Category: Sunday magazine

Africa food supply chain is edging toward a dangerous tipping point, as infrastructure struggles to keep pace with rising demand. Congested ports, insufficient deep-water capacity and outdated cargo-handling systems routinely trap food shipments offshore for days, sometimes weeks, leaving importers helpless, as perishable goods deteriorate before they touch land. Most food entering the continent travel through road networks riddled with potholes, security checkpoints, and long stretches of unsafe terrain, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

Across Africa, a severe imbalance in logistics response is crushing farmers’ incomes and limiting consumers’ access to affordable food. From Mali to Ghana, Uganda to Kenya, the picture that emerges is one of a continental crisis rooted in inefficient transport and weak supply chains. Reports by the International Trade Centre (ITC), the World Bank and the African Union (AU), alongside media investigations, documented farmers confronting daily challenges that leave millions of tonnes of food unsold across major markets. In several cases, the reports revealed logistics and transportation systems unprepared for rising agricultural output.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Nigeria, where post-harvest spoilage caused by poor logistics can claim up to 40 per cent of annual food production, resulting in billions of naira in losses. The scale of the problem underscores how logistical failures are no longer isolated operational issues but structural threats to food security and economic stability.

According to the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr. Victor Iyama, the consequences of these failures extend far beyond the farm gate. He explained that transportation bottlenecks, delays and spoilage significantly increase the cost of moving agricultural goods. These added costs, he noted, are inevitably passed on to consumers, making food products more expensive at retail level. Studies further showed that small-scale farmers often lose between 40 and 50 per cent of potential revenue because they lack predictable and affordable logistics that would enable direct access to markets.

This challenge is not unique to Nigeria. Across the continent, logistics costs remain disproportionately high.

Log Update Africa recently quoted the Chief Executive Officer, Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA), Agayo Ogambi, as saying that transport costs in Africa ranged from $5 to $8 per kilometre per TEU, compared to just $1 to $2 per kilometre in Asia.

He attributed these high costs to poor road conditions, extended transit times, congestion, multiple checkpoints and the absence of dedicated lanes for perishable cargo at weighbridges.

Despite being a key supplier of fresh produce and vegetables to both local and global markets, Nigeria’s competitiveness is increasingly threatened by these constraints. Farmers and traders now brace for continued logistics uncertainty, rising costs, tariff inconsistencies and anxious consumers.

Data from a U.S. International Trade Administration report, supported by the Organisation for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa (OTACCWA), illustrated the gravity of the situation. The report estimates that Nigeria loses over 40 per cent of its food production to spoilage annually, valued at about ₦3.5 trillion. Stakeholders warn that deficiencies in logistics and transportation systems are causing significant physical and quality losses, particularly for perishable fruits, vegetables and agro-exports.

The National Secretary, National Tomato Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NATPAN), Sani Danladi, described the impact as devastating. He said the poor state of roads and the declining quality of logistics services linking tomato farms in the North to consumers in the South have resulted in massive financial losses and discouraged investment in the sector.

Danladi explained that traditional transport methods worsened the problem. “Previously, when we loaded tomatoes in baskets stacked on one another, we recorded losses of between 70 and 80 per cent in some cases. The introduction of non-collapsible plastic crates has helped reduce spoilage, but it has also introduced new challenges. While the crates protect tomatoes better, the costs associated with renting and returning them have become a major burden,” he said.

He noted that each crate holds between 20 and 22 kilogrammes of tomatoes and is the safest way to transport produce from northern farms to southern markets. “Using the crates ensures the tomatoes arrive looking as fresh as when they were harvested,” he said. However, the high purchase cost—ranging from ₦7,000 to ₦7,500 per crate—combined with a monopolised distribution system controlled by an association using colour-coding, has discouraged widespread adoption.

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According to him, the registration process and risk of theft further deter potential investors.

