By Victoria Onehi
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari,has said Nigeria loses an estimated ₦3.5 trillion annually to postharvest inefficiencies.
To curb this,the Federal Government has unveiled an ambitious Nigeria Postharvest Systems Transformation Programme (NiPHaST).
Speaking at the Nigeria Legacy Programme organised by the Africa Food Systems Forum in Partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), in Dakar, Senegal, recently, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari stated that the NiPHaST Programme would stabilise food prices, ensure availability, accessibility, affordability of stable food, improve storage system as well as achieve national food sovereignty.
The Minster said that the programme would focus on household storage technologies, community-level warehouses, cold rooms, and strategic national silos managed through public–private partnerships, among others.
The Minister reveals: “Nigeria loses an estimated ₦3.5 trillion annually to postharvest inefficiencies, largely affecting smallholder farmers.This is not just produce going to waste. It is opportunity lost and livelihoods destroyed.”
The Minister pointed out that the Postharvest Systems Transformation Programme would create robust investment in the storage value chain in terms of processing, preservation, packaging, marketing , climate, smart metal Silos , cold rooms, among others.
In a statement by the Head of Department of Information at the Ministry, Ezeaja Ikemefuna,the Minister noted that the initiative would unlock private sector investment, strengthen market confidence, and expand storage infrastructure.
He noted that it also improves agricultural exports, nutrition, household sales, job opportunities, farmer’s income, and wealth as well as achieved food import substitution in the agricultural ecosystem.
Kyari called for stronger international collaboration, stressing that transforming postharvest systems will secure farmer livelihoods, revive agribusiness confidence, and position Nigeria as a leading food supplier in West Africa.
In attendance were Jigawa State Governor, Mal. Umar A. Namadi, Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness, Dr. Kingsley Uzoma, Executive Secretary, National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Mohammed Abu Ibrahim, President, Nigeria Agribusiness Group, Arc. Kabir Ibrahim, among others.
