Sessions

The exhibition will be opened by Nigerian and international high-ranking representatives.

The opening ceremony will be followed by a tour around the exhibition.

Focus:    identifying opportunities for innovation

Nigeria has a large and steady market for sustainably packaged food products and food packaging materials. This hugely flexible market is a fast-growing sector and continues to attract investors and is considered the largest in Africa. An emerging trend in Nigeria’s retail market suggests a growing sophistication of consumer habits tilting towards the improvement of packaged foods – particularly indigenous foods. The food and beverage industry faces even stiffer challenger in relation to sustainability, with packaging at its core.

For years, companies have relied on plastics (which carry a remarkably low recycling rate) to sufficiently protect their products. Now, however, consumers are increasingly shunning single-use plastics for packaging options that are recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable. As more and more consumers seek out sustainable products, food and beverage brands must up their existing environmental values by establishing new packaging goals.

Nonetheless, making the shift to sustainable packaging does present obstacles—especially in Nigeria’s food and beverage sector where processing, distribution and shelf life all play critical roles in the success or failure of a product.

This panel discusses both challenges and opportunities here: key trends that could drive corporate commitments to and experimentation with reusable and refillable packaging. It furthermore looks at whether Nigerian consumers are ready to transition away from single-use behaviors.

Discussion points:

• Why Packaging Matters – Consumers & The Planet: today’s drivers of sustainable packaging
• Optimizing the Design – Efficiency in transportation, use, and retail
• Design Strategies – Packaging features that protect products, extend shelf life, prevent food waste, and promote behavior change
• Designing for Recovery – Holistic look at recovery options and limitations (distribution networks)
• Sourcing Sustainably – Tradeoffs and certifications for various materials
• Trends and Reuse Models – What’s driving interest in reusable packaging and how is reuse facilitated?
• Planetary Boundaries – Packaging’s role in the fourth industrial revolution

Bureau Veritas can help every player in the Agrifood value chain meet their highest standards of quality, product integrity, health and safety, environment and social responsibility compliance.
Our comprehensive service and support portfolio covers the entire spectrum of testing, inspection and audit services.
We have gained a broad knowledge in Africa over the years in the different food sectors from the seeds to the plates.
 

All over the world today, equipment leasing is being established as the creative financing alternative for the acquisition of capital assets for productive ventures and enhancing the quality of life.
In Nigeria, this unique financing instrument, though relatively young has been contributing to the socio-economic development of the country and is even more relevant in our present reality, where outright purchase of assets is increasingly becoming difficult especially to the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).
 

With Bureau Veritas.
How to ensure compliance to food safety requirements and demonstrate the quality of the organization's product. 

Focus:    quality control, certifications, exporting, health and safety, vocational training (TVET)

Nigeria’s National Policy on Food Safety and Its Implementation Strategy (NPFSIS 2014) was drafted by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and is, arguably, the most comprehensive Food Safety Policy document that Nigeria has produced.  It aims to integrate and harmonize all existing laws, standards and codes that regulate food safety practices in Nigeria, redefine and coordinate existing food control infrastructures at various levels of government and reduce areas of overlap and conflict.

The policy

• dictates that the principles to be applied during the preparation, production, handling, storage, processing/preservation, transportation, and distribution of foods.
• focuses on building the capacity of both the public and private sectors and to strengthen the activities of the National Food Safety Control Agencies considering developments at national and international levels.
• recognizes that food safety in the agricultural sector begins with the suppliers of agricultural inputs to farmers and those involved in food production, since materials such as pesticides, fertilizers and veterinary drugs pose different risks at unacceptable levels and therefore require specific attention.

Beyond safeguarding public health, however, globalization and international trade further underline the importance of a strong and up-to-date regulatory framework from production and through the entire supply chains. In today’s globalized world with rapid movement of persons and goods, countries heavily depend on regulations to ensure that food products imported into or exported from a nation meet basic international standards in terms of quality and safety.

This panel discusses the current state of Nigeria’s regulatory framework and the extent to which businesses are enabled to operate, grow, trade in line with national and international standards. What role does or indeed should the public vs private sector play here?

Discussion points:

• Food Policies: Food Safety & Regulations – Nigeria’s regulatory framework
• Trading across borders: the need for quality and standards, certifications
• The role of vocational training school – meeting current industry demands

Confirmed speakers:

• GIZ: Patricia Kormawah

Focus:    financing and leasing of production and processing machinery

Increasing food production to feed a teeming population will continue to be a difficult task due to fewer arable lands, the high cost of farm implements needed for production, less credit access to farmers, the land competition of food production, and the high cost of processing machinery.

To improve food production, various strategies have been envisaged by governments and stakeholders at all levels. However, whatever the strategy, when it comes to manufacturing packaging for their products, businesses are keenly aware of the importance of using equipment that is up-to-date and in perfect working order. The high precision required to produce efficiently, quickly and with no errors is critical to their overall business plans.

Striking the right balance between investing in the best equipment available—especially in light of increasing technological advances—and maintaining cashflow can sometimes present a challenge.

This panel seeks to

• determine the impact of agricultural equipment financing on the advancement of mechanized farming in Nigeria
• present financing options

Discussion points:

• The business of packaging equipment
• Agro-financing and food production in Nigeria
• Access to finance
• Smart equipment financing
• Equipment leasing

Confirmed speakers:

• PRWA: Stefan Prassel