Organic Food Export: NEPC Targets $200m From Exporting 7 Commodities

Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has projected to generate $200 million from the export of seven priority commodities in the next 10 years.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja when NEPC signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Tak Integrated Agriculture Solutions Limited and NICERT Limited on organic farming, the Executive Director of NEPC, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, said Nigeria is targeting to ramp up foreign exchange earnings from the export of organic Ginger, Turmeric, Sesame Seed, Hibiscus Flower, Tiger Nut, Moringa Oleifera and Cashew.

Awolowo said organic food and drinks export is worth $97 billion globally and there is a need for Nigeria to grab its share.

He said the objective of the programme is to support the transition of Nigeria’s economy from an oil-based economy to that of a non-oil economy.

“The project is aimed at equipping farmers with requisite skills required for organic farming through capacity building under the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) initiative,” the NEPC boss said. The project which is a collaborative effort of the parties to the MoU, is targeted at 10, 000 hectares of land over a period of three years.