OCP Africa Nigeria Fertilizer Limited, a leading fertilizer manufacturer, its research institution, University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) and Nigeria’s universities have entered into a new partnership to boost the performance of the country’s agriculture.
As part of the collaboration, OCP Africa and UM6P visited the authorities of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, recently to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Earlier, an interactive session was organised by OCP Africa and UM6P for representatives of Nigeria’s universities in Abuja to discuss areas of collaboration.
Speaking on the partnership, the Country Manager of OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited, Caleb Usoh, said the intention was to foster networking and collaboration between UM6P and the Nigerian universities.
He listed agriculture, technology, environment and new vision as areas of focus and noted that these would enhance productivity in agriculture in Nigeria.
“I think beyond agriculture and many other courses, we need to focus on the reality of industry needs, the reality of how the economy should be structured. The idea of going to school is to learn what would be relevant to times in the society. Times are changing, so we need to change the curriculum a bit, to match basically with what the society needs,” he said.
The MoU signed is aimed at strengthening cooperation between the parties in training, development, research, technology transfer in areas such as agriculture and fertilization, architecture and urbanisation, chemical engineering and humanities/social sciences. Other areas covered are industrial management, mining, renewable energies and sustainable development.
Professor Ibrahim Muhammad Danjuma, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, said the university is committed to the terms and conditions of the MoU and that it would deliver on them.
This partnership is part of OCP Africa Nigeria’s collaborative effort to explore partnerships with Nigerian universities and contribute to the development of the agriculture sector.
