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Reminiscing on the year 2024, having worked on a number of projects with development
partners that trained SME farmer groups, processors, aggregators and distributors on food
safety and hygiene, traceability, regulatory compliance and NAFDAC food product registration
process; and government regulatory bodies with roles to regulate and control the activities of
operators in the food value chain and export, we came to the conclusion that the efforts and
results have been good, however, there needs to be concerted efforts in 2025 to break down
silos across board to be able to achieve better results. There is still the tendency of
government bodies and private businesses to work in silos which inadvertently affects the ease
of doing business and scaling. Improved coordination, cooperation and synergy amongst
government bodies with roles in food safety, food certification, port control and export are
essential to enable businesses thrive. Strengthened regulatory control, public-private sector
cooperation and meeting international standards are the required tonic for market access,
diversification of the economy and business growth. SMEs, who are the drivers of the economy
of developing countries, should also focus on product packaging and labelling that meet
international standards of protecting and maintaining the integrity of the food products, ensuring
food safety is not compromised and providing information to enable consumers make informed
choices from reading product labels. To cap it all up, NAFDAC product registration is a must-
have as the starting point for building consumer confidence in the safety and quality of the
product and access to retailer outlets and supermarkets to drive sales and business growth.
On the whole, 2014 was a fruitful year that saw Nugata Consults engaged in food systems and
its networks of people, activities, and interactions along the food value chain of production,
processing, distribution and consumption, collaborating with the dynamic and innovative teams
from GAIN on food safety and hygiene and regulatory compliance training programmes for
MSMEs across six states of Imo, Oyo, Plateau, Kebbi, Bauchi and Jigawa. The innovative
approach of the GAIN-SBN team of onboarding of the MSME businesses, appointment of State
coordinators in the 6 geopolitical zones of the country and establishment of a strong platform
for interaction of SBN (ScalingUp Nutrition Business Network) members, as part of the training
programme has been quite productive. It has contributed to exchange of information and
fertilization of ideas between the MSMEs and scaling of their businesses.
The COLEAD’s (COmmittee Linking Entrepreneurship-Agriculture-Development) fit-for-market
plus (FFM+) project to support the development of sustainable and competitive agriculture and
agro-industry saw our team on a mission to a farm in Nasarawa State for the GLOBALG.A.P.
needs assessment of the farm and packhouse of the horticulture business for export of
vegetables.
There were also active engagements with government bodies and the private sector on
innovations in food fortification, regulatory compliance, effective participation of Nigeria
delegation to the international Codex Committee meetings and technical guidance of
agribusinesses and NAFDAC product registration for food processors.
The year 2024 was good and 2025 promises to be even better!