Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms Abiola Olusanya, has declared that post-harvest waste and inefficient storage infrastructure are the primary drivers of food inflation in the country, rather than low agricultural production alone.
Speaking at a three-day regional review meeting on Nigeria’s Food Systems Transformation Pathways in Ikeja, Lagos, Olusanya stressed that increasing farm yield will not automatically lower food prices or guarantee food security if massive quantities continue to be lost during preservation, logistics, and transit.
She noted that fixing supply chains, introducing temperature-controlled transportation, and organizing local markets are critical steps to making food more available and affordable for citizens.
Echoing these concerns, other key stakeholders at the regional forum which brought together representatives from South-West states, the Federal Government, and development partners emphasized that better coordination, enhanced cold-chain facilities, and a unified operational framework are urgently needed to tackle post-harvest losses and build a more resilient national food economy.
In his keynote address, the Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Ope George, said stronger cooperation among states was necessary to address food security challenges and improve the movement of food from producing areas to markets.
George noted that food systems transformation went beyond farming to include processing, storage, transportation, distribution, market access and sustainable consumption.
According to him, Lagos State’s position as a major centre of commerce, consumption and distribution makes cooperation with other states particularly important, given its extensive food supply connections with other parts of Nigeria, including the northern states.
He said collaboration could help address persistent challenges such as post-harvest losses, high transportation costs, inadequate storage facilities and inefficiencies in food markets.
“Our collective goal must be to strengthen food value chains, improve market access for producers, enhance food availability and build a more resilient and sustainable national food system,” George said.
The Commissioner explained that the regional review would enable stakeholders to assess progress, identify implementation gaps and agree on practical measures to improve the delivery of food systems programmes.
He added that a common operational framework would help clarify the responsibilities of relevant institutions and promote consistency in implementation, monitoring and reporting.
Earlier, the National Convener of the Food Systems Transformation Pathway for Nigeria, Dr Clementina Ebere-Okoro, called on state governments and regional stakeholders to contribute to the validation of the draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for implementing the country’s food systems transformation agenda.
Speaking on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Deborah Odoh, Ebere-Okoro said the contributions of states and other stakeholders were critical to ensuring that the proposed framework reflected the practical realities of implementation.
She explained that although the Federal Government had prepared a draft SOP, inputs from the states and geopolitical zones were needed to establish a common approach to coordination, implementation, reporting and accountability.
“At the national level, we have put up the draft SOP, but we need the input of everyone—the states and the zones—because that is where the implementation is. We want a situation whereby we have a joint food SOP, so we need to validate it with your inputs,” she said.
Ebere-Okoro identified climate change, insecurity, malnutrition, post-harvest losses and rising food prices among the challenges confronting Nigeria’s food systems.
She said addressing these issues required stronger coordination, evidence-based decisions and sustained participation by government institutions, development partners and other stakeholders.
According to her, the bi-annual review was designed to assess implementation progress at federal and state levels, identify emerging challenges, document lessons and good practices, and agree on practical steps to improve results.
In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs Olayinka Ojo, called for sustained collaboration and effective coordination among stakeholders to improve food systems across the South-West.
Ojo said the meeting provided an opportunity for participants to review progress, share experiences, identify implementation gaps and validate an operational framework that would support more effective delivery.
She noted that food systems were closely linked to economic growth, job creation and improved livelihoods, making cooperation among states essential to achieving sustainable development.
“Given Lagos State’s strong economic and food supply linkages with other parts of Nigeria, collaboration across states and geopolitical zones remains essential to building resilient and sustainable food systems,” she said.
Ojo urged participants to contribute actively to the deliberations, expressing confidence that their combined experiences would help produce practical recommendations for implementing the regional food systems transformation agenda.
The three-day meeting is expected to conclude with recommendations on implementation priorities and inputs towards a harmonised SOP for the South-West.
The proposed framework is intended to strengthen coordination, clarify institutional responsibilities and improve accountability among stakeholders working to transform Nigeria’s food systems.
