The European Union (EU) has given Nigeria up to June next year to get her acts together and improve the standards of agricultural produce exported overseas. This is sequel to the EU Food Quality Agency’s ban of six food items produced in the country. The ban covers items such as beans, sesame seed, melon seeds, palm oil, bush meat and dried fish.
According to the agency, the rejected beans were found to contain between 0.03mg per kilogramme to 4.6mg/kg of dichlorvos pesticide, when the acceptable maximum residue limit is 0.01 mg per kg.
Chairman Export Group, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), and CEO of Multimix Academy, Mr. Obiora Madu said there is justification for the suspension as safety of food is a basic requirement of food quality.
According to him, food safety implies absence or acceptable and safe levels of contaminants, adulterants, naturally occurring toxins or any hazard that may make food injurious to health on chronic basis.
Madu spoke during a National Agro-Commodity Export stakeholders meeting in Lagos, adding that there is need for a significant levelof investment in equipment and education to fill the gap created by the absence of a mature and reasonably well–developed export industry where the supply chain has utilised makeshift or multi-purpose facilities.
He canvassed the overhaul, privatisation and commercialisation of Federal Produce Inspection (PIAs). Madu further urged the government to set key performance indicators for the relevant agencies to halt the export of low quality foods.
LCCI Director-General, Muda Yusuf urged the government to diversify into the non oil sectors of the economy, regretting that businesses have consistently suffered losses in export trade as a result of poor quality agricultural produce. He stressed the need for government to establish an intervention fund for exporters to meet international capacity, noting that the crisis the nation is in today is as a result of over dependence on oil.
Also speaking on the occasion, International Food Standard Advisor, Mrs. Bukola Sotubu said unless agricultural exporters stop cutting corners, there will be no end to the ban of Nigerian agricultural produce. She regretted that some farmers use fake chemicals to preserve their produce while others use an over dose of chemicals which is not acceptable in international trade. According to her, some Nigerian exporters now export their produce through Ghana or Togo to avoid any attachment with the country, adding that in the long run, it does not augur well for the country as it will lead to revenue loss.
Head of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration (NAFDAC), Mrs. Veronica Nkechi Ezeh criticised inappropriate use of pesticides in agricultural products. She blamed this on the porous border that allows almost everything into the country.
“To meet international standards, there is a need for all regulatory bodies to work together to train agricultural exporters to improve the competitiveness of their products. But unfortunately, some people prefer the short cut of using fake quality certification of their products, rerouting their produce through other countries and in most cases losing their investment because some of the produce does not meet international requirements and fail quality test when they get to their final destination,” she said.
She urged exporters to maintain high standard of sanitary condition in the place of their business in addition improving on packaging.
LCCI President, Mr. Remi Bello also harped on the need to grant more credit lines to exporters so they could acquire the necessary facilities and equipment to meet international standards. He said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) second quarter economic report of this year showed that a total of N2.7billion was guaranteed to 14.229 farmers under the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS). According to him, the amount represented a decline of 2.9 and 19.1 per cent below the levels in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of last year.
