The aim of this paper is to advance the position that Nigeria's indigenous technologies present significant opportunities for local economic transformation and, to some extent, for global competitiveness. An analysis of three major indigenous technology clusters in Nigeria, as well as a review of three successful country cases was performed. This was with a view to identifying structural and policy directions for the country. The study provided preliminary insight into a very broad landscape and call for further analyses relating to mapping the Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and Indigenous Technology (I-Tech) systems of economies.
This paper attempts some preliminary evaluation of the potential of agroforestry techniques as a forestry strategy for controlling atmospheric CO2—a critical greenhouse gas. The end‐use scenario that attempts to meet the wood and related needs of the nation while mitigating climate change was adopted. The net emission estimate for the Forestry Sector in 1990—the base year for the study—was 9.5 million tonnes of carbon (MtC). Based on this figure, projections into the year 2030 gave cumulative net emissions of 427.4 and 580.5 MtC at 1.3% and 2.6% deforestation rates respectively. However, mitigating with agroforestry techniques, assuming that about 76% of the estimated 39.5 million ha of farmland in the country is committed to a variety of agroforestry systems, the results show that a total of 1530 MtC can be withdrawn from the atmosphere by the year 2030. The paper concludes that there is a reasonable case for the use of agroforestry techniques in the country, both as a means of sustaining soil productivity and as a strategy for mitigating climate change.
The specific factors that influence the entrepreneurial inclination of students were studied with a view to designing appropriate policies on entrepreneurship within tertiary institutions. The sample for the study consisted of 7,560 students from a total of 25 tertiary institutions with 83% response rate. While we found that entrepreneurial interest among Nigerian students is quite high, the expression of this interest in practice is rather low. The main factors found to significantly explain entrepreneurial interest are parents" educational qualifications, family entrepreneurial history, family sociodemographics, students" entrepreneurial experience, and students" socio-demographics. Of the fourteen variables identified as being central in encouraging students" entrepreneurial interests, only five can be defined as necessary, though but not sufficient, conditions to stimulate interest: gender, number of children by father, position among mother"s children, father"s monthly income and entrepreneurial education. This has policy implications both for government and the institutions. The study is the first of its magnitude in Nigeria and provides baseline information for researchers and policy makers who need to better understand the dynamics of entrepreneurship among Nigerian youth.
This article provides a critical review of the process of formulating science, technology and innovation (STI) policy in Nigeria using scientific indicators. The attainment of development goals requires a painstaking process of policy-making based on scientific evidence derivable from relevant evidence. However, in many developing countries, there is a gap between policy and development priorities as most policies are not based on scientific facts either because they are unavailable or, where they exist, unreliable. Using a system analysis framework, the article brings into perspective the fundamental role played by STI indicators in providing scientific evidence for designing, formulating and implementing national innovation policy. This can serve as a framework for utilizing scientific evidence in policy-making in a developing country context. This article is published as part of a thematic collection on scientific advice to governments.
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