Nigeria Spends N3.38trn On Chemical Importation – NARICT

Nigeria’s chemical imports bill has risen to N3.28 trillion as of 2020, from N905 billion in 2017 and N1.39 trillion in 2019.

This is even as the National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NACRIT) Zaria, said it can reduce the country’s chemical import dependency if it is given adequate funding.

Director general and chief executive officer of the institute, Prof. Jeffrey Tsware Barminas who made these known decried that such increased import cost, has continued to take its toll on the economy.

Speaking on the sidelines of the NACRIT Day at the 8th edition of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology’s Technology & Innovation Expo in Abuja,

Barminas, said that with funding the institute is ready to mass-produce 10 organic and 10 inorganic chemicals which will reduce the nation’s dependency on imported chemicals.

In his public address on the theme: Investment Opportunities As Sure Path For Economic Growth and Revitalisation through Chemical Technology, Barminas noted that Nigeria contributes less than a fraction of the over 6000 chemicals produced globally. This, he said, is despite the fact that Nigeria can do better.

To offset these import costs, Barminas said Nigeria needs to invest in the innovation of chemical technology, which is crucial in chemical production and industrialisation.

He said NACRIT at present is ready to mass-produce 10 organic chemicals and 10 inorganic chemicals. Organic chemicals are carbon-containing compounds like nitrogen, oxygen used in producing organic chemicals as gasoline, plastics, detergents, food additives etc; while inorganic chemicals are non-carbon-hydrogen-containing chemicals such as Ammonia, metals.

NACRIT, he said, can produce 120 litres of adhesive per day, per batch in its plants. The institute also converts wastes from the environment to produce chemicals as Ammonia Sulphate, Iron Sulphate, Copper Sulphate used in learning in secondary schools’; in addition to creating chemical technologies used in converting fiber to other products, and to entrap and convert carbon monoxide from the atmosphere, to creating high purity Precipitated Calcium Carbonate used in the production of pharmaceutical products like Panadol tablets.

“With our new project, whereby we entrap carbon monoxide, we are addressing the issue of climate change, thus reducing carbon footprint – ensuring we do not affect our environment negatively.”

While noting funding as a major challenge, the director expressed his optimism of the government’s recent announcement to dedicate 0.5 per cent of the nation’s GDP to Research and Development (R&D) stating that ‘it’s a starting point’.

“There are low hanging fruits. The ones we can do easily we can go into production and see the impact easily; others we can push forward to another time. As we are doing that, we can convince entrepreneurs, those that really want to invest in our technology, to do so. Because Nigerians have an apathy to patronising made-in-Nigeria products, they’d rather travel abroad to buy them. We don’t value what we have.”

For entrepreneurs and the general public interested in keying into the sector, the director said there are strategies outlined to entrepreneurs and investors, and technology transfer training available for youths to boost their employability skills.

“Where we know that we can transfer technology and it is going to be costly, we do it such a way that the cost is reduced, so that small-scale industries can uptake our technology – transfer our technology to them, for use.

“Right now, young people, both university and non-university graduates, for instance, Kano State governor paid us to train their youths and women through constituency projects. And they can produce balls used in football tournaments. It is not rocket-science. We have the technology, it is a matter of teaching them,” he concluded.