Cassva Bread |
· NAFDAC, SON ask for standard control on fertilizer
The cassava
flour (mandatory inclusion in flour production) bill 2016 has scaled through
the senate just as two other bills namely
the bill for an Act to provide for the establishment of the National
Livestock identification and Management Bureau and the one for an Act to
regulate the manufacture, importation, distribution and quality control of
fertilizer were set to be amended for more inclusion by stakeholder before
passage by the Senate Committee on
Agriculture chaired by Sen. Abdullahi Adamu at the public hearing held by the committee at the National
Assembly last week at Abuja.
The cassava
flour bill scale through despite
opposition from flour millers who rather wanted all grains to be included in
the bill rather than only high quality cassava flour.
The cassava flour (Mandatory inclusion flour
production) bill of 2016 was sponsored by Senator Rose Oko with three
objectives that include (i) to provide a legal and regulatory frame work for
the mandatory inclusion of cassava flour into edible flour production Nigeria;
(ii) Provide incentives to encourage cassava farming and (iii) create a
sustainable market for cassava flour which many stakeholders commended but
pointed out that the political will during former President Obasanjo era had
once made the flour millers to comply to off taking 10% High Quality Cassava Flour to supplement wheat import gulping billions of dollars and creating
jobs in the exporting countries.
The Nigerian
Flour Millers Association through its representative from Golden Penny objected
that the edible flour in the country should not be limited to HQCF inclusion
alone, but rather extended to other grains like sorghum, millet and guinea corn
pointed that other grains also have
better nutritional values.
The committee
did not succumb to the position of Nigerian millers on the inclusion of other
grains as they argued that the bill presented was specific as asking for an act
to provide for a legal and regulatory framework for the inclusion of 10% cassava
flour in the edible flour production in order to encourage farming and create market
for HQCF presented in this context would not be accepted.
It was not
only the senate committee that disagreed with the millers, the position of the
Cassava Grower Association of Nigeria as stated in the memo submitted was in the
favour of the bill as the National President, Pastor Segun Adewunmi pointed
that the bill was very specific to cassava inclusion only saying asking for
other grains inclusion on the ground of the health benefit better than the
cassava was absurd.
Pastor
Adewunmi said that the “benefit of 40% cassava flour inclusion in bread, experts
have proven that cassava bread guarantee better health than the predominantly
white wheat bread” stressed that Nigeria would save over 300 billion naira from
yearly import of white wheat and jobs of over 500,000 farmers and 100,000
cassava processors by the time this act is put into practice.
One of the
prominent processors, Pastor Soladoye Timothy also faulted the stance of flour
millers in his chat with Food farm News
saying the opposing association has always been taking a hard position against cassava inclusion into wheat as he went on to
commend the hard stand of the National Assembly towards ensuring the passage of
the bill for legal frame work for effective production and consumption of HQCF
in Nigeria flour edibles with all parties at the value chains complying with
the rules and regulations by the time is properly made effective.
Pastor
Timothy said the battle for inclusion of HQCF in wheat had being a long battle
since the era of President Olusegun Obasanjo whose regime put enforcement force
in place with positive impact within the short period of the policy
implementation and which witnessed unprecedented compliance by flour millers
who are the off takers.
He stressed the need for deliberate political
will of the Government to make the act work for the development of the nation’s
economy and job creation adding his association was absolutely in support of
the 2016 bill presented for an act by the Senate Committee on Agriculture for
cassava flour inclusion to wheat edible.
The positions
of NAFDAC and Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) may have halted the
progress the bill for an act to regulate the manufacture, importation,
distribution and quality control of fertilizer in Nigeria as request were made
for amendment that would accommodate more clauses for its effective and proper
implementation so as to ensure robust effective control and quality monitoring
by appropriate agencies.
