Facilitating Smallholder Farmers’ Market Access
In the OIC Member Countries
43
warehouse receipt systems and credit reference bureaus were still largely absent as of
2012.
FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY
To meet the main food safety and quality challenges facing Nigeria, actions are needed on
multiple fronts. They include improved awareness and understanding of food safety
hazards among producers and consumers, increased adoption of GAP by producers,
increased adoption of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) by processors, improved
infrastructure and better coordination among actors in food value chains, a consistent
policy and regulatory framework, and greater capacity for food safety regulators to
operate.
Common food safety concerns in Nigeria include the presence of bacterial contaminants,
fungal toxins, pesticides, toxic metals (sometimes arising from soil contamination), and
food additives such as artificial sweeteners, butylated hydroxyl anisole (BHA), nitrates,
nitrites, and food coloring, among others. 90 One way of looking at the quality of a country’s
domestic food systems is to look at how well its exported food products meet import
standards. Rejection rates are relatively high for several categories of products exported
by Nigeria, including fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds exported to the EU and fish, fishery
products, fruit, and vegetables exported to the USA. In the EU market, Nigeria was a clear
under-performer, with a rejection rate that was relatively high in relation to its share of
imports. Between 2002 and 2008, the most common causes for the rejection of Nigerian
food and feed products by the EU were mycotoxin contamination, unauthorized additives,
microbiological contaminants, substandard product composition, heavy metals, and
foreign bodies. Of the 164 rejections recorded, 54 percent were due to mycotoxins.91
Nigeria has also had high relative rejection rates for nut and seed exports to the USA,
although it is a small exporter. These statistics highlight the increasing emphasis that
buyers place on food safety and quality as value chains modernize, and the urgent need for
smallholder farmers to learn about and follow GAP. Failure is very likely to pose high risks
for consumers and exclude smallholders from attractive market opportunities.
Lessons for OIC countries
Widespread problems of low yields, high fertilizer costs, poor transport, and insufficient
agricultural R&D must be addressed for smallholder farmers to improve their access to
markets, especially in light of Nigeria’s agenda to reduce the nation’s dependence on
imports and develop more competitive exports. Traders will pursue opportunities to
engage with smallholder farmers who succeed in forming stronger cooperatives and
organizations to aggregate their products and purchase inputs and services. Stronger
producer organizations could also help with the dissemination of inputs, technology, and
training programs to improve productivity. In cocoa value chains in particular, as demand
grows for certification and traceability, it is essential to strengthen farmer organizations
90 Omokojun (2013).
91 UNIDO, NORAD, and IDS (2010:29).