The Nigerian government has launched the Nigeria Postharvest Systems Transformation Programme (NiPHaST), a nationwide initiative aimed at curbing the country’s estimated ₦3.5 trillion in annual postharvest losses.
Unveiled at the Nigeria Legacy Program during the Africa Food Systems Forum in Dakar, Senegal, the programme is part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to strengthen food security, reduce poverty, and boost economic growth.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said the programme would introduce a more resilient and inclusive storage system across the country. NiPHaST is expected to deliver household storage technologies, community level warehouses, cold rooms, and strategic national silos managed through public private partnerships.
According to the minister, the programme will also spur robust investment in the storage value chain through innovations in processing, preservation, packaging, and marketing, alongside climate-smart metal silos and modern cold storage. He explained that these interventions would unlock private sector investment, strengthen market confidence, and expand storage infrastructure across rural and urban communities.
Beyond reducing waste, NiPHaST is expected to improve agricultural exports, nutrition, household sales, and job opportunities, while raising farmer incomes and contributing to food import substitution in the agricultural ecosystem.
Kyari stressed the urgency of the intervention, warning that postharvest inefficiencies continue to undermine smallholder farmers. “Nigeria loses an estimated ₦3.5 trillion annually to postharvest inefficiencies. This is not just produce going to waste; it is opportunity lost and livelihoods destroyed,” he said.
In attendance are Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi, Minister of Livestock Development Idi Mukhtar Maiha, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness, Dr. Kingsley Uzoma, and agribusiness leaders emphasised that transforming postharvest systems will secure farmer livelihoods, revive agribusiness confidence, and position Nigeria as a leading food supplier in West Africa.
