Agriculture

Farmers in dilemma over EU’s ban on Nigerian beans

By Hussein Yahaya & Vincent A. Yusuf | Publish Date: Aug 13 2015 8:04AM… Stakeholders want NAQS strengthened to end further crises

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Farmers in dilemma over EU’s ban on Nigerian beans

Architect Sonny Echono, Parmanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture

Recently, the European Union (EU) suspended the export of some of the Nigerian agricultural products into the members’ countries.
The ban exposes the loopholes in our regulatory mechanisms and government’s failure to equip the relevant body certifying the nation’s agro products for exports amidst porous borders exploited by smugglers.

One of the rejected products that have been in the news in recent times is the nation’s dried brown beans suspended till June 30, 2016.
Information from the European Food Safety Authority says the beans contained unacceptable dichlorvos pesticide levels of 0.03mg per kilogramme to 4.6mg/kg. The European Union said the acceptable maximum residue limit is 0.01mg/kg.
Dichlorvos is considered to be highly toxic, which can cause difficulty in breathing, diarrhoea, vomiting, convulsions, and dizziness among others.
Daily Trust sought explanations from the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service- the body charged with the basic responsibility of certifying agricultural produce leaving and coming into the country as well as issuing the certificate for the export of farm produce.
Dr. Vincent Isegbe, the Coordinating Director, Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service told Daily Trust that the rejection of the beans is due to the activities of middlemen who sometimes apply high doses of pesticide when the products are prepared for export.
“The issue of indiscriminate use of pesticides is more by middlemen who buy and stock produce in warehouses in anticipation of export. Also, these people don’t know when the buyers will come. They may apply the chemicals today and tomorrow a buyer comes, they will just sell it; so whoever eats such beans at that time will definitely be in trouble,” he noted.
Dr. Isegbe lamented that there are many Nigerians who are engaged in illegal exports of agro produce, adding that most of the intercepted and rejected agricultural produce in USA, UK, and other countries, were not certified by the Nigerian Agricultural Service (NAQS).
“Some of the exporters even used fake NAQS Certificate. But what the exporters don’t know is that those countries will always call us to confirm; and we will always tell them the truth. That is why some of the produce are rejected, confiscated or destroyed,” he stressed.
According to the Director, NAQS has held several meetings with relevant agencies to adopt pragmatic solutions to ensure that what goes out or comes into the country in terms of farm produce meets global food safety standard.
To mitigate this problem, Nigerians Agricultural Quarantine Service must be repositioned to deal with the emerging thread to the nation’s agricultural economy.
Daily Trust investigations revealed that the agro-produce-certifying body even lacks legal status to prosecute defaulters who export produce without their certification, as the Bill for an Act which seeks to establish them as an agency has been awaiting Presidential Assent since 2010 despite the establishment of the agency in 2007.
With over 50 stations spread across the nation’s vast land and maritime boarders including air and seaports, it has less than 700 staff, which sources in the Ministry of Agriculture said makes it extremely difficult to control illegal import or export of farm produce without certification.
The current problem of Nigerian agricultural economy became worse when the former Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo Iweala ordered NAQS officials out of the seaports, which makes it difficult for the regulatory body to block uncertified agricultural produce coming to or going out of the country.
The Nigerian Custom Service cannot certify the quality of beans for exports just as NAFDAC cannot certify the quality of tomato, pepper, vegetables or beans that are prepared for exports.
Mr. Michael Adedeye, an importer based in the United Kingdom (UK) in a recent stakeholders meeting with relevant agencies said the major problem that led to the suspension of our beans by EU also deals with export certification.
Adedeye pointed out that all his products that were shipped from Nigeria accompanied electronic phytosanitary certificates issued by Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service were accepted by the EU.
Some of the farmers spoken to worry over the development, adding that it will drastically affect their incomes as glut looms. They appealed to the relevant body to expedite action to restore the confidence of the international community.
For Ibrahim Bello, an agric economist and a farmer along Abuja-Keffi Express Way, the strategic role of quarantining the imports or exports of agro produce is a matter of national security.
“Can Nigeria Custom Service or NAFDAC certify if imported horses, cows, and goats are disease free? Can they certify if grains or vegetables leaving the country meet international safety standard? Look at the embarrassment these things are causing the country. That is why the agricultural quarantine service is more important than all the revenue generating agencies. People should compare their duties to that of security forces,” Bello said.
In January 2013, European Union issued 50 notifications to Nigerian beans exporters over “high level of unauthorised pesticide.” That same year, UK rejected over 24 Nigerian agricultural produce because it were contaminated by aflatoxins and mycotoxin which do not meet their food safety standard.
This year (2015) alone, United Kingdom has issued 13 border rejection alerts to Nigerian beans exporters and the situation is getting worse by the day.