Yet the most significant challenge, Danladi stressed, lies in the return journey. Because the crates are not collapsible, they must be transported back empty. “You may pay ₦2.5 million to carry tomatoes, but even when the truck is empty, returning the crates can cost ₦1.5 million,” he said. To reduce costs, transporters often rely on trucks carrying heavy, low-volume goods such as iron rods from Lagos to Kano to bring back empty crates. This dependency can delay returns for weeks, limiting the number of trips possible in a season and reducing profitability.

These concerns were echoed by the Executive Director, the Infrastructure Network for Africa Food Systems (INAFS), Muhammad Yakubu Bubayaro, who also heads Bunkasa Agritech Limited. He described the journey from northern farms to southern markets as fraught with obstacles, largely due to Nigeria’s deteriorating road network. “In some places, roads are so bad that drivers have to offload part of the tomatoes to lighten the truck before pushing it through muddy paths,” Bubayaro said. After crossing such sections, the produce is reloaded, increasing handling and the risk of damage.

Beyond road conditions, he noted that actors across the value chain face intense pressure to ensure tomatoes and other fresh produce arrive in good condition. Packaging methods have evolved over time, with traders in markets such as Mile 12 in Lagos abandoning raffia baskets in favour of plastic crates to meet the demands of quality-conscious buyers.

The economic impact of poor packaging, he explained, is severe. “If a truck carrying tomatoes in raffia baskets travels from the North to Lagos, more than half of the load may be lost before reaching the market. In some cases, growers lose up to 90 per cent,” he said. While plastic crates significantly reduce losses, the rental model is undermined by costly empty returns, which erode already thin profit margins.

Access to crates also remains uneven. Bubayaro noted that large associations often dominate supply, making it difficult for smallholder farmers to participate. To address this, Bunkasa Agritech has adopted a cluster-based model that provides farmers with crates, price information, market linkages and logistics support, enabling better decision-making and reducing waste.

The logistics challenge, however, extends beyond vegetables. Bubayaro confirmed that grains and other produce also suffer from inadequate transport solutions. The lack of specialised agricultural logistics companies, he said, leads to unreliable services, with drivers sometimes failing to show up for produce ready for harvest, resulting in further losses.

Despite increased food production over the past three decades, the World Bank warns that weaknesses along Africa’s food supply chains continue to drive high costs. Its report, ‘Transport for Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: Strengthening Supply Chains’ found that 37 per cent of locally produced food is lost in transit due to slow processing, poor infrastructure and non-tariff barriers.

The report argued that prioritising investments in 50 key transport hubs—covering ports, border crossings and road segments—could significantly reduce food waste and benefit the 58 per cent of Africans currently facing food insecurity. Senior Managing Director of the World Bank, Axel van Trotsenburg, said food insecurity on the continent is not only about production but about fixing broken systems that prevent food from reaching those who need it most.

The view was reinforced by the report’s lead author, Charles Kunaka, who noted that African food supply chains are four times longer than those in Europe, leading to delays, higher prices and wasted resources. He stressed that coordinated investments in transport infrastructure are essential to building a resilient food system. Cold chain deficiencies further compound the crisis.

Speaking at a Cold Chain Roundtable in Lagos, OTACCWA President, Mr Alexander Isong, said Nigeria requires at least 25,000 refrigerated trucks to achieve minimal efficiency but currently has fewer than 1,000 to service over 11 million metric tonnes of perishable goods annually. He described the situation as both a logistical and humanitarian crisis, noting that Nigeria loses more than 20 million metric tonnes of food each year to spoilage. Isong added that the country’s cold storage capacity is “next to zero,” estimating a need for at least 100 large cold rooms with 500-tonne capacity to begin reversing post-harvest losses. These shortcomings are reflected in Nigeria’s ranking of 88th on the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index. High operational costs driven by poor roads, unreliable electricity and outdated port and customs systems continue to undermine efficiency.

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) estimated that inefficiencies in Nigeria’s logistics system cost the country about $8 billion annually, including $5.8 billion in corporate earnings lost by companies dependent on major ports such as Apapa, where logistics costs continue to rise steadily. These losses underscore Nigeria’s growing disadvantage in a global shipping landscape where efficiency increasingly defines competitiveness.

