History About NSPRI
Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI) has its headquarters located at Km 3 Asa Dam Road (P. M. B. 1489), Ilorin in Kwara State of Nigeria. The Institute has six outstations located in Ibadan, Kano, Lagos, Maiduguri, Port-Harcourt, and Sapele.
Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute is one of the Research Institutes under the supervision of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The Institute was established in 1948 as West African Stored Products Research Unit (WASPRU) during the colonial era of the country to assess the quality of exportable crops from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Gambia to United Kingdom. It became Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute after the independence in 1960. Since the inception of the Institute, it has been supervised by different Ministries.
Reducing Postharvest losses by ensuring the quality, safety and availability of Agricultural Produce has been the mission of the Institute. The mandate of Institute stipulates that it shall carry out research into bulk storage problem of export commodities and local food crop and in particular it shall conduct research into: improvement and maintenance of the quality of bulk commodity crops including cocoa, groundnuts, palm produce; improvement and maintenance of the quality of local food crops including cereals, grains, pulses, tubers and any other local commodity under bulk storage; special studies such as stored products pests, pesticide formulations and residue and mycotoxin surveys; provision of advice and training of extension workers in problems associated with stored products and materials in storage structures, new insecticides, new items of equipment and techniques; and any other related matters as may be determined from time to time by the Institute.
After many years of research, the Institute has identified various factors causing deterioration and losses in agricultural crops after harvest which shorten their shelf life. The methods of eliminating or controlling the effects of these factors on the crops to prolong shelf life have also been thoroughly researched. These research findings have led to the development of structures and technologies suitable for the storage of all categories of food crops at all level of storage. Some of the notable developed technologies are for cereals and legumes, roots and tubers, fruits and vegetables, meat and fish among others.
The Institute is hoping to widen its research activities in the area of value addition and postharvest loss reduction that can match global standards. The Institute’s present efforts are to develop quality standards for the processing of agricultural products useful for small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria. Efforts are also been made to develop effective packaging for agricultural products (especially fruits) that will enhance the marketability of the products locally and internationally. These will in long run create job and wealth for the farming populace in the country. Moreover, the Institute will intensify its efforts to disseminate the developed technologies to the end users through our extension and liaison services.
