By Atoyebi Nike
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has encouraged smallholder farmers in Adamawa State to adopt organic farming as a strategic route to tap into the booming global market for clean, certified produce.
Speaking at a training workshop in Jimeta, Yola, NEPC Executive Director/CEO, Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, highlighted the $97 billion global organic food market, projected to grow to $437 billion by 2028, and emphasized Nigeria’s need to position itself as a key supplier.
“The main objective of this initiative is to develop capacity for a prosperous organic export,” Ayeni said. She added that the workshop aimed to prepare farmers for the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification, which is vital for international market access.
She reaffirmed the Federal Government’s goal of diversifying the economy beyond oil and identified organic agriculture as a crucial path to achieving export sustainability.
To support the effort, NEPC is providing 300kg of improved SAMNUT 22 groundnut seeds to the Groundnut Farmers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (Adamawa chapter) for an eight-hectare cluster demonstration farm in Malkoli, Yola South. The initiative will be expanded to other commodity groups across the state.
Speaking on behalf of the Adamawa State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Peter Irimiya commended the programme and pledged state support. He also announced his personal commitment to switching to organic farming and urged participants to take the training seriously, positioning themselves as grassroots export leaders.
The event reflects NEPC’s broader drive to boost rural development through non-oil export initiatives and contribute to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
