Rubber Research Institute Boss Seeks Increased Funding

The Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria, Lelia Dongo, has appealed to the Federal Government for increased funding to boost the institute’s productivity.

Speaking with our correspondent at the end of a 2-day in-house research review in Benin on Friday, Dongo said the institute could not do much without funds, while urging the government to capture Rubber and Gum Arabic in the yearly budget.

Dongo, who assumed office about 10 months ago, said the products had huge potential to impact positively on the economic growth of the country.

She said the review was organised to bring together all stakeholders within the value chain with a view to rubbing minds and solving identified challenges.

She stated “My dream is to make this institute visible. There is so much idea that we have as management and staff but there isn’t much we can do without funds, so we are appealing to the Federal Government to capture Rubber and Gum Arabic in the budget because this product has huge potential to impact positively on the economic growth of the nation.

“Every research organisation has a mandate for a particular crop. We have a mandate for Rubber and Gum Arabic and we cater to the needs of the end users of our research, who are the producers of the crop.

”The research institute chief executive said there were about 20 participants from Edo and Delta states, in addition to policymakers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria and other experts.