By Musa Waziri
The Taraba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (TACCIMA) and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) have initiated moves toward a strategic partnership aimed at promoting industrial development, value addition, and investment opportunities in Taraba State.
The proposed collaboration was unveiled during a courtesy visit by a TACCIMA delegation to the RMRDC Taraba State Coordinating Office in Jalingo, where both organizations explored ways of harnessing the state’s vast agricultural and mineral resources to drive sustainable economic growth.
Leading the delegation, the Director General of TACCIMA, Dr. Ben Baaku Zhema, stressed the need for stronger synergy between the organized private sector and government institutions to accelerate industrialization, entrepreneurship development, and economic diversification in the state.
He noted that Taraba State is richly endowed with agricultural commodities and mineral resources such as cocoa, coffee, tea, rubber, cassava, sesame, rice, maize, ginger, timber, and solid minerals, which, if properly processed locally, could contribute significantly to Nigeria’s industrial and export growth.
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According to Dr. Zhema, collaboration with RMRDC would help transform the state’s raw materials from primary commodities into finished and semi-finished products capable of competing in both domestic and international markets.
He further advocated joint participation in international trade fairs, exhibitions, and investment forums as a means of attracting foreign direct investment and promoting Taraba State’s industrial potential to global investors.
The TACCIMA Director General also requested technical support from RMRDC in the areas of raw materials data development, investment profiling, and resource mapping to improve investor confidence and industrial planning across the state.
Other areas of collaboration discussed during the meeting included training for entrepreneurs and small-scale manufacturers on product standardization, export readiness, packaging, branding, and quality assurance to improve the competitiveness of locally produced goods in international markets.
He also expressed interest in working with RMRDC on technology transfer initiatives and the introduction of locally fabricated processing equipment to reduce post-harvest losses and encourage local manufacturing.
Responding, the Taraba State Coordinator of RMRDC, Mr. Musa W.A., commended TACCIMA for recognizing the strategic role of the Council in Nigeria’s industrialization agenda.
He reiterated that the Council’s mandate includes promoting research and development on raw materials, encouraging value addition, facilitating industrial linkages, supporting technology commercialization, and strengthening small and medium-scale enterprises through the utilization of locally sourced raw materials.
Mr. Musa assured the Chamber of the Council’s readiness to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in advancing economic diversification and industrial growth in Taraba State.
Stakeholders at the meeting expressed optimism that the proposed partnership would stimulate investment opportunities, encourage the establishment of processing industries and industrial clusters, increase export earnings, create employment opportunities, and improve the utilization of locally available raw materials.
They further noted that the collaboration would strengthen research-industry linkages and promote innovation-driven industrialization through partnerships among research institutions, universities, industries, and private sector organizations.
