research |
· NAERLS boss speaks
The challenges in the
research system in Nigeria may have added another feather from the usual lack
of fund to recruitment priority given to administrative and accounting staffs
over scientists and agricultural superintendents that are core to ensuring
availability of improved technologies for best global practices.
Food Farm News finding revealed that core staffs in
many of the agricultural research institutes in the country are day by day
reducing due to retirement and other economic factors without adequate
replacement as more of the new intakes in these Institutes are more of
administrative and accounting workers rather than core needed scientists and
agricultural superintendents.
Although one source told us that this may not
totally applied to agricultural research Institutes under the Universities, but
pointed many others under the ministry may have been facing this challenge as
disciplines that are not core science are even employed to play the role of
scientists and researchers..
It was revealed that core
scientists that are dwindling in most of the Nigerian agricultural research Institutes are breeders, pathologists, soil scientists, social
economists and agricultural field attendants as employment taking place was not
in commensuration with these core staffs who are to ensure smooth operation of
research, extension and production activities.
Our source pointed
that a thorough auditing of workers especially in the agricultural research
Institutes and colleges especially those that had no direct affiliation with
Nigerian universities would reveal the level of all manners of workers that
have no direct value to the development of research work activities adding that
numbers of administrative and accounting staffs may have outnumbered the core
staffs needed in many of the Institutes.
Speaking on the
matter, the Executive Director, National Agricultural Extension and Research
Linkages Services (NAERLS) Prof. M.K Othman said this position did not totally
applied to his Institute saying” we have
a place for all specialists in agriculture with enough man power, and that does
not rule out the need for having more man power”
Prof. Othman added there is about ten staff in
each of the offices in the North West as minimum numbers where technologies
were collected from all the zones for dissemination. He pointed that NEARLs has
over 500 staff with 10 professors, 50 PHD holders, and people with various
degrees in all specialization like agronomists, soil scientists, researchers,
communicators, scientists and administrative staffs.
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