It has become imperative that if Nigeria wants to become the number one exporter of agricultural produce and others items, concrete steps must be taken to address some of the challenges militating against the growth of Aviacargo export in Nigeria.
To address this problem, the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN inaugurated an Aviacargo Committee headed by the organiser of CHINET Aviacargo Conference and Akwaaba African Travel Market, Mr Ikechi Uko, with other notable personalities in the Aviacargo business in the country.
This was the fallout of the first edition of the conference organised in Lagos where a communique was issued that formed the basis for the establishment of the Aviacargo village near NAHCO bus-stop in Lagos which the Managing Director of FAAN, Mr Kabir Yusuf Mohammed laid the ground breaking foundation recently .
As a follow on this strive to make Nigeria the number in Aviacargo business in Africa, the third edition of the conference which held at Marriott Hotel Ikeja Lagos , gathered all the stakeholders to brainstorm on the theme: Unlocking logistics barrier to improve agro product exports.
With this, it has become absolutely necessary that all hands must be on deck to unlock the logistics barrier to improve agro product exports in the country so that all the challenges, certification and approvals needed to repositioning the business will be a thing of the past.
This is based on the premise that all the government agencies required for the approval, certification process, and packaging will be located in one place, the aviation cargo village for easy coordination.
With this development, all the confusion going on in NAHCO in the name of packaging will be totally eradicated and facilitation of cargo for export will become easy and seamless.
Speaking during the two days conference , the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Mr Kabir Muhammed Yusuf called for the partnership of the private sector to provide the necessary infrastructure that will make the Airports truly cargo facilitating airports.
Kabir Yusuf disclosed that the Directorate of Commercial and Business Development is ever-ready to facilitate this symbiotic relationship.
Kabir Yusuf who was represented by the Director of Public Affairs/Consumer Protection of FAAN, Abdullahi Yakubu Funtua expressed optimism that with proper partnership, it can leverage on the land mass available in its airports, and establish world-class cargo facilities to further enhance cargo facilitations.
FAAN MD stated further that the development will be driven through a public private partnership (PPP) model.
According to him: “Our fresh organic produce like cashew, avocado, exotic flowers, yams, etc must be well packaged, processed and certified to meet the destination standards. We have the capacity.
FAAN is highly committed to being a big player in this money spinning business.
Avia-cargo is a big business that combines speed and efficiency in delivery”.
In his presentation, the Director General of Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, whose paper was presented by Mr. Moshood Adebayo Shittu, Coordinator, Lagos State Office II, listed the challenges Associated with agricultural produce to include Poor Agricultural Practices Poor/Inappropriate Application of farm inputs, Poor handling of crops (Pre and Post harvest), Poor storage facilities Before now, lack of accredited laboratory for testing of products.
Others are non compliance to the requirements of relevant Standards, lack of necessary certification – dodging the necessary certification from the relevant agencies.
Mallam Salim gave reasons for the rejection of Agricultural Produce to include: Standards not available for agricultural produce, excessive application of pesticides Products, not meeting the requirement of Standards
Good Agricultural Practice, Proper site selection, Soil type, Soil Drainage Preparation, clearing the site of shrubs and stubble to prevent contamination and soil-borne diseases from dead plant material, weeds and other crops.
He observed that the need for
Consumers concerns on food safety and threat of contaminants to human health have caused tightening of regulations in the Country.
The DG noted that compliance to the requirements of relevant Standards and adherence to the recommendations stipulated in the codes of practice will ensure the production of quality Agricultural products.
He observed that the Standards specify the quality, packaging and labelling requirements and methods of sampling and testing of the commodities.
He maintained that the limits for Metallic Contaminants as well as the Maximum Residues Limits for Pesticides are prescribed in the standard codes which provides guideline for the cultivation, site management, soil requirements, planting, application of agro chemical – fertilizers, pesticide, storage and transportation as well as traceability and record keeping.
In his welcome address, Mr Ikechi Uko, the organiser of CHINET Aviacargo Conference in Lagos stated that CHINET over the past 2 years has succeeded in bringing together materials to help grow the economy by bringing together strange bedfellows.
Uko stated that CHINET Aviacargo Conference has strung together a patchwork of important Government Agencies and private sector experts to develop a roadmap for Aviacargo growth and has created a community for the growth of Aviacargo in Nigeria.
He said this is the beginning of building a strong economy through growth in Aviation and Cargo in Nigeria.
Uko noted that the Nigerian economy will grow better when goods are distributed faster within its borders and externally.
He stated further that the fallout of the 2022 Chinet Conference established the roadmap committee for Aviacargo in Nigeria.
He said CHINET has acted as the catalyst to integrate the Value Chain, stressing that the programme has built and is still building the architecture for a robust Aviacargo ecosystem for Nigeria.
In their presentation on the sub theme: The importance of Agro produce certification and standards for export, the Managing Director of Katchey Laboratories, Mrs Kate Isa noted that Africa’s young population is a major asset which calls for serious top level strategic and coordinated plans, to articulate policies and effectively harness resources to develop them for sustainable impact.
