To deal with frequent rejection of agriculture and processed food from Nigeria to Europe and other developed countries, the Acting Executive Director, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Dr Olufemi Oladunni, has called for stricter controls on food safet. This he said will increase the quality of farm produce and agricultural products.
Speaking with The Nation, Oladunni stressed the need to boost food safety inspections from the farm to final destination based on international standards.
He said efforts should be made to identify the barriers faced by exporters in key markets.
One of these is Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) barriers that comprise specific concerns that affect the health and safety of consumers. It also include issues such as presence of excessive chemicals, pesticides, synthetic colour and microbes.
The EU had banned some food imports from Nigeria in 2014 after pesticides were found in some consignments.
Problems faced by exporters of farm products in the EU are more pronounced because of the bloc’s rapid alert system.
This often leads to a situation where a particular item facing technical issues in one member country gets blocked in other countries also even if the glitch is a minor one.
He warned that indiscriminate use of pesticides has far-reaching consequences on exports as shipments get detained due to detection of pesticide residues.
According to him, the presence of residues beyond their permissible levels is causing the rejection of export consignments.
In order that the residues remain within the permissible level, he said farmers should adopt good agriculture practices (GAP).