June 15, 2026
By Gabriel Ewepu
ABUJA – THE Federal Government, Monday, moved to tackle agricultural commodities’ rejections by inaugurating a Technical WorkingGroup, TWG, on Agricultural Produce Residue Standards.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and FoodSecurity, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, speaking on the inauguration of the TWG said themove is to reposition Nigeria’s agricultural competitiveness in the globalstage.Abdullahi noted that the rejections had caused Nigeriato make huge economic losses, reduced market confidence, and missedopportunities for farmers, exporters, and agribusinesses.
Meanwhile, the TWG on Agricultural Produce ResidueStandards is to address rejection of agricultural commodities due tonon-compliance with Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) and other sanitary andphytosanitary requirements following recurring export rejections.The Terms of Reference for the TWG are asfollows: identify relevant agencies to provide useful information for athorough review of existing national frameworks policies and guidelinesrelating to residue management and contaminants in the selected priority crops;The relevant agencies should suggest contact persons and provide their contactdetails; Develop and deploy a survey instrument to generate a detailed overviewof the current state of pesticide residues and contaminants in the selectedpriority crops in the country; Identifyregulatory, institutional and operational gaps in residue and contaminantmanagement in the country; Suggest interventions for bridging the identifiedgaps with the view of providing a working document that will improve residueand contaminant management in the selected priority crops; and submit a reportto the Honourable Minister of State FMAFS within two months from the date ofinauguration.He said: “Another significant milestone in the FederalGovernment’s commitment to ensuring food safety and strengthening Nigeria’scompetitiveness in regional and international agricultural markets.“Over the years, Nigeria has recorded several cases ofexport rejections of agricultural commodities due to non-compliance withMaximum Residue Limits (MRLs) and other sanitary and phytosanitaryrequirements.“The growing concerns over pesticide residues,contaminants, and food safety issues demand a coordinated, science-based, andmulti-sectoral response.
