FG advocates commercialization of research findings .To create jobs, raise GDP
The Federal Government has advocated the resuscitation of Research and Development (R&D) results lying idle on the shelves of the research institutions across the country to boost its primary objective of diversification of the economy.
Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, minister of Science and Technology, who made this known when he received the report of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST) Committee on the Blueprint for Commercialisation of Research and Development (R&D) Results, recently in Abuja
Onu, therefore, called on all stakeholders in the sector to help commercialise research findings for the development of the country, adding that such effort would create more job opportunity for the citizens.
“All the stakeholders in the value chain of R&D commercialization must ensure that viable R&D results available in the nation’s universities and other research institutions are commercialized.
“This is for the purposes of wealth creation, employment generation and industrial transformation of the Nigerian economy.
“To this end, FMST has decided to produce this blueprint on commercialization of R&D results in Nigeria to serve as a guide.
“Also as reference material for researchers and research institutions in the country to facilitate the commercialization of their R&D results and innovative efforts.’’
On his part, Dr Dan Ibrahim, chairman, Committee on the Blueprint for Commercialisation of Research and Development (R&D) said that the Nigerian technological base was very weak.
The nation, according to him imports and consumes foreign technologies deployed in virtually all sectors of the economy to the detriment of indigenous technologies, and creating unnecessary pressure on the scarce foreign reserve of the nation.
Ibrahim stated that Nigerian researchers, inventors and innovators were very intelligent and creative, adding that the greatest challenge had been converting R&D results and inventions into products and services.
He remarked that converting R&D results and inventions into products and services was mainly due to the very weak intellectual property culture among Nigerian researchers, inventors and innovators.
“The other contributing factors include the low quality of the R&D results and inventions emanating from the National Innovation System, inefficient management of intellectual property assets, among other.
“As a result of these challenges, many of the R&D results and inventions are lying idle on the shelves of the research institutions across the country without being commercialised. Therefore, there is urgent need to reverse the trend, “he said.
Government, he said was presently in dire need of diversification of the Nigerian economy to make it globally competitive, noting that government can only achieve its primary objective of diversification of the economy through commercialisation of R&D results lying idle on the shelves of the research institutions across the country.
