Nigerian Engineers call for implementation of COPs recommendations

The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), has emphasized the need for relevant government agencies to implement the recommendations on different climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies relevant to Nigeria as contained in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report of the Conference of Parties (COPs).

This was one of the many recommendations contained in a communique from the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE International Engineering Conference, and Annual General Meeting held in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

While presenting the communique at a Press conference, the President of the NSE, Mrs. Margaret Oguntala noted that the discussions were centered around the theme of the conference “SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS TO FOOD SECURITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE”.

She said the thirteen observations drawn from several presentations and papers at the conference are centered around the interconnectivity between climate change and food sufficiency and the important role engineers play in addressing the challenges posed by this phenomenon.

The NSE President noted that for the agricultural challenges posed by climate change to be addressed, the conference recommended that there has to be synergy between all stakeholders at both societal and individual levels.

The conference stressed the importance of professional development among engineers and the need for engineers to deploy their expertise in collaboration with relevant organizations “to support precision agriculture for better monitoring of weather patterns, soil health, and water availability for optimal farming practices”

On the role of government and stakeholders, the Engineers called on the government and other organizations to fund research on sustainable agricultural practices as well as create policies that would provide an enabling environment for smart agriculture.

“Government and relevant stakeholders (research institutes, food processors, aggregators, exporters among others) should embrace and promote innovations and technologies that enhance agricultural productivity and reduce greenhouse gas emission.

“Government and relevant funding organizations should support various research outputs and commercialization of sustainable storage facilities and processing technologies being developed or adapted in Nigeria to minimize post-harvest losses.

“Government should promote and provide enabling environment and work in collaboration with relevant stakeholders in harnessing affordable renewable energy (solar, hydro, wind, biomass, etc) that can revolutionize agriculture in rural farming communities,” the communique reads.

On managing climate change, the conference urged oil and gas companies to reduce pollution and manage greenhouse emissions.

“Companies should work with local agricultural stakeholders to develop and deploy technologies that mitigate the effect of oil spills on food production systems.”

The conference further urged the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, and other Engineering professional bodies to ensure follow-up for effective implementation of the National Engineering and Innovation Fund promised by the Nigerian President at the beginning of the conference.

There were over 4,517 participants registered at the conference. 10 lead papers were discussed while 56 technical papers on 10 sub-themes were presented.