From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Stakeholders in the agricultural sector have introduced policies to standardise and grade commodities according to the quality and quantity for purchase.
Director General of the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG), Jafar Umar, who spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, said the framework would regulate the pricing of agro produce and to ensure that consumers get value for their money.
Umar, also, said it was embarrassing that goods from Nigeria seldom get accepted in the international market because of low grading.
He said: “As most of you may be aware, Nigerian commodities struggle to perform effectively in the international market because a lot of our commodities are not standardised and graded, so they end up being rejected in these markets.
“Even within the domestic market, there is a mixture of standardised products and products that are not standardised, the consumer is forced to pick everything off the shelves as they are.
“So, we are introducing and supporting the development of this policy to ensure commodities being produced in Nigeria are graded and standardised so that the farmers, who produced these commodities receive fair value.
“This policy framework will allow fairness of product. Someone wants to buy high quality potatoes and he is based in Lagos, it would not be difficult because there is a standard and grading policy that he is buying high grade produce and the price is standardised. There is no room for fraud. It allows for fair value in the market.
“The framework provides that if you are going to get a grade A rice, you will start from the seed, fertilization inputs, the transportation and so on.”
Also, Senior Programme Officer, Agriculture, Bill Gates Foundation, (BMGF), Dr Audu Grema, envisaged global acceptability of Nigerian commodities and partnership between importers and exporters, following the policy formulation.
Grema said: “At the end of the validation workshop, we expect greater access to the standards of ratings, greater partnership with exporters and importers to standards and ratings as applicable to Nigeria and greater knowledge and awareness around adulteration and poor standards that can offend the system that had been set up.”
A consultant and Director General of Nigeria National Accreditation System and Project, Celestine Okanya, said with the deliberate move by the experts rejection of commodities from Nigeria would be a thing of the past.