The federal and state governments have been urged to aggressively support the commercial production of wines using locally sourced seasonal fruits. According to a MOUAU professor, this move will slash market prices and help preserve Nigeria’s depleting foreign reserves.
The call was made by Prof. Virginia Onyebuchi Ifeanyi, a Professor of Microbiology, while delivering the 72nd Inaugural Lecture of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. The lecture, titled “Microbial Sovereignty and the power of the unseen,” held at the Senator Anyim Pius Anyim Auditorium.
Prof. Ifeanyi emphasized that Nigeria is richly blessed with seasonal fruits that can be processed into fruit wine for good health and economic development.
“The various governments in Nigeria should support local fruit wine production with various types of local fruits, considering that we are richly blessed with fruits seasonally,” she said.
The inaugural lecturer added: “The production of local fruit wines will not only make the fruit wines cheaper in the market but will also save the country’s foreign reserves by reducing the importation of foreign wines.”
The award-winning scholar also urged policymakers to look inward and invest in local scientific research. She noted that leveraging indigenous microbial technology in food and beverage processing is a vital step toward economic self-reliance.
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