8th February, 2012
The Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) is to establish 10 forestry villages in different parts of the country, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
FRIN’s Executive Director, Professor Solomon Badejo, made this known on Tuesday while speaking with NAN on phone in Ibadan.
He said the villages would help create awareness about FRIN’s activities.
“We want to establish 10 adopted villages in different ecological zones of the country whereby we can demonstrate most of the technologies developed and perfected here at FRIN,” Badejo said.
He said some of the technologies that would be on display in the villages would focus on grass-cutter rearing, snail farming, mushroom farming and sericulture.
Badejo said the villages would also become centres of excellence in seedling production for national plantation programmes.
Three of the centres, he said, had been established in Oyo, Ogun and Rivers.
“We have concluded physical work in this area.
“We are now at a stage of moving some of our staff there to begin creating awareness and for people to begin training programmes from time to time on any aspect of forestry they want to know about,” Badejo said.
He said FRIN would boost its education and awareness programme which began three years ago.
Badejo also said creating awareness was necessary because of the problems associated with forestry such as illegal felling of trees, disturbance of the environment as well as climate change.