Advocacy and Policy Dialogue on Standard Weights and Measures along Rice and Cassava Value Chain in VCDP States of Benue, Niger and Taraba States (August 2018) - The National Association of Nigerian Traders NANTS

The Value Chain Development Program (VCDP) recognizes the need to adopt the use of quality norms, grades and standards in the marketing of rice and cassava products because of the great challenges being experienced in this sector which bothers on trust.  To a large extent VCDP has promoted the use of standard weights and measures by farmers, small scale processors and marketers in the last three years of the program.

 The use of this system has been across the participating States with modest achievement. However, a lot is still left to be done to ensure that a greater population of the beneficiaries adopts the use of weight and measures to transact their businesses. In Nigeria, less than 10% of traders and farmers adopt the culture of weights and measures. Some of the things being measured and weighed by traders and farmers include meat, grains (rice, beans, and wheat), tubers and roots (cassava, yam, and potatoes), etc. The common measurement tools in Nigerian markets include; cups, mudu, bottles, weighing scale, etc. The implications of these kinds of measurements are:

 i.The traders/farmers are short-changed

 ii.The final consumers(buyers) are short-changed