FG Roles Out Programme to Reverse Annual N3.5trillion Post-harvest Loss in Agric Sector
The federal government has revealed that Nigeria loses over N3.5 trillion to post-harvest loses in the agriculture sector annually.
The minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari made the disclosure in Senagal over the weekend.
The minister who was speaking at the at the Nigeria Legacy Programme, organized by the Africa Food Systems Forum, in partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in Dakar, Senegal, however, disclosed that the government has initiated a programme aimed at reversing the trend.
According to the minister, Nigerian government has unveiled the Nigeria Post-harvest Systems Transformation Programme (NiPHaST), aimed at tackling the problem with a view to promoting food production and preservation in Nigeria.
he Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, who disclosed this
He explained that NiPHaST unveiling became imperative to ensure a resilient, efficient and inclusive post-harvest handling and storage system that reduces losses, enhance incomes as well as achieve food sovereignty.
In a statement released over the weekend, the minister stated that NiPHaST would stabilise food prices, ensure availability, accessibility, affordability of stable food, improve storage system as well as achieve national food sovereignty
Senator Kyari also revealed that the programme would focus on household storage technologies, community-level warehouses, cold rooms, and strategic national silos managed through public–private partnerships, to ensure that effective food storage techniques become part of Nigeria’s food production system.
Lamenting the level of wastages and opportunities lost, the minister said that, “This is not just produce going to waste; it is opportunity lost and livelihoods destroyed.”
He, however, expressed, expressed optimism that the programme would create robust investment in the storage value chain in terms of processing, preservation, packaging, marketing, climate, smart metal silos and cold rooms.
He noted that the programme would also improve agricultural exports, nutrition, household sales, job opportunities, farmer’s income, and wealth as well as achieved food import substitution in the agricultural ecosystem.
