Nigeria has reached a pivotal milestone on its journey toward a modern, science-based food safety system! As announced on LinkedIn by Oluwafemi (Femi) Stephen, National Food Safety Lead at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Nigeria (FMHSW), the National Food Safety Management Committee (NFSMC) has officially finalized and approved the “Integrated Guideline forContinue reading “MILESTONE ACHIEVED: Nigeria Formally Adopts Nationally Endorsed Risk-Based Inspection Guidelines! 🇳🇬🇺🇸”
Author Archives: AFSI Web Team
Real systems change happens when competitors become collaborators
In Nigeria’s food safety ecosystem, historical fragmentation between ministries and regulatory agencies often created conflicting mandates and costly port delays. But through the Africa Food Safety Initiative (AFSI)—supported by USDA-FAS and led by the University of Missouri’s CAFNR International Programs, an extraordinary transformation took place. By institutionalizing multi-stakeholder Technical Working Groups (TWGs), key regulatory bodies,Continue reading “Real systems change happens when competitors become collaborators”
Laying the Groundwork for Trade: How USDA FAS Resolves Regulatory Friction Before Agreements Begin
High-level trade negotiations and headline-grabbing trade agreements create tremendous momentum, but a tariff reduction on paper only delivers real commercial value if commodities can move smoothly through ports and borders. Long before a formal agreement takes effect, critical technical groundwork must be laid—establishing shared scientific standards, harmonizing sanitary protocols, and building mutual trust across regulatoryContinue reading “Laying the Groundwork for Trade: How USDA FAS Resolves Regulatory Friction Before Agreements Begin”
AFSI Webinar: MRL and Plant Health
The webinar highlighted key achievements and outlined challenges that still need to be addressed in these regions. MU and its key partner UMAP-Ghana shared insights from their extensive work
Risk Comms in Agriculture
The free online training is designed to enhance learners’ ability to communicate effectively about pesticides within media narratives. The training helps you address misconceptions and manage reputations with focused risk assessment, management and communication strategies.
EAC Joint Trials for Pest Mgmt Options
USDA-Backed Project Boosts East African Agriculture: Joint Trials for Fall Armyworm Management Show Promise In recent years, East African agriculture has faced a formidable foe: the Fall Armyworm (FAW). To tackle this invasive pest, the East African Community (EAC) initiated a groundbreaking project to evaluate the effectiveness of a new solution: BASF’s Nomax 150 SC,Continue reading “EAC Joint Trials for Pest Mgmt Options”
EAC Advances Plant Protection
EAC SECTORAL COUNCIL APPROVES A MUTUAL RECOGNITION MECHANISM FOR REGISTRATION OF PESTICIDES AND A GUIDELINE FOR REGISTRATION OF PEST CONTROL PRODUCTS FOR PLANT PEST EMERGENCY RESPONSE “The guidelines adopted by SCAFS will facilitate accelerated access to crop protection products that can control emerging and re-emerging transboundary crop pests.“ The East African Community (EAC) took a majorContinue reading “EAC Advances Plant Protection”
2023 NPPO Online Training
This May 2023, the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and East African Community (EAC) invites members of the National Plant Protection Organizations in the regions to the relaunch of the Plant Health Online Modules. Plant health is crucial for advancingContinue reading “2023 NPPO Online Training”
A Multi-Sector Roadmap
AFSI members had the honor of collaborating with the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), USDA, and others to convene stakeholders from across Nigerian government and society for a food safety roadmap workshop. As Nigeria continues to move forward the Food Safety and Quality Bill to re-vamp its food safetyContinue reading “A Multi-Sector Roadmap”
Food Safety: Senegal and Nigeria
The AFSI project on Strengthening Food Safety Systems in Africa is focusing its efforts on industries in Senegal and Nigeria. The project activities will provide technical assistance to support industry to meet these food safety measures, the promotion of regulatory harmonization, and the development of academic resources to meet current and future needs for technicalContinue reading “Food Safety: Senegal and Nigeria”
