Growing Yams for Export

[MustyJ]

When growing yams for export consider this as featured in this news report:


The Coordinating Dire[/code]ctor of Nigeria Agriculture Quarantine Services (NAQS), Dr. Vincent Isegbe said through the guidelines the farmers would know the requirements they would meet to be able to export yams.

”We do the certification and we do what is called backward integration to let the farmers know that if your commodity is intended for export to a particular country, this is their requirements,” Dr Isegbe stated.

He said the certification process would range from the sizes, species, weight and free from all forms of infections.

“The yam should be of uniform size, it should not have a growth on the head, it will be cut and waxed with candle to prevent infection, the yam should not have any nematode infestation…It should be of uniform specie, put in the carton in a particular way, it should be properly labelled and weighed, and if it is going to a particular country, the import condition for that yam will be stated, if it is going to be fumigated, the chemical for fumigation will be stated, so we will comply with the request of the importing country to ensure that those things are put in place before exporting,” the Coordinating Director explained.

He said one of the conditions for the certification process would include the inspection of farms, as the agency wants to be able to trace each tuber of yam to the farm.

“We will be able to trace that this tuber in a particular consignment came from a particular farm, if it has any issue in the importing country and they informed us, we will be able to trace the yam to the farmer and the farmer”

Concerning educating and enlightening farmers and intending exporters, Dr, Isegbe said the Agency was educating farmers and exporters on what they are supposed to do, so that they don’t bring the yam at the point of export and it will be rejected.

He said the Agency had jingles to tell farmers where the locations of their offices are for enquiries.

The agency has five zonal offices, 56 stations and is still expanding across Nigeria.

Certified Yams
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Mr. Audu Ogbeh recently announced that Nigeria would officially export its first consignment of certified yams to the UK and U.S. by the end of June.

He said the yam export was part of the Government’s efforts to put Nigeria back in the map of agriculture export market.

The Minister added that Government has empowered the Nigerian Agriculture Quarantine Services NAQS , to make it more responsive to issues of safety and phyto-sanitary standards in food exports.

The NAQS reports will become acceptable globally and this will forestall the national embarrassment arising from the rejections of food exports on account of quality deficiency.

https://von.gov.ng/nigeria-gets-guideline-yam-export/

[bonama]

men, we need like a product marketing board to handle all these things large scale. But one could study the requirements for a particular country, like say, China, and apply for a loan, go to the market and carefully select the yams, process them and export. Yams abroad cost so much and Ghanaians are riding the export market like kings

[MustyJ]

You are correct the Ghanaian have taken the initiative since the days of Bill Clintons AGOA (Africa Growth Opportunities Act). I am afraid Nigeria is yet to take advantage of this fully. I am certain that a VAST majority of farmers have no idea what AGOA is not to talk of how to benefit. Me ma, I have little idea what exports are allowed under AGOA.

[Yunan]

The Nigeria Export promotion council has a document on the products under agoa. but there are challenges and if these ones are not tackled agoa will not go anywhere. the export promotion council has listed some of them as;
i. Sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) requirements;
ii. Restrictive rules of origin;
iii. Product Specific Standards
iv. Expiration of third-country fabric rule in 2012;
v. Weak productive capacity of most African Countries;
vi. Lack of regional value chain
vii. Weak competitiveness as well as a result of weak infrastructure
development.
viii. Uncertainty about the future of AGOA
http://www.nepc.gov.ng/images/AGOA.pdf

i dont know what the agencies are doing to tackle them, but they are important issues espicially number 6, ie the value chain. so just shipping yams to the UK is not as good as setting a company to grate, grind the yam to powder as refined or semi refined products.

[bonama]

Yunan, it looks like government is serious about this export stuff. See

Nigeria targets $8 billion forex earning annually from yam export

The Federal Government says it is targeting about $8 billion as annual foreign exchange from the exportation of yams to other countries if its yam export programme succeeds.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, said this when he received the Technical Committee on Nigeria Yam Export Programme in Abuja on Thursday.

Mr. Ogbeh said the programme to be flagged off on June 29, would enable the country earn foreign exchange from agricultural produce in order to substitute the oil and gas sector.

According to him, Ghana is exporting yams but Nigeria is not, yet Nigeria accounts for 61 per cent of the world yam production.

“This programme has to succeed; we must sell whatever we produce to the world because we are buying too much. We allowed ourselves to be deceived.

“I saw the figures of Ghana’s earning from yam export and their targets for the future and it was quite impressive.

“If Ghana can aim at a few billion dollars a year from yams, there is no reason why Nigeria cannot quadruple that.

“I want this committee to begin to engage team of engineers anywhere in the world. Can we design a plough that can make the yam heap?

“We have to mechanise heap making otherwise, in the next five years, because of our aging farmers, you will find out that we do not have yams again and we will get into fresh troubles,” he said.

Simon Irtwange, the Chairman of the committee, said that the committee was working with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, to train farmers and also improve some yam varieties.

The chairman said the committee had prepared a four-year action plan for the yam value chain programme in the country.

He solicited for better funding for the committee, which was private sector led, to commence the programme.

“We have standards that we are following and they have to do with pytho-sanitary requirements to meet international standards.

“We have combined the standards of Ghana and Nigeria to make sure our yams are not rejected at the international markets,” he said.

Elizabeth Nwankwo, a yam exporter, representing Oklan Best Limited, listed some challenges experienced by exporters to include inadequate transportation and lack of quality seedlings.

She explained that inadequate storage facilities also contributed to the rejection of the country’s agricultural produce at the international markets.

Ms. Nwankwo expressed optimism that there would be zero rejection of the country’s agricultural produce, if the challenges were tackled.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the committee was inaugurated in February to facilitate the acquisition of warehouses at the receiving destinations, address markets in Europe and Canada.

It will also sensitise farmers and exporters on required international standards of yam before exportation.

The committee is made up of representatives from the Nigerian Customs Service, Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), among others.

(NAN)

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more ... xport.html

I like the idea of mechanising yam farming. It is TOO labour intensive for my liking

[bonama]

You are correct the Ghanaian have taken the initiative since the days of Bill Clintons AGOA (Africa Growth Opportunities Act). I am afraid Nigeria is yet to take advantage of this fully. I am certain that a VAST majority of farmers have no idea what AGOA is not to talk of how to benefit. Me ma, I have little idea what exports are allowed under AGOA.

The minister has confirmed your statement about Ghana

[MustyJ]

Ah no tell you?

[bonama]

Looks like the preparation of the flag off of export of yams in lagos on Thursday is in top gear.

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