The Federal Government on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Agriculture Graduates Association of Nigeria (AGAN) for a $4.59 million project on recycling of waste to organic fertilizer in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The agreement was signed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) on behalf of the government.
To translate the agreement to action, the parties plan to build the first waste recycling plant under the MoU in Abuja and the plant is expected to commence operations in the first quarter of next year.
The ministry’s Director, Extension Department, Mr. Ime Umoh, who gave the hints on the deal at a media briefing in Abuja , said that the ministry would provide technical support for the project, while the association would manage other aspects based on the terms of agreement.
He explained: “The FMARD is providing technical support for this project and we have seen that this initiative has capacity to create over 6,000 jobs once it begins operation. We are going to monitor the project in terms of fertiliser production and application, quality of fertiliser, crop selection, etc.
“We have signed the MoU with AGAN because we believe it is a laudable project, particularly when you consider the gains, which it will bring to Nigerians, especially those living in the Federal Capital Territory. A facility that can convert waste to fertiliser is needed in Abuja at this moment”, Umoh added.
Commenting, the National President of the association, Michael Egbuta, said the waste recycling project was a tripartite collaborative programme involving the ministry, the association and the FCT Traditional Council.
He explained that the project was designed to tackle the poor state of municipal solid waste management, saying that the current waste management practice in the city involves only a linear process of collection and transportation to dumpsites without any treatment.
In addition, the waste management expert said that the project aimed at providing sustainable income sources to youths and women by engaging them in organic fertiliser production from household organic wastes and recycling of the non-biodegradable components.
“The organic fertiliser production will be used for farming and sold to other farmers, while the non-biodegradable waste such as plastics, aluminium cans, glass wares, papers, metals, etc. will be processed into recycled raw materials to be sold to local manufacturing industries,” he stated.
Egbuta disclosed that about 900 hectares of land had been provided by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for the recycling of waste in the FCT.
He estimated that about $4.59 million would be required to fund the recycling plant project, adding that some potential investors are being engaged for the purposes of securing their funding commitment on the project.
The AGAN leader expatiated: “Due to the paucity funds in the post-recession era in Nigeria, we have decided to use crowdfunding option in raising funds to implement this project. Our approach is to allow interested sponsors to be directly involved in the project.
“This means that a partner may choose to sponsor any of the items needed for training project beneficiaries, procurement of equipment or building of the facility in any one or more clusters in the six FCT Area Councils of choice”, he added.
Experts believe that in addition to making the FCT cleaner, the project promises big opportunities for the FCTA in terms of revenue generation, improved yields and earnings for farmers and the investors.
