Fawaz Adebisi
The Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology, NIFST, has urged the government of Nigeria to address the substandard marketing environment for indigenous foods in the country.
This call was made during the 9th Regional Food Science and Technology Summit, ReFoSTS, held from 5th to 8th June, 2023, in Abeokuta, Nigeria.
Under the theme “Indigenous Foods for Global Markets: Innovation, Safety and Entrepreneurship,” the summit shed light on the potential of Nigeria’s indigenous foods to achieve global recognition.
Speaking on the challenges of promoting indigenous foods in the country and it’s recommendations, it emphasized the need for urgent intervention from all tiers of government ; federal, state and local governments, to provide better marketing environment is essential.
Experts at the summit, themed held that there are prospects for Nigeria’s indigenous foods to achieve global recognition, stating, however, that innovation is important to the survival of these indigenous foods.
According to the communique signed by the Chairman, NIFST Western Chapter, Dr. Ganiyat Olatunde and the Secretary, Michael Oyelakin, there are certain observed challenges preventing indigenous foods from attaining global recognition, which must be surmounted.
Th communique read , “the current status of sales/hawking of our indigenous foods as well as the marketing environment is below acceptable standard as our local markets lack basic infrastructural facilities/amenities such as public toilets, pipe-borne water, and good storage structures.
” The Summit, therefore, suggested that all tiers of government (federal, state, and local), Agricultural and Health Ministries must be involved in the strengthening of indigenous food production, promotion, safety, and marketing.”
In the same vein, the communique also highlighted the crucial role of innovation in ensuring the survival and competitiveness of these food products in the global marketplace.
One of the key challenges identified during the summit was the lack of formal documentation of processing procedures, regional availability, acceptable quality parameters, and other vital information related to indigenous foods.
“These foods have not been formally documented for people to know the processing procedures, the region(s) where they can be found, the acceptable quality parameters, and other information that are related to the foods,” it stated.
To solve this, NIFST therefore recommended the development of an inventory to catalog all indigenous foods in the country, enabling better understanding and promotion of these unique food items.
Other pressing issues include; insufficient state-of-the-art equipment and analytical tools for scientific research on Nigerian indigenous foods, Inconsistency of quality parameters of existing food products, low level of awareness of the importance of food safety among the populace, lack of proper monitor of food supply chain of fresh indigenous food produce as well as their quality standards, among others.
It stated, “researches on indigenous foods in Nigeria are being carried out by diverse groups of researchers investigating different aspects of possibly the same indigenous foods. The Summit, therefore, concluded that there should be a deliberate collaboration among stakeholders in the research frontline and these include Food Scientists, Nutritionists, Food Engineers, and Food Safety Experts. Such collaborative researches should also be geared towards industrial applications and/or needs.
“The awareness of the importance of food safety among the populace is very low. The Summit recommended that the socio-economic importance of food safety should be emphasized continuously through various information outlets such as Ministry of Information and National Orientation Agency (NOA).
“The food supply chain of fresh indigenous food produce as well as their quality standards are not properly monitored. The Summit recommended that the inspection, grading, and safety of these produce should be customized to Nigeria by relevant stakeholders.
“It was generally agreed that there has been a shift in the eating pattern of people over the years, particularly from indigenous food consumption to that of imported ones. The Summit recommended that the consumption of indigenous food commodities should be encouraged at our various household levels.”
The summit also acknowledged the reluctance of fresh Food Science & Technology graduates to become entrepreneurs due to the high capital investment required for processing equipment.
But as a solution, the summit recommended the establishment of incubation centers by educational institutions to alleviate the financial challenges faced by these graduates.
Do you want to share a story with us? Do you want to advertise with us? Do you need publicity for a product, service, or event? Contact us on WhatsApp +2348183319097 Email: platformtimes@gmail.com
We are committed to impactful investigative journalism for human interest and social justice. Your donation will help us tell more stories. Kindly donate any amount HERE
