FG Partners IITA to Train Farmers on Yam Export Business

By Dipo Olowookere

A partnership has been entered into by the Federal Government and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to help Nigerian farmers have knowledge of how best to succeed in the yam export business.

It was gathered that the IITA, as part of its obligation in the deal, will provide improved yam seedlings to the farmers.

Chairman of the Technical Committee on Nigeria Yam Export Programme, Prof Simon Irtwange, said farmers would be trained on the best practices to enable their yams attract the international patronage.

The committee, a private sector led, has representatives from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) as its members.

Other members of the committee include the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), NEPC, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC, among others.

Prof Irtwange, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, stated that training would help sensitise farmers on the use of pesticides as well as other requirements for the produce.

According to him, “The first requirement for any intending yam exporter is to get your exporters registration certificate from the Nigeria Export Promotion Council, then you come to the technical committee and we show you what to do.

“What we are trying to have is a Nigerian yam pack house in Lagos and all regulatory agencies will be there to certify the produce.

“The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) will be there to make sure that it is truly yams that are in the cartons, SON will be there to make sure that the yams are exportable varieties and conform to standard weighing about 2kg with a net weight of 20kg per carton.

“The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) will also be there to make sure we do not export diseases to other countries.”

He stated further that, “The committee is supposed to provide technical guidance for anybody who wants to go into yam export.

“The exporter must be conversant with the standards for yam export and it the job of the committee to take exporters through the standards so that they will know what the requirements are.

“The committee will also make sure that farmers under the Yam Farmers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, are trained on farming, processing and marketing.

“IITA has told us that seedlings will be made available and we want to promote businesses around the yam seedlings value chain.”