BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– The National Marketing and Agricultural Board (NAMBoard) has successfully implemented International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 22000:2018 certification.
This is under Food Safety Management System for the Encabeni vegetables pack house facility.
ISO 22000 is an internationally recognized standard that combines the ISO 9001 approach to food safety management and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) for the assurance of food safety at all levels.
The standard maps out how an organization can demonstrate its ability to control safety hazards to ensure that food is safe.
Worth noting is that NAMBoard was established by the NAMBoard Act of 1985 to facilitate markets for farmers and assist them with production, processing, storage, transportation, and distribution of the produce.
NAMBoard Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bhekizwe Maziya, said, this prestigious recognition was reflective of the hard work, due diligence, and the highest level of quality assurance maintained by their organization.
He further said the certification was granted by British Standards Institution (BSI) after NAMBoard had successfully implemented ISO 22000:2018 Food Safety System requirements.
“We also received assistance from USAID Trade Hub which covered 60 percent of the total cost of certification through Development Alternatives Initiative.
“Our vegetables pack house initially implemented the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) prior to the implementation of ISO 220000. This is also a food management system which has been used by NAMBoard over the years,” he said.
In addition to that Maziya said the ISO 22000 is a step closer towards FSSC 22000 which is the preferred food safety management system as it has additional requirements that aligns with international national requirements.
Further to that, NAMBoard also possesses the Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) for the Encabeni demonstration plot.
This standard was implemented to further assure our customers that NAMBoard conforms to Good Agricultural Practices and that our production processes are sustainable.
In the same breath Maziya, called upon all farmers to diversify to high value horticulture commodities for stability, sustainability and profitability in order to emulate the well-established sugarcane industry of Eswatini.
Maziya said this approach was key to the success of the national goal of strengthening agricultural productivity, poverty alleviation, food security, employment creation, and boosting export competitiveness.
“Efforts to attract the youth to enter the agri-business sector should be doubled by offering innovative and attractive opportunities to them.
“These include enhanced mechanization, technology, value addition, and infrastructure development,” he said.
He further emphasized the adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices, including protected farming, water efficiency, and irrigation systems.
