By George Omagbemi Sylvester
Nigeria loses an estimated 38 million tonnes of agricultural produce every year to post-harvest losses, a crisis experts say is undermining food security, worsening malnutrition and inflicting enormous economic losses on the country’s agricultural sector. The waste, largely caused by poor storage, inadequate transportation and weak supply chains, makes Nigeria the highest food-wasting nation in Africa.
Agriculture stakeholders attribute the losses to inadequate cold-chain infrastructure, poor packaging, inefficient logistics, unreliable rural road networks and limited processing facilities, resulting in between 30 and 50 percent of farm produce perishing before reaching consumers.
The situation has continued to fuel food inflation, reduce farmers’ incomes and increase the country’s dependence on food imports.
Experts have called on the Federal Government to prioritise investments in modern storage facilities, refrigerated transport, agro-processing industries and efficient value chains to minimise waste.
They also advocated stronger public-private partnerships and policies that promote zero-waste food systems to improve food availability and national nutrition.
According to development partners, reducing post-harvest losses would not only strengthen Nigeria’s food security but also create jobs, boost agricultural exports and enhance economic growth.
They warned that unless urgent reforms are implemented, billions of naira worth of food and agricultural resources will continue to be lost annually while millions of Nigerians struggle with hunger and food insecurity.
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