Okonjo-Iweala-led WTO battles food insecurity in Nigeria with $1.2m facility

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has moved to battle food insecurity in Nigeria by inaugurating a $1.2m standards trade development facility in Nigeria.

The facility will strengthen food safety, animal and plant health capacity in developing countries by encouraging the use of good practices.

While speaking during the event on Tuesday, the Director General of the World Trade Organization, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, explained that although Nigeria has huge potential in the production and export of Cowpea and sesame, the rejection of the two products remains a huge challenge owing to poor transportation and storage of the agricultural products to other parts of the world.

Nigeria is the third largest producer of Sesame in Africa, with approximately 500 metric tonnes produced in 2022, and over 5.2 million metric tonnes of dried cowpea produced annually.

According to Iweala, the facility will boost the capacities of Nigerian farmers to produce agricultural products that meet export standards.