FIC Report (Ondo State) – The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, has disclosed that it is intensifying investments in agriculture and technology-driven food production to confront Nigeria’s escalating food insecurity.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, stated this on Friday during an inspection of ongoing projects across the university campus. She noted that many of the initiatives were financed through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
According to Oladiji, “We have visited the farm where we believe, as a university of technology—and with a long-standing school of agriculture, a school of engineering, and a strong identity in the sciences—we must intervene decisively. As a kind of university, we must do something distinct to help resolve the problem of food insecurity in the country.”
She said the institution was expanding its agricultural infrastructure in a deliberate effort to strengthen its contribution to national food production, with particular focus on the poultry sector and crop value chains.
“One of the drivers of our vision is this deliberate expansion of our agricultural infrastructure. With TETFund’s support, we have secured funds to scale up these projects. We are expanding the poultry unit that had become moribund; we revived it, and not only revived it, we are also scaling up operations.
We began as a university with 150 birds,” she added.
Oladiji further explained that the university’s poultry initiative has grown considerably, describing a steady rise in production capacity from the initial 150 birds to 500, then to 1,000, and now to an additional 4,500 birds.
She said the expansion is intended to position FUTA as a significant player in poultry production within Ondo State and beyond.
The Vice-Chancellor also revealed that the university has established a feed mill, adding that the facility is integrated into training programmes for students in agricultural production and value addition.
“Over the years, we have produced corn and sold the corn. But we concluded that it is not ideal for a university to produce corn and market it in the same manner as farmers alone.
“What we are doing now is to teach students how to cultivate the corn, and then, through our feed mill, how to convert it into feed. We also train them to compound different types of feed tailored to different livestock species. So, we can produce feed for broilers, layers, turkey, and fish. That is also central to what we are undertaking,” she said.
In addition, Oladiji noted that FUTA is actively engaged in crop production, including recent greenhouse developments.
“We visited the greenhouses, which were built recently,” she added, describing how greenhouse farming supports year-round cultivation of crops such as bell peppers.
She further stated that many of the university’s agricultural and research projects are designed to align with the needs of students and staff, while also accommodating international researchers who visit the institution.
To address earlier challenges arising from inadequate accommodation for visiting teams, Oladiji said FUTA has constructed dedicated lodging facilities for visiting researchers, accreditation teams, and scholars.
“We receive researchers, accreditation teams, and scholars from across the world regularly.
We therefore felt the university required a befitting accommodation facility for such visitors,” she said.
Among the projects inspected are a locally fabricated greenhouse, hostel facilities, teaching and research farms, as well as laboratory and museum infrastructure.
Compiled by
Lawrence Blessing Ojoyi
Information officer 1