Across the continent, only four African container ports made Lloyd’s List Top 100 Container Ports Ranking for 2025. They include Morocco’s Tanger Med, Africa’s strongest performer, which ranked 17th globally after handling more than 10.2 million TEUs in 2024—an 18.9 per cent surge that reinforces its status as a major transshipment gateway. Egypt’s Port Said and Alexandria followed with 3.9 million TEUs and 2.2 million TEUs respectively, alongside Togo’s Lomé Port. Collectively, these ports have driven intra-regional food exports and served as the lifeblood of agricultural commerce, shaping the competitiveness of industries and entire national economies.

Analysts noted that Nigeria’s struggle with malnutrition and soaring food inflation is not driven by scarcity, but by systemic failures in moving produce from farms to markets. The country loses an estimated 40 per cent of its fruits and vegetables to spoilage due to inadequate refrigerated trucking, poor road networks, harsh weather conditions and corruption. Such post-harvest losses, common across much of the developing world, translate into lower incomes for farmers and higher prices for consumers.

According to the African Centre for Supply Chain (ACSC), logistics challenges, policy inconsistency and rising production costs have severely undermined Nigeria’s export sector. While the outlook for exports shows signs of gradual improvement, the think tank maintains that the condition and performance of Nigeria’s air and seaports have failed to support exporters in strengthening their global competitiveness. These structural weaknesses continue to weigh heavily on the country’s trade ambitions.

At various fora, the ACSC has also highlighted how road congestion, pollution and rising costs are worsened by the under-utilisation of alternative transport modes such as rail, inland waterways and air freight. Although Nigeria was once a major player in freight transport, stakeholders argue that decades of infrastructure decay have limited its capacity to meet modern logistics demands. Inland waterways, in particular, remain largely untapped for food transportation despite government efforts to revive the sector.

Speaking on these challenges, ACSC Director-General, Dr Obiora Madu, said the transport and logistics sector is a critical pillar of Nigeria’s agricultural economic infrastructure.

According to him, weaknesses in the supply chain have exposed overlooked vulnerabilities, underscoring the need for a functional system capable of withstanding shocks, adapting quickly and keeping food moving in times of uncertainty.

One of the most pressing gaps, Madu noted, was the scarcity of cold-chain facilities.

He stressed the need for targeted interventions to strengthen refrigerated storage and transport networks, adding that Nigeria’s warehousing and cold-storage sectors remain in their infancy. Significant infrastructure gaps from farms to ports, he said, have contributed to massive food losses nationwide.

To compete more effectively in the global economy, analysts and industry leaders are calling for a national multimodal transport strategy that comprehensively reviews air, land and water transport systems. They argued that increased funding is also required for technology adoption to reduce dock wait times, improve efficiency, strengthen resilience and enhance security across logistics corridors.

These concerns are echoed by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), which has repeatedly warned about bottlenecks slowing the movement of goods through Nigerian ports. The council notes that cargo spends an average of 20 to 30 days before exiting terminals, compared with four to seven days at neighbouring ports—an imbalance that highlights Nigeria’s competitive disadvantage in regional trade.

Beyond prolonged dwell times, the NEPC has identified excessive documentation requirements, overlapping inspections by multiple agencies and frequent system downtimes as persistent obstacles choking export flows. Together, these inefficiencies cost the country more than $10 billion every year, weakening the prospects of Nigerian products in global markets.

In its assessments, the Produce Export Development Alliance (PEDA) has similarly observed that Nigeria’s logistics infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with growing demand. The organisation notes that the horticulture sector, valued at ₦191 billion, is experiencing a decline in international market share due largely to rising production costs and logistics challenges.

PEDA Chief Executive Officer, Adetiloye Aiyeola, said the fresh vegetables export market offers significant foreign exchange opportunities for Nigerians but has become increasingly competitive and quality-driven. “A lot of Nigerians have been involved in it,” he said. “The motivation is the fact that they can earn foreign exchange. Exportation also helps us as a country to improve domestic standards. The more we embrace export standards, the more our domestic standards improve. The promise of access to a premium market is also a major attraction.”

