Gbenro Adesina
A Professor of Food Science and Technology, Professor Bolanle Omolara Otegbayo on Thursday, December 2, 2021 delivered the 8th Inaugural Lecture of Bowen University, Iwo in Osun State.
In her lecture titled “The Mystery of Invisible Determinant of Life: A Voyage in the Realm of Food Quality”, Otegbayo focused on the importance and utility of yam, which she described as “the king of crops in Nigeria”.
According to the lecturer, her motivation for carrying out food quality research on yam was based on the fact that: it is intimately integrated into the socio-cultural life of the people; lack of rapid screening methods for food quality assessment by breeders during the selection cycle; limited capacity of sensory analysis; and dearth of information on food quality in yam.
Other reasons include: High post-harvest losses during the glut season; limitation of the consumption and utilization of yam in the country to narrow range of food products; instability of profit margin to resource poor farmers; and the need to expand the utilization of yams.
She noted that despite Nigeria being the largest producer of yam in the world, there are very few value added products from yam for local and international trade due to lack of suitable raw materials as a result of minimal information on the food quality and industrial potentials of the crop.
Professor Otegbayo stated that most of the utilization of yam in the country is limited to subsistence level, noting that in order to break out of the subsistence mode, the input of all key players in yam value chain is needed, especially researchers and farmers,
She also called for the industrial utilization of yam. According to her, focus for industrial utilization can be on yam species and varieties that are less preferred in terms of their food quality such as “D.alata, D.bulbifera and D.dumetorum”, which have been reported to have good industrial potentials.
According to her, this will reduce post-harvest losses and glut during harvesting season, diversify its utilization through developing value-added products, which will in turn lead to increase in yam production, increase in income to resource-poor farmers as well as generate employment, enhance livelihood, increase purchasing power, and promote both local and regional market for yam-based products. These will lead to the improvement in the socio-economic life of the small holder farmers, processors and consumers.
The don also called for more collaborations between researchers and end users of research outputs in the industry. She noted that the university is rich in intellectual resources and expertise, and these should be used to solve problems identified by the industry and society as a whole.
She noted that value addition to indigenous crops through product development will also go a long way to reduce post-harvest losses. She also called for nutrition education for mothers, nursing mothers and caregivers on embracing the use of complementary diets and other nutritious diets formulated from indigenous crops and not seeing them as inferior to the imported commercial complementary diets.
The don advocated for more funding of research, calling on the National Assembly to revise the edict that established the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) and include Private Universities as part of the beneficiaries of various forms of research grants so as to enable them contribute their quota to research and development necessary to transform the society.
Professor Bolanle Otegbayo obtained a B.Sc. in Food Science and Technology from Obafemi Awolowo University. She also holds M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Food Technology from the University of Ibadan. Her area of specialization is Food Chemistry. She was the Head of Department of Food Science & Technology from 2013-2018. She was the pioneer Director of Research & Strategic Partnerships in Bowen University (2018-2019) and is currently the Vice Provost, College of Postgraduate Studies of the Institution.
She is married to the Chief Medical Director (CMD), University College Hospital (UCH), Professor Jesse Abiodun Otegbayo, and they are blessed with wonderful children.
