The Executive Dire.c tor, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria Ibadan, Oyo State, Professor Solomon Olufunmilayo Badfijo, was recently made the patron of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ], Oyo State Council Theforestry and environmental management expert speaks with journalists on what Nigeria can do to attractforeign investors and how the lost glory of agriCUlture can be restored, among other sundry issues. Seye Ade n iyi brings ts:
(FRlN),
Mrlca through CenlmJ Afrlca to North Afrlea It is called Ogbono. Apon and Ogurl by the Igbo. Yorubas and Benin respecUvely. Today. l rolngfa Wombulu Is generaUng Interest aU DVef' the country. bask:ally because of Its use as food and condlmcnL Besides. the bark. leaves and roots are said to be highly medlclnal_The fresh bark for example. Is a powerfUl anUblollc against scabies and It Is a C\l.1'e for diarrhea. Farmers or any Nigerian who Is Interested In Ule crop should come to FRJN for further Inquiries. We've also carried out extensive research Into desertlfk:aUon control mechanism using the Sand Dunes FIX:aUon Technology. mIN took up the challenge In 1987 to eombat the calamUy and eatastrophy of sand dunes. which is a major environmental problem In the northern part or Ule country and we were able to proffer soluuon to the problem of sand dWles and deserUfleaUon. mIN acUvities and breakUtrough In the control or desertlHeaUon occasioned by sand dunes In the seven states of lhe North namely; Kana. Jigawa. Bomo. Yobc. Bauchl. Katslna and 5okoto are very outstanding. I need to stale that saJld dWle flxaUOn technology Is one of the ~ prtndpal approaches used by the InsUtute at Ule SheUerbelt Resean:h Stalion In Kano State. to combat deserUllcaUon. and this has showcased and indicated Ule supremacy of mIN In the artd zone forestry research developOUR research institute has been in the nnDS in recent times to the extent that many Nigerians,farmers and other research institutes in
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th e country ure I1OUIlooking towards yourd lrectlon, trying to know th e.secret beh i nd your o utstandlng per:fOnrtLJIta! wid signif"lCOIlt success. Wha t is ac-
tua lly t h e magic behind pJl th esefeatSl Well, we than 'i: God for aU these notable: and significant achievements In rttmt times. Forestry Research insUrulc of NtgC:11a (FRlN) has been able: LO achieve all U1CSC feats and a tL.-aC\ both national and Intc:maUOnal auenUon and focu'j through hard work carried oul by competent. dedlc-aled and commlUee! researchers and slalT of the: insUlu tc:. I'm also seeing :llI these a chievements from dlvine: perspective bcoau~e th1s insutute: has ba:n very producU\~ since I came on board. WhOl ho.s been your- contrib utions to the developmen t of ggriculture in the coun try, espedoJly in the area offoresl:riJ, environnwual management and d esertificmion cuntrol? Words of mouth can't be enough to showcase FRlN resean:h acUvtUes and breakthrough which has continued to tteatc: ,Iwareness about our- forests and how to sustain them for shelter. food and medldnaJ uses. For example . nUN has done research works on the new ....oays 0( ralslro g I~ We also have research breakthrough on crocorllle domesUcaUon. markeUng e m clency of bitter kolas and alligator pepper. social ec0nomic analysts 011 'fhaurnatecorccs lAuUeUen and oUlen; crops and mes Extensh-e resea.:'t:h IIcUVlUes wen: done at the "-00era! College or WUdlUe Management.. New Bussa. on the reartng and bn~edtng or crocodIle In capUVlty and thiS Is In line With the mandate or mIN on con servaUon of natW"a1 n:.soUrcc3 and proVIsion of sdenUfic data on Ule physlOlogv. 路:cology. repnxlucUon and utlllsaUOn of wtJdllfe. Also. o ur rese,tr.:lt .....ork on /rvIngb Is \"eI'}' outstandLng. lrvingla Is rommonly rererred to as Mr1can mango. dik e nut. bus h or \~i1d mango. The two species namely 1~u.O'ibtdull~l lcrtypelancl/~yabonensts(s.....eet typel a n' naUve .) '\frka and ills spreading from West