Also, the
livestock bill asking for an act to provide for the establishment of the
National Livestock Identification and Management Bureau was out-rightly
rejected by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (FMARD)
under the leadership of Chief Audu Ogbeh and other major stakeholders who
argued that all the prayers of the bill have been adequately taken care of
saying the passage would amount to duplication of functions in the face of
limited resources by the federal government.
Both the
view of the FMARD and Animal Science Association of Nigeria (ASAN) aligned with
the position taken by Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) on the floor
as “ 2.1 the sum of the provision of
section 7,8 and 9 is that the bureau shall be exclusively saddled with the
responsibility of Animal identification, traceability, and registration in
addition to other related responsibility. Note that animal identification,
traceability and registration are core animal husbandry practices. By the
combined effect of section 2 (f), (g) and (h) of NIAS Act no. 26 of 2007. The
NIAS is the only parastatal of the FMARD vested with the above function. Very
instructive is section 2 (h) regarding the functions of the Institute which
thus to promote the production of the high quality protein through scientific
methods and to regulate all issues pertaining to animal Husbandry in Nigeria.
Any attempt to confer the above responsibility on another agency will amount to
duplication of roles which inevitably will breed chaos in the livestock
industry”
Other agreed
positions of the stakeholders in line with FMARD is stated as “the position of
the department of animal husbandry services in respect of the proposed National
Livestock Identification and Management Bureau bill are as stated below.
“The Federal
Department of Animal Husbandry Services having gone through the bill, find it
blinkered with far reaching consequences for constituted authorities, extant
law and acts. The following observations highlight some of the consequences and
aberration in the bill.
1.1
The
two Departments: Animal Production and Husbandry Services and livestock
departments mentioned in part 11 item 4 of the bill no longer exist in the
FMARD. The existing Department as 2017 is Animal Husbandry Services (DAHS),
Veterinary and Pest Control Services (VPCS), Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine
services (NAQS).
1.2
The
proposal in part 11 item 4 that the Bureau shall comprise animal production and
husbandry services and livestock department of the FMARD did not take into
cognizance the statutory mandate of the Department of Animal Husbandry Services
which includes livestock identification, traceability, organization,
registration and livestock population census as just one of its mandate (Please
see the function no XXII of DAPHS). It also presupposes that the function
contained in the bill is the only function of the two Departments. The
statutory mandates of these two departments go beyond identification,
management, traceability, registration and livestock census.
1.3
The
functions, duties and power of the Bureau proposed in Part 111 of the bill will
amount to duplication of effort with other existing structures of government
and conflict considerably with the provision of the Federal Civil Service
Commission and other regulatory agencies.
1.4
The
definition of Minister and Ministry in Part 1 item 31 and 32 give the
impression that there is a Minister of livestock and Federal Ministry of
Livestock considering also that the bill in part 11 item 21c proposes that one
person representing the Federal Ministry of Agriculture shall be a member of
the Bureau.
1.5
The
composition of the Bureau and structure proposed in Part V111 items 32-58 of
the bill already exist with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development and the Departments (DAPHS, VPCS and NAQS) and structures just
require strengthening and adequate funding to carry out their statutory
mandates within the ministry.
1.6
The
bill in part (V111) item 25-33 is proposing cessation of services of agencies,
bodies or organization of the FG currently mandated to carry out functions the
Bureau proposes to undertake. Most importantly, the bill is proposing to repeal
and replace all extant laws and act of the National Assembly already enacted to
carry out the functions the bill proposes to undertake. Thus the bill clearly
undermines the National the National Assembly and presupposes that these extant
laws and acts would become null and void without due process”
“The federal Department
of Animal Husbandry Services opposes the bill under consideration and proposes
the following in place of the bill.
2.1 the creation of the
ministry of Livestock and Fisheries as recommended in the just concluded
National Conference on Transformation of the Livestock industry as is the case
in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Botswana and Zambia with well-developed livestock
industry.
2.2 the ministry of
livestock will comprise the relevant Departments in charge of livestock and
related resources and would also have livestock identification and management
department to carry out animal identification, traceability and registration”
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