On the 15th of May 2020, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof Adeyeye announced the commencement of the agency’s version of the Covid-19 palliative as directed by the Vice President of Nigeria. He announced a list of measures and changes put in place by NAFDAC to help cushion the effects of Covid-19 on economic activities in the country.
Some of these measures put in place by the commission include:
⦁ An eighty percent (80%) reduction in tariffs for the registration of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises with NAFDAC, scheduled to last for a period of three months.
⦁ An assisted E-registration through NAFDAC Automated Product Administration and Monitoring System (NAPAMS) at www.napams.org
⦁ Reduced requirements for registration of some food and cosmetic products.
⦁ Micro companies with similar products can now share facilities.
This is in line with the directive by the Federal Government to create an enabling environment for business owners to increase the ease of doing business in Nigeria. NAFDAC plays the role of regulating and controlling the manufacture, importation and exportation, sales, and distribution of food and drugs in Nigeria to ensure safety for consumption. This new development allows MSMEs, which are the bedrock of the economic activities in our country, to run their manufacturing and processing activities seamlessly.
More Entrepreneurs in Nigeria are jumping on this opportunity to start up new manufacturing and production enterprises. An increase in food processing in the country will mean more consumption of local agricultural produce. For years agricultural experts have condemned the low rate of food processing and manufacturing in Nigeria as having a negative impact on the sales and marketing of agricultural products. Nigeria’s high reliance on imported goods and even food items over the past years has left us with a very poorly performing agricultural sector. The demand for the locally produced farm imputes used to produce common foods, snacks, and beverages imported into the country has been very low here, while these crops are sourced for in the countries they are imported from.
The narrative is starting to change as Nigerians make more effort to look inward by consuming more locally produced goods. Farmers can benefit from this financially by meeting increasing demand. Farmers with more information from the analysis of data on the crops more producers are in need of can build a steady network of customers with large purchasing power (food and cosmetic processors as well as other manufacturing industries) that will last and tend to expand in the foreseeable future.
Farmers that key into this can expand their production capacity gradually with more financial aid and technology for commercialization. With more access to the right information, business policies, and connections, farmers will experience a boost in the sector. Processors may even go to more remote communities to get the required farm products in sufficient quantity at prices that improve their revenue and as well as the farmers’. Find out more about how you can benefit from this financial expansion opportunity as a player in the sector or an investor here.
NAFDAC’s move is a very welcome development for both farmers and other players in the production, processing, and manufacturing industry. It also presents an opportunity to increase the employment rate in the country.
