Conform To Good Agricultural Practices, Secure Necessary Certifications, NEPC Urges Cashew, Rice Exporters

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Nonye Ayeni, has urged cashew and rice exporters to adopt good agricultural practices to avoid rejection of their products in the international market.

She said the acceptable agricultural practices, when adopted by the exporters, will boost the global sales while generating revenue for them and the country at large.

Ayeni disclosed this on Thursday at an interactive session for cashew and rice value chain actors.

The event was held to implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in August 2023 between the NEPC and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Market Oriented Value Chains for Jobs and Growth in the ECOWAS Region (GIZ-MOVE).

Recall that in 2022, it was estimated that Nigeria produced 5.4 million metric tons of milled rice and about 300,000 metric tons of Raw Cashew Nuts (RCN).

Ayeni said that the technical session will encourage value addition and change the narratives in repositioning Nigeria from an exporter of raw products to highly valued products.

The NEPC boss said, “We deliberately invited small, medium and large-scale farmers, aggregators, processors, service providers, exporters. The programme will feature a mini display of products to enable an on-the-spot assessment of current production, packaging and labelling position.

“The import of this exercise is to identify possible gaps that will provide the basis for implementing future programmes and this will ensure that Nigeria’s export of Cashew and Rice derivatives conform to buyer’s requirements and reduce export rejection considerably.

”Given that, today’s world trade in non-oil exportable products has become highly regulated, fundamentally because of safety, health and environmental considerations, the exporters are demanded to conform to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), secure necessary certifications, utilize appropriate documentation, packaging and labelling which if not properly addressed, becomes Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).

“In addition, a High-Level panel session will feature technical experts who will expose participants to a plethora of opportunities and build their capacities on emerging opportunities in product diversification and value addition.”

Ayeni reiterated that the council is committed to the project and its continued partnership with GIZ-MOVE, adding that she will ensure the successful delivery of the remaining components of the MOU signed.