Agro-products Rejection: NABG, stakeholders move to ensure implementation of standards, policy framework

FOLLOWING the challenges facing agribusiness, especially exportation of agro-products, the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) and other stakeholders have moved to ensure institution and implementation of standards on agricultural commodities in order to eliminate issues of rejects in the international market.

At a ‘One-day Stakeholders Consultative Workshop’ with theme ‘Developing A National Agricultural Commodity Standards Grading System and A National Policy to Support Commodity Grading System’, organised by the Nigeria Agribusiness Group, NABG, the Director-General, NABG, Dr Manzo Maigari, explained that the workshop became imperative due to several rejects of agricultural commodities from Nigeria in the international market due to absence of expected and acceptable standards.

Maigari stated that the aim of the Workshop that was funded and supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is to ensure that issues are addressed by putting in place and implementing policies and standards in order for Nigeria to become a major player in international agribusiness.

He said:”There is what we call the soft infrastructure in agribusiness, soft infrastructure simply means the very things that make a business viable or the things that make agriculture agribusiness.

“Agriculture can be said to be just an act of producing food and an act of farming. For when you want to take it to the level of agribusiness it simply means that you will now have to produce according to certain specifications in order to meet specific needs of your clients and customers or market needs or certain specific purposes, for example, we have a lot of what we call orange flesh potatoes that has a lot of vitamin A in it. We also have the yellow maze, which sells for premium, especially for animal feeds because it contains a lot of carotine which is required for optimal performance in animals, especially poultry.

“To just produce maize for consumption for ordinary consumption. You do not need to be particular about the kind of maize that you produce. But if you are looking at doing real business, you would require produce certain varieties of maize that give you premium for what you produce.

“In modern business and trade today, people want to be sure about certain quality, sanitation, the hygiene of what you are selling, and if they cannot be sure, then you cannot have access to the markets.

“We can play locally and manage and do what we want to do but you will want to sell internationally, if you want to be competitive in agriculture globally then we must comply and align ourselves to global benchmarks for standards and grading.

“And this is something that does not exist currently in Nigeria and therefore as custodians of agribusiness in Nigeria, we have taken the initiative to bring stakeholders together both in the public and private sectors so that we can craft a policy that would enable Nigeria compete favourably in Africa and across the world because you already are aware that our efforts to export have always been frustrated because you hear rejects here and there when our produced are exported you hear that they have been rejected.”

Maigari further pointed out that Nigeria does not have a policy framework that ensure standards, quality and certification, which is a source of worry as it has negatively impacted export of agricultural commodities over the years.

“We represent the business sector. While we must do with setting up a framework for business, agribusiness actually begins with quality standards and for us this is the foundation once we can get this right, and we can we can compete in the global markets. We make money so far we are not we are not competitive. Because we we do not have global certifications

“We represent the business sector and therefore what we must do with setting up a framework for business or agribusiness actually begins with quality and standards, and for us this is the foundation.

“Once we can get this right, and we can we can compete in the global markets then we make money. But so far we are not competitive because we do not have global certifications.”

However, speaking on climate change impact on agribusiness and climate resilience, he (Maigari) said, “Naturally, for every quality that must be met the climate is an important component of meeting that quality, and therefore like I would always say we have traditional practices that are already climate smart but because our smallholder farmers do not even understand that there are some of the practices that will actually ensure that the produce has meet the right quality that is desired but because the farmers do not know them and of course and they don’t understand that they are climate smart, by the day, those practices are being neglected.

“As part of what we are going to do a critical component of meeting standards is to imbibe climate smart practices and highlight the traditional practices that are also smart.”