By joshua 
By Ikhili Ebalu Benin City
The Chairman, Centre for Global Eco-Innovation (CGE) Nigeria/ACTUATE Team Lead, Prof Lawrence Ezemonye on Monday said that technology remains a credible option for the management of waste in both Ghana and Nigeria.
Ezemonye who spoke during a Stakeholders Engagement/ Training Workshop for Small Holder Farmers on Resource Recovery from Waste said that the Centre for Global Eco-innovation University of Benin is in collaboration with Lancaster University, UK and the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), the funders of the ACTUATE Project.
Represented by Prof. Christopher Emokaro, Ezemonye informed participants that the ACTUATE project recognized the importance of farmers in the scheme of things and that the workshop was organised to inspire farmers to adopt the use of digestates as a viable alternative to fertilizers.
According to him, the ACTUATE (accelerating the adoption of circular sanitation demonstration systems for improved health outcomes) Project is a translation of the RECIRCULATE Project which involves a deep engagement with researchers and research users in Sub-Saharan Africa through several GCRF-funded research and capacity-building projects.
Ezemonye said that the main objectives of ACTUATE is to construct working demonstrator anaerobic digestion facilities in both Ghana and Nigeria to process organic wastes, produce power and for the resulting digestate to be used as a sustainable soil conditioner/fertilizer.
“One of the demonstrator bio digester is located in the Ugbowo Campus of the University of Benin.
“The training workshop is a fulfilment of one of the core mandates of the ACTUATE project to work with stakeholders in order to positively highlight the technology as a credible option for the management of waste, the environment, bioenergy and soil/food security and look to develop safer practices within the stakeholder groups.” he said.
He noted that the workshop brings to the fore the importance of universities as strategic economic and development drivers in any region adding that the workshop was the much-needed catalyst to stimulate the interest of the students in the bioenergy technology and the use of digestates.
The training workshop featured presentations by Mrs Valerie Ify Ofili Edosa, a Soil Scientist and a member of the UNIBEN ACTUATE Team on the Usage of Digestate by Farmers while Engr. Dr. Mike Ajieh, an AD Engineer in the UNIBEN ACTUATE Team made a presentation on the Process of Bio-digestion and Digestate Production.
At the end of the workshop, participants unanimously agreed that digestates are viable substitutes for fertilizers and they also expressed the willingness to have the bioenergy technology deployed in their farms as a means of power generation, waste management and digestate production.
Participants at the Stakeholders workshop include, small holder farmers, and students from the Faculties of Agriculture and Engineering.
End.