Brief History of CRIN
CRIN was established on the First day of December 1964 as
an autonomous research institute in the likeness of the Nigerian sub-station of
the defunct West African Cocoa Research institute, WACRI established in 1944,
which had its headquarters in Tafo, Ghana.
The new Insitute was formed to be
different from WACRI, which sole focus was Cocoa. The Nigerian Research
institutes Act No. 33 of 1964 expanded CRIN's mandate to cover research on kola
and coffee in addition to cocoa, but in 1975, the Agricultural Research
Institutes Establishments Act further added cashew and tea to the crops under
its purview - and in 2024, the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, ARCN,
disclosed the inclusion of Vitex doniana (aka Black Plum), to the crops covered.
Today, CRIN has a mandate to conduct research on six crops, viz, Cocoa, Kola,
Coffee, Cashew, Tea, and Black Plum. The organisation's core mandate includes
research to improve the production of those crops making them highly
resistible to diseases. It also investigates their ecology, and effective
usefulness, and making the research results available and accessible to farmers
and other end users.
Structures of CRIN
CRIN has substations in six locations
across the country, where the mandate crops have a comparative advantage, viz.
1.Owena in Ondo State to caters for cocoa, robusta coffee and kola, in the
south-west zone rain forest belt
2.Uhonmora in Edo State, catering for cocoa in
marginal forest areas.
3.Ochaja, Kogi State for the production of cashew and
kola.
4.Ibeku, Abia State in the South-East zone to cater for cocoa and cashew.
5.Ajassor (Cross River State) for Cocoa and Kola, and
6.Kusuku-Mambilla (Taraba
State) for Arabica coffee and tea.
In addition, the institute also has six
experimental stations across the country. They are in
1.Okondi (Cross River
State) for robusta coffee,
2.Mayo-Selbe (Taraba State) for cocoa and robusta
coffee,
3.Ibule (Ondo State) for cocoa,
4.Kabba (Kogi State) for robusta coffee,
5.Ugbenu (Anambra State) for cashew, and
6.Onisere (Ondo State) for cocoa.
Over
the years, CRIN has become indispensable in the country's quest for food
security and a major pillar of agricultural research in the African sub-region.
To achieve these feats, the institute is organised into eight departments under
two umbrellas of technical research and service delivery. The departments are:
1.Research (R),
2.Farming System Research & Extension (FSR&E),
3.End-Use
Research (EUR)
4.Production & Sub-stations (P&S).
5.Planning Budgeting and
Training (PBAT),
6.Library Information and Documentation (LID),
7.Finance and
Account (F&A), and
8.Administration and Supplies (A&S)
These Departments are
under the control of the Executive Director/Chief Executive, who in turn is also
responsible to the ARCN and the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The Institute in turn maintains bilateral relationships with international
organisations that deal with cocoa and other mandate crops, and links with other
National Agricultural Research Institutes (NARIS) in state and national agencies
through which its technologies and information are disseminated.
Unveiling the
Executive Director, Dr. Patrick Olusanmi Adebola
Dr Patrick Olusanmi Adebola is a Plant Breeder/Geneticist and the current Executive Director of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, (CRIN) Ibadan. He is an International Agricultural Research Scientist with strong background in Applied Genetics and Plant Breeding. He obtained his BSc (1987), MSc (1990), and PhD (2003) degrees in Botany from the University of Ilorin. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Leadership (MBL) from the Graduate School of Business Leadership, University of South Africa. Dr Adebola has more than 30 years’ experience in agricultural research and international development.
He was a Research Team
Leader for the plant breeding division of Agricultural Research Council
(ARC-VOPI), South Africa, for over ten years and led many successfully completed
international donor projects. Dr Adebola also previously worked for the Africa
Rice Center (Africa Rice) as a Deputy Director General of the Central
Agricultural Research Institute in Liberia. Before his appointment as Executive
Director, CRIN, Dr Adebola worked for the International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture (IITA) as a Senior Scientist and Project Leader where he led the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded Africa Yam Project and coordinated the
project activities in four target countries (Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and
Nigeria) with partners in Japan, USA, France, and United Kingdom.
Dr Adebola was
a recipient of the National Productivity Order of Merit, NPOM Award, (2021).
This is an award of excellence, honour and dignity conferred by the president,
on the most productive individuals in Nigeria. He is also a recipient of the
South Africa National Research Foundation (NRF) postdoctoral fellowship and the
Rothamsted International Postdoctoral Fellowship award hosted by the Food and
Environment Research Agency (FERA), Sand Hutton, York, United Kingdom.
Dr
Adebola has over 80 scientific publications in highly rated peer reviewed
international journals and has supervised several postgraduate students in
Nigeria and South Africa. He is a member of several scientific /professional
bodies and multi-disciplinary academic societies, the most prominent of which
are Science Association of Nigerian (SAN), Botanical Society of Nigeria (BOSON),
Genetics Society of Nigeria (GSN), Horticultural Society of Nigeria (HORTSON),
Agricultural Society of Nigeria (ASN), and Biotechnological Society of Nigeria
(BSN). Dr. Adebola was recently decorated as fellow of The Chartered Institute
of Public Resources Management and Politics (Ghana) and Horticultural Society of
Nigeria (HORTSON). He is a widely travelled person, who during his career
visited several countries including the United Kingdom, Netherlands, South
Africa, United State of America, China, Taiwan, Sweden, Belgium and France among
others.
