Dike Onwuamaeze

The Lagos State Government is set to tackle post-harvest losses with a mega food storage facility that would be commissioned in December 2025, which has capacity to hold enough food items to meet demand for foods in the state for 90 days.

This facility, which is located in Epe, is part of the state’s food security system and logistic hub.  

This was disclosed by the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), “Agro-Allied Annual Fair Symposium” with the theme, “Agric Business in the 21^st Century: Changing the Narrative.”

Olusanya, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Emmanuel Audu, also said that the state government is also signing agreements with farmers in food producing states in the country under its “Produce for Lagos” scheme.

She said: “We are building and transforming our food system with the Lagos’ Food Security System and Logistic Hub at Epe. That system is designed to secure and hold food that can last for 90 days. The Phase One of this system will come on stream and will be launched in December 2025.”

She explained that this is the first tier in the state’s food security system because our strength within the food value chain is market with our population of over 24 million people that need to be feed daily and regularly.

She also attributed the high rate of food inflation and the manner food prices could rose by more than 10 times within a year to lack of storage facilities that could tame post-harvest losses.  

“But this is what the Lagos food security system that can hold vegetables and perishable food items in good state is designed to do.  Wastages and post-harvest losses in some instances count for about 50 per cent of food items that are produced or supplied to the state.

“We have high food inflation because a farmer that produced 10 tonnes but loss 5.0 tonnes will recover his cost from the remaining 5.0 tonnes. So, controlling post-harvest losses can control food inflation and make food readily available for Lagosians in the not too distance future,” Olusanya said.

The commissioner also disclosed that Lagos State is building strategic partnership with food producing states and has signed agreement with farmers in Benue State in a bid to drive “Produced for Lagos” initiative.

According to the ministry, the recently launched N500 billion food security funds would give assurance to these farmers that the money to pay for their agro produce is already available and that there is a guaranteed market and a ready buyer for their produce.

The ministry said that these would enable the farmers to unlock finances from financial institutions to increase their farm outputs.

“The story of agriculture must change. We are moving from hoes and cutlasses to drones and data based farming; from subsistence to sustainability and from survival to prosperity,” Olusanya said.

In his welcome address during the agro-fair, the President of LCCI, Mr. Gabriel Idahosa, harped on the need to transform the way the Nigerian society perceives, invests in, and benefits from agriculture and agribusiness.

Idahosa said: “We are here to move agriculture from being seen as a survival activity to being understood and embraced as a wealth-creating, technology-driven, globally competitive sector.

According to him, the 21st century has brought with it unprecedented challenges, climate change, food insecurity, supply chain disruptions, and changing consumption patterns.

Yet, it has also opened new frontiers for innovation, digital agriculture, biotechnology, precision farming, climate-smart systems, and agro-value chain integration.

He said: “Across the globe, agriculture is no longer just about tilling the soil. It is about data-driven farming, drones monitoring fields, smart irrigation systems, vertical farming in urban spaces, block chain ensuring transparency in food supply chains, and young agripreneurs building startups that attract venture capital just as tech companies do.

“For Nigeria and Africa, this changing narrative is not a luxury, it is a necessity. With a population projected to exceed 400 million by 2050, Nigeria must position agriculture as both a food security imperative and an economic growth driver. We cannot afford to rely on crude oil as the anchor of our economy in this century. The real oil beneath our feet, the renewable wealth that God has blessed us with, is agriculture.

“From rice to cassava, from palm oil to fisheries, from horticulture to livestock, agriculture remains Nigeria’s most strategic pathway to diversification, job creation, poverty reduction, and inclusive growth.”

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