The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has disclosed that Nigeria loses an estimated $10 billion annually to post-harvest losses.
Kyari made the disclosure on Tuesday at the ongoing 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#32) organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in Abuja.
Speaking as a panellist on the theme ‘Productivity Revolution for Growth’, the minister said the losses cut across both grains and perishables.
He said Nigeria loses between 15 and 20 per cent of its grains – including rice, maize and millet – despite their relatively longer shelf life, while losses for perishable produce such as tomatoes, pepper, onions, fruits and vegetables could reach 60 to 70 per cent depending on the season.
“We lose almost about $10 billion annually on post-harvest losses,” Kyari said.
“About 15 to 20 per cent on grains, and you can see grains that are hard, and you probably think we will not lose much of that, but we lose on grains, on cereal, rice, maize, and so on and so forth, millet.
“Tomato, pepper, onion, and other fruits and vegetables, we lose some of that as high as 60 to 70 per cent depending on the season,” he added.
Kyari attributed the high waste, especially for tomatoes, to short shelf life, hot weather, poor storage, weak processing capacity, poor transportation and market infrastructure.
He described tackling post-harvest losses as a low-hanging fruit for improving food security, noting that addressing storage gaps could significantly increase food availability and farmers’ earnings without expanding cultivated land.
The minister also lamented the poor performance of federal silos. He revealed that out of 17 silo complexes concessioned to private operators out of 33 built by the Federal Government, only three are currently performing.