Mrs Isa who was represented by Mr Simon Idoko stated that Katchey is a wholly Nigerian-owned company incorporated in 1989 to provide premium quality laboratory products and excellent after sales support services to the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy with over 33 years’ industry experience.
Mrs Isa disclosed that Katchey Laboratories Limited is an ISO/EC 17025 ANAB accredited independent analytical laboratory complex offers molecular and genomic analysis as well as general analytical and certification services; from raw materials testing, through research & development, and product development phases, to finished products presented for quality assurance and certification before market release, enabling its customers to ensure the quality and safety of their products.
According to her, to become Africa’s number one independent analytical laboratory complex by partnering with global experts and chemical manufacturers to deliver world-class testing, Katchey provide reliable and quality results in a timely manner that will inspire confidence and encourage global trademark
Product certification.
Katchey’s precise and reliable testing solutions enable pharmaceutical, food and agribusiness producers and raw material suppliers in satisfying global regulatory standards and ensuring the highest food safety standards, Isa said.
She stated further that: “Our capacity to design and equip science laboratories have been extensively demonstrated by the numerous customers we have satisfactorily served across Nigeria. Some of our past successes include:
Partnering with NAFDAC under Prof. Dora Akunyili to transform their laboratories nationwide to world-class FDA accredited laboratory complexes.
In his presentation, Captain Kenneth Wemambu, Director of Operations
Omni-Blu Aviation explained that
Logistics can be a major barrier to exporting cargo products.
He stated that in order to improve export efficiency, it is important to:
Streamline transportation as Inefficient transportation can cause delays and increase
costs.
By streamlining transportation processes, exporters can reduce transit times, eliminate bottlenecks, and improve visibility in the movement of goods, optimize packaging as proper packaging is critical to ensuring that cargo products arrive at their destination intact, Wemambu said.
He advised exporters to consider using packaging that is durable, lightweight, and easy to handle.
He stated that in order to ensure compliance: Exporters must comply with various regulations and requirements
in order to export their products, adding that ensuring compliance with these regulations is critical to
avoiding delays and penalties.
Wemambu said by addressing these issues, exporters can unlock the logistics barrier and improve their ability to export cargo products efficiently and cost-effectively.
He gave others as developing relationships with local logistics providers as
Exporters who are looking to improve their logistics efficiency will consider developing relationships with local logistics providers.
Wemambu also suggested the need to consider intermodal transportation options, which involves using multiple modes of transportation, such as truck, rail and ship, to move cargo products from one location to another.
He said by utilizing intermodal
transportation options, exporters can take advantage of the strengths of each mode of transportation and create a more efficient and cost-effective supply chain.
The National Agency for Food, Drug, Administration and Control, NAFDAC in their presentation titled: How to improve process to increase export in Nigeria noted that it is important that stakeholder in export value chain collaborate with the agency to ensure that export trade meets the requirements of country trading partner in terms of quality, standards and quantity as the trade increase.
The Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye who was represented by Mrs Sanwoolu O.A, a Deputy Director, Export Division, Ports Inspection Directorate disclosed that all exported products that went through their export certification process have not been rejected.
Professor Adeyeye warned that exporters will face a lot of challenges exporting regulated product without recourse to NAFDAC processes.
She stated that rejection of NAFDAC regulated products at borders of importing countries can be for several reasons bordering on quality and standard due poor packaging, handling and non-compliance with regulatory processes by exporters.
She listed some of the other challenges that exporters face to include: exportation of regulated products,
non-adherence to standardized clearance procedure by stakeholders; Freight forwarders, Cargo handlers, Airlines/Carriers, Regulatory Agencies, poor inter-Agency collaboration amongst sister regulatory agencies, Inadequate knowledge of stakeholders on approved packaging and labelling requirements by stakeholders in the export corridor, Inadequate logistic at the export terminal.
Others include: Poor product quality due to non adherence to good practices such as Good Agricultural Practices, Good Hygiene Practice, Good Manufacturing Practice, Good Storage Practices, Good Distribution Practice, Inadequate information on the requirements from the country of trade. Poor packaging and labelling of products. Poor handling of product to maintain product integrity.
On strategies adopted by NAFDAC to boost/increase export, Adeyeye said the agency is processing all export certificates online through the Federal Government Single Window for Trade on https://trade.gov.ng within their set timeline, collaborating with relevant Sister Agencies (NEPC, CBN, NAQS Customs) in export industry to make exportation of regulated products easy and seamless.
Papers were also presented by Enugu Free Trade Zone, Asaba Airport, players from the leading insurance companies and the key players in the cargo business, Ibom Air, and other key players in the Aviacargo value chain in Nigeria.
The two days conference also featured various panel discussions on ways to improve cargo export, the challenges and expert opinions.
The conference featured award presentations to individuals, organisations, airlines that have made the difference in cargo export in the country, ranging from SAHCO PLC, to Dana Air, Ibom Air, Ethiopian Airlines, African World Airlines, FAAN, NAHCO Aviance, among others.
