The Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), in conjunction with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), organized a sensitization workshop for farmers on how to store agricultural produce without the use of pesticides and chemicals.
The Trade Support Advisor, NEPC, Alhaji Yahaya Ahmad-Sukaraiju, while delivering his presentation tagged “Compliance to Food Safety Standards in Production and Storage of Safe and Healthy Dried Beans for Export,” noted that chemicals are dangerous to human health.
Pesticides are hazardous to the environment and dangerous to human health; they have been linked to having the potential to harm the nervous system, the reproductive system, and the endocrine system, causing cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, birth defects, etc.
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Ahmad-Sukaraiju assured the participant that they will no longer use chemicals to preserve their produce after the training, provided they put those storage options they are being taught to proper use.
Dr. Akin Olagbaju, an expert from NSPRI, noted during the sensitization workshop held in Sokoto that there are many ways that farmers and merchants can store beans and other crops without using any form of insecticide that is known to be harmful in nature.
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Olagbaju disclosed that the institute is working on research on how to best store vegetables and varieties of other crops for long-term use and exportation without chemicals, adding that the use of chemicals for storage is a major cause of several ailments, such as cancer.
Also at the program was DSC Faruk Umar of the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS), Sokoto branch, who called on exporters in the state to ensure they comply with all the registration processes, saying all the required documents needed for exportation can be obtained through the NEPC office in Sokoto state.
