The Nigeria Institute of Leather and Science Technology, (NILEST) Zaria, says it plans to re-activate its campaign against the sale and consumption of animal hides and skin popularly known as `ponmo’, because it does not add to the nutrition of humans.

Dr. Eucharia-Ngozi Oparah, acting Director-General of the Institute, disclosed this in an interview with NAN on Sunday in Zaria. Ms. Oparah said that the institute planned to re-engage the public through sensitization programmes against the consumption of ponmo.

She recalled that the advocacy to stop ponmo consumption began a few years ago under Ben Dashe, a former Director-General of the Institute, who died shortly after the campaign was kicked off.

Ms. Oparah said that when the National Leather and Leather Products Policy Plan was fully implemented, consumption of ponmo would drop significantly because the plan seeks to harness hides and skins for the tanneries.

The director general explained that if an A4 paper size of skin could be sold at N200 as ponmo, the same size of skin could be used to make a shoe or other leather products that could fetch almost N100, 000.

“So, it will pay us more to harness hides and skins, turn them into a leather product than consume them,’’ Ms. Oparah said.

She agreed that many women depended on the sale of ponmo, adding that the government would therefore not ban the sale and consumption of ponmo, without providing alternatives to those that depend on it for a living.

“When the policy is implemented the women will be given alternative means of earning income, as the policy has provided for the stopping of ponmo from entering the market’’, she said, citing the establishing of abattoirs, under the policy, as one of the provisions put in place to prevent hides and skin from entering the market for consumption.