The Nigerian Agribusiness Group (NABG) has encouraged farmers across the country to embrace standardization and grading of produce to boost market value and reduce rejection rates in local and international markets.
Speaking at a technical workshop on maize and ginger standard grading, which was the climax of three years of advocacy campaign in Abuja, President of NABG, Arch Kabir Ibrahim, emphasized the importance of standardization of grain size, appearance, and general quality to be able to access improved prices and market entry. Nigeria has experienced rejection of its produce due to lack of standardization. By guaranteeing consistency in what we are producing, our farmers will not only receive good prices in the domestic market but also be better able to reach international markets,” Ibrahim stated.
He emphasized agribusiness as a key driver of economic prosperity and urged small-scale and large-scale farmers to adopt best practice in production.
Nigeria has an important role to play in serving food to African nations, with sporadic trade routes between Nigeria and others like Ghana already well established, Ibrahim stated.
But he wished that the absence of formal trade structures has caused tremendous revenue losses.
“Nigeria’s penetration of agribusiness in Africa is phenomenal, but can be maximized through formalization. If we embrace grading standards, we can make our produce competitive, both regionally and internationally,” he said.
NABG Director-General Jafar Umar announced that the organization is transitioning in stages towards institutionalizing the grading systems starting with core crops like ginger and rice.
“If we establish standard grading of these core crops, it will serve as a reference point for others. It will make farmers able to penetrate into premium markets by connecting their production with the correct seed, fertilizer, and input standards,” Umar further added.
While it has increased its depth of penetration in the African market, Nigeria’s agribusiness is not without its challenges such as policy lapses, noncompliance, and limited access to information.
“If our products are compliant at the international level, their value will trickle down to smallholder farmers. We must reverse the direction of losses caused by low standards so that all players in the value chain benefit,” Umar said.
NABG Secretary-General Mrs Nwaneri Olubukola said partnerships with institutions like the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) are bridging the gaps through improved technical support and training of the smallholder farmers.
“A lot of knowledge on standardization exists but lies idle. We are ensuring that farmers understand that their operations are agribusiness and not subsistence farming. If they can understand grading, they can get better prices and access premium markets,” she elucidated.
While mechanization will perhaps remain an elusive dream in the foreseeable future, Ibrahim also emphasized that the farmers have to adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) regardless of whatever they are engaged in at present.
“Even with hand equipment, be thoughtful about quality. After mechanization increases, these techniques will come second nature, but farmers must start doing their best today,” she said.
Nigeria is a major global producer of ginger and maize, two highly demanded domestic and export commodities. However, poor grading and packaging have rendered them uncompetitive. NABG’s system aims to turn this around by enabling government agencies and commodity organizations to set reasonable prices according to graded standards.
Through partnerships with media outlets, NABG will increase awareness campaigns, and farmers nationwide will implement grading and standardization practices.
With these efforts, NABG wants to put Nigerian agribusiness on the world map as a power to be counted upon, unlocking wealth for farmers and making the country more economically resilient through agriculture.
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