An international agency, International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF) has trained Nigerian feed millers on the implementation of Codex code of practice on good animal feed safety.
IFIF’s representative in Nigeria, Ms. Angelia Pellegrino Missaglia said the agency was out to ensure high standard of health and welfare for animals and people.
The training, which held in Lagos in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other internationals bodies, was to help set international regulatory standards for the feed chain and to support fair trade.
She said the 60 per cent demand for more food like, animal proteins, poultry, fish and dairy products, for an estimated nine billion people by 2050 can be met by working with stakeholders in the feed and food chain, including governments, the private sector and non-government groups.
Missaglia explained that IFIF hopes to promote science-based solutions and information sharing for feed manufactures, consumers and regulatory authorities worldwide on a variety of issues that affect the supply of safe and affordable animal proteins and dairy products.
“IFIF promotes a balanced regulatory framework to support a fair global playing field, facilitate market access and support the competitiveness of the feed and livestock industries,” she said.
Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development, Sonny Echono, said the training wouldn’t have come at a better time than now when food safety, global warming, growing population and farming with minimal environmental footprint, had become issues of global concern.
He said animal nutrition was the backbone of any successful livestock business, adding that feeding constituted over 70 per cent of total production costs.
His words: “Both profits and safety of food products are the main concerns of farmers and other stakeholders in the industry. Feed safety is a major component in the Animal Husbandry recommendation of Nigeria’s vision 2020 economic blueprint and also that of the livestock transformation agenda; because animal feed plays a significant role towards guaranteeing food security.”
Registrar and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), Dr. Godwin Oyediji said legislative framework for feed regulation was weak in Nigeria.
“Current laws are still weak and some are without enforcement powers. But Nigeria is making steady progress on feed legislation to achieve international benchmarks for animal feed safety and human food safety. The industry is being mobilised to embrace the FAO/IFIF Code of Practice for Good Animal Feeding and other Codex standards on traceability, contaminants and HACCP.”