How Bio-refineries Can Boost Economy

• How Bio-refineries Can Boost Economy

The Dean, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Babcock University, Ilishan, Ogun State, Prof. Dele Fapohunda, has called for the establishment of bio-refineries to create jobs and boost the nation’s export drive.

Bio-refineries convert agricultural waste to higher value products and add significant value to agricultural production.

A bio-refinery may employ on average of 100 full-time staff including many highly-skilled personnel, and create another 1,000 full time jobs in transport, maintenance and other services.

According to experts, bio-refinery also enables investors and farmers diversify into feedstock for ethanol and compete in a sustainable and progressive market where they make a positive net contribution to the economy.

Fapohunda said Nigeria has a large agricultural sector, which can explore bio-based technologies, and that bio-refineries are some of the few industries with the potential to attract substantial capital investment and create industry-led employment in the rural areas.

He noted that farmers could generate additional income from introducing bio-refining into their value chains and sustainably produce new products for consumers.

Fapohunda noted that considering the importance of the agric sector to the country, the government should encourage investment and provide subsidies to encourage such monumental projects.