Food: FG tackles N3.5trn annual post-harvest losses with systems programme

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – THE national government, weekend, said plans were to tackle post-harvest losses presently estimated astatine implicit N3.5 trillion.

To execute this, the authorities unveiled the Nigeria Post-harvest Systems Transformation Programme, NiPHaST, to tackle the problem, with a presumption to promoting nutrient accumulation and preservation.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, who disclosed this astatine the Nigeria Legacy Programme, organized by the Africa Food Systems Forum, successful concern with the Alliance for a Green Revolution successful Africa, AGRA, successful Dakar, Senegal, said successful a connection issued by the ministry.

He explained that NiPHaST unveiling became imperative to guarantee a resilient, businesslike and inclusive post-harvest handling and retention strategy that reduces losses, heighten incomes arsenic good arsenic execute nutrient sovereignty.

According to him, NiPHaST would stabilise nutrient prices, guarantee availability, accessibility, affordability of unchangeable food, amended retention strategy arsenic good arsenic execute nationalist nutrient sovereignty

He besides highlighted the information that the programme fundamentally would absorption connected household retention technologies, community-level warehouses, acold rooms, and strategical nationalist silos managed done public–private partnerships, among others.

The curate expressed optimism that the programme would make robust concern successful the retention worth concatenation successful presumption of processing, preservation, packaging, marketing, climate, astute metallic silos and acold rooms, mong others.

He added that the inaugural would unlock backstage assemblage investment, fortify marketplace confidence, and grow retention infrastructure.

Kyari noted that the programme would besides amended cultivation exports, nutrition, household sales, occupation opportunities, farmer’s income, and wealthiness arsenic good arsenic achieved nutrient import substitution successful the cultivation ecosystem.

He revealed that Nigeria loses an estimated ¦ 3.5 trillion annually to post-harvest inefficiencies, mostly affecting smallholder farmers.

He said: “This is not conscionable nutrient going to waste; it is accidental mislaid and livelihoods destroyed.”

The curate called for stronger planetary collaboration, stressing that transforming post-harvest systems would unafraid husbandman livelihoods, revive agribusiness assurance and presumption Nigeria arsenic a starring nutrient supplier successful West Africa.

The station Food: FG tackles N3.5trn yearly post-harvest losses with systems programme appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.