Despite this promise, Aiyeola believes Nigeria’s perishable exports continue to face formidable logistics hurdles, ranging from high costs and air-freight shortages to persistent cold-chain gaps. Until these structural challenges are addressed, stakeholders warned that Nigeria risks leaving vast agricultural value untapped, even as regional competitors strengthen their foothold in global food markets.

Moving forward, making progress

With Lagos’ agriculture industry continuing to expand, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Ruth Abisola Olusanya, noted that the sector urgently requires a more robust supply chain infrastructure, even as shifting trends and persistent challenges demand attention. According to her, the ability of the food system to meet growing demand now depends largely on how efficiently produce can move from farms and processing centres to markets and consumers.

She explained that delays, high haulage costs and chronic congestion contribute significantly to food losses and higher prices across the state. In response, Lagos is undergoing a major overhaul of its logistics landscape, with modern logistics hubs emerging across the state to support expanding food cultivation, trade and consumption, while also easing pressure on existing transport networks.

Building on this, the commissioner observed that a rapidly rising population, expanding food processing and manufacturing capacity, and an increasingly attractive business climate have converged to position Lagos as one of the country’s most dynamic logistics growth markets. These factors, she said, are reshaping how food is produced, moved and consumed, creating fresh opportunities for investment while underscoring the need for smarter coordination across the entire value chain.

Against this backdrop, Ms. Olusanya said the state government is exploring a wide range of solutions to strengthen food logistics, improve traceability and promote sustainability within the sector. She emphasised that addressing logistics challenges cannot be left to government alone, noting that growers, producers, logistics companies, retailers and consumers all have critical roles to play in building a resilient and efficient food supply chain for Lagos.

Progress in this direction, she added, is already visible. Construction of Phase One of the Lagos Central Food Security Systems and Logistics Hub at Ketu-Ereyun in Epe is nearing completion. When operational, the facility will serve as a key distribution and processing centre for major agricultural commodities moving into and out of Lagos.

At the same time, the government is fast-tracking work on two additional mid-level agro-produce hubs expected to be completed before the end of the year—one at Abijo in Ibeju-Lekki and another at the Dairy Farm in Pen Cinema, Agege. These facilities, she noted, complement the already operational hub at Idi-Oro, Mushin, which has become a model for efficient produce aggregation and improved market access. Looking ahead, she disclosed that construction is also ongoing on new hubs at Opebi in Ikeja and Bombata on Lagos Island, with plans underway to replicate the model in Ikorodu, Lekki and Festac, further strengthening Lagos’ food logistics and distribution network. Indeed, agribusiness is thriving with innovations in food science, equipment, and supply chain driving an industry evolution.

Africa bets on logistics

From Nairobi’s flower corridors to Lagos’ ambitious food hub, Africa’s logistics sector is emerging as a decisive battleground for the continent’s food trade, competitiveness and security. Industry leaders, exporters, infrastructure developers and policymakers now agree on one point: logistics is no longer a support service but a strategic advantage that can make or break African trade. It was the heart of a recent high-level discussion on perishable logistics in East Africa, organised by Logistics Update Africa in Nairobi. The conference attracted stakeholders across the African perishable supply chain to the Kenyan capital, where stakeholders examined how weak transport links, fragmented cold chains and limited exit points continue to erode the value of Africa’s agricultural exports.

Speakers repeatedly returned to a central concern: African farmers and exporters may be producing high-quality food, but poor logistics often means it reaches global markets late, damaged, or uncompetitive.

Kenya’s horticulture exporters acknowledged that while the country performs better than some neighbours, infrastructure gaps remain severe. “We have only two main exit points that can handle fresh produce – Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the Port of Mombasa. If you are growing produce in the Rift Valley or western Kenya, you must transport it long distances. That time on the road affects quality and cost,” said Technical, Training, Standards & Compliance Officer, Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) Patrice Genga. Genga warned that even the gateways could soon be overwhelmed.

