Exploiting Nigeria’s vegetable for improved exportation

By Onome Amuge 

Vegetables are considered one of the major consumable products globally in everyday diet, buoyed by the rich source of nutrients such as protein, minerals,vitamins and fibre. The increasing vegan population demanding fresh vegetables for consumption,rising health concerns and increasing awareness about the benefits of fresh and healthy products among people in developing and developed countries have also played  major roles in driving  the market over the last few years.

The global fresh vegetables market size was valued at  $632.54 billion in 2021 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.8 per cent from 2022 to 2028, according to market research and consulting company, Grand View Research.

Despite the growing demand of vegetables in the global market and its huge potential to provide significant revenue via its value chain, vegetable production in Nigeria is dominated by smallholder farmers who make up over 70 per cent of producers in the country.  The farmers,in many cases, produce limited quantities of the crop, given that vegetables are perishable commodities and they do not have the relevant technology of preserving their harvests.

As a result, Nigeria’s vegetable sector is unable to compete favourably with Vietnam,Thailand,China,the U.S,Turkey, among others.

According to Wester Schepers, the senior Project manager of COLEACP, an international not-for-profit association that supports development of sustainable agriculture, Nigeria’s vegetable export is smaller compared to other ECOWAS countries.

Data from the Agricultural Fresh Produce Growers and Exporters Association of Nigeria (AFPGEAN) also showed that Nigeria loses between 55 per cent and 72 per cent of its cultivated fresh produce (fruits and vegetables) before it can be consumed, much less exported.

Speaking during the launch of fit for market (FFM+) programme in Lagos,he noted that at 2019,  Niger and Côte’Ivoire  exported most fresh fruits and vegetables from the sub-region.

“Niger exports 21 per cent, Côte’Ivoire 21 per cent, Ghana17 per cent,Senegal 16 per cent, Burkina Faso nine per cent, Mali five per cent, Togo five per cent and  Nigeria three per cent,” he said.

Schepers  further noted that a very small share of the volume of fruits and vegetables produced is exported from Nigeria. He listed major markets where Nigeria can export its vegetables at significant rates to include; Netherlands,Spain , the United Kingdom and Germany.

The International Trade Centre (ITC), in a recent report, disclosed that Nigeria’s export of edible vegetables remains vastly unexploited, noting that unlike other agricultural exports such as cocoa, rubber, cashew, sesame and other agro-commodities which have been exported for decades, the Nigerian vegetable export market is  yet to achieve relevant penetration in the world market.

According to the ITC, edible vegetables, tuber and roots exports from Nigeria constitute only three per cent of global imports, making sensitization of fruit and vegetable farmers on how to cultivate, package and store their produce for exports a matter of urgency to prevent worse results.

Following rising demands of fruits and vegetables in the European market,the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), a governmental agency committed to boosting trade relations between Italian companies and other countries, said Nigerian exporters have opportunities to penetrate the European market with vegetables and other perishables if the right measures are being implemented.

During the launch of the E-Lab Innova training, an educational training programme for the Nigerian agri-food sector facilitated by ITA, Enrico Turino,  International and Comparative Education (ICE) Faculty Trainer, noted that the European market is demanding for more fruits and vegetables. He however warned that If farmers don’t produce the right variety of  vegetable, they cannot enter the market.

According to him, farmers need to be well informed of developments in supermarkets and wholesale markets, as well as technology producers in Europe, especially Italy as this source of information is important for the Nigerian vegetable producers. He also urged producers and exporters to get in touch with importers in Europe in order to have clear information about what they need, type and variety of produce.

On his part, Akin Sawyerr, executive secretary, Agricultural Fresh Produce Growers and Exporters Association of Nigeria, attributed  lack of adequate preservation facilities for the country’s low vegetable export. Sawyerr pointed out that In order to preserve vegetable lifespan, they require refrigerated conditions soon after harvest but in Nigeria, very little is done in the way of processing and preserving them.

“There is no storage in refrigerated conditions due to inconsistent power supply and the inefficient transportation system makes speedy movement of fruits and vegetables from farms to supermarkets, airports and seaports, difficult,” he added.

Sawyerr noted that Just as Malaysia took lessons on how to develop its oil palm sector decades ago, there is also no harm in soliciting the help of countries who have made substantial achievements such as Kenya, in strengthening Nigeria’s fruit, and vegetable market.

He also enjoined financial institutions to provide loans to finance farmers’ acquisition of postharvest technologies, using anchor buyers’ sourcing commitments as collateral.

According to him, Nigeria runs the risk of losing the market to upcoming competitors such as Tanzania if  drastic measures are not taken towards improving the vegetable sector.

Michael Omodara, principal research officer, Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), Ilorin, said challenges such as poor packaging and insufficient information on export requirements have hindered efficient processing and supply of vegetables. He harped on the implementation of international food standards, codes of practice, guidelines and recommendations developed by the Codes Alimentarius Commission (CAC) to ensure fair practices and acceptance in the global food trade.

Abdullhameed Aliyu, managing director of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) recommended the urgent need to tackle the ineffective supply chain mechanism and transport system, through the creation of commodity routes that link states and have minimal interference. This, he said, would drastically result in an improvement in the vegetable export sector.