Ado-Ekiti Polytechnic opens 200 hectares of Oil-Palm to boost revenue

Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, on Thursday inaugurated a 200-hectare of an oil palm plantation.

The Rector of the Polytechnic, Taiwo Akande, while inaugurating the project lauded those who initiated it.

She commended Abimbola Adebayo, a lecturer at the institution, for initiating the idea and for his conviction that saw it to its present level.

She said that the objective of the plantation was to boost the institution’s internally generated revenue (IGR).

Through that, its management would be financially buoyant to execute its internally initiated projects, she said.

Akande said that the trend of economic activities in the country presently had made it mandatory for the average Nigerian to be pro-active in the search for alternative means of livelihood.

The rector said that due to the dwindling subvention from the federation account, the polytechnic had not been receiving adequate funds.

“We, as management of the Federal Polytechnic, have decided that we are not going to neglect agriculture.

“That is why we have decided to cultivate the plantation to boost the revenue of the institution and contribute to the success of the project.

“To this end, I and the management staff will donate seedlings to the farm, while the Polytechnic management will process the produce from the farm when it is matured, “she said.

The rector also said that a separate account had been opened for the farm, where proceeds from it would be kept for proper accountability.

NAN reports that the inauguration was witnessed by the management and students of the institution.

(NAN)