To stem the flood of rejections of Nigeria’s agricultural produce in the international market, the Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), has urged agro-exporters in the country to ensure that produce meant for export are duly certified before they are shipped to their final destinations.
The Director General of SON, Farouk Salim, gave the charge during a facility tour of the agency’s laboratory by the Aviacargo Roadmap Committee set up by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to ensure designated agricultural produce for export meets international standards.
THE DG who was represented by the Director of training services in the organisation, Timothy Abner, stated that its laboratory which is duly accredited by the United States of America, has the best equipment in the country to meet the requirement of receiving countries of Nigeria’s agro-produce.
He stated agricultural produce which have been tested by the agency and bears its seal of certification have never been rejected, urging Nigerians agro-exporters to make use of its labs for testing which is the cheapest in the country.
According to him, the accreditation of the agency’s lab by America is a plus to Nigeria’s agro-produce sector, as more African countries shift focus to cassava export, which Nigeria is a major player and the emergency of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which Nigeria is signatory to and which already is active.
He said: “Whatever you see here is for the purpose of serving Nigeria. As a matter of fact, the test that are conducted here, are conducted at the most minimal cost.
Because we know our primary duty is first, to protect Nigerians before any other thing. As a matter of fact, we have enjoyed the support of the government.
“The result issued in this laboratory is adjudged as acceptable globally. So anywhere you take it, once they see the seal that bears SON, it is accepted. The accreditation is an attestation that we have the competence to do that. We first started with the Indian body because we discover that they are very, very rigorous with their evaluation process. And then eventually we move to America. These laboratories are accredited by the Americans.
“This is going to be a plus for us as we go into the Africa Continental Free Trade, which we are signatory to and which already is active. We are very much aware that one of the primary products that is being looked at now continentally is cassava products. So, we will encourage that people use these laboratories for their testing before export. You saw the fibre laboratory, it is one of the primary reasons why Africa decided to make cassava a brand product for export continent wide. So, we have the capability to do these tests, so that our products can leave and go to any other country without any problem in Africa”.
Earlier in his address, Coordinator of the Aviacargo committee, Mr. Ikechi Uko, said Nigeria has good products with necessary regulatory and certification agencies but lacks good branding and promotion.
He noted that Kenya, a country which is smaller in size to Nigeria is number on in export in the continent, despite Nigeria is in the top 10 in most of the agro-produce in Africa.
Uko stated that Nigeria can become number one in Africa if the tide of rejection of its agro-export is stemmed and produce for export get the right certification.
He said Nigerian government has invested heavily in SON but its presence is not being felt in Nigeria.
“The visit here today is very important. We were given a mandate to create a roadmap on how Nigeria can become number one in aviacargo in three years. Currently we are number five in Africa and we are exporting about 200 tons of cargo. The number one in African is Kenya. Kenya is a small economy.
“The Lagos economy is bigger than Kenya and Kenya don’t have a big airport. Their airport is between 5 million to 7 million capacity. There is no parameter that makes Kenya number one in export in Africa. So why are we very poor in export? Nigeria is number one producer of many things in Africa in at least 10 products. “And we are in the top 10 in 23 products. We found out that most of our goods are been rejected. The goods are being rejected because they do not meet the specification of the destination market. Most of them do not have certification from Nigeria. So, it is impossible for us to grow our aviacargo without stopping the rejections of our products. We have to make sure that they meet the standards and are tested here before they are exported out.”
