Moves to reverse 40% post-harvest loss in cassava 
Nigeria may be losing as much as 50 per cent of the food produced in Lagos State before it reaches consumers, a development stakeholders say highlights the urgent need for large-scale commercial farming to address the country’s growing food crisis.

Farmers suffering from over 40 per cent post-harvest losses in the cassava value chain might have triggered the Federal Government’s determination to move towards reversing the situation.

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, made this known yesterday in Nasarawa State during a two-day capacity building workshop for the implementation of the cassava bio-ethanol value chain development project.

He said that a core technical objective of the workshop was the reduction of post-harvest losses, which accounts for a 40 per cent efficiency leak in the value chain through the deployment of strategic aggregation hubs and rapid processing technologies. 

He said, “We aim to minimise the window between harvest and processing, thereby preserving starch integrity and ensuring our output meets ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) specifications for anhydrous ethanol.”

The minister, who was represented at the workshop by the Director, Economic Growth Department of the Ministry, Muhammed Auwal, revealed that the government was determined to scale up the production of Fuel Grade Ethanol (FGE) for blending with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

The Cassava Bioethanol production, which is aimed at significantly reducing the National Energy Import Bill, will also mitigate the liquidity pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Deborah Odoh, affirmed the ministry’s readiness to support all stakeholders in this journey and assured that continued strategic policy coordination, monitoring and evaluation oversight, which aligns with the national development framework to ensure that investments in this programme delivers value for money, jobs for youths, income for farmers and resilience for the economy is provided.

She therefore urged participants to translate resolutions reached into measurable outputs and sustainable impacts across the North Central.

While speaking earlier, the Director of Economic Growth Department in the Ministry, represented by Fatai Olaifa, described cassava as a versatile crop which offers opportunities for farmers, entrepreneurs and investors. He therefore urged participants to fully align themselves, as the success of this value chain rests entirely on synergy.

During the unveiling of a corporate farming initiative in Lagos aimed at improving agricultural production and reducing food losses across Nigeria’s supply chain, stakeholders from government, agribusiness, banking and farming communities said the country must move away from its fragmented smallholder farming structure and adopt coordinated commercial farming models capable of boosting productivity and strengthening food security.

At the event, Origin Tech Group unveiled its Corporate Farm Model, a platform designed to support large-scale farming through structured financing, technical farm management and guaranteed market access for agricultural produce.

Executive Chairman of the company, Prince Samuel, said inefficiencies within Nigeria’s agricultural supply chain were responsible for huge food losses.

“About 50 per cent of the food produced in Lagos never gets to consumers due to inefficiencies in the supply chain,” he said.

According to him, the corporate farm model was created to address long-standing risks that have discouraged investors from participating in agriculture.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Origin Automobile Works, Leo Edwards, said Nigeria’s low level of mechanised farming remains a major challenge.

Quoting data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), he said the global benchmark for mechanised farming is 1.5 horsepower per hectare, while Nigeria operates at just 0.0027 horsepower per hectare.

Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Abisola Olusanya, said Nigeria’s agricultural model must evolve to address persistent food losses and supply shortages.