Stakeholders and farmers converge at Tudun Wada, Nasarawa state, on October 16 for the National Agricultural Exhibition to develop a strategy and discuss how to increase value added and exports.
National Coordinator of the National Agricultural Fund (NAFN), Dr. Samuel Negedu, told reporters in Abuja that the discussion was aimed at raising awareness to ensure quality control of agricultural products in accordance with international standards.
According to him, the theme of the exhibition is “Strategies for promoting the export of agricultural products”.
“We have been exporting products for a long time, but now we are focusing on our agricultural products, because we expect that there must be some added value.
“We don’t want something to happen when Nigeria exports primary products and other countries, taking advantage and fame to add value, keep repeating; this is a concern.
“We are concerned that the government is promoting this process, but the average potential exporter of agricultural products does not even know the processes involved in adding value.
“We believe that if we have a workshop on this issue, this will allow the Nigerian Export Promotion Council to talk about guidelines for product exports, market development and quality control,” he said.
With regard to the preparation for the agricultural show, Negedu said that the event should be attended by states, schools and farmers' organizations, as well as women's and youth cooperatives.
He assured the participants that adequate security would be ensured at the show venue in order to ensure the event without a clutch.