Farmers Lose N9b Annually to Post-Harvest Production

• Farmers Lose N9b Annually to Post-Harvest Production

The Organisation for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa, OTACCWA, has said Nigeria’s farmers lose combined N9 billion annually to post-harvest production.

The organisation said most of the losses were mainly perishable goods with around 50 percent recorded on fruits and vegetables.

Augustine Okoruwa, the President of the Organisation, said the group observed that the lack of adequate Cold Chain facilities is one of the causes of post-harvest losses in the agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors.

He explained that with Cold Chain there would be sustainable food security and improved nutrition in Nigeria and the rest of West Africa.

He said: “This encompasses perishable commodities, fresh food and vegetables, berry, meat, poultry, sea food and pharmaceutical products that require cold chain like vaccines.”

Tunde Okoya, the Vice President of the organisation, explained that the recent forex restriction by the Central Bank of Nigeria on the importation of milk will lead to an improve local investment but with Cold Chain system it would help curb waste and enhance profitability.

“There is need to have a Cold Chain system in operation right from the farm gate where the milk is obtained, to the aggregation point; where all the milk is collected before sending it to a major processor or packaging company. Even after it has been processed and bottled into Tetra packs or bottles, it still must be transported (which could require Cold Trucks),” he said.

Okoya also noted that the country Cold Chain industry is poorly developed, therefore government must encourage matured Cold Chain operation.

“This is why the government must come up with strong policies to salvage the situation. Industry and government policies are made to develop sectors that are perceived to be glitch and such policy (like that of CBN) at the end of the day have impact of cascading to other sectors. That is why this new CBN policy is a welcome development,” he added.