Standardisation, quality key to Nigeria”s breathrough in int”l trade-SON

The Director General of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mr Osita Aboloma has emphasised the need Nigerians in the agricultural sector to incorporate quality management system and standardisation in all the stages of their agricultural practices for the nation’s agricultural products to compete favourably in the global market place. 

The DG said this in Lokoja on Thursday during a general sensitisation on ISO 9001 Quality Management on new Agro-allied Standards organised for stakeholders in the North Central Zone. 

The DG, who was represented by a deputy director in the organization, Dr (Mrs) Marline Waziri, said the implementation of QMS in the agricultural sector is a useful tool in adding quality and credibility to goods and services that will meet the expectations of internal and external customers.

He said the workshop was in furtherance of the collaboration of SON with stakeholders in ensuring that production, manufacturing, sales and distribution of products and services are done in line with national and international best practices to ensure continual customer satisfaction, environmental friendliness and safeguard lives and properties. 

According to him, with the focus of the present administration on diversification into agriculture, there was need for all the players in the sector to continue to improve on the quality of their products to gain international acceptance.

Earlier in a welcome address, Kogi State Coordinator of SON, Engr Olalekan Omoniyi said in view of the competition in the international market, there was need for Nigerian industrialists and operators in both the organised private sector and public institutions to carry out their transactions smoothly by deploying the instrumentality of Quality Management System, which ensures that all requirements are identified and incorporated into production.

He said the essence of the awareness workshop was to acquaint the participants with knowledge of global best practices and ensure a paradigm shift from the old ways of doing things so that Nigeria would  become an "irresistible and prominent global market player" in the sector.