With Kehinde Oluwatayo
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Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has appealed to local farmers to adhere strictly to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to put an end to the poor market access.

The association said GAP, which is fast becoming the world’s most widely implemented farm certification scheme, was the way to go to drive the nation’s non-oil sector while also earning foreign exchange via export.

National president, NACCIMA, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, said it was as a result of this concern that its maiden edition of the Agricultural Quality Excellence Award (AQEA) was initiated to recognise and reward quality, adherence to standards and excellence by operators in the nation’s agriculture and agribusiness sector.

The NACCIMA boss who also doubles as chairperson, organising committee for AQEA scheduled to hold on the 20th November, 2018 in Kano, said the agricultural sector is the highest employer of labour in Nigeria and had in the past contributed immensely to the nation’s economy, but regreted that since the discovery of crude oil, government and private sector’s attention shifted from the sector.

She commended the present administration’s effort to diversify the economy, saying that the government is already putting in place several strategies and incentives to incentivise agribusiness, such as the anchor borrower scheme, tax rebate, tax holidays and concession.

Lawson said: “All these incentives are meant to encourage production, processing, marketing, export and other segments of agribusiness in Nigeria. We are of the opinion that the AQEA has the potential to encourage farmers and others in the agric value chain.

“The successes recorded in the agricultural sector such as the rice revolution among others are evidence that we are on the right path”.

 She stated that the award is expected to feature the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, Governor, Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje and other Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs).