From Magnus Eze, Abuja

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The Federal Government is to certify 50 persons as national fabricators to standardise the commercialisation of the agricultural value chains to address the critical issue of agro-processing bordering on local availability of processing machinery and equipment.
Director General of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), Dr. Gloria Elemo, who disclosed this yesterday at the on-going technology and innovation expo in Abuja said one of the benefits of being national fabricator was local and international recognition by financial and development institutions as a major player in processing machinery and equipment manufacturing in Nigeria.
She added that the recognition would attract direct funding of pro forma invoices from such fabricators by development and commercial banks in Nigeria and abroad.
Elemo said the Presidential Implementation Committee on Commercialization of Agricultural Value Chains set up last year was mandated to identify indigenous technical capability to produce processing machineries and equipment to enhance commercialization of agricultural value chains and invariably conserve foreign exchange through patronage of locally fabricated processing machineries and equipment.
According to her, the array of innovative technologies on display at the expo was capable of making Nigeria self-sufficient in agro-processing and non-agro-processing machinery and equipment.
The Bank of Industry (BoI) sponsored over 50 fabricators to the expo.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Ajayi Boroffice, urged FIIRO to liaise with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), to ensure that local fabrications for agro processing are of global standards.