RAW MATERIALS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (RMRDC) DRAFT COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED AT THE END OF THE 4TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NATURAL RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND UTILIZATION ORGANIZED.

 RAW MATERIALS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (RMRDC

Following extensive deliberations on issues raised during the presentation of papers, participants noted the following:-

1.      That economic diversification and the promotion of resource-based SMEs are necessary for healthy, sustainable and inclusive economic development.

2.      That large manufacturing and industrial sectors depend heavily on inputs from SMEs for them to gain competitiveness in the market place.

3.      That the current federal government administration is adopting a clear policy direction which is focused on economic diversification driven by the agriculture and mineral sectors.

4. That SMEs are growth supporting sectors and do not only contribute significantly to improve the living standards of the populace, but also bring substantial local capital formation whic are responsible for driving innovation and competition in developing economies and by so doinghelp to accelerate the attainment of broad socio-economic objectives, including poverty reduction, employment generation and wealth creation.
5. That majority of entrepreneurs in MSMEs (54.67%) are in the wholesale and retail sectors while less than 10 per cent are in the agriculture sector and less than 15% cent in the manufacturing sector.
6. That youth employment is a major challenge in African countries, but given opportunities, incentives and a change of mindset, the youths can be properly redirected towards agri-bisiness, service provision and market-oriented agriculture with huge impact on the community.

7.      That the sustained efforts made by RMRDC to pursue programmes and projects aimed at boosting the development and utilization of our local raw materials and the commercialization of viable R&D projects, especially for adoption and exploitation by SMEs, need to be commended.

8.      That research, new knowledge and partnerships are keys to unlocking the potentials of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through embracing local industrial production or manufacturing.

9.      That science, technology and innovation policy essentially links the laboratory and design offices to the factory through the convergence of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and consumers in order to create new markets locally and raise gross domestic product (GDP).

10.  The immense efforts of government, through its agencies, in terms of policies and institutions established to address natural resources development and the repositioning of SMEs to serve as the engine room for economic growth.

11.  That clusters are important sources of innovation as entrepreneurship can stimulate innovations, steer innovation processes and compel the creation of an innovation-enabling environment while giving rise to and sustaining the innovation system.

12.  The efforts made by RMRDC to develop the cluster concept to an appreciable level, supporting and strengthening existing clusters through technology empowerment and instigating the formation of new ones based on available raw materials at the various ward levels.

13.  That the menace of corruption, mismanagement and lack of appropriate monitoring and evaluation, coupled with hostile and unfriendly business environment, have not allowed efforts of some dedicated agencies to be visibly felt, despite their continuous contributions to the growth of our economy.

14.  That the slide in the price of crude oil has made economic diversification become more germane.

15.  That the dearth of infrastructure, especially stable power/energy,motor-able roads, transportation, are the major bane of growth and development of SMEs.

16.  That the time was ripe for Nigeria to embrace and develop a knowledge-driven economy, seeing that the global trend in transition of developed economies is from resource – based economy to knowledge-based economy.

17.  That the quality of products from SMEs is crucial to their competitiveness and the contribution of SMEs to the growth of the economy can only be maximised if the actors do not portray an obscured market orientation.

18.  That the lack of basic record and book keeping skills for most SME operators are obstacles in accessing funds from relevant agencies.

19.  That the challenge of insecurity in the country has worsened the Nigerian business environment, thus discouragingprospective investors.

Recommendations

The following recommendations were made:-

1.      The larger industrial and manufacturing sectors must commit to exploiting the opportunities that result from the availability of local inputs in order to boost their export competitiveness, thus helping to reverse their erstwhile crippling dependence on imports. Hence, Nigeria’s brand of manufacturing industrialization must emphasize the combined use of large manufacturers and MSMEs, turning our large array of natural resources into semi-manufactured and finished products in order to decisively tackle unemployment, youth despondency and mass poverty.

2.      In stregthening SMEs, government should encourage and adequately fundtechnological institutions to apply science and technology towards generating innovations and overhaulingthe school curricullum to generate skilled workers as SMEs require capable workforce that will enhance productivity and performance.

