Nigeria has secured international approval for a new standard on root and tuber flours, a development the Federal Government and industry stakeholders are describing as a landmark breakthrough for the country’s agricultural export ambitions.
The approval was granted at the 49th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Geneva, where the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, representing the Federal Republic, successfully proposed a new international Group Standard for Root and Tuber Flours, covering sweet potato and yam.
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What the Codex approval means
The Codex Alimentarius Commission is the joint food standards body established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation and is recognised globally as the reference point for international food trade rules. An approved Codex standard effectively serves as the benchmark against which governments and trading partners assess the safety, quality, and legitimacy of food products crossing borders.
Before Nigeria’s proposal, no international Codex standard existed specifically for root and tuber flours derived from yam, sweet potatoes, or cassava. The absence of this standard had long constrained trade opportunities for Nigerian and African producers, because buyers in major export markets had no agreed international framework against which to evaluate the products. Nigeria’s successful proposal at CAC49 removes that barrier by initiating the formal development of a unified standard that will govern how these products are produced, labelled, and traded internationally.
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Who championed the achievement
Director-General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Dr Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke, led the Nigerian delegation to Geneva and was the principal architect of the proposal. He described the approval as a proud moment not only for Nigeria but for the entire African agricultural landscape, noting that roots and tubers such as sweet potato and yam are vital to food security and smallholder livelihoods across Sub-Saharan Africa. Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, commended SON’s technical competence and strategic engagement in the process, describing the achievement as a reflection of Nigeria’s expanding leadership in international food standards development and a direct contribution to the Federal Government’s economic diversification agenda. The FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa also praised Nigeria, saying the initiative would promote harmonised food standards across the continent and expand regional and international market opportunities for root and tuber products.
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What it means for Nigerian businesses
Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of yams and one of its largest producers of cassava, yet the country has historically captured only a fraction of the value available in global agricultural trade because of the barriers created by the absence of internationally recognised standards for processed forms of these crops. The CAC49 approval changes that dynamic by paving the way for a Codex standard that will make Nigerian yam flour, sweet potato flour, and cassava-derived products more easily acceptable in regulated food markets across Europe, Asia, and North America.
For small and medium-sized agro-processors, this matters because export market access for processed agricultural goods is frequently gated by compliance with international standards, a requirement that has effectively excluded smaller Nigerian producers from premium export markets. A Codex standard also opens doors to investment in value addition, creating opportunities in processing, packaging, and export logistics that extend well beyond the farm gate.
