Fish business: FABDA participates in ARSO’s technical committee in Rwanda
Anambra State Fisheries and Aquaculture Business Development Agency (FABDA) is currently participating in the Technical Committee work on Harmonization and Certification of African Standards for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products being organised in Kigali, Rwanda by the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO).
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FABDA, Mr. Emeka Iloghalu, said that the objective of the technical committee was to build capacity of the “standardisation institution, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, through implementation of harmonised standards and certification on fisheries and aquaculture, among other selected commodities.”
He said that the target was to “support increased market access under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”
Iloghalu, who’s one of the Technical Committee Experts (ARSO TC 03 Fish, Fisheries and Aquaculture), disclosed that participants from other African countries were already brainstorming on various issues affecting the industry and would hopefully be done with the program on February 16.
He said that other Technical Committees (ARSO/TC 05 and ARSO/TC 85) would also “deliberate and advance the development of African Standards which are at various standardization harmonization stages to achieve the increased market access objective in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”
The FABDA boss revealed that the work had been on since June 2021 and that “this physical meeting in Kigali marks a major advancement and milestone.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian delegation participating in the ARSO meeting cover Fish, Fisheries and Aquaculture (ARSO TC 03), Horticulture (ARSO TC 05), and then Organic Agriculture and Biotechnology (ARSO TC 83).
