nigeria to repackage produce to Europe

fruits

The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has announced new measures to ensure that more of Nigeria’s agricultural produce meet the European Union(EU)’s standards.


This was made known by Mr. Christopher Onukwuba, NAQS’s Head, Department of Collaboration, Planning and International Trade in Lagos.

Onukwuba said that the EU’s recent extension of its ban on Nigerian beans had called for the need for the NAQS and other product regulatory agencies to redouble their efforts.

He noted that the regulatory body is currently doing a lot to make more Nigerian agricultural produce acceptable to the European countries adding that laboratories are being developed in order to ensure adequate testing of every agricultural produce before exporting them.

Onukwuba, who blamed the recent EU ban of Nigerian beans on over-use of pesticides by farmers, also said that his organization would intensify its sensitization visits to farmlands.

He disclosed the organization’s planned collaboration with the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in ensuring that farmers conform with internationally-accepted pesticide-use standards.

The NAQS official also announced his organisation’s readiness to always carefully inspect and monitor produce from the farms through their packaging processes, transportation and to the warehouses, for shipment.

Onukwuba also said that the organisation had intensified capacity building programmes for its officers to be able to adequately quarantine agricultural produce for local consumption, as well as international needs, PM News reports.

“We are now going to be visiting farmers and warehouses to ensure that they meet requirements for processing, packaging and transportation of our produce for international markets.

“A manual is also being developed to further train our farmers, transporters, marketers and exporters, on the required standards for exportation of these produce,’’ he said.

According to him, it is only Nigerian’s vegetable products that are currently mostly being accepted in the European countries.