Advancement of CRIN Under Dr. Patrick Adebola as ED
As soon as Dr.
Adebola was appointed ED in 2020, he began the development move that improved on
the works of previous leaders and directors of the organisation. His
developmental projects rub off on human, capital and physical areas as
highlighted below:
Safety and Security
Knowing that the safety of lives and
properties should be prioritised for development, Adebola ensured the management
approved the engagement of private operatives (The rangers) to boost the
existing security architecture in the head office, equipping them with adequate
tools, such as defensive materials, mobility and communication gadgets. Their
presence on campus is reassuring that staff members and visitors can transact
their businesses without fear and hindrances.
Industrial Harmony
Dr. Patrick
Adebola resuscitated the culture of research from its comatose state by
instituting a consultative approach of open-door policy that grant stakeholders
free access to him. He also built a strong team spirit among the workers,
ensuring a mouth-watering motivation by settling backlog of salaries, allowances
and other welfare packages that were pending since 2002.
Old staff and
pensioners were carried along under the 'staff first policy’ that built workers’
confidence and fostered unity - as soon as workers received their dues;
protests, strikes, and other indices of industrial disharmony vanished from the
system.
Physical Infrastructures
The current administration has brought
significant improvement to CRIN infrastructures. Perimeter Fencing and Gates:
The first thing that welcomes a visitor to CRIN is its beautiful perimeter fence
and gate. Aside from its aesthetics, the structure demarcates and secures the
institute’s premises.
Remodelling and rehabilitation of Admin Block: To make
the working environment exciting for all categories of staff, the ED embarked on
massive remodelling, renovation, and furnishing of offices in the head office
and out-stations. The administrative block was given a complete turnaround,
wearing a new outlook.
Power and Internet Access: Solar energy and generating
sets were also installed to boost power supply, and a 24-hour internet access is
now guaranteed following management's upgrade of the bandwidth from 4 mbps to
100 mbps.
To boost its core research mandate, a model fermenter, equipped with
modern tools and set to transform the process of fermentation has been built at
the head office.
Dr Adebola and his team have just completed the construction
of Cocoa Flavour Laboratory, a cutting-edge technology facility constructed in
partnership with the World Cocoa Foundation, WCF. The lab is a reference point
for cocoa flavours aid genotypes research in the continent.
Road Network: All
major roads in the headquarters have been tarred and failed portions on the road
have been rehabilitated. The compound has also been well landscaped to make the
headquarters surreal and ideal for rigorous research.
Establishment of a Modern
Gymnastics Centre.
Health is wealth; Dr. Adebola’s administration built a modern
gymnastic centre with the state-of-the-art facilities to ensure that staff and
their families are healthy.
The mother of all achievements in terms of
infrastructure is the ongoing construction of a mega multi-purpose hall. The
1,500-capacity gothic edifice is close to completion and indeed beautiful to
behold. The hall is expected to boost the revenue base of CRIN.
Other efforts
targeted at improving Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, include the
establishment of a sachet water factory and another for beekeeping and honey
production.
Research, Innovations, and Internal Revenue
CRIN Scientists have
recorded several life-changing research breakthroughs in all its mandate crops.
The studies are generally focused on producing early bearing varieties and
improved yields for all crops. The institute has developed hybrid varieties of
the mandate crops, including cocoa pods, G-series cashew genotypes, and
draught-resistant tea genotypes.
Millions of hybrid seedlings have been
distributed to farmers all over the country. This initiative has greatly
impacted the mandate crops, leading to astronomical increases in their
production, revenue generation, and a better standard of living for farmers,
through research, CRIN recently developed cocoa-specific fertilizer under the
IDH/OCP/CRIN/AITA project. The program is a game changer, with commensurate
potential of transforming cocoa farming in all regions of Nigeria.
The institute
has also embarked on maximising the value chain of the mandate crops, leading to
the production of consumer goods along the value chain, some of which are in
commercial quantity. These products include cocoa powder, soy chocolate,
Choco-bread, cocoa wine, cocoa custard, yoghurt, and cocoa flakes. Similarly,
bathing soap, washing soap, body cream, hair cream, and low-calorie cookies, and
CRIN has announced the production of highly hygienic poultry feeds.
Conclusion
Dr. Patrick Olusanmi Adebola holds a magical wand and is endowed with miraculous
touches. Like Midas, everything he touches turns to gold. He wants people to
remember him as an executive director that CRIN with open door policy who
contributed in terms of human resource and infrastructural developments,
renovated assets, collaborated with other institutes locally and
internationally, brought peace and harmony to the institute, paid arrears of
over 90 Million NGN, owed no staff and had no single fracas in during his
tenure.
