As Nigeria shifts from the manual issuance of phytosanitary certificates to electronic methods for agricultural product exporters, experts anticipate a positive impact on government revenue in the agricultural sector…CONTINUE READING....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Phytosanitary certificates are official documents issued by governments to verify that international shipments of plants and plant-based products are free from pests and diseases, ensuring their safety for importation.

This transition has become imperative due to a series of complaints from other countries regarding Nigerian agricultural exports.

There have been accusations of pest infestations, and the protracted process of obtaining phytosanitary certificates from the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has been affecting the quality of these products upon arrival in the consuming countries.

To tackle this issue, NAQS introduced the IPPC GeNS E-Phyto platform. Exporters can use this platform to input the necessary information about the agricultural products they intend to export and schedule an inspection appointment with NAQS.

Experts believe that this digital transformation will expedite the certification process and improve the quality of Nigerian agricultural products intended for export.

Speaking about this development during the official launch of the Generic ePhyto National System (GeNS) in Nigeria held in Ikeja, Lagos, Mr. Bernard Tayor of the Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GIZ) highlighted that transitioning from traditional paper-based certificates to digital ones represents a significant step towards modernization, efficiency, and sustainability.