Prof. Victoria Adeyeye, chairperson of the Governing Council of the Academy of Innovative Research Science and Technological Development (AcIRSTD), says the Federal Government has budgeted N9 billion to support industrialisation efforts in nine states.
AcIRSTD is a Nigerian academic and research organisation affiliated with the International Association of Research Scholars and Administration.
Adeyeye said the funds would be made available through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. She added that her team had signed a contract for the initiative.
She spoke on Thursday in Abuja at her 75th birthday ceremony, saying decades of research and innovation had put Nigeria on the path to greatness.
“I thank God that the job He has asked me to do in Nigeria, I have done it,” she said.
Adeyeye said the organisation had also requested N500 billion from the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari.
She said her research into agricultural and agro-allied activities in Nigeria began in 1999. She added that a memorandum of understanding involving Queen Agro-Allied University of Technology and associated organisations had been signed.
Also speaking, Esther Tella, head of Environmental Health Science at Lead City University in Ibadan, said biofertilisers made from agricultural waste could restore soil fertility and improve the nutritional value of food crops.
Presenting a research paper on sustainable, nutrient-dense crop production, Tella advocated alternatives that could reduce farmers’ reliance on chemical fertilisers.
She said her research examined agricultural waste—including maize cobs, rice residues and animal bones—as materials for producing biofertilisers to replenish depleted farmland.
“We are throwing money, we are throwing resources away. Those are things that we can use to replenish the health,” she said.
Tella said trials involving soybeans, maize, cassava and pepper showed improved nutrient composition in crops treated with the biofertiliser compared with untreated crops and those treated with conventional fertilisers.
She urged the Federal Ministry of Environment to promote household waste segregation, noting that organic waste could support soil restoration and create new industries.
“If you and I practise this, then we should be able to know that an industry can be built on how to turn this organic waste into what we replenish our arable farm soil,” she said.
Tella called for further research, farmer training and collaboration among government ministries, universities and agricultural stakeholders to expand the technique.
Prof. Daniel Ikechukwu Egu, head of Petroleum Engineering at Madonna University in Anambra, said artificial intelligence and machine learning could reduce exploration costs and improve hydrocarbon prospecting in Nigeria.
Presenting a paper on emerging adaptive technologies in exploration and production, Egu said machine learning could analyse large geological datasets and help manage uncertainty in oil and gas exploration.
“The volume of data is so large that sometimes software may even fail. So we try to use AI to reduce the degrees of complexities,” he said.
Egu said his research examined geological basins across Nigeria, including northern areas where exploration uncertainty and costs could be higher.
He said the study used about 5,000 data sources and five machine-learning models to compare predictions and reduce errors in identifying hydrocarbon prospects.
Egu added that improved predictions could help companies assess drilling prospects and avoid dry wells, which result in financial losses.
