Date: 2020-09-28

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council has taken its campaign for the production and preservation of dried beans that meet world standard at the European Union to markets in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

Leading the campaign to Ita Amo, Ipata, Oja-tuntun and Ago markets on Friday to sensitise traders in Ilorin metropolis, North-Central coordinator of NEPC, Mr Oluwole Monehin, explained that the goal of the exercise was to achieve better preservation of Nigeria dried beans that meets the international market standard.

He appealed to the traders to stop using chemical preservatives for the beans that they were selling to members of the public because some of the chemical preservatives were harmful to human beings. Instead of using chemical preservatives, Monehin advised them to adopt modern methods of preserving beans adopted by the Nigerian Stored Product Research institute.

The NEPC had earlier organised training for farmers and marketers on how to produce dried beans in accordance with global standards.

No fewer than 200 people including farmers, merchant managers, processors and marketers were trained by experts on storage of agricultural crops at a workshop held in Ilorin, Kwara State on Friday.

Addressing the participants, Executive Director of NEPC, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, said that the workshop was organized to reduce the incidence of rejection of Nigerian agricultural exports to the European Union and other parts of the world.