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Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala - Politics - Nairaland

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Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by AmazingGenius: 7:42am On Mar 16
The World Trade Organisation says Nigeria has lost its leading position in the agriculture export markets because its agricultural commodities do not meet the sanitary and phytosanitary requirements of the foreign markets.

According to WTO, despite the abundance of arable lands and increased investments, the nation has transitioned into a net importer of farm produce that was previously cultivated domestically, undermining efforts aimed at ensuring food sustainability.

The Director-General, WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, disclosed this in Abuja at the launch of seven trade support programmes initiated by the WTO-ITC to boost the development of Nigeria’s trade and industry standards.

The initiatives namely the Standards Trade Development Facility, Digital Trade Initiative support, Women Exporters Entrepreneurship support, National Trade Portal and cotton development initiative aim to provide technical support to strengthen food safety, animal and plant health capacity in developing countries, address challenges of e-commerce digital trade divide and establish a world-class technology centre for all trade-related data and information in Nigeria.

She said, “We are launching today with STDF, ITC, and the NEPC, a project to help with international safety and quality certification for sesame and cowpeas or black-eyed peas. The agriculture sector in Nigeria has the potential to be a major driver of export diversification and job creation – but too much of this potential remains unrealized, due to a variety of barriers. In fact, Nigeria has not only lost out in agricultural export markets, it is a net food importer spending about billions a year on goods, many of which we can also produce here. Some of Nigeria’s unrealised potential has to do with trade-related problems on the supply side – and that is what this project is seeking to rectify.”

Specifically, the WTO DG said Nigerian cowpea and sesame exports were increasingly facing rejections in several destination markets due to non-compliance with international SPS requirements.

She said the failure to comply with regional, global and import country sanitary and phytosanitary standards has resulted in loss of sales, revenue, and hard currency due to export rejects.

Last week, the former finance minister charged Nigeria and other African countries to improve the quality of their shea exports to international standards.

She added, “Nigeria is the world’s largest producer and consumer of cowpeas. Sesame is primarily an export crop, and Nigeria is the world’s fourth leading producer, exporting to the EU, Türkiye, Japan, South Korea and other Asian markets. However, Nigerian cowpea and sesame exports have increasingly faced rejections in several destination markets due to non-compliance with international SPS requirements.”

She said for example, “Nigeria accounts for over a third of Japan’s sesame imports – but health and safety inspections during the past few years have found instances where pesticide residue levels were nearly double the maximum residue limits permissible from 2019 to 2021.


Hence to tackle the challenges, Okonjo-Iweala said the WTO was partnering with relevant stakeholders to build the capacities of stakeholders across the sesame and cowpeas value chains to better understand market access requirements and improve agricultural practices such as pesticide application, hygiene techniques, harvest and post-harvest methods, and food safety.

She said the project which would be implemented with $1.2mn funding would improve the country’s non-oil export.

On her part, the minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Aniete, said the ministry was putting in place policies and mechanisms that would facilitate and enhance trade, while also removing all the bottlenecks hampering trade and investment.

She further stated that the ministry had started rolling out the N50bn Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme through the Bank of Industry, targeting various economic players.

She added that a N150bn intervention through the FGN MSME and Manufacturing Sector Fund, providing low-interest loans that are pivotal for scaling businesses and spurring job creation would commence very soon.

“We are achieving this by facilitating a strong enabling environment for businesses to thrive, developing robust policies and reforms, increasing access to financing, widening access to global markets, driving investments, and creating job opportunities, all in line with the vision of Mr President.

“In 2024 we are focused on improving infrastructural capacity such as power and transport, as well as soft infrastructure such as transparent regulation, policy consistency, the rule of law, and a culture of efficient collaboration and synergy among various government agencies and offices. We believe this will facilitate an environment where business operations are not hindered by red tape but can continue to thrive.


Also speaking, the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Nonye Ayeni, explained that the project expected to last for three years would enhance the quality and standard of sesame and cowpea through the institution of good Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary conducts.

