By Zayamu Hassan
The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), has called on all state governors across the country to show interest in the development of the herbal medicine sector in their states.
Director General of the institute, Dr Obi Adigwe, made the call in an interview with journalists as part of activities to mark the 2021 African Traditional Medicine Day at the weekend in Abuja.
He said the herbal medicine sector has the capacity to create jobs, foreign exchange and generate income for the states.
According to him, developing the herbal medicine sector in their various states will give them billions of naira annually as revenue, to compliment their meagre monthly federal allocation.
Dr Adigwe regretted that the herbal medicine sector as a multi billion-dollar industry that can make every state in the country financially independent, has been neglected by the state governors.
He, however, advocated for the establishment of dedicated farms for the cultivation and processing of herbal medicinal plants in the 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
“The governors need to understand the potential that is in their backyard. This is because a simple phyto medicinal project in their states will ensure that one million farmers, one million local women, one million youth are actively engaged in jobs and the products will yield output which can be exported or sold in the market once it gets NAFDAC registration.
“We have engaged all the 36 state governors in Nigeria, but so far only a handful of them recognize the potential in the herbal medicine sector. Because there is no state in Nigeria that does not have plants that have potential to generate high quality pharmaceutical products as well as to earn revenue,” Adigwe said.
While noting that India has tapped into its rich herbal medicinal plants and is making billions of dollars in foreign exchange for its people, Adigwe, however, said that Nigeria with more quality medicinal plants than India is yet to benefit from the sector.
He said: “It is on record that the amount of plants in Nigeria that have ethno-medicinal and ethno-botanical potentials run in thousands and less than 10 per cent of them have been harnessed. And these potentials exist in every region and every state of the federation.
The director general added that the NIPRD have mapped out three products per state which when they are developed, will not only generate high quality products, it will also ensure that the local people in the rural areas have jobs.
“It will also ensure that you build their capacity because they will be able to harvest and process them in a manner that is internationally acceptable.
“It will also ensure that revenue is generated for the citizenry and for the government because they will pay taxes when they register with NAFDAC and when they sell it in pharmacy shops and when they export. We are sitting in a gold mine,” he added.
He, however, advised the herbal medicine practitioners to develop themselves by improving their knowledge and also charged them to join the traditional medicine boards in their states for proper regulation.
