Nigeria had relinquished its leading position in the agriculture export market because a lot of its agricultural commodities do not meet the sanitary and phytosanitary measures required for exportation, reports the World Trade Organisation, on march 12 2024. 1.2 million dollars will be used to fund the non-oil exports. This was during the launching ceremony of the trade development facility for Nigeria . It also pointed out that 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 Federal Government of Nigeria is set to inaugurate the Standard Trade Development Facility (STDF), an initiative supported by the World Trade Organization (WTO), designed to enhance market access for Nigerian agricultural products in the European Union. This project is designed to enhance market access for Nigerian agricultural products in the European Union.
“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 unreleased, due to a variety of barriers.”
Nkozi Okonjo, Director General, World Trade Organisation – Nigeria
The project which will be implemented with $1.2 million funding meant to improve the country’s non-oil export.To tackle the challenges, the WTO is 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.
“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.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.”
Nonye Ayeni, Executive Director, NEPC – Nigeria
The Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Nonye Ayeni,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.
