‘Nigeria loses $50b to post-harvest agric produce’

Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

International Institute for Tropical Root Crops (IITRC) on Thursday said Nigeria loses over $50 billion annually to post-harvest of agricultural produce.

The institute’s president, Prof Lateef Sanni, stated this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the 2019 in-house review meeting of the Nigerian Stored Products and Research Institute (NSPRI).

The former Deputy Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAB), said a reduction in postharvest losses is capable of ensuring food security and improving food sufficiency.

Sanni explained that despite the fact that Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of yam (23 million tonnes), cassava (54 million tonnes) and plantain, agricultural researchers should still do more on post-harvest development to reduce losses.