New Telegraph Admin 
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has empowered producers of agro-allied products in the country with the requisite skills and tools required to enable them compete with their counterparts, noting that the move is in line with the present administration’s plans to diversify the nation’s economy away from hydrocarbon resources.
The Director-General/Chief Executive, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Faruok Salim, disclosed that Nigeria’s agro-allied products were sellable across the world, insisting that the body would not compromise its standards in its effort to make sure locally made goods are competitive at the global scene.
He said the organisation, in a bid to support the economic diversification agenda of the present administration, would continue to intensify efforts to sensitise producers of agro-allied products across the country on strict compliance with SON’s standards sellable across the world. Represented by the Director, Southwest, SON, Talatu Ethan, at a workshop titled, Standard Adherence: Catalyst for Trade in Osogbo, Osun State, Salim stated that the organisation was at the fore of driving diversification into agricultural products as a means of generating revenue.
“Nigeria’s products are having global acceptance, the Federal Government and regulatory bodies are working with stakeholders to ensure that whatever they produce can meet up with the specifications of the foreign countries,” the SON DG noted.
He stressed: “The objective of this workshop is to create awareness on the importance of standards to ensure that the manufacturers, producers and processors meet up with the minimum requirements of the standards, we have standards for garri, honey, dry and smoked fish etc. and looking at the focus of the current administration which is food security, the role of SON is to train, educate and create awareness among the agro-allied sector on quality production.”
Salim pointed out that the objective of the workshop is to create awareness on the importance of standards to ensure that the manufacturers, producers and processors meet up with the minimum requirements of the standards. “We have standards for Garri, honey, dry and smoked fish e.t.c and looking at the focus of the current administration which is food security, the role of SON is to train, educate and create awareness among the agro-allied sector on quality production,” he averred.
According to him, “mandatory conformity assessment, will prepare our local producer to produce products that meet up with the minimum requirement of the standards so that the products would be able to compete with foreign products, our duty is to encourage and support them for production of quality and safe products.”
Also speaking, the Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Osun State chapter, Sulaiman Araokanmi, described the workshop as timely in a bid to empower agro-allied producers across the country.
