Saturday 15 September 2018

STANDARD ORGANIZATION OF NIGERIA DEVELOPS NEW STANDARDS TO ESCHEW REJECTION OF DRY BEANS

Worried about the high level of rejects of Nigeria’s dry beans at the international market, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), has developed a standard specification for the commodity to aid acceptance in the global markets. 

Indeed, the agency said the development of new standards, review of existing ones, adoption of international, continental and regional standards are to make Nigeria globally relevant and competitive. 

The Director-General, SON, Osita Aboloma, explained that the agency had also gone ahead to develop codes and guidelines across the value-chain. 

“We have developed a standard specification for dry beans, and we did not stop there because specification is just a document because along the value chain, things have to be done well for us to get the end product acceptable anywhere in the world.
  
“We have developed codes and guidelines for planting beans and that entails the kind of soil to use to plant beans and agricultural chemicals that need to be applied, and how they should be applied. We have also developed standards for harvesting and transportation in order not to get their products contaminated,” he said.

Aboloma, who was represented by the Director, Standards Development, Chinyere Egwuonwu, told journalists in Lagos that this year alone, SON has developed over 500 standards that have been approved for use in industry and commerce within Nigeria and the international community. 

He stressed that the standards cut across various economic sectors with a lot focus on the agro and allied sector, manufacturing, processing, African traditional medicine, human resources management, tourism to mention a few. 

In his words: “Most recently, SON governing council approved another set of 339 standards for use in Nigeria. Of this number, 85 were newly developed, 31 were existing standards that were reviewed while the rest 223 were adopted international, continental and regional standards as Nigeria Industrial Standards.” (Guardian)


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