Nigeria Loses $3bn To Agric Inputs Counterfeiting Annually

Registrar/chief executive officer (CEO), Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), Prof. Eustace Iyayi, has said that the country loses over $3bn annually to low quality and agricultural input counterfeiting.

Prof. Iyayi stated this at a one-day workshop organised by the Institute in collaboration with Promex Multi-Services Nigeria Ltd, to combat day-old chick adulteration in the South-East, which held in Umuahia, Abia State capital.

He expressed optimism that with the introduction of farmsured technology, a regulatory instrument to combat the adulteration, the Institute was committed toward enhancing food security in the country.

In his keynote lecture titled; ‘Farmsured Technology: A regulatory instrument for checking day-old chick adulteration in Nigeria’, the CEO, Agdyna Ltd, Ayo Okediji, decried non-compliance with best agricultural practices in the country.

At the event, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Monica Ironkwe, assured that the Governor Alex Otti-led administration would collaborate with the Institute in repositioning animal husbandry in the state.

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Prof Ironkwe noted: “We will do things differently to ensure food security in the state. This administration is going to promote animal production as we all depend so much on it.”

She, therefore, commended the Institute for its commitment toward the growth and development of agriculture in the country, urging the participants to take the knowledge gained seriously.

Speaking also, the Head, Inspectorate and Compliance Department of the Institute, Olufemi Atunbi, said the use of technology to guarantee day-old chick protection and quality was long overdue.

In his remark, the representative of the Institute’s council, Prof. Kelvin Amaefula, said NIAS was driven by the need to improve animal production in the country, hence the need for the workshop.

Responding on behalf of the participants, Okere Ugochinyere thanked the Institute for organising the workshop, which she said was timely and important, assuring that they would put the knowledge acquired to practice.