A non-oil export consultant, Godwin Okoh, has called for improvement on post-harvest handling technologies and seed quality to develop exportation of agricultural produce.
Okoh, who is also the Managing Director, Tech Consult and Investment Ltd., made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.
He said that the rejection of Nigeria’s agricultural produces at the international market had continuously revolved around content of unwanted agents.
Referring to the ban on some agricultural items from Nigeria by the European Union in 2015, he said there had been tremendous improvements in quality of our produces. Okoh said that cashew and sesame which had peelability and Free Fatty Acid (FFA) content respectively were among the crops mostly challenged.
“The challenge we have been facing is in the area of post-harvest handling, which we need to improve on as well as the seedling quality.
“For instance, if you look at the cashew and sesame seeds, our customers complain about the peelability and the content of Free Fatty Acid (FFA) in sesame seed.
“Now, most of our seedlings are very old and are not resistant to pests, so these are the areas we really need to improve, especially in providing hybrid seeds for tree crops.
“This will reduce investiture of those foreign agents that cause a lot of rejection in foreign markets. So, we need a technology that will help in post-harvest handling,’’ Okoh said.
He also said that after farmers had harvested their crops, they found it difficult to preserve in such a way that would retain the content of the produce before they were exported.
Okoh said that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which was introduced in May 2000 and was later reviewed for the third time from 2015 to 2025 had also contributed.
“The AGOA Act fortunately for Nigeria has been extended for another 10 years. This is according to African Trade Hub, a forum created to train exporters.
“Since then, there has been a tremendous improvement on our quality, especially the ones going to the European markets.
“With the ongoing training, we have recorded improvements, but, a lot still need to be done to sensitise farmers and exporters,’’ he said.
Okoh called for proper training of exporters to enhance and sustain quality development for a vibrant non-oil economy.
