The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has developed and deployed software to automate it operations in line with international practices.
The Controller General of the Service, Dr. Vincent Isegbe, stated this at the just concluded 4thCG’s Summit and management retreat in Abuja.
He said some designated officers from all NAQS stations have been trained to understand how it works, as the automated regime will be launched in the first quarter of 2023.
Isegbe said in line with the management’s vision to enhance the technological fluency of the Service, it is switching to the cutting-edge tools that its counterpart bodies in advanced countries use for inspection and certification.
According to the CG, “In 2023 and beyond, NAQS will apply itself to adopting a more agile approach to making agricultural export inclusive through providing customized farm-to-port technical support and incentives to first-time exporters, rural-based exporters as well as women and youths.
“This agenda requires the rank and file to align their decisions, purpose, and actions with the above priorities. All NAQS officers are to proactively pursue these targets, taking care to build understanding and the buy-in of the external stakeholders,” he said.
He explained further that NAQS is saddled with the crucial mandate to protect the Nigerian agricultural economy and advance its competitiveness in agricultural trade.
“The orientation of our work obligates us to lead the country’s quest to grow and develop its non-oil export sectors. To live up to this demand, our institutional culture has to be flexible to innovation.
“There are potentially many ways we could do our job better, faster, and smarter. Instead of being content to go through the motions of doing the routines day in, day out, we want our officers to step up and step out to extend the reach and impact of the Agency to the underserved agribusiness players in their catchment areas.”