She disclosed that in 2022, the worldwide value of sesame exports and its value chain amounted to $7.35bn, projected to surge to $9.27bn by 2032. Similarly, cowpeas were valued at $7.2bn in 2023, with an anticipated rise to $9.43bn by 2028.

“This project, STDF 845, will therefore enhance the quality and standard of sesame and cowpea through the institution of good Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary conducts, Good Agricultural and Warehousing Practices, packaging/labelling and excellent storage systems. All these are expected to forestall frequent contract cancellations and loss of business opportunities while allowing a significant increase in global acceptance of the items and for better quality of these products consumed locally.

“This project is designed to last for three years to enhance the integrity of the cowpea and Sesame value chain from Nigeria. Therefore, the focus lies on improved practices that will enable Nigerian stakeholders to comply with Maximum Residue Levels of selected pesticides used in Cowpeas and Sesame and Microbiological contamination with Salmonella (Sesame). Overall, it will improve the regulatory and control system as well as farming and processing practices applied for Cowpea and Sesame,” she concluded.
https://punchng.com/nigerias-agric-exports-facing-rejections-overseas-wto-dg/

12 Likes 1 Share

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by Namaster: 7:48am On Mar 16
No shiiit!

The quality of agricultural products in Nigeria is ABYSMAL!

Tomatoes have more bruises than a woman that is married to a wife-beater. Bags of beans are really just bags of weevils with little beans sprinkled in there.

It's so bad I once bought a tuber of yam with not 1 but 2 ANTHILLS in it.

Farmers and food sellers get away with selling shiiit to people because there is no one to stop them. Now, they are trying to export produce filled with insecticides.

104 Likes 6 Shares

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by Racoon(m): 7:58am On Mar 16
Not good for Nigeria. We are not yet self sufficient in food production as there is still a high prevalence of food insecurity and inflation.

24 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by Gentino(m): 8:11am On Mar 16
Nothing in Nigeria is standard or standardized 🥺🥺🥺. I think the most useless government agency is the moribund and dysfunctional "standard organization of Nigeria". No measure, litre or metre in Nigeria today is standard. Go and weigh 50kg of rice and you will discover that the rice is much less than 50kg.

59 Likes 4 Shares

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by obiekunie01: 8:17am On Mar 16
why them no go reject our agro produce?

when government just fold hand dey allow excessive use of dangerous chemicals on farms!

Chemicals that even chinko people wey dey produce am doesn't use it in their own country!

now farmer cant even weed their farms like we use to do before - they will rather pour chemicals everywhere!

you buy water Mellon it tastes like rubbish bc of chemicals, you buy yams that ordinarily stays a year without spoiling - now just 3 months of storage the yams don cook themselves. almost all our farm produce is now totally messed up!

81 Likes 4 Shares

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by insidelife22(m): 8:19am On Mar 16
Naija my country.
What a Bulaba.

19 Likes 1 Share

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by inoki247: 8:25am On Mar 16
Lol exporting Beans on Snipper....

18 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by JASONjnr(m): 8:25am On Mar 16
One of the things I feel Nigeria is making things to be hard for it's citizens is in the boarders. As big and as blessed as Nigeria is, with seas cutting across different states.... We chose to have one functional seaport.


The last time I tried to export and item. I was paying just too much from when I import goods. Importation fees are cheaper compared to exportation charges.


That is why, people in western countries can easily do international trading and become rish while Nigerian youths will be discouraged with fat charges.

15 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by Northernblood8(m): 8:38am On Mar 16
This is a good news to Nigerians. Na who chop belle full the sell. It is foolishness to starve when you have food

1 Like

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by Ebukamatth(m): 8:39am On Mar 16
.
Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by CrossRhodes: 8:39am On Mar 16
obiekunie01:
why them no go reject our agro produce?

when government just fold hand dey allow excessive use of dangerous chemicals on farms!

