Africans inability to influence their immediate environment adequately in order to guarantee a conducive environment for good of all. Hence, their dependence on developed countries’ experts to think for them and also proffer solutions to the geographical, environmental and societal problems  affecting  them. These challenges explain why African countries had overtime become  a dumping ground for foreign technologies.

However, relevant technological education for our teenagers, especially at the secondary school level, may serve as reasonable panacea to the aforementioned challenges confronting Africans.

As a matter of  necessity, our education system in Nigeria must emphasize, prioritise and adequately fund creativity in the system, as it will go a long way to boost the development of technocrats among the youths in the country.

This week, Rising Stars paid a visit to Praise Academy, Ibadan, to familiarise itself with the latest research and development work students of the college have embarked on, in the area of  technology development.

Rising Stars gathered that the students’ research team of the college, had deliberated on how farmers, at sustenance and commercial levels, could overcome incessant power outages in the production of their livestock.

The brainstorming sessions, which took some time, later brought about the conception and production of manual Pelletizing Machine for the production of  livestock feed for animals, fish and other livestock.

The Coordinator of the project, Mr. Daramola Adekunle, asserted that Nigerians must think deep on the environmental problems and other challenges militating against the day to day running of businesses and  economic activities in the states,  stressing that we must not be static in the confrontation  process of  the economic situation of Nigeria, emphasising that  we must carry the children, that is, the students along.

Miss Moyinoluwa Olokungboye and her colleague, Master Adegbuyi Ilerioluwa who are both in JSS2 told Rising Stars that the project became necessary to  assist livestock farmers find alternatives to the productions of livestocks feed even at cheaper rate.

“Having identified the problem, we went into deliberation with our teachers, in collaboration with the proprietress of the college, Mrs Phebe Olulode   to carry out our project, which gave birth to pelletizing manual machine.

“There are in the market electronic pelletizing machines of various sizes which use petrol or diesel.  But our observation is that because of the incessant power outages in the country the machine could not serve the farmers efficiently, while the generator-powered ones sometimes disappoint the farmers.  Moreover, the cost of the machine is on the high side, while the cost of the livestock feeds also is very expensive thereby making the livestock business become unprofitable for farmers as a result of the aforementioned challenges.

“Now, Praise Academy can produce and supply manual pelletizing machine for our livestock farmers.  In time past, fish and poultry animals were always fed in a primitive way.  This involved grinding of grains and cereals as meal on stone or mortar.  But due to  technological advancement, grinding machines were developed for grinding of cereals and grains with the mixture of other nutrients into powdered form.

“With time, it was discovered that animals preferred feeding on solid and soft nutritious meals.  One of the devices that can produce this requirement is called the pelletizing machine.

“Pelletizing machines are built to mould animal feed  in form of soft capsules which can easily be consumed by fish and poultry animals and our manual pelletizing machine is designed for easy assemblage and disassemblage, and it can  is also use electricity,” explained the students’.

The advantage of the machine according to them is that an individual could use it to  produce feeds for his livestock at a cheaper rate at home. While advising the government, the students appealed to state governments to support the development of technology in Nigeria from secondary school level.

 Speaking in the same vein, the Vice principal of the college, Mrs Abiodun Oladejo described the college as a  life-moulding centre where creative development and ideas of a child is a given priority. According to her, the college believes in a child’s talent development by providing what it takes to offer total education in the college.