CEFTER MOVES TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN YOUTHS

The Centre for Food Technology and Research, CEFTER, Benue State University Makurdi has completed its permanent site housing its Postgraduate complex and hostels. This is in line with the Centre’s mandate to improve the research and quality of higher education for African youths toward acquiring the necessary skills and competences to deal with Africa's developmental challenges.

New Post Graduate Complex for CEFTER Benue State University Makurdi

The Director of CEFTER Dr. Barnabas Ikyo in his speech said the Postgraduate complex was constructed and funded from World bank funds. he said that even though there were challenges, CEFTER was among four ACEs out of 23 in West and Central Africa to achieve 100 percent of results on the ACF project, second only to Bayero University Kano, Nigeria.

The new complex houses 10 modern lecture halls, a 250-seats auditorium, 19 offices, two laboratories and a hundred bed space hostel for male and female students with all accompanying utilities.

At the commissioning ceremony, Governor Samuel Ortom who was represented by his Deputy, Engineer Benson Abounu commended leadership of University for its numerous efforts at enhancing conducive learning in the institution and charged management to ensure that CEFTER remains “a real place of excellence where competency and performance are given precedence over every other consideration”.

Deputy Governor of Benue State, Egr. Benson Abounu Commissioning the CEFTER Complex

The Governor described Benue State University as a Centre of Excellence in teaching and research saying the construction of the new complex will not only provide quality postgraduate education to our students but will also offer workshops and trainings to staff of the University and the general public.

He added "This Centre will not only serve as a Centre for training post graduate students, but will also become a full-fledged factory where our local farm produce will be processed into different kinds of nutritious food like yoghurt, cassava biscuits, tomatoes paste high-quality table water among others"

The CEFTER project, according to Professor Msugh MosesKembe, Vice Chancellor,Benue State University BSU, started in 2014 when Benue State University won the World Bank grant for the establishment of the Centre as an African Centre of Excellence, after a stiff competition involving more than 100 universities in the sub- region.

According to the Director, Dr. Barnabas Ikyo, the focus of the Centre is to control post-harvest loses in West and Central Africa. He added that the core objectives in the last five years, were to develop a critical mass of well -trained African students in the control of post harvest loses, to empower African researchers to identify technologies that will reduce post harvest loses, to develop pertinent technologies for reducing post harvest loses through applied research as well as engage stakeholders such as local communities, farmers and industries in the dissemination of technologies in post-harvest loses"

He explained that So far, CEFTER, has also furnished a Food Analysis Laboratory, equipped a Home Economics Laboratory with baking facilities and as well procured/refurbished equipment for and upgraded many laboratories at the Benue State University (BSU), Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi (FUAM) University of Mkar, Mkar, (UMM) and Akperan Orshi College of Agriculture Yandev (AOCAY)

Dr Barnabas Ikyo explained that through the external partnerships, CEFTER has secured overseas training for one PhD student to the United Kingdom working to reduce post harvest losses for mangoes and six MSc students to Togo for the study of Poultry Science beside producing“many small- scale enterprises through value-added and processing shelf elongation of our produce”.

Apart from these achievements, Vice Chancellor, Benue State University says, the Centre has provided postgraduate education to students from the foreign African countries like Gambia, Cameroon, Ghana and Liberia in the areas of post harvest loses, workshops and trainings of staff in the area of postgraduate supervision, innovative University teaching, placed its energy-rich cookies on the menu list of the Federal Government’s Home Grown Feeding programme as well as establish a full- fledged factory with the staff strength of 50 workers which uses locally made farm products to produce yoghurt, cassava biscuits among many others.

Based on CEFTER’s outstanding performance, the Vice Chancellor, Benue State University, Professor Kembe says the World Bank has again awarded another Grant to fund the project for another five years.

CEFTER’s success story, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria University Commission, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, represented by the Director of Finance and Accounts- Mr Sam Onaji adds, the World Bank has scaled up extensively the ACE projects with the recently approved First Africa Centres of Excellence for Development Impact for $145 million covering Senegal , Burkina - Faso, Ghana Guinea and Djibouti and the second ACE Impact for Development recently approved to support Nigeria, Niger, Gambia, Benin and Togo in the tune of $131 million with ADF co-financing another one for $50 million.

The Vice Chancellor of Benue State University Prof. Msugh Moses Kembe (left) and CEFTER Director Dr. Barnabas Ikyo (right) leads the Deputy Governor (middle) in a tour of the Complex

Several individuals were commended for CEFTER achievements during the occasion. First to be commended wasformer Centre Leader Professor Daniel Adezwa; current Centre Leader,Dr. Barnabas Ikyowho in turn acknowledged the support of the Vice Chancellor BSU, Professor Msugh Moses Kembe, the Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, the entire University council led by Professor Zacharys Gundu, among a host of others for their various contributions which led to the success story of the Centre.

In its efforts to control post-harvest loses in West and Central Africa,CEFTER has consistently solicited for upscale in postharvest activities with a view to fashion out policies towards ameliorate reduction in post-harvest losses.Between the 17th to 21st September, 2018 at the Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua Centre, Abuja, CEFTER, in partnership with Nigeria Stored Products Research Institute, and Agro Nigeria drew stakeholders from the academia, private sectors and agricultural sector in Nigeria, Ghana, UK, US and Denmark to a Congress and Exhibition event to brain-storm on the challenges posed by post-harvest losses to socio-economic development of West and Central Africa sub region.

CEFTER has sponsored eleven Benue State University academic staff as well as two Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi academic staff to Denmark for a training programme on modern teaching techniques towards enhancing academic excellence.

CEFTER has also organised several Postgraduate Conferences to support programmes of the Centre and has trained over 4,000 Food Vendors on the Home Grown School Feeding Programmeas well as other stakeholders geared towards improving food hygiene thereby curbing some diseases that affect women and children.

Every year CEFTER conducts a food week and exhibition to showcase technologies and products it has developed to curb post harvest losses and not only add value to food crops and increase their shelf life but also enhance the sustainability, durability and viability of the products produced from various crops such as rice, yoghurt, noodles, oil, cakes, cookies, flour and others.