Association pleads Senate, Pres. Buhari to sign the bill asking for yam export

The president, National Association of Yam Farmers, Processors and Marketers, Prof. Simeon Itwange has appealed to the upper house of the National Assembly to exhibit the same level of commitment shown by  its lower house committee on commerce to pass the bill asking for the repeal of the  prohibition Act that is preventing yams and other agricultural commodities from being exported, just as he wanted President Mohammudu Buhari to assent the bill into an effective law for more market potentials to farmers. Prof. Itwange made this closure to Food Farm News recently as he registered his association’s support for the repeal of the act by the house committee on commerce at the National assembly.

Itwange pointed that the prohibition of Act Cap E 11 law of the Federation, 2004 would allow yams and other commodities with their derivatives to become more competitive in the international markets as they are being allowed to get outside the shore of Nigerian markets, adding that the movement of yams beyond local markets would also ensure standard productivity as farmers now become more consciousness to penetrate premium markets through standard production.

He however faulted the process of yam production in the country as he called for the total ban of the para-quat, saying its inclusion in the produce has got an adverse effect on human health and market value as well, and this is part of what the repeal of the prohibition act would correct as farmers become more conscious of Global Agricultural Practices (GAP) that forbid chemical inclusion in crops.

The yam president however appealed to the upper house of the national assembly to expedite action on the bill so that it can be quickly sent for presidential assent so as to become an effective law that would encourage competitive production of yams among farmers. 

Itwange said that ‘‘the repeal of the export prohibition ACT CAP E 11 laws of the Federation 2004. We are there to support the effort towards repealing that act as an association that is responsible for yam value chain, and we made a presentation of 10 points on why the law should be repealed in view of African Free Continental Trade Agreement that has made Africa a free trade area. We cannot afford to allow any of our produce like yam, cassava, beans, maize, rice and their derivatives to be hindered by any law from being exported’’  

He also mentioned that other public stakeholders like Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) also registered their support for the repeal of the act, saying that the  economic potentials Nigerian farmers would gain especially in the global market of $13.4b in yam is enormous if they are being allowed to exported with standard productivity.  

 Prof. said that ‘’ Repealing that act will have a lot of advantages to our farmers.  The global market for yam is about $13.4B, and Ghana that is not producing as much as we are producing is taking the whole market share of 13.4billion, while Nigeria that is number one in production is not known in the international arena in terms of export of this commodity.  So it is going to boost production, i know we are faced with the challenges of insecurity, but the farmers are willing if there is an incentive to take the risk of going to the farm in terms of market opportunity of where a tuber of N200 can be sold for N700’’

The yam president also advocated for Nigerian local standard for wholesome productivity saying that ‘‘recently we were at the Federal Ministry of Interior to document trade agreement with the United Kingdom where the issue of local and Global Agricultural Practice (GAP) came up.  You see the local GAP is what we call, the Nigerian gap document which helps our farmers to produce to certain standard even when we are not exporting. It is not only when we are exporting that we need to produce food that is wholesome for human consumption, even for ourselves as Nigerians, we need food that is wholesome and that is why we have been advocating for the Nigerian GAP. Many other countries in African and the sub region in Africa have their own at the country level that allows their citizens to produce to certain standards’’