Indications have emerged that the extension of the ban on export of dried beans from Nigeria for the next three years by the European Food Safety Authority under European Union, EU may cost Nigerian farmers an estimated $10 billion loss yearly.
In June 2015, the ban was imposed on some agricultural produce, including beans, from Nigeria, on the grounds that they contained high level of pesticides considered hazardous to human health.
The rejected beans were found to contain between 0.03 mg per kilogramme to 4.6 mg per kilogramme of dichlorvos pesticide, when the acceptable maximum residue limit is 0.01mg per kilogramme.
The ban was to last till June 30, 2016, to give Nigerian authorities time to provide an export control plan and assurance that the beans exported to European countries comply with the EU minimal risk levels for hazardous substances.
Relevant agencies of government, including SON, NAFDAC and Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, had claimed to be collaborating with one another to resolve the issue before the deadline, yet it had remained unresolved. Before now, the ban has already brought about a huge loss in the sense that Nigeria has a lot of farmers producing beans,which is not allowed to go out.
Stakeholders and consumers are worried that Nigeria might experience scarcity of beans if government fails to persuade EU to reverse the ban placed on the product, as farmers may avoid going into production of the produce by diverting to other crops that will enrich their purse. They also said that no farmers can produce a product for three years without making any income and continue therein.
The Coordinating Director of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service, Vincent Isegbe, who announced the ban extension on beans recently, lamented that the extension came when the Federal Government and its relevant agencies were working to ensure that the June deadline to lift the ban was met.
He said the continued presence of dichlorvos (pesticide) in dried beans imported from Nigeria and maximum residue levels of pesticides show that compliance with food law requirement as regards pesticide residual cannot be achieved in the short term.
