National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Director-General, Mojisola Adeyeye, addressed the public on the role the agency plays in controlling food products, noting that the regulatory body does not perform some of the roles people assume it should.
Speaking on BusinessDay TV, Adeyeye addressed concerns over the growing number of counterfeit products in the markets and stores that Nigerians consume. She explained some of the responsibilities that NAFDAC handles and those that fall under other government agencies.
She noted: 
“First of all we are ignorant in this country. We are very ignorant. We don’t read, we don’t understand, from farm to folk, there are many organisations and agencies that are involved from farm to folk.”
She explained that NAFDAC’s mandate covers processed and semi-processed food, rather than fresh produce sold in markets.
“NAFDAC mandate is for processed or semi-processed food. So the oranges you buy in the market we don’t control them. However if somebody puts pesticides on that orange we have to train the farmer who do not harvest on time.”
Adeyeye said the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has the primary responsibility for fresh produce, while NAFDAC helps train farmers because the agency regulates and controls pesticides.
“We have to train the farmers with the ministry of Agriculture (Federal ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) FMARD, it’s the ministry of Agric that has the primary mandate for fresh produce.”
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She also explained that NAFDAC trains farmers on the proper use of pesticides because the agency approves, regulates and controls the products.
“However, because we approve, we regulate and control pesticides, we have the obligation to train them on how to use it based on direction on the label. We have about 56% illiteracy, if it’s a literate company in their country they would read. Sometimes our people don’t understand and they think the more you put is the better.”
Adeyeye added that NAFDAC’s Veterinary Medicine and Allied Products Directorates also help educate farmers and stakeholders on the proper use of pesticides, including when they should apply them and when they should harvest their produce.
“We have vetinary medicine and allied products directorates because we approve pesticides we go and teach farmers, stakeholders when they want to put the season they have to look at the season, when they are supposed to harvest.”
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She stressed that NAFDAC cannot reach millions of farmers across Nigeria because educating farmers remains primarily the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture.
“NAFDAC cannot go to millions of farmers in Nigeria NAFDAC cannot do that, it’s the minister of Agriculture that should be doing that, it’s because we control the pesticides, we also should help in teaching them, ministry of Agric should be teaching them because it’s not NAFDAC main responsibility but many people don’t know.”
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