The Raw Materials and Research Development Council (RMRDC), has handed over a Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL), extraction equipment to the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), to aid research and encourage entrepreneurship in the University.
Delivering the equipment at the Cashew Nut Processing Unit of the Directorate of Farms (DUFARMS), the Head, Policy Analysis Division of RMRDC, Mr. Sayuti Wali stated that there were two basic raw materials in the world which are agriculture and mineral, noting that FUNAAB being a University of Agriculture had 50 percent of the raw materials needed for the equipment to function effectively.
He stated further that one of the products of cashew is the shell, saying that after the delivery of the Cashew Nut Processing Machine to the University, the Management of RMRDC felt the need to complement the machine with a CNSL Extraction equipment to recycle the wasted shell to give a chemical called CNSL.
According to him, the CNSL as an important raw materials is highly acidic and could be used in the production of more than 12 products which are insecticides, herbicides, hydraulic fluid, animal feeds, among others.
Responding, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Felix Kolawole Salako said that the University has been enjoying collaboration with the RMRDC for years, saying that adequate research is still needed to be conducted on the extracted oil to ascertain its many purposes.
Reeling out some of the many benefits of the equipment, the Vice-Chancellor stated that the equipment would aid research and development, including entrepreneurship, particularly the graduates of the University who could pick up some things in terms of knowledge and develop it into a small scale industry or even large scale industry if they have the capacity.
Highpoint was the testing of the equipment in the presence of the Vice-Chancellor; the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Clement Adeofun; Director, Community Based Farming Scheme (COBFAS), Professor Sunday Adigbo; Director, Works and Services, Engr. Olawole Akinyele; Deputy Registrar I, Vice-Chancellor’s Office, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Dawodu; Ag. Director, DUFARMS, Mr. Olumuyiwa Maraiyesa; Asst. Director, Media, Mrs. Stella Kayode and the Ogun State RMRDC Coordinator, Mr. Kayode Abiola.
