Nigeria suffers $9bn post-harvest loss yearly – Don

The Director of Instructing and Analysis Farms, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka College, Markudi, Prof Felix Ugese, has disclosed that Nigeria loses about $9bn yearly as a post-harvest loss.

He acknowledged this whereas talking on the theme “Unlocking Agricultural Potential for Financial Progress” on the Agroween Competition 2024, organised by the Intergenerational Rescue Foundation in collaboration with Yabatech and held in Lagos on Wednesday.

He famous that the excessive post-harvest loss within the nation may very well be tackled by means of worth addition.

“Worth addition provides you larger returns for the trouble made. And likewise reduces post-harvest losses. Now, our post-harvest losses have risen to over $9bn each year.

“It’s not a small loss. And the African common is about $4bn each year. Now, everyone seems to be saying a discount in post-harvest losses results in $40bn in output features. And the farmer is the best beneficiary.

“So, what we’re going to be gaining by decreasing post-harvest losses is large. However now, as much as 50 per cent of what we produce goes to waste,” he declared.

He added that the nation should take drastic measures to realize meals safety to feed its rising inhabitants, which is estimated to hit 400 million by 2025.

“The amount of meals on the present degree can’t feed that inhabitants. And so, one thing very drastic is completed. As a approach of enhancing productiveness, we’re going to be having extra folks ravenous than what we’re witnessing.

“Now, the worldwide starvation index. We’ve the one hundred and tenth place out of 127 international locations. At present, now we have 25 million individuals who want meals help. By subsequent yr, we can have 33 million folks.

“So, it isn’t a very good story. So, there’s going to be extra starvation subsequent yr except one thing very drastic is completed,” he acknowledged.

He added that although the federal government appeared overwhelmed by the present meals challenges, it should collaborate with the non-public sector to handle them.

He additionally stated the federal government ought to implement insurance policies that promote entry to low-cost funds and improve the ratio of extension employees to farmers.

He defined, “There should be non-public sector initiatives and elevated funding in analysis and improvement. We’d like extra analysis to have the ability to transfer ahead. We can’t depend upon what different international locations are doing. We’d like ours to be the place they’re.

“It’s an space we is probably not able to influencing as a result of we aren’t immediately charged. We are able to provide helpful recommendation. As an illustration, the subject of borrowing for price. It’s too excessive. The federal government should put in place insurance policies that affect positively on agricultural productiveness.

“We’ve the bottom ratio of financial institution extension brokers to farmers in all of Africa. In Nigeria, the ratio is one financial institution extension agent to 10,000 farmers. All the opposite international locations have one extension agent to 1,200 farmers.”

The Rector of Yaba College of Technology, Dr Ibtaheem Abdul, acknowledged that Nigeria has to embrace its agricultural sector to have the ability to deal with meals insecurity within the nation.

“This outstanding occasion has induced transformative potential, not just for agriculture however for financial development. I need to thank the Intergenerational Rescue Foundation, which is partnering with our School of Agricultural Expertise, for this imaginative and prescient and innovation. We’re in an period, an age, the place what issues will not be the routine.

“There’s a saying that claims you’ll be able to’t be doing one thing the identical approach on a regular basis and count on a distinct end result. The end result will at all times be the identical factor. However should you assume out of the field or with out the field and also you carry up an modern thought, then we could be anticipating an modern or totally different answer,” he averred.

He talked about that Yabatech and the Intergenerational Rescue Foundation aimed to carry up modern alternatives, consolidate income, and faucet into nationwide and worldwide funding to assist tackle the Sustainable Growth Objectives in Nigeria.