The Youths for Apiculture Initiative (YFAI) has called for urgent measures to secure international acceptance of Nigerian honey and its by-products to boost export earnings and create jobs.
The Director-General of YFAI, Mr Yusuf Adeyemo, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.
Adeyemo said Nigeria had continued to lose export revenue due to restrictions on the entry of its honey and related products into key international markets.
According to him, Nigerian honey, beeswax and propolis cannot legally enter the European Union (EU) because the country lacks an EU-approved Residue Monitoring Plan.
“Nigeria has missed a lot of export opportunities in the honeybee sector despite its production capacity.
“We have over two million beekeepers and some of the most organic apiaries globally, yet we remain locked out of the nine-billion-dollar EU honey market,” he said.
Adeyemo said ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to improve the acceptance of Nigerian agricultural produce abroad could facilitate the country’s listing as an approved third-country exporter of honey to the EU.
He noted that international acceptance of Nigerian honey would generate jobs, increase foreign exchange earnings and strengthen the sector’s value chain.
“With internationally accepted standards, YFAI can mobilise 10,000 youth beekeepers into traceable clusters within 12 months if the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control align their testing protocols.
“EU certification alone can create more than 50,000 jobs in hive management, processing and export packaging.
“It will also boost revenue from honey by-products such as beeswax for cosmetics, propolis for pharmaceuticals and royal jelly for nutraceuticals,” he said.
Adeyemo pledged YFAI’s support for efforts aimed at improving the global competitiveness of Nigerian honey.
According to him, the organisation plans to donate 50 model apiaries as compliance demonstration farms and train 5,000 youths as Export Quality Champions across the six geopolitical zones.
He added that YFAI would partner with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council and private laboratories to subsidise residue testing for first-time youth exporters.
“Nigeria cannot diversify its economy while its agricultural products are rejected at foreign borders. Fixing quality standards is also addressing youth unemployment.
“We urge the Ministry to include youth-led commodity associations such as YFAI in the implementation process because we are critical stakeholders in achieving compliance,” he said.
