Nigerian agro-allied products are worldwide marketable — SON

Faruok Salim, the Director-General/Chief Executive of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, has stated that Nigeria’s agro-allied products are marketable around the world, and that the organisation will not compromise its standards.

He stated that the organisation would step its efforts to educate producers of agro-allied goods across the country about rigorous adherence to SON standards in order to support the current administration’s economic diversification plan.

Talatu Ethan, Director Southwest, said the organisation is in the forefront of driving diversification into agricultural products as a means of generating revenue at a workshop titled, Standard Adherence: Catalyst for Trade, held in Osogbo on Thursday.

“Nigeria’s products have gained global acceptance, and the Federal Government and regulatory bodies are collaborating with stakeholders to ensure that whatever they produce meets the specifications of foreign countries.”

“The goal of this workshop is to raise awareness about the importance of standards in ensuring that manufacturers, producers, and processors meet the minimum requirements of the standards; we have standards for Garri, honey, dry and smoked fish, and so on.” Given the current administration’s emphasis on food security, the role of SON is to train, educate, and raise awareness about quality production among the agro-allied sector.

“Mandatory conformity assessment will prepare our local producers to produce products that meet the minimum requirements of the standards, allowing the product to compete with foreign products, and any manufacturers who deviate from it will be sanctioned; our duty is to encourage and support them in producing quality and safe products.”

Sulaiman Araokanmi, Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Osun State Chapter, termed the workshop as important in order to strengthen agro-allied producers across the country.