The
Director General of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi
(FIIRO), recently in Lagos, lamented that the country post-harvest
losses have risen to over $9 billion annually...
Prof. (Mrs.) Gloria Elemo, who was the
keynote speaker at a two-day workshop of GAIN-PLAN Nigeria Cold Chain
Summit 2017, held in Ikeja, Lagos, stated that post-harvest losses in
Nigeria are estimated to be about 50 per cent of foods produced.
She explained that some experience more
than 50 percent loss like in the case of fruits and vegetables due to
their perishable nature, adding that crops like grains record less than
50 per cent post-harvest losses.
“Some food products never get to leave
the farm before they experience spoilage, damage or waste while others
happen during transportation, storage and in the markets. Apart from the
biological reasons for PHL, our farming systems are mostly at the
subsistence level and thus with no appropriate mechanisation and
infrastructural facilities to back them up like good roads, processing
equipment, storage equipment, poor market distribution, etc.
“We have bad roads, appropriate
transportation suitable for perishable produce are in short supply,
value added to agricultural produce is low, there is poor maintenance of
storage and handling facilities, to mention a few. It is ironic that
less perishable crops like grains, roots and tubers with low moisture
contents experience more loss as a result of poor handling after harvest
while fish, livestock, fruits and vegetables experience more loss as a
result of biological factors. Reducing biological deterioration as well
as eliminating these inefficiencies and ineffectiveness of the systems,
without even any increase food production, will go a long way to improve
food availability year around.
“The loss in nutrients that may have
otherwise helped to reduce micronutrient deficiencies and chronic
malnutrition in Nigeria is appalling. We cannot go on like this.”
Currently, there are about 12.9 million
hungry people in Nigeria, 37 per cent of children under-five are
stunted, which reflects failure to consume adequate nutrition over a
long period of time, 18 per cent of children under-five are wasted or
acutely malnourished, while 29 per cent of under-five children are
underweight. Only 35 per cent of children between six and 23 months
consume iron in their diets, a very necessary mineral for formation of
red blood cells and cognitive development and about 52 per cent within
the age of six and 23 months are fed appropriately based on recommended
infant and young child feeding practice.
Cost of food has gone so high and the
chances of the next NDHS having improved indices on malnutrition are
already looking slim. Making sure that food is available is an important
step in achieving the ultimate goal of reducing post-harvest losses
which is to achieve food security and improve nutrition across board in
the nation.
In his speech, Alex Isong, MD/CEo of ALYX
Ltd, noted that private sector drives any economy, saying that if the
private sector does not stand in Nigeria, there in nothing that FIIRO
would do that will yield the required development.
Isong stated that he has the passion to
cut postharvest losses in Nigeria, adding that this propelled him into
building cooling van that can preserve vegetables and other perishable
items like tomatoes from the farm to the market as it is obtainable in
the western world.
He said; “Farmers in Nigeria are very
poor, they toil and toil without making money. They loss over 70 percent
of their tomatoes to rot and other forms of wastages due to lack of
preservation and improper storage and handling.
“Federal Government keeps giving them
grants, loans, fertilizer, and aids, but all these end up in dust bin.
This bad business, no business can be sustained like this.“We went into fabrication of cooling van
to help Nigerian famers and the government identify that cold-chain
logistics is integral part agriculture. It will enhance employment
generation and food provision. We will get fresh food in Nigeria and we
would begin to export.”
Also speaking, Alhaji Abdulai Bby, head,
tomato sellers association, mile 12, noted that with the cold chain
initiative, their losses would be a thing of the past.
He noted that it would also address the
issue of scarcity of the tomatoes and other vegetables, adding that it
will bring about stability in the price of the commodity.
He called on the government to come to the aid of farmers to be able to acquire the cold chain equipment.
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