TETFund challenges UAES to drive innovation, taps N10bn grant for agricultural growth

From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has urged lecturers and researchers at the University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, (UAES), Umuagwo, to leverage a N10 billion grant to boost agricultural productivity and position the institution as a global hub for innovation.

TETFund Executive Secretary, Arc. Sunday Echono, made the call in Owerri on Friday during the university’s First Convocation Lecture themed: “Reimagining University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences As Engine of Innovation and Sustainability: Agricultural Research and National Development.”

Represented by former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jos, Prof. Hayward B. Mafuyai, Echono said the fund was designed to help UAES gain global recognition through research that delivers practical results.

“At the core of this transformation lies the imperative of green technology innovation and digital administration,” he said.
He challenged UAES to become a model of eco-friendly operations by “abandoning complete reliance on fossil-fuel generators in favour of solar mini grids and photovoltaic systems.”
“This shift not only eliminates harmful carbon emissions and lowers energy costs but also ensures the steady power supply necessary for modern learning,” he added.

Echono further stressed that “agriculture research must move beyond theoretical exercises to deliver tangible, high impact solutions for society.”

In his welcome address, UAES Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Christopher Eze, described the lecture as a defining moment for the young university. He said agriculture and environmental sciences must be central to tackling Nigeria’s challenges of food security, climate change, unemployment and economic diversification.

“A modern university must be more than a place where knowledge is transmitted. It must also be a place where knowledge is created, tested, transformed into solutions and deployed for the benefit of society,” Eze said.

He noted that research at UAES “must not end with publications” but must improve productivity, strengthen sustainability, support industries, inform policy, and create jobs.

The VC also commended TETFund for its role in supporting capacity development, research, and infrastructure across tertiary institutions, and thanked Echono for honoring the invitation.

Speaking to graduands, Prof. Eze urged them to see their education as “a foundation for creating solutions, creating opportunities and creating impact,” adding that as the university’s first graduates, “the world will, in many ways, judge this institution by the contributions you make beyond these walls.”

He said UAES aims to build partnerships with government, industry and communities to move research “from the laboratory and experimental farm into practical application and ultimately into the hands of the people who need them.”

Highlights of the occasion is the inauguration of the first Alumni of UAES by the Vice Chancellor.

The event drew commissioners, such as commissioner for Tertiary Education in the State, Victor Nwachukwu , Imo State University VC professor Uchefula Chukwumaeze, UAES Pro-Chancellor, Uzoeshi Enemuo, government representatives, academics, parents to mark what management called the beginning of UAES’ push to become “an institution whose age may be young, but whose impact is significant.”

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