Dons Want Commercialisation of Research Results

Academicians, University dons and research fellows have separately called on the federal government to provide the enabling environment for commercialization of various research results from the nation’s tertiary institutions to provide a virile and sustainable economic climate for the nation.

The experts made the call in Abuja said government while responding to random telephone interviews and noted that universities and research institutions in the country also need to take advantage of indigenous Research and Development (R&D) outcomes for commercial purposes in 2013.

 They noted that it was high time research results were taken off the shelves of research institutes and implemented for commercial purposes.

Prof. Mohamed Faguji Ishaku, a cowpea breeder at the Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, decried a situation whereby researchers worked hard to carry out researches only for the studies to be dumped on remote shelves.

Ishaku said there was need for government to put in place necessary polices that would encourage the implementation of the results of the research and make them commercially viable projects.

 The don stated that technology could only become meaningful to the people if new research findings and inventions are implemented for the good of the people.

``You know government also funds these researches, but government has another responsibility to come up with polices that will make it easy for these technologies to be deployed because they are for the overall enhancement of the livelihood of our people and make the country richer.

``So, necessary polices must be not only generated but must be implemented to the letter so that these technologies are taken out of the shelves of research institutes and then put into money-making ventures. If these policies are not there, they may not allow the adoption of these technologies; and the earlier we look at these polices, review them and target (them) towards enhancing the adoption of our local technologies, then we shall continue to have a gap.’’

He also called for the review of available research results to ensure that those with greater potentials were implemented.

``We need to re-examine the relevance of a number of things which may have a far-fetching on the adoption of technologies that could revolutionise the economy of our country. It has to be in a holistic way. We have to come as a nation to holistically view the potentials of our different technologies and the inputs that require them to be deployed effectively. At the end of it all, we are going to reap bigger profits as a country and the well-being of our people will be improved much more than it is right now.’’

Prof. Danladi Matawal, Director-General, Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), said unless Nigeria took advantage of the results of its researches commercially, it would be difficult for the country to stop importing finished products.

Matawal said the commercialisation of research results would create job opportunities and create wealth for the citizens.

 He stressed the need for industries to support research activities in the country through the commercialisation of the outcomes of such research findings.

``You can only make headway through sponsorship of research, emphases on science, technology and innovation. In some countries, policies are guided by science and technology. But in this country, you have to struggle to make yourself relevant. We must all try to pursue collaboration with industries aggressively, so that we can meet with industries and show them the results of our research and development. We also need investors to key into the research results for commercialisation.’’

Adewale Solomon, a researcher at NBRRI also called for proper linkage between researchers and the end-users.

Solomon said the barriers to the commercialisation of such research findings existed because most of the stakeholders, especially the end-users, were not carried along in the course of the research.

He said while it was important to conduct researches, the researcher should endeavour to carry all the relevant stakeholders along while also ensuring that such research would attract the interest of investors.