By Bimbo Alagbe
Friday, the 3rd of May could just have started the weekend activities, typical of many to wind down from the business of the earlier days in the week, but it will remain fresh in the minds of Fellows, Contacts and the Foreign Agric Service team of the United States Department of Agric, USDA/FAS Lagos, Nigeria.
The occasion ended being a day of stakeholders roundtable meeting for the Alumni fellows of trainings that have been facilitated by the Foreign Agric Service of the United States Department of Agric. USDA/FAS Lagos Nigeria.
Held at the prestigious Eko Hotel and Suites, the well-attended event, despite the early morning rain on that wet Friday attracted alumni from the southwest states of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, and across Nigeria including farmers, restaurateurs, hoteliers, supermarket operators in Nigeria.
Also invited as guests of honour, are the Commissioners for Agric. from Lagos, Oyo and Ekiti States who delivered goodwill messages to the gathering on behalf of the governments of their respective states.
With participants arriving as early as 10 o’clock in the morning, it was a convivial opportunity for the attendees to have a one-on-one interaction with the Agricultural Counselor, Christopher Bielecki, who was quite elated to receive the fellows, farmers, food processors, as well as regulators like the representatives of Standard Organisation of Nigeria, (SON) and NAFDAC to the epoch-making event.
Delivering his welcome address, the Agric Counselor, who is in charge of Nigeria, Benin and Cameroon, Mr. Christopher Bielecki, said the meeting was put together to appreciate and thank all who have been friends of the USDA, who have supported the operations of the Department and all who have been involved in farming and agriculture in Nigeria.
Observing that no nation on earth can succeed alone he expressed his appreciations to everyone who have been dealing with the US through trade leads, trade links or trade missions over the years through the FAS.
He opined that the Department will be open to cross-fertilization of ideas on how to strengthen the trade relationship between the United States and Nigeria stating there are ahst the US can learn from Nigeria and vice versa.
Reviewing the Foreign Agric. Service (FAS) Lagos Fellowship and Trade Facilitation Activities, the Agric. Marketing Speacialist, Iheanyi Orji highlighted that the FAS has contributed to growth of agric-based businesses in Nigeria through knowledge transfer and using research to solve problems.
To him all these are through Scientific Exchange Programmes, Faculty Exchange programmes and other Fellowship training programmes which affords Nigerian business men and women to be exposed to world’s best business practices in the USA for weeks and months, depending on the duration of the programme.
There were discussions on areas of mutual collaboration among the fellows from 2003 to 2024 and the operators of businesses, importers from the US, exporters to the USA from Nigeria as well as regulators like SON and NAFDAC .
The major roles of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the USDA include the following:
- Facilitating Agricultural Trade: FAS works to create a global environment conducive to agricultural trade by partnering with other federal agencies, foreign governments, international organizations, and U.S. stakeholders to remove barriers, negotiate and enforce agreements, and establish international rules and standards that are transparent and predictable.
- Market Development: FAS partners with the U.S. agricultural industry to cultivate global sales opportunities for the full spectrum of U.S. farm and food products, from bulk commodities to specialty foods.
- Market Intelligence: FAS’s network of global contacts and long-standing relationships with international groups contribute to the agency’s unique market intelligence capabilities. FAS analysts objectively assess foreign market conditions, prepare production forecasts, identify export opportunities, and track changes in policies affecting U.S. agricultural trade.
- Agricultural Development: FAS leads USDA’s efforts to help developing countries improve their agricultural systems and build their trade capacity.
- Coordinating Agricultural Matters: FAS serves as the Department’s lead agency in coordinating all agricultural matters with foreign governments and international organizations.
