Businessweek AUGUST 6, 2012
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RMRDC leads research in Moringa Oleifera development
ings." While cofTun isskwng the \O,'l1tc:r tmllmcnt plant in Zaria, Minister of Scicncc and TcdtnoIogy, Prof. Ita Okan Buley EWlil who \ViIS represented by the Pamancnt Sc:cn:wy, Mn.. ~ Awosika. said Nigerians need this tcdmology. "Nigeria is endowed with abundant water ~ estimated II 267.3 billion cuhlc metm and 52 billion cubic mclCB per annum ror
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u. .... o;;i.,. ;, • bt-
"kdo but ~natMt~~in rot, wideIy~
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and Maringa ~ In ' Nigeria, is """'" widely grown in the nonh as \\O'l:U as other ecological mneJ. \\'hc't it is always in season all vel( round. Many refer 10 il as Ibt: mir..::lc tree or tree of Ijfc and is also identified by various namc:!I such 11.< drumstick tJtt Of boI'tcradi..<:h plarl in English. In Hausa, ;1 is logak reeDlc
gtJIlt/i,
bi:.ogurl>\'O
swfac:c.iUndo"gro water
mlJka, baganMu
nIO$a1'; shiph.l 'viii, shukD Iwlillkl, bammOO, ko",u/dn :aila. rimin IltnlllU mlli r,min MJ:mu, v.1lilc the Igbos call i1 "h.~ Q)'ibo, odud" o)1bo, oho-r olu, oIwchi eg/Ju, oIaq:haro ;t~ u/~ i.rn't' M«. The YIJIlIba call it ~'t' il~ en~ igbDleand udagba lIIokll'r just .... !he Futanis rcfa \0 it as' gllllwu, kOnlflllomdc. rin; 1MkD QnO h"lbillul hall,lll. TItis plllllt hal been around WI for yean; but afb.or 11;I."Cf&! yean; of ncg~ Iect, people are beginning 10 n:alize and explore iu CDOmlOUS poIcntiaJs. The pI:UIl has ~tt.d ~ dous intcres~ in the recent past because of Is vast and lunitless potential cutllJlg across many sectien; of hum 10 needs such as food and nutrition. medicine, agriculture. ornamentals. e wironmc:nt. renew.ble mc:rgy, dx.m eals and pharma+ ~ut ica1s. sanitary and bygit:t1e. among a host of others. OvC'l" the p 'lSI dccadc:, fuxlinp OIl die plant ha\l: f":al:wtd in many sci-entific joun.aJs rcco$llizing the
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"Moringa seeds treat water by actiJlg a"II coagulant and antunic:roblal ,~
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He called on stakeholders to supthis cfJ'ort. Equally, Onwualll ~ that this local plant rcsoum: em 0C0I.'JI'I'1fll dale all who want to benefit from il by iJlvesting in cultivation, ~ ing. packaging. ~t fabrication, markctin and distribution. " II is thaI the realization of this resc:an:h result will be ex~loited by major stakeholders by replicating this water treatment plant to addn:ss the water and sanitation problems in ow rural conunwtitics," he oddcd. The Manoga based pilot sc;alc water If1:;afmC:llt plant commissioned in ABU water woro in Zaria has capactty ror 10,000 litn:s or waler per day. It was fabricated by a team or researchers rmm the Chemical Engineering Departmenl of ABU. The team headed by Pro( IWis· BlIgaje (oow DO NARICT) had two sludcnlS sponsored by R}. moe for M.Sc. and PhD. The M.Sc. student researched on oil and coagu1anl for water trc:ltmcnt ~ from plant seeds while the PhD student worked on ~hOn of rclcvant mta and analysis as il n:latcs to water 1JCal-
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lI\ulti-f."lCded :conorruc uses of
Moringa as a potc:nl and \'iable resouroo for COMbating hunger, Ina\nutritioll.. P'''' :rty, diseases and unanpl~ mellL \ inlcfeSlingly. this plant tbm'CS in poor or und:n levelopcd COUIltries, especially Asi .... A.fiica, Southern and larinAmoiaL
The next SIeps., according to CR:OUf3gcrrtC1t of the cstablistmlCnt ofMoringa nursery and promotion of investments in the dl:veiopmcnt and rrwkcting of the entire value chain of MoOnga Oleirc:ra. At the mm'ICl1t, the Council is collaboraring with 50mt St-.iE members IOwards achieving this. Explaining further, the director ' gcnc:ral $lid !he Water- T~tmcnt Plant, a collaborativc project bctwcc:n RMRDC and ABU Zaria was one of the results of Rcscan:h and' Development (R&D) efforts reL1ting to the ~ orMoringa.. He said this rcscan:h produt1 am now address the challenge of rnalcing potable Wliter IVlI.Ilable for tIE rural populiItion. Undcncoring the. importance of this R&D product, he said: ''Since clean Wilta' is esscnual in our everyday \i\'CS IS individuals. 14'1: CUI neither tmdcresrimate the dire need ror potable drinking waler for our rural communities- which this effort j! intended 10 ~ oorcan we wish away the hugc sum of money expended in the imponation or chcmic:aI5 like alum rOf water IJCatOnwualu, are the
Already ti KlIa. the Philippines.
