Stakeholders in Nigeria’s agriculture and food systems have identified weak cold chain infrastructure and poor food preservation as major drivers of food inflation, seasonal scarcity and massive post-harvest losses across the country.

They disclosed this during the 11th International Trade Show and Conference organised by Fairtrade Messe at the Landmark Centre, Lagos.

President of the Organisation for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa (OTACCWA), Alexander Isong, said Nigeria’s food security challenge is largely a logistics and preservation problem rather than a production deficit, noting that the country produces significant volumes of food daily but continues to experience scarcity and rising prices because much of the produce fail to reach the market in good condition.

Isong said the country loses between 30 and 40 per cent of its food yearly, while post-harvest losses for fruits and vegetables can reach as high as 60 per cent due to inadequate storage and transportation systems.

He added that less than five per cent of food in the country is transported under temperature-controlled conditions, resulting in massive waste along the supply chain.

He noted that inadequate cold storage facilities, weak logistics systems and limited refrigerated transportation prevent food from reaching cities in good condition, contributing to higher prices for consumers.

Isong also stressed that investing only in agricultural production without building preservation and distribution infrastructure would continue to increase waste.

Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Francis Meshioye, also said that Africa remains at the centre of the global hunger crisis, noting that about 733 million people worldwide face hunger, with a significant number on the continent.

Meshioye stressed that Africa must harness its agricultural potential by strengthening value chains to improve food availability, supporting smallholder farmers, reducing post-harvest losses, and promoting value addition instead of exporting agricultural commodities in raw form.