The stakeholders in the Nigerian agricultural sector have called for investment in cold chain infrastructure to address Nigeria’s annual post-harvest losses and boost food security.
The stakeholders stated this in the Cold Chain in Agriculture Roundtable 2025, organised by Ecotutu, a cold chain solutions firm, in Lagos
According to the statement, speaking at the event, industry leaders and policymakers lamented that up to 50 per cent of harvested crops are lost annually due to poor storage, weak logistics and the near-absence of modern preservation systems.
In his keynote address, the Executive Chairman of Origin Group, Joseph Samuel, represented by a director at Origin Tech, Olusesan Ayeni, said: “Cold chain is a core infrastructure, which is as essential as roads or electricity for feeding a growing population, enabling exports and transforming rural livelihoods.”
Samuel noted that while Nigeria is among Africa’s top producers of tomatoes, yam, cassava and citrus, “logistics infrastructure, cold chain, is underdeveloped or non-existent in many value chains.”
He urged the Nigerian Government to establish a collaborative ecosystem to drive cold chain development, warning that continued neglect would worsen food insecurity and economic losses.
In her remarks, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Abisola Olusanya, noted that the state government was supporting startups and innovators to build post-harvest technologies and data systems.
“We are developing a unified database for farmers and the broader food industry to create a more efficient, transparent, and responsive food system within the state,” she said.
Olusanya commended Ecotutu for deploying solar-powered cold chain facilities that have helped reduce food spoilage, adding that “efforts like these are critical to building a more robust and responsive food system for Lagos”.
The Deputy Consul General of the Netherlands in Lagos, Peter Keulers, announced that the Dutch government, in partnership with Lagos State government, had launched the Polar Store, a solar-powered cold storage facility aimed at demonstrating renewable energy use in food preservation.
“The Polar Store serves as a training hub and a demonstration site for solar-powered cold storage,” Keulers said. “Post-harvest losses have been a significant challenge facing the Nigerian agricultural sector for a long time.”
Earlier in a welcome remarks, the Ecotutu’s Head of Operations, Adejoke Nofiu, said that the company had made “measurable progress” in reducing post-harvest losses across Nigeria.
“From deploying solar-powered mobile cold rooms to creating pay-as-you-chill models, Ecotutu has impacted thousands of farmers, traders and SMEs. We’ve helped extend the shelf life of fresh produce, supported smallholder farmers in reducing spoilage, and ensured that food travels farther, lasts longer, and feeds more people,” she said.
GIK/APA