In his address on Monday at the second Moringa at the Leading Edge (MLE) conference organised by the Moringa Plantation Management Committee of the University of Ilorin, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution revealed that a moringa processing factory set up by the university would produce moringa-based food products and health supplements on commercial basis.

He said the university was keenly interested in the potential of the moringa plant because of its contributions not only to health and wellbeing but also to diverse areas of the economy.

He warned that the product had attracted abuse from unscrupulous agents and quack practitioners, hence the need to tighten the control over the production of herbal products including moringa.

In his own address, Alhaji Bature Masari, the Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), said there should be a deliberate linkage between the academia, industry and government for efficient partnership to drive innovation.