NAFDAC DG: Most Nigerians Ignorant — they Don’t Read Food Safety Guidelines

Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), says most Nigerians are ignorant, with majority neither bothering to read nor understand information and guidelines on food safety.

In an interview with BusinessDay published on Monday, Adeyeye said several government agencies are involved in regulating the food chain “from farm to fork”.

“We are ignorant in this country. We are very ignorant, we don’t read, we don’t understand,” Adeyeye said.

“From farm to fork, there are many organisations involved. There are many agencies involved. NAFDAC mandate is for processed or semi processed foods.

“We have about 56% illiteracy… if it is a literate country they would read. Sometimes, our people don’t understand.”

The director-general said the federal ministry of agriculture has the primary responsibility for fresh produce.

“So the oranges you buy in the market, we don’t control it,” she said.

Adeyeye noted that NAFDAC has a role to play when pesticides are used on crops because the agency regulates and controls pesticides.

She added that the agency, alongside the ministry of agriculture, trains farmers on the proper use of pesticides and when crops should be harvested after application.

According to her, NAFDAC’s veterinary and allied products directorate also trains farmers and other stakeholders on the use of pesticides.

Adeyeye said the agency cannot directly train all farmers in the country because of the huge number of farmers.

“We cannot go to one million farmers in Nigeria, NAFDAC cannot do that, it is the ministry of agriculture that should be doing that,” she said.

She added that the ministry of agriculture should take responsibility for educating farmers, while NAFDAC would continue to support the process because of its regulatory role over pesticides.

“Many people don’t know,” she said.

In September, NAFDAC said it received 225 complaints about suspected counterfeit products in August.

Adeyeye said the agency receives more than 200 complaints from Nigerians each month through its complaint channels, adding that the reports provide important leads for investigation.