By OLAITAN IDRIS

The Organisation for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa (OTACCWA) has disclosed that Nigeria recorded between N3.5 trillion and N5 trillion in post-harvest losses in 2025.

The President of OTACCWA, Mr Alexander Isong, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Isong also said the country lost an estimated 30 to 40 million metric tonnes of food across major value chains.

“In 2025, Nigeria lost an estimated 30 to 40 million metric tonnes of food to post-harvest inefficiencies across major value chains, particularly tomatoes, vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, fish, and root crops.

“In monetary terms, this translates to approximately ₦3.5 trillion to ₦5 trillion in economic losses,” Isong said.

He explained that the losses represented food that had already been cultivated, harvested and transported.

“When such volumes are lost due to inadequate cold storage, poor logistics, and weak infrastructure, the country is effectively losing Gross Domestic Product that has already been created.

“Farmers had already invested in land preparation, seedlings, fertiliser, labour, irrigation and transport before these products were lost due to weak cold storage and logistics systems.

“Post-harvest loss is not just an agricultural problem, it is an infrastructure and economic challenge,” he said.

Isong, also the Country Director – Nigeria for World Agriculture Forum, noted that without certified cold chain systems, Nigeria would continue to struggle with food inflation, reduced farmer income and limited export competitiveness.

He stressed the need for urgent national investment in refrigerated transport, aggregation centres and modular cold storage facilities to curb the losses.

He described cold chain infrastructure as the missing link between agricultural production and economic prosperity.

Isong described lack of adequate cold storage facilities as the primary obstacle which severely hampers efforts to address post-harvest losses.

“Cold chain is an integral part of agriculture, and without sufficient investment, the sector’s growth and potential is severely limited,” he said. (NAN)

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