Organic farming: Nigeria sets up task force for certification

Towards ensuring conformity to standard and certification of local produce, the national organic farming practitioners of Nigeria has inaugurated a task force that will constantly monitor that registered members do conform to best agronomics practice of agricultural produce.

This was part of the major event that took place at the just concluded National Organic Agriculture Business Summit held at Solab Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos where about ninety participants across all sectors gathered to brainstorm on the push up strategies that will enhance efficient organic farming in Nigeria towards premium price and healthy feeding.

Introducing the composition of the task force, the project manager, Ecological Organic Agricultural Initiative in Nigeria, Mr. Gbadamosi Oyewole said that the members are to ensure that registered organic practitioners in the country complied with the practising rules through unannounced inspections to members’ farms in order to ensure standard and compliance to organic production rules.

The terms of operation for the members as stated by Mr. Oyewole includes- (1) Ensuring credibility of Participatory Guarantee System ( PGS) group  (2) Conduct at least one unannounced inspection to certified farms (3) Track viability of certificates and (4) Ensure strict adherence to existing approved national standard adding that members would be drawn from nine different organizations including Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria (NOAN).

Others are Organic Division of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), Standard organization of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC), National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Consumers Oriented Organization, Post-Harvest handling and the Media.

Speaking on the legal law the national task force would use for effective operation, the Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative in Nigeria (EOA) Country Coordinator, Dr. Olugbenga Adeoluwa said they were to deplore private sector bye-law that will enable them to effectively protect the practising of the organic farming as name of defaulters among practitioners would be constantly published on website to keep consumers abreast of standard compliance within the country production.

Dr. Adeoluwa pointed that Nigeria cannot afford to fold hands in the area of standard and certification of organic produce and products considering the market opportunities in the sub sector of agriculture with premium price saying that the task force members would have to police the practitioners for now until when a bill for an Act is approved by the appropriate authorities for effective operation.

He also advocated for more government support in terms of entrenching proactive organic policy in all the strategic agencies saying that the private practitioners cannot alone drive the sector especially when it comes to pushing for an Act of legal operation at the National Assembly through the executive arm of government for easy passage.

In the Keynote address delivered by former Military Administrator, Jigawa State and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Excell standard Limited Lt.  Col. Abubakar Zakariya Maimalari (Rtd) , Nigeria was defined as not yet ready to harness increasing opportunities in organic farming due to the following under listed reasons

1.       Lack of understanding of organic agriculture principle and practice

2.       Lack of organic agriculture platforms in Government Ministries, Department and Agencies for policy formulation and implementation

3.       Poor understanding of business opportunities derivable from organic agriculture

4.       Lack of technical knowledge for organic production.

5.       Little or almost none extension services to assist organic farmers in the country.

6.       Challenges of sourcing organic inputs

7.       Little awareness on the required procedures for certification of organic produce and products.

8.       Appropriate policies to provide enabling environment for organic agriculture business development.

The Representative from organic division, FMARD Mr. Isah Adamu who doubled as chairman of EOA Nigeria in his remark apologised for the shift in the programme from Kano to Lagos state with appreciation to the host for accepting to shoulder the responsibility adding added that the conference must be able to appraise some achievement of the submit since inception based on each communiqués of the previous conferences from 2016.