What African countries are doing to boost food logistics infrastructure

For decades, declining rail volumes, congested ports and crumbling infrastructure have constrained Africa’s economic potential, pushing up logistics costs and weakening export competitiveness. Nowhere is the strain more visible than in West Africa, where agro-industrial growth is being throttled by poor transport networks and erratic power supply, despite the food economy accounting for about 35 percent of the region’s gross domestic product.

According to the 2025 edition of Africa’s Development Dynamics, published by the OECD and the African Union Commission, logistics failures have driven local food prices 30 to 40 percent above global averages for comparable economies. Regional food demand is projected to surge from $126 billion in 2010 to $480 billion by 2030, but the report warns that inadequate transport and energy infrastructure remains a major barrier to meeting rising needs.

The absence of rural road connections continues to isolate producers from markets, resulting in high post-harvest losses, while unreliable electricity undermines the competitiveness of small food processors. This gap has entrenched a contradiction between Africa’s vast agricultural resources and its heavy reliance on food imports. Sierra Leone is cited as a stark example, with 75 percent of arable land uncultivated and 80 percent of ready-to-eat food imported.

National governments are stepping in as well.

Senegal

Senegal has launched a programme to build 100 warehouses and 20 cold rooms, expanding storage capacity by 250,000 tonnes to curb post-harvest losses estimated at CFA100 billion annually.

South Africa

In South Africa, renewed infrastructure investment in roads, rail and ports is aimed at easing congestion, restoring reliability and lowering the cost of doing business, as logistics firms such as FedEx expand technology-driven services.

Despite these efforts, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD )and African Union Commission  (AUC) warned  that without urgent, large-scale investment in transport and energy networks, Africa’s food systems will remain inefficient, sustaining high import dependence and elevated consumer prices even as production potential continues to grow.

Investors responding

A new chapter of connectivity is unfolding in West Africa, led by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) as it embarks on ambitious railway projects aimed at bridging borders and tapping into the continent’s immense economic potential.

From the dry expanses of the Sahel to the mineral-rich hills of Guinea, these multi-billion-dollar initiatives are reshaping the region’s logistics landscape.

At the heart of this transformation is the Nigeria-Niger Kano–Maradi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Stretching 393 kilometers, this groundbreaking project marks the first cross-border rail link in West Africa in nearly seventy years. Currently under construction by Mota-Engil, the line has made significant strides toward completion by 2025, with recent updates from the government confirming it’s on schedule to reach Katsina by year’s end.

This railway is more than just a set of tracks; it’s a game-changer for economic resilience. By linking Nigeria’s industrial powerhouse in Kano to Maradi, a bustling commercial center in Niger, the project aims to streamline the movement of goods and people. Once it’s fully operational, expected by early 2027, it will connect seamlessly with Nigeria’s existing SGR network, including the Kano-Kaduna line being developed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

To the west, the AFC plays a vital role in another transformative project: the 670-kilometer Transguinean Railway. The railway serves as the backbone of the Simandou integrated mine and infrastructure development, which recently celebrated a historic milestone with the start of operations  this year.

The AFC’s 2025 State of Africa’s Infrastructure report revealed that over 7,000 kilometers of new rail lines are either under construction or in the planning stages across Africa.

For instance, DHL plans to invest €300 million ($350 million) to expand logistics infrastructure across Africa, targeting warehousing, freight forwarding and last-mile delivery to support fast-growing sectors such as e-commerce and perishable goods. DHL Group Chief Executive, John Pearson, said Africa could become the world’s second-largest trade region within four years if supply-chain capacity improves.

The World Bank has also intensified support for transport and logistics projects that strengthen food supply chains. Investments in rural roads and regional corridors have reduced travel times, cut border delays and lowered food transport costs across several African countries.

Projects along the Abidjan–Lagos corridor, for example, have improved port efficiency and eased cross-border trade for millions of people.

These and other initiatives are bringing renewed hope for food security across the continent.