3.      There is need to strengthenMSMEs by addressing the challenges they face and other policy issues towards improving performance of the sector, especially now that the price of oil is experiencing a free fall, thus necessitating the need to look inward for economic rejuvenation.

4. There is need to attract actors in both the agriculture and manufacturing sectors in order to enhance utilization and transformation of the natural resources for economic development.
5. The IITA Youth Agri-preneur model (IYA),a scheme that promotes agri-business to create jobs, wealth and improve the lives of young graduates in the society,through the deployment of ICT and clustering, using cluster champions as role models, should be encouraged in all states of the federation.

6.      There is the need to build professional alliances in order to turn around the current economic crisis in the country into an opportunity to revive industrial production.

7.      There is need to harness partnerships in research and new knowledge areas towards unlocking the potentials of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as contributors to economic growth.

8.      RMRDC should ensure that efforts made in strengthening existing clusters by identifying strategic regions with the right human, natural and institutional resources, through technology empowerment, instigating the formation of new ones based on available raw materials at the various ward levels, are implemented to a logical conclusion until Nigeria attains a desirable level of industrial productivity that would create wealthand usher in national prosperity.

9.      In order to address the challenge of access to funds, there is need to ensure that existing funding opportunities are sustained and improved upon while new windows of opportunities should be opened.

10.  It was agreed that RMRDC should prepare a position paper, on the adoption of “Bt cotton technology in Nigeria” as part of the road map for the development of the textile sector and forward to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (FMANR) for further action.

11.  There is need to establish mechanisms for policy stability and continuity of government in order to sustain productivity and synergy among science, technology, innovation sectors and SMEs.

12.  There should be constant monitoring and evaluation of funds/other levies accessed by SMEs in order to ensure their judicious utilization.

13.  Concerted efforts should be made towards harnessing the collaborations amongst the “Triple Helix Component” comprising Research/Tertiary Institutions, Industry and Government policy as well as developing the concept of “Convergent Technologies” (Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information and Communication Technology and the Cognate Sciences) for Nigeria.  RMRDC to continue its efforts in this direction.

14.  Adoption of the cluster strategy to solve the common challenges facing the SMEs such as linkage, funding, market, knowledge sharing and sourcing of raw materials should be strengthened.

15.  RMRDC should encourage the organized private sector to invest in the commercialization of viable R&D outputs, especially those for ripe for adoption and exploitation by SMEs.

16.  NOTAP, RMRDC and other relevant agencies should, through strengthening the research to market nexus, develop mechanisms to make technology transfer and reverse engineering less cumbersome in order to expand the opportunities and benefits inherent in the patency of manufactured products.

17.  SMEDAN, RMRDC, with other relevant agencies, should work in concert to encourage Public Private Partnerships for effective SMEs growth and development.

18.  *The Federal Government, through its relevant agencies, should invest more in product-branding, packaging and exposure in order to promote products from our local industries for competitive edge both locally and internationally.

19.  There is a need to expand the “technological road map” to include affirmation on inventions and innovations preparatory to the future, as well as develop a robust educational curriculum on entrepreneurship development from the elementary level of education in order to identify and nurture exceptional students in specific areas of endeavour.

20.  The Nigeria Commodity Exchange Commission should be revamped for effective utilization of natural resources.

21.  There is a compelling need to add value to Nigeria’s natural resources before exportation in order to encourage indigenous scientific and technological advancement.

22.  The federal government should, as a matter of urgency, direct all its Ministries, Departments and Agencies to patronize made-in-Nigeria goods and services in order to encourage the development of local technology and competitiveness of local products.

23.  The federal government should make concerted efforts to compile a data base of all Nigerian professionals both within the country and in diaspora, including their areas of research activities for utilization in industrial development.

24.  The intellectual property rights (IPR) of inventors and innovators should be properly protected with more attractive incentives provided, while expired patent rights can be acquired and indigenized.

25.  There should be a provision of special funds at low-interest rates (single digit) with less stringent conditions for accessibility by SMEs; increased capacity development on local technology and business development support services such as business plans, feasibility study, access to market; and an increase in the repayment period of loan facilities obtained from the Bank of Industry (BOI).