…..As Agency Signs MoU for Coal-based Fertilizers Plants
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has signed an agreement worth $21.7 million with eleven firms in Nigeria as beneficiaries for take-off of the Delta-2 Projects, being one of the outcomes of the bilateral collaboration between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Czech Republic.
The Delta-2 Programme, which is being implemented by the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer/Information Exchange (PICTT), NASENI as implementing Agency for Nigeria, working in partnership with the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR), requires the beneficiary companies to introduce various products and services into the Nigeria economy.
In his welcome address on Monday during the signing of the pact at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NASENI, Mr Khalil Halilu, said the Delta 2 programme launched in 2022, was designed with the aim of funding and enabling research, development and innovation projects in Agriculture, Mining, and General Manufacturing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
According to him, with $21.7 million set aside to finance the selected projects, TA CR will contribute $11.7 million while NASENI will contribute $10 million as counterpart fund.
Halilu described the Delta-2 Programme as another demonstration of NASENI’s commitment to fulfilling its mandate of transforming Nigeria’s technology and innovation landscape through sustained focus on its 3Cs principles of Collaboration, Creation and Commercialization.
He “Ultimately, our goal is not just to produce prototypes and models, but to ensure that the outcomes of the partnership are taken to market; that they are available commercially for consumers and end-users to benefit from, knowing that the real value of technology lies in market usefulness and application, our vision in the new NASENI that we are building is to create values and to be relevant in the market”.
The EVC/CEO reiterated that for every single kobo that NASENI will invest into this phase of the Delta-2 program, to develop new projects and products, the agency would realize almost N6 in returns as well open up job creation opportunities, capacity building and technology transfer to Nigerians.
He explained that NASENI would continue to leverage technology and talent to deliver returns that benefit Nigeria on multiple levels and congratulated the beneficiaries of the projects, urging them not to take this massive opportunity for granted as the funds would be deployed with a sense of service and responsibility.
The Chairman, Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on Technology Transfer/Information Exchange on Delta-2 Projects, Dr. Dahiru Mohammed, recalled that the programme was launched on 18th May, 2022 with 285 proposals received from various companies registered in Nigeria.
He explained that the evaluation of the proposals was carried out diligently by members of the committee who were selected from the Nigerian Academy of Science, Nigerian Academy of Engineering (as research experts) and the Nigeria-Czech Republic Trade and Investment Council (NCTIC).
Dahiru also disclosed that the distribution of the beneficiaries of the awards spans across the country and that “the funds are ready and we eagerly look forward to start implementation in January 2024. The funding of the projects is scheduled to last between 12 to 36 months.”
He further clarified the idea behind the Delta-2 projects was to yield patents, pilot plants, proven technologies, software, certified methodologies, processes and specialized maps, and databases, among others, which is expected that the outcomes of the various projects will have a direct and immediate positive impact on the average Nigerian farmers, miners and MSME operators.
The resulting technologies from these collaborations will be transferred and domesticated in Nigeria through NASENI and other research institutions and private companies.
In a related development, NASENI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for production license for the establishment of Coal-based fertilizers in Nigeria with PT Saputra Global Harvest, which covers three key areas.
Commenting on the partnership, Halilu said: “Food Security is one of the priority areas on the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The President is determined to build a Nigeria that is not only able to feed itself in an affordable manner, but also one that is able to produce surplus food for export.”
Others are the supply of machinery and equipment that will enable us produce coal-based fertilizer for use in Nigeria; the capacity development component, which is the training of Nigerian personnel on the use and maintenance of these equipment; and the licensing that gives Nigeria the permission to produce the coal-based fertilizer according to the prevailing standards of quality already established by Saputra.
The agreement is building on the initial MoU signed between NASENI and Saputra in September 2022, as part of steps to strengthen the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Indonesia, while also supporting the development of Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
Photo Caption
L-R: The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu; the Chairman, Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer and Information Exchange, Dr. Mohammed Dahiru and beneficiaries of the Delta-2 projects after the signing of implementation agreements at NASENI headquarters on Monday in Abuja