Chemicals that even chinko people wey dey produce am doesn't use it in their own country!

now farmer cant even weed their farms like we use to do before - they will rather pour chemicals everywhere!

you buy water Mellon it tastes like rubbish bc of chemicals, you buy yams that ordinarily stays a year without spoiling - now just 3 months of storage the yams don cook themselves. almost all our farm produce is now totally messed up!
Carrot is worse....
Before 24 hours it becomes shrivelled like a sack of balls

18 Likes 2 Shares

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by bigdammyj: 8:39am On Mar 16
Noted.
Nigeria progress will start when Nigerians (Leaders & Followers) see humanity as priority of existence.

7 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by atiku4President(m): 8:40am On Mar 16
Namaster:
No shiiit!

The quality of agricultural products in Nigeria is ABYSMAL!

Tomatoes have more bruises than a woman that is married to a wife-beater. Bags of beans are really just bags of weevils with little beans sprinkled in there.

It's so bad I once bought a tuber of yam with not 1 but 2 ANTHILLS in it.

Farmers and food sellers get away with selling shiiit to people because there is no one to stop them. Now, they are trying to export produce filled with insecticides.


.... Tomatoes have more bruises than a woman that is married to a wife-beater"
It's okay, it's okay, honourable minister off the mic

16 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by fasho01(m): 8:40am On Mar 16
True.. Our agricultural products do not even meet the sanitary and phytosanitary requirements of local consumption let alone the foreign markets.

6 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by Btruth: 8:41am On Mar 16
Wahala pro Max 🤔
Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by magoo10(m): 8:41am On Mar 16
Watch how they will insult her ,call her ipob and Obidient.

4 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by gameova(m): 8:43am On Mar 16
This woman is a blessing to our generation

2 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by fredsamuel1: 8:44am On Mar 16
What's there to be surprised about. Abi farmers plant different crop to be exported and another to be consumed locally. Na the same abeg, the things we tolerate here can't be tolerated outside here.

5 Likes 1 Share

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by wink2015(m): 8:46am On Mar 16
Racoon:
Not good for Nigeria. We are not yet self sufficient in food production as there is still a high prevalence of food insecurity and inflation.

You have hit the nail on the head.

You said it correctly.

The european people know that there is hunger in Nigeria.

Their silence policy is that go and feed your hunger people.

I think there is too much attention being paid towards crude oil and gas.

2 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by LillyandDaisy: 8:47am On Mar 16
Namaster:
No shiiit!

The quality of agricultural products in Nigeria is ABYSMAL!

Tomatoes have more bruises than a woman that is married to a wife-beater. Bags of beans are really just bags of weevils with little beans sprinkled in there.

It's so bad I once bought a tuber of yam with not 1 but 2 ANTHILLS in it.

Farmers and food sellers get away with selling shiiit to people because there is no one to stop them. Now, they are trying to export produce filled with insecticides.


When last did you plant something?

3 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by Stevenbright(m): 8:49am On Mar 16
Do we even have a enough to export some. Please they should continue rejecting them because we need them more here!

1 Like

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by sureinfo: 8:49am On Mar 16
Omoh, there's a lot we need to do in this country o.

1 Like

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by toyosiolamide(m): 9:00am On Mar 16
Arobaga:
Good one make them reject everything Nigeria






A cocaine sniffer can’t force himself on us and expect the international community to accept him




Thunder scatter Tinubu

Just read....

2 Likes 1 Share

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by tefishy(m): 9:02am On Mar 16
Since Oil boom, Nigeria politicians turned blind eye to other sectors. The most pathetic of all is the reduced funding in education in the area of Research. When we don't advance our research in agriculture, how can we meet the standard requirements for agric exports?

Instead na soso make billions dey miss everyday for the country. Rubbish!!

5 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by wizelink(m): 9:04am On Mar 16
No export nowooh. Self-sufficiency first make hunger no kill us here. When we are self sufficient and have terminated extreme hunger and poverty, then we can think of export. That's how it should go.

1 Like

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by yesloaded: 9:05am On Mar 16
Excessive chemicals

3 Likes

Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by id4sho(m): 9:06am On Mar 16
Wahala
Re: Nigeria’s Agric Exports Facing Rejections Overseas – WTO DG, Okonjo Iweala by Bizibi(m): 9:07am On Mar 16
Nigeria matter ehhh

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