Sudan. ahi:.na, Senegal lalin AmeriC31l aDl lhe Caribbean coun-
trics are cuJti1lling !he plant for bigger and brooder economic benefits. Indian ICKlCflt traditiOD of Ayur"cdasay~ IIC \ca\'t:5 ofMonllga tree prevent OVer 300 diseases. Moringa Plarl parts ~ said 10 be rich in \.~ n.JblcnlS.fCfexall1ple Morinp !ca\'o:$ and pods are said to be \'0') rich ill vitamins. essential amino a.:iIk.+ nlinmll, and protein. among ocheB A+:COnling Ie I'CSCafdlClS, simplc companson 1I'li de on ilS nutrients with those (If!)(lief food ilCfllS shows dllli gram-fOf-glam.. Maringa ~~ contain ~\'tfl tUnes the vitamin C of or.tnge. four ' lilieS the ViIllfl1in A of camJtS. four rimcs the calcium of milk. Ihr..-e tl nl!S the potassiwlI of banana. Mon,gllcafis found 10 Ilso contain thn:e quartm of the iron in spinach. lIS \1.-dl as tWO limes the pr0tein of yogurt. When dried wider room 1I:mptI'1l\K, it contains nlJl't nutrienlS. However. III Nigeria, wl~ the plant llriiCS \(ly y..clJ and has mainly grown by 00I1lC nalUr.ll dispcnKln method. govt'mlIlCl'lt has done ''ttY little to harness 'he limitless 0pportunities &hat dIC "lant ofJ'ers to taclde
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respeCtively. With • popubuion of 140 (167) million pcople: 1Il1d high un~ distribution or income. the tuf1Il popuIaee lacks c\ClIIl drinking water. It has been invcsrigaIed arid round thaI Ihis local plant resource, Moringa oIcifcra, can readily pro\'idc !he substitute ror- imported chemical (e.g. alwn) with about NJS45 mHlion spent on IIllpOrClrion bctwccn 2005 and 20 II fOf walCf ImIlmcnt. Using natural materials to cbnl'y water is a IeC:hniqoe thaI has been pr.w;:tio:d for cc:nturies and of.all the malc:rials &hat han~ been used, sccd<i or Moringa have been found to be one orthc most effective,REwa said. The Sttds of MoOnga, IOCOftting to him ~ highly efTecti\'C in removing suspended particles from water with medium tohigh levels ofrurbid-
Prof. Onwualu said twO other .......orbhops were hl::Id in Awka and loon in 2009. In 2010, the Council organized the Grst ever National Sumrnil on Moringa. This he said su:tnmed from the desire to !lynergize Ihc cfforts of various swu::hoIdcr groups working on Moringa 10 exam· ine die full potential in !aCkling aspccu of the MDGsand the Q'o-aall IfaCk ing socio-ecooomic dc\'etop. socio-uonomIc dcvt:\opmc:nl or the rnc:nl in Nigeria MIl a number of The second step according to tilC ""0< The Dircaor General of the c:oun- RMROC boss was the ~ cil, Prof. PderOnwuallL said !he first ment or research on moringa. was SCfl5itiu.1ion. '"11us has ba:n RcscardtcfS at NlIl1mdi Azilciwe done through seminars and '4m- University, Awb and Ahmadu Bello shops. The 2008 workshop was on University, Zaria wert: given grnnl3 to Morinp Okifcra a"II a local plant '4"tR on the plant while othcn wen: being considered. !C'iOUI't'e for idUeving the millenniOne of those prts yieWcd the mmL um development goaIs.. It was an eye ldis only rWUJaI that ,,"'C stan doing ~ and attracled 50rllC 2SO partie- Wata' Treatment Plant which was .something to curtail and pre5CfV1: the ipanu c:omprising both govcmmmt commissioDCd last September at rruh nccdcd fOfcign exchange earnABU,l.aria. and priVl!.tc Ofplizariom," hi:: said
50mt ofthc nation's eCOOOlTllC ehal· lmgcs. To address Ihis, lhe Fedcnl Ministry of Science and TcclulOlogy. in 2007. through the Raw Materials Ikscarch and IJev<lopment Council (RMRDC) stmed the deveJopmcnt ofMoringa lIS implctnelltation stnltegy of using Moringa as rcsourcc fOf fast-
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The rcscnn:h wOO:: ~lited a ]abo..
modcI of the p1anl made: or mild mc:1 and the pilot scale planl which is produced to standard and specification using stainless steel material as n:quimt for food prod-
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The DO said the council is poised to do more through public-pri\'lIc p3IJIlCnhip with all willing org:mizations,. n::scarch institutions and other goverruncnl agencies to further coJ.. Iabornte in other relC\'ll1l1 areas. Director, Fer Water Doan1. t\,lL Jibrin Ibrahim, said the board may consider the tcclinology for itll I'UI'al water supply scheme. " When it is introduced 10 us we will consider its cost and component to know whether
it will be llSC(u1 for our urban or rural watCl' scheme," he said.