Some yam exporters in Nigeria who targeted the United Kingdom and United States of America for business have opposed recent media reports that tubers of yam export were rejected by both countries.
In a statement credited to the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, Olukayode Oyeleye issued in Abuja, the yam exporters maintained that such reports were false.
Oyeleye noted that the yam export initiative, launched by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, had attracted widespread criticisms on various media platforms whereas discussions with the exporters have proven such reports to be inaccurate.
The Special Adviser said the yam exporters, including Michael Adedipe of ADES UK Foods and Drinks; and Yandev Amaabai of Wan Nyikwagh Farms Nigeria Ltd., had confirmed that their consignments were successfully cleared at ports in UK and the U.S. and delivered to various warehouses. These exporters explained that although some tubers got spoilt, the bad ones were separated from the good ones before being distributed to buyers. They also stressed that the case of some yams for exportation going bad is normal because yams are perishable in nature and can get spoilt in transit.
The exporters equally noted that Ghana, another yam-exporting country, sometimes records cases of damaged tubers among export quantities, without receiving total rejection or bad publicity. They vowed that they would not be discouraged by the bad media reports or quit the business but rather exploit better options for storing export-bound yams.
Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, has expressed dismay at the negative news trailing the Federal Government’s efforts to put Nigeria on the global yam export market.
“We are not going to stop because this is not enough to demoralise us. We have food to export; never mind what the so-called critics are doing. We are going to talk to the port authority to provide cooling vans for vegetables and fresh produce so that exporters do not lose money, while we do not lose face. We should begin to build cold trucks that are temperature-controlled to keep the yams till the time they have to go; we should invest in special containers for their storage.
We will go ahead with our efforts to export yam; we are determined to reposition our people to capture the investment opportunities and benefits in yam exports to these countries.” he said.
Audu Ogbeh further made an appeal to the National Assembly to speed-up the process of repealing a 1989 law prohibiting the exportation of yams and other agricultural produce, saying the law contradicts the federal government’s goal of diversifying the nation’s economy.