NAQS moves to lift EU ban on exportation of Nigeria’s farm produce

AS part of efforts to step up the exportation of Nigeria’s fruits and vegetables, the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), has said it is collaborating with the Europe-Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Liaison Committee (COLEACP), to resolve the embargo of exporting Nigeria’s agricultural produce to Europe.

Director of NAQS, Dr. Vincent Isegbe, made this known in Abuja at a workshop themed: “The Role of Public and Private Sector in Sanitary and Phytosanitary Systems for Fruits and Vegetable Sub-Sector.”

Isegbe stated that since the European Union (EU) in 2015 banned Nigeria from exporting beans and other produce to Europe, the country has not proved its capability yet.

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The director stressed that the workshop was organized to bring forth ways out of the challenges facing fruits and vegetable exports in the country.

In his remarks, COLEACP Agribusiness Development Specialist, Dr. Andrew Graffham, noted that Nigeria was a nation with many resources, a huge population and a lot of farmers who should ensure food security for the populace.

The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) is a regulatory agency under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

It was created for the harmonization of plants and other Agric produce to promote and regulate sanitary and phytosanitary measures in relation to the import and export of agricultural products.