… as he x-rays challenges, proffers solutions
Coordinator, AviaCargo Road Map Committee, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, has reiterated that despite Nigeria being the largest producer of agricultural products on the African continent it still ranks low on export with annual loss of $1 billion occasioned by inability to certify the country’s agricultural produce to meet international standards.
Uko who said this at the just concluded second edition of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) FNAC held in Abuja x-rayed the challenges while raising hope with possible solutions to change the narrative.
In his presentation tagged, ‘Repositioning Cargo Operations Through Development of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Nigeria,’ he noted that in 2021 Nigeria took the second position among the five biggest African exporting nations; South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco in order of each country’s position as at the time.
The Coordinator further noted that Nigeria was known to be number one in several other things like; Economy by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Population and Agricultural Commodities. But currently he regrettably pointed out that Nigeria is fifth (5th) on the African AviaCargo, coming behind Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, and Ethiopia in the export chart.
He raised the following concerns; “DID YOU KNOW? 80 per cent of containers arriving Nigeria return empty. Out of every 10 containers that come into Nigeria laden with imports, only about one or three leave the country with exports.
“Nigeria is the largest producer of many Agro-products, yet it loses $1bn annually to non-certification of Agri-produce for export.”
Research, according to him, revealed that Nigeria and Niger account for almost 70 per cent of the total world production.
He reeled out obstacles to agricultural exports to include non-compliance of farmers to internationally and domestically accepted standards, lack of certification, inability to trace (Traceability) of exportable produce, lack of access to international markets, lack of knowledge on global requirements, bureaucracy (too many government agencies), and high cost
Also part of the obstacles Uko said are; preservation and packaging to global standard, poor logistics, insecurity, weakness of supervision, poor airport infrastructure, lack of government support, mindset/attitudes, lack of skilled manpower, taxes and charges as well as funding.
He pointed out that as part of move to reposition the nation’s AviaCargo, FAAN set up an AviaCargo roadmap committee to articulate action plans that meet international best practice and assign timelines for facilitation of cargo processing at our airports.
The committee is also meant to articulate mechanisms that will bridge the turn-around time in cargo facilitation, among other terms of reference.
As tips for improved AviaCargo export, Uko who is also the convener of Chinet, an annual AviaCargo conference, said all agricultural exports from Nigeria must start from a farm certified by the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS) or a global GAP registered farm through a secured cargo pathway.
The secure pathway for AviaCargo, according to him, involves a ‘Known Shipper, Regulated Agent, Handling Company and Airline.’
While the committee is yet to conclude its work, the Coordinator stressed that Nigeria is already a leader in most agricultural products, therefore “it should target improvement in agricultural practices, and it should invest in solving the huge logistic problems of agricultural products.
“It should enhance certification of farms and operators in the value chain. It must insist on traceability of all exportable produce and it must tackle the mayhem at the export cargo terminals.
“Must upgrade packaging of all exports. Incentivise the production of high value export crops, mitigate identified procedural and regulatory obstacles,” he urged.