The Comptroller General, Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS), Dr. Vincent Isegbe, has expressed the agency’s willingness to partner with Aviacargo Committee by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria FAAN to initiate seamless handling of exports.
He stated this during a courtesy visit of the committee to discuss the growth of air cargo in Nigeria at the NAQS headquarters in Abuja.
He unveiled the Standard Operating Procedures developed by NAQS for exporters and highlighted the challenges faced by the agency in implementing its mandate.
The committee led by the FAAN Director Cargo Development Services, Mr. Lekan Thomas, explained that the Cargo Directorate was established to focus on the development of air cargo in Nigeria, with the goal of contributing to the country’s economy and positioning it as one of the leading exporting nations in Africa.
The Coordinator of the Aviacargo Roadmap committee, Mr. Ikechi Uko, presented an export aviacargo pathway that would serve as a template for future exports through Nigerian airports.
The pathway he said, is a five-step process that starts from the farm, ensuring that produce meant for export comes from a registered farm, and is vetted by NAQS or the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
According to him, the pathway also involves a registered known shipper, a regulated agent licensed to a third country, and a handling company licensed to global standards while NAQS will work with NDLEA and Customs to vet the goods at the handling company before they are exported by a licensed airline.
Mr. Uko identified gaps in the pathway, particularly in logistics from farm to airport, including cold chain processes and contamination issues.
He emphasized the need for strict licensing regimes and setting viable standard operating procedures (SOPs) and service level agreements (SLAs) for all stakeholders in the export value chain.
It was agreed that FAAN, the Aviacargo Roadmap committee, and NAQS would conduct trial runs of exports from four airports using the developed template.
The trial runs will involve timed exports from harvest at the farm to Lagos Airport, Kano Airport, Enugu Airport, and Jos Airport, in partnership with state governments.
The meeting concluded with a commitment to work together to improve the export of Nigerian agro-produce and position the country as a major player in the global export market.
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