The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has trained onion farmers and processors on modern ways of production, packaging and others strategies to enhance the export of the produce.
NEPC Executive Director, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, reiterated the council’s commitment during a workshop on the implementation of One-State One-Product (OSOP) value chain export development model on Wednesday in Sokoto.
Awolowo, represented by Mr Ahmed Yahaya, NEPC’s Trade Advisor and Head in Sokoto State, said the growing global market of onion was an opportunity that Nigeria had keyed into, with a lot of potential.
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“Onion became important in the global market as the global onions export in the 2019 grew to about 7.18 billion dollars from 6.03 billion dollars in 2018.
“Beside the increasing demands for onion, the sector is faced with challenges in Nigeria which include climate change, low yields and quality of packaging.
“Others are low processing, sharp practices, infrastructural deficiency and poor finance which has constrained exports, ” Awolowo said.
He stressed the importance of engaging in value chain practices with the right players in order to address the challenges to grow the export of the produce in Nigeria.
He noted NEPC was established for the promotion and development of non-oil export, with vision to making the world a market place for Nigerian non-oil goods and services.
He added that the council spearheaded the diversification of the Nigerian economy by expanding and increasing non-oil exports for sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
According to him, for decades Nigerian largely depends on oil exports for revenue earnings which affected nation’s budget during dwindling market.
He said the gap widened when COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
“We focus and key into President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision of raising people out of poverty and empowering them.
“The objectives of this training programme include encouraging the target beneficiaries to embrace agri-business development, as a viable business option and strengthening entrepreneurship skills of potential and existing beneficiaries of agri-business development schemes,’’ he said.
In his remark, Alhaji Aliyu Maitasamu-Isah, President, National Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NOPPMAN) commended NEPC for the efforts that would surely boost onion production.
Maitasamu-Isa called for increased production of onions so as to plug the deficit of 1.1 million tonnes in local demand in the country.
He said that the 1.4 million tonnes of onions currently being produced in the country annually were not enough to meet the demands of Nigerians, hence the call for increased production to meet the two million tonnes required for local consumption.
The president, however, said that more government’s support would be needed to achieve the target and to enable the massive exportation of the commodity to countries such as India which, he said, had high demand for it.
“The challenges we are facing are as a result of lack of good storage facilities, among others. If government can intervene to assist farmers to access inputs and facilities for production, while also helping them to improve on their storage facilities, then we can meet the demands.
“We are producing 1.4 tonnes, but what we need is 2.5 tonnes. Apart from that, we are still exporting. So, we need support and empowerment from government because we need to step up our production to meet the demands,” he said.
The Sokoto State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Alhaji Bashir Gidado, who was represented by Director of Commerce, Alhaji Sani Hamidu, promised the state government’s collaboration and support for the onion producers.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lectures lined up include ” Implementation of One-State One-Product (OSOP)“, “Export Development Model“ and “Role of Critical Stakeholders“.
Others are “Production Quality Onions for Exports“, “Export Logistics and Formalization of Cross Border Trade in Sokoto State“ and “Activities of Sokoto State Government on the Implementation of OSOP“.
Resource persons included NEPC’s Olu Ikulajolu, Dr Abubakar Abdullahi-Ngaski of the Usmanu Danfodio University Sokoto, Dr Kabir Dasuku, the Chief Executive of Duke Logistics and Consultants Limited and Alhaji Sani Hamidu of the Ministry of Commerce, Sokoto State.