"There are many benefits oftheforests to mankind and that is why we should all collaborate to protect and consf~.rve our forests . .. mc n t and management In Nige rla. Honcslly. we an: contr1buUng 10 the naUon economic dcvdopmenl and good environmental slistalnabUlty. Our oonlrlbuUons to Ule developnH!nl of agrtcuItun: Is Indeed enonnous. What is FRIN doing to protect ourf orests wuI boost a wo.reness abou t pos itf ue enuironme n ta l a c tion aga inst loss of the quality ofthe fores ts In Nigeria? As earlier said . FRlN's conlrlbuUOn to the proteclion of forests and gcxxl enVironmental sustaJnablllty has no rlvalln the country. FRlN. through her- research actlVlUes has helped not only In conserving and sustaining the rorests. but also In helping to lmprove the natlon's economy. Recenlly. Ulrougb biotechnology. F'RIN has helped to raise the seedlings of dlfficull species of trees and mass producUon or the seedlings. Furthermore. waste from wood such as sawdust a nd wood shaVings has been made Into buUdlng materials like ceiling boards and hoOding b locks. TI1esc and many more are the cfforts FRlN has made In ensuring that we eqJOY the gift of nature WlUlout causing h arm or damage to the forest through protecUon and conservaUon. Also. there an: many benefits of the forests to mankind and that Is why we should all collaborate to protect and conserve our forests . A.part from the fact Ulat rorests help to sustain Ule quality of availability of rresh
water many important natural resources such as Umber. fuel. rubber. paper. mediCinal plants. and soon . Not only that. conUnued and uncontrolled deforeslaUon. surely has devastating conseque.nces on our natural resources. Floods. landslides. and soli erosion are some of the Inevttable ha7.ards that often result from decn:a.sc: In forest condtuon and cover. Is that aU you are doing at FRIN? Our reseacc.h acUvlUes are more than Ulat. but I've only highlighted some of thcm. We have other technologies on how to help people become mushroom fanners . We have the teclmologyon grasscuUer mulllplicaUon and there Is also a technology at FRlN on mulberry serlcullure whleh has now extended to states like Dyo. EkIU. Dndo. etc. In fact. the his tory of mulberry serlculture adapUon cannot be completed In Nlgerla wiUlout the mentioning or FR1N. lbadan. because we an: the ftrst research Institute to Lnlroduce It to Nlgerlans. I want 10 say that If state govenlmellls can partner and key Into mulberry research. It can be used to alleVi ate poverty among the rural dwellers. It Ls like t he researc h activities a n d breakt hroug hs a t F Rll'f are very e n o nnous to the extent t h at you kept m e n tionfn g the m. .. Cut In ... There are many people In this country wiUI money but who do not know how to Invest It. We a re the refore appealing to them to lnvest In agrlcu llure. We have a lot of research feats and we have adequate research on timber production . We even have the bank data on the use of Umber and I was to tell you that the Standard OrganlsaUon of Nigeria (SON) Is making use of FRlN data bank on Umber. In fact, sustainable rorest management Is our technology at FRlN. We have the list of an array of dlJIen:nt spec ies of tropical Umber al FRlN and we have perfected tile technology for the plan ting and production o f these different spec ies of Irees . Examples Include. Umber. mallogany. obeche. fmkD. and soon. We also have the seedlings of different s pecies of trees and orchards. It would also In terest you to hear that w~ have teak pennanent Sample Plots In Dndo S tate. Omo Pal m Reserve In Ogun State lind many oUlers wh.lch are for sclenUfic InveslaUon and training. It Is the resea rch work of FRIN that even led to Ule establishment of teak plantation In Ule country. It Is also the research work from FRJN thaI led to Ule establishment of Meliana plantation and Pine tree plantallon in the country today. So we have many resea rch breakthrough. What is the contribution of FRIN to the conseruo tlo n of m ed icin a l plan ts? nle essence of domesUcaUon of any animal Is to guarantee the conservaUon of these animals In order to prevent their exUncuon as .....e are doing for some animals like grasscutter. c rocodiles. and s o on. For medicinal plants. miN has nothing less than two lhousand p lant materials In our institute and we have records or data bank of them. We are also training middle level manpower to embrace agric u lture as you can see that we recenUy malrlculated 450 new In takes into our Federal College of Forestry in lbadan. Oyo State. As I told you. our colllrlbuUon to naUonal economy development Is yielding poslUve resu lts as FRlN was recen tly given the A..O Ktng Foundallon Atlanta Award. It Is an International exemplary leadership award given to the execuUve director of FRJN for his contribution In th e area of forestry. climatic and environment development In Nigeria . God Is really helping us.