Nigeria may lose $3b on sub standard agricultural commodities, says Agric Minister

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mohammed Kyari, has warned that the country may risk forfeiting more than $3 billion annually if it failed to comply with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

Sen. Abubarka Kyari said this during a ceremony in Abuja where a Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU) was being signed by his Ministry and the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) on the white paper on Nigeria’s strategy for EUDR Compliance.

According to the Minister  " The white paper shows that Nigeria risks losing over $1 billion in direct export earnings and more than $3 billion in total economic losses annually if its agricultural commodities fall short of the EU’s stringent new standards"

The EUDR mandates that all agricultural products exported to the EU must be traceable to precise farm boundaries, legally produced and demonstrably deforestation-free"

The minister described the newly launched compliance framework as both strategic and symbolic, saying it would help safeguard farmers, modernise value chains and position Nigeria more strongly in the international markets.

The MoU with NASRDA will enable the creation of a national traceability and environmental monitoring system saying that NASRDA would provide satellite technical guidance, while his Ministry would oversees farmer engagement.