Post by Trade facilitator on Sept 6, 2013 0:43:51 GMT 1
AS part of efforts to enhance the exportation of sheanut, butter and sesame seeds from Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC), has started training traders, exporters and standards enforcement officers on the need to improve on performances and production base.
The Director-General (DG) of NAFDAC, Paul Orhii, on Monday, at the kick-off of the training stated that what prompted the training is the need to provide the opportunity to benefit from all collaborating institutions and better position the agency to carry out its responsibilities, especially as it relates to quality monitoring of food and other regulated products.
With the theme of the seminar; Robust System for Safer Products and Exports, the training, under the auspices of World Trade Organisatiuon (WTO)- Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) project 172 in collaboration with Nigeria, to improve Sanitary and PhytoSanitary (SPS) capacity for private and public sector.
The training faculty is robust comprising of seasoned technocrats from the regulatory bodies in the relevant operators from the private sector including producers, traders and trading partners especially representatives of European Union.
“The training is specifically designed for traders, exporters and standards enforcement officers in the field of food and agricultural produce especially oil seeds commodities such as sesame seeds and sheanut/butter, to afford the agency to contribute its quota to the transformation agenda of the president in the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy”, he noted.
With the advent of globalisation and the need to expand non-oil agricultural based trade, it is of paramount importance that the benefits of international collaboration and cooperation are harnessed.
While gearing up to increase the production rate, the DG noted that there is the need for international collaborative networks, sharing and exchanging information, at the same time building confidence in the regulatory system to improve production.
“The capacity building is top priority to the agency through human resource capacity development, upgrade of our laboratories and continuous training of officers to strengthen our regulatory capacity. So, on this project, our focus shall not wander nor our support wane neither would our commitment falter until trade and export in sesame seed, sheanut/butter and other products from Nigeria is the most preferred all over the world in terms of quality and safety”, he noted.
Orhii noted that while the mandate of NAFDAC to regulate the operations in the production of sesame seeds and sheanut butter, there is the need to pronounce on the quality and safety of such products after laboratory testing, certifying the products for marketing locally and abroad.
Meanwhile, speaking on the overview and challenges of the project, the project coordinator, Omowunmi Osibo, noted that the outcomes of the projects intervention in terms of improved production process, developed system and plans formed the core content of this training’s presentations.
According to her, “This is so designed in order for the stakeholders to take ownership of the processes, system and plans, which prompted the collaboration of agricultural field officers who will subsequently be interacting with preoducers on the field”.
With 65 per cent sponsorship from NAFDAC and 35 per cent from WTO-STDF, the project according to Osibo, needs the attention of the government in terms of implementing certain aspect, such as shelter, funding and workers logistics, adding that Nigeria needs to be enjoying the benefits from sheanut, butter and sesame seeds, which is one of the major stakeholders.
Source: www.ngrguardiannews.com/science/131236-nafdac-wto-stdf-partner-to-train-stakeholders-on-sheanut-butter-sesame-seeds-exportation-
The Director-General (DG) of NAFDAC, Paul Orhii, on Monday, at the kick-off of the training stated that what prompted the training is the need to provide the opportunity to benefit from all collaborating institutions and better position the agency to carry out its responsibilities, especially as it relates to quality monitoring of food and other regulated products.
With the theme of the seminar; Robust System for Safer Products and Exports, the training, under the auspices of World Trade Organisatiuon (WTO)- Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) project 172 in collaboration with Nigeria, to improve Sanitary and PhytoSanitary (SPS) capacity for private and public sector.
The training faculty is robust comprising of seasoned technocrats from the regulatory bodies in the relevant operators from the private sector including producers, traders and trading partners especially representatives of European Union.
“The training is specifically designed for traders, exporters and standards enforcement officers in the field of food and agricultural produce especially oil seeds commodities such as sesame seeds and sheanut/butter, to afford the agency to contribute its quota to the transformation agenda of the president in the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy”, he noted.
With the advent of globalisation and the need to expand non-oil agricultural based trade, it is of paramount importance that the benefits of international collaboration and cooperation are harnessed.
While gearing up to increase the production rate, the DG noted that there is the need for international collaborative networks, sharing and exchanging information, at the same time building confidence in the regulatory system to improve production.
“The capacity building is top priority to the agency through human resource capacity development, upgrade of our laboratories and continuous training of officers to strengthen our regulatory capacity. So, on this project, our focus shall not wander nor our support wane neither would our commitment falter until trade and export in sesame seed, sheanut/butter and other products from Nigeria is the most preferred all over the world in terms of quality and safety”, he noted.
Orhii noted that while the mandate of NAFDAC to regulate the operations in the production of sesame seeds and sheanut butter, there is the need to pronounce on the quality and safety of such products after laboratory testing, certifying the products for marketing locally and abroad.
Meanwhile, speaking on the overview and challenges of the project, the project coordinator, Omowunmi Osibo, noted that the outcomes of the projects intervention in terms of improved production process, developed system and plans formed the core content of this training’s presentations.
According to her, “This is so designed in order for the stakeholders to take ownership of the processes, system and plans, which prompted the collaboration of agricultural field officers who will subsequently be interacting with preoducers on the field”.
With 65 per cent sponsorship from NAFDAC and 35 per cent from WTO-STDF, the project according to Osibo, needs the attention of the government in terms of implementing certain aspect, such as shelter, funding and workers logistics, adding that Nigeria needs to be enjoying the benefits from sheanut, butter and sesame seeds, which is one of the major stakeholders.
Source: www.ngrguardiannews.com/science/131236-nafdac-wto-stdf-partner-to-train-stakeholders-on-sheanut-butter-sesame-seeds-exportation-
