Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Dutse (FUD), Jigawa state, Professor Fatima Batul Muktar has said the institution is doing everything possible to improve the livelihood and productivity of the local community using local content.
The VC who stated this Tuesday while commissioning of the Agribusiness Incubation Centre (AIC) at the institution stated that the university is working with the localities within Jigawa state to improved its research on various products.
She added that: “We are working with Rujun Dinya village and we have many products, we package with them and these includes tea, syrup, coffee, candy from black plum tree.”
She stated that recently, they have started other products from “doum pam or ginger breed tree (Hyphaene thebaica) which is also known for its medicinal properties. We have syrup and candy from it.
“We are also trying to package local condiments like Kuka, daddawa and Kubewa. The university is trying to discharge its functions to the surrounding communities in addition to teaching and research,” she stated.
She has further made a request to the federal government for transfer of the Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) to Federal University, Dutse, to serve as a Centre for Date Palm Research and construction, furnishing and equipping of a tissue culture laboratory in the centre for research.
She said the history of the palm in Dutse is as old as Dutse itself, “because it has been a major source of economy for the populace.”
