk about the NADF, which is the agricultural policy of the government. The centre we are proposing will support agro-modernisation, which is in line with NADF, will support technology transfer and innovation, and will support capacity building in aquaculture, very much in line with the government framework with NADF. In terms of food security and food production, it will address the gap between fish demand and local production by reducing fish imports, increasing genetic agriculture output, and improving national protein supply. In terms of fisheries and blue economy parameters, it is aligning with the national policy on fisheries and aquaculture, which runs between 2025 and 2029. It’s promoting sustainable aquaculture systems, climate smart practices, and integrated fish production models. Now, in terms of economic growth and job creation, it supports national development plan, though ended last year, which delivers youth and women employment, agribusiness incubation, and SME development in fisheries value chain. Now, in terms of research training extension and integration, it functions as a demonstration farm. It functions as a training hub. It functions as an innovative platform, thus strengthening farmer adoption of technologies. So, this strategic framework tells us that the proposed Thai-Nigeria SATLC is in line with government and national policies, and we have the full support of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. And so, for the development partners from TIGA, what we are proposing, what we have been ensuring is that the federal government of Nigeria is in full support based on these outlined policies, which we are aligning to.
For the benefit of those who do not know about this college, what exactly does this institution stand for?
It is a legal entity under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security ably supervised by Agricultural Resource Council of Nigeria. We are charged to train personnel armed with theoretical and technical knowledge necessary for establishing and managing co-operative and related organisations, to carry out study and research in co-operative development and related matters, and to organise short training courses, workshops, and conferences. This was the initial mandate, but then, I will still talk more on that mandate. We started with 15 hectares of land, and beyond these 15 hectares, there are a lot of prospects for expansion. We have vast agricultural fields, expansive green areas for active farming or school-managed agricultural products, and we have a very friendly host community that has been very supportive of the college. And we are strategically placed in terms of the Nigerian map. We have easy access for the South-South, and South-East, which represents the catchment area that we serve, because the college was set up to service the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones. We encountered a success story last year. The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security saw the need for us to expand our current space. I had a presentation to him, and after the presentation, and there’s need for the college to acquire more space and more land so that most of our vision can come into reality. We have two campuses here. We have the one on 15 hectares and the new campus on 22 hectares. The extra 22 hectares that we got from the federal government was approved by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security.
What is the strategic plan of this federal college?
We want to turn this place into a centre of excellence for demand driven training. We want to have a highly motivated student population that strives for excellence in character and learning. We want to develop a workforce that is motivated, dynamic, and resourceful. And most importantly, we want to advance college infrastructure in line with global practice and want to enhance our capacity and resource mobilisation to improve linkage with stakeholders, both national and international. And the story we are sharing today represents this story. It’s part of our five-year strategic plan.
What academic programmes do you offer here?
At the moment, we have seven academic programmes mostly in the management sciences, cooperative economics and management, accountancy, markets and banking and finance, public administration, business administration, and computer science. These are the programmes that are currently ongoing. Now the college is in an advanced stage of getting approval for us to run these five, these six academic departments, agricultural technology. Now for the fact that we are now operating under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and for the fact that we are being supervised by the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, we need to build capacity on agricultural training. We are building capacity on information dissemination, that’s mass communication. We need to build skills in science laboratory technicians, human resource economics, hospitality and tourism management, and environmental management technology. Of course, we know the global changes in terms of climate. So our productive cycle needs to factor that. Beyond all this, we engage in professional certificate programmes. One-year certificate programmes, and most importantly, the postgraduate diploma programme in affiliation with Joseph Taka University in Makurdi. So that is our academic programme and our academic vision.
What do you consider the strengths and weaknesses of this cooperative college?
Let me start with the strengths. We have dedicated staff. We have community and stakeholder linkages. We have qualified professionals. We have a strong history of institutional legacy. And we have federal government support. This is a publicly funded institution with federal government support. We have a specialised mandate. And we are strategically placed. Now, in terms of opportunities, what does this portend? Most of the things we do here align with Nigeria’s food security agenda. That’s an opportunity. We align with most of the government’s agricultural and corporate reforms. That presents an opportunity. We have the prospect of aligning with international donors. That is an opportunity. Now, the growing demand for practical agricultural education represents yet another opportunity. The digital transformation that is ongoing in agriculture is an opportunity. Now, we have this opportunity as a strategic partnership under our innovative centre. That’s part of the story we are telling today. And we can lead the region in terms of leadership. We can serve as a model for the region. Now, of course, we do have our weaknesses. Our linkage is not where it should be in terms of partnership. We have insufficient student facilities. We do have some ageing infrastructure that needs to change. Low visibility and branding is yet another problem. And we have a limited research capacity. In the context of research capacity, this is not a university. This is basically for vocational and entrepreneurial skill development. But we still need to build capacity of research at that level. And establish our strong linkage with stronger and bigger schools. And bigger research centres for more top science. Like the collaboration we had in terms of biodiversity with the catfish is part of it. Now, what could be our threats? They’re funding uncertainty and budget constraints. Of course, there’s a lot of brain drain. A lot of qualified personnel leave the country for greener pastures; some sort of economic instability; and competition from better equipped institutions. Now, what does this SWOT analysis do for us? For me, the take home is, it creates a benchmark for intervention. It creates a room for a roadmap of circumvention. It creates a story of resilience. It creates us to think outside the box; to see how we can turn these weaknesses and threats; minimise it and maximise the opportunities and strengths that we have.
It’s understood that the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security visited this college sometime last year. How did that visit benefit this college?
That visit was in line with the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform where a national training and workshop was held for trustees and managers of cooperative societies in Nigeria, focussing on South-East and South-South. And that was actually the first time a cabinet minister is visiting the history of the college since 1976. It’s not just a visit. It was meant to address a problem. The minister was in this room and we had some fruitful engagement. The take home from the ministerial visit was that the Federal Cooperative College in Enugu State was now mandated to drive the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp programme in South East and South-South geopolitical zone, by providing specialised training, building capacity for cooperative leaders, and implementing digital innovations to enhance agricultural productivity while creating wealth. What were our specific targets from that meeting? Number one, to deliver essential training programmes for cooperative officers and members, focussing on modern cooperative management, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. To support the transition from manual to digital registration, digital membership identification systems, and electronic documentation to improve trust and efficiency in the sector. Now, the red fonts, very important to me. To initiate cooperative and technical hubs for developing new models, conducting research, and fostering digital empowerment. To train cooperatives to better manage food security initiatives, especially targeting value chains such as rice, maize, sorghum, cassava, yam, and soya beans. Aside from the mandate that we have, this is an additional supercharged mandate. And it was actually based on this visit that I started my communication with Professor Konson.
We learnt that this college will be 50 years this year and you’re just less than two years in office. What did you meet on ground and what impact have you been able to create since you came on board?
People have been here before and they did well. They tried their best. I met a system; I saw the challenges, and I am trying to add efforts to solving the challenges I met. So, I will say I can only talk about my time here. I don’t want to talk about the past. So what can I do to make the changes that are needed? That’s part of what I am doing today; to open up the college for international visibility, create opportunities, create more academic programmes, increase the students’ enrolment strengths, increase the staff strength, and expand our space. So, basically, a whole lot is going on. I don’t want to talk about what I have done but a lot needs to be done.
Is this place adequately funded by the Federal Government?
We are a public entity. We are funded by the government to the best of the government’s capacity. You can’t have all you want but we are publicly funded. We operate under limitations but that is not a discouragement for me; rather, it is an opportunity for me to think outside the box.
