By Obinna Uballa
Nigeria recorded between N3.5 trillion and N5 trillion in post-harvest losses in 2025, according to the Organisation for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa (OTACCWA).
The President of OTACCWA, Mr. Alexander Isong, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, stating that the country lost an estimated 30 to 40 million metric tonnes of food across key agricultural value chains within the year.
Isong said the losses were particularly severe in tomatoes, vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, fish and root crops.
“In 2025, Nigeria lost an estimated 30 to 40 million metric tonnes of food to post-harvest inefficiencies across major value chains,” he said. “In monetary terms, this translates to approximately N3.5 trillion to N5 trillion in economic losses.”
He explained that the wasted produce had already gone through the cultivation and harvesting stages, meaning the economic value had effectively been created before it was lost due to systemic challenges.
“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,” Isong said.
He noted that farmers had committed substantial resources to production, including land preparation, purchase of seedlings, fertiliser application, labour, irrigation and transportation.
“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,” he added.
According to him, post-harvest losses should not be viewed solely as an agricultural issue, but as a broader economic and infrastructure challenge.
“Post-harvest loss is not just an agricultural problem; it is an infrastructure and economic challenge,” he said.
Isong, who also serves as Country Director, Nigeria, for the World Agriculture Forum, warned that the absence of certified cold chain systems would continue to fuel food inflation, depress farmer incomes and weaken Nigeria’s export competitiveness.
He stressed the urgent need for large-scale national investment in refrigerated transportation systems, aggregation centres and modular cold storage facilities to reduce wastage and improve value retention across the supply chain.
Describing cold chain infrastructure as the “missing link” between agricultural production and economic prosperity, Isong said improving storage and logistics capacity would significantly boost the sector’s contribution to the economy.
He identified the lack of adequate cold storage facilities as the primary barrier to reducing post-harvest losses.
“Cold chain is an integral part of agriculture, and without sufficient investment, the sector’s growth and potential are severely limited,” he said.
Industry stakeholders have long argued that strengthening cold chain infrastructure is critical to addressing food security concerns, stabilising prices and unlocking export opportunities in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
