The Lagos State Government has flagged off the construction of Central Food Security Systems and Logistics Hub.
The project described by the government as largest in Africa is a component of a five-year Agriculture and Food Systems Road Map (2021–2025) launched last year towards enhancing food sufficiency in Lagos.
Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony in Epe area of the State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu explained that the facility being built on 1.2 million square metres of land in Ketu-Ereyun, Epe, when completed, is expected to create direct wealth for more than five million traders in the agriculture value chain.
Uninterrupted Food Supplies
Governor Sanwo-Olu also stated that the food hub would guaranteed uninterrupted food supplies to more than 10 million Lagos residents, at least 90 days, in a period of scarcity.
He maintained that the hub would have storage facilities for more than 1,500 trucks that would daily service the needs of thousands of operators within the food value chain throughout the year, while large commercial transactions would be processed in the facility.
The Governor further stated that the project upon completion would guarantee greater returns for farmers and investors in the agro-allied sector.
He said the market matrix generated from the facility would help the Government generate useful data for public planning and for the use of private sector players to project investment.
Addressing challenges
“Today’s flag-off of the Food Security Systems and Central Logistics Park is proof of our administration’s commitment to addressing the challenges of stakeholders in the Agri-space and giving hope to the people through improved quality of life. I make bold to say this is one of the most important interventions in agricultural sector that Nigeria has ever seen. The fact that this project is taking off in Lagos, the fastest-growing sub-national entity, means that it is bound to have significant national, regional, and continental impact.
“This hub will provide a better buying experience for consumers, help achieve a reduction in logistics costs, while guaranteeing the standardisation of quantity and quality for agricultural products. It also will improve productivity, guarantee greater returns for farmers, by cutting out several layers of middlemen. It will facilitate improved access to modern processing and packaging services for farmers and generate useful data for the use of government agencies, private sector players, and multilateral agencies.” he said.
Secured Funding
The Governor who assured that a well thought out funding scheme has been secured for the project, promised it would be delivered in the last quarter of 2024.
According to him “The development of this all-important Central Logistics Hub will be achieved through a collaboration between the State Government and the private sector and will be implemented through a Design-Build-Finance-Operate-and-Transfer model. At every step of the way, we will be counting on the contributions of the private sector, in terms of financing and technical advisory and support,” Governor Sanwo-Olu added.
Global Economy
Commissioner for Agriculture, Abisola Olusanya, said the current global food shortages were parts of the harsh consequences of climate change and global warming, which, she said, had led to economic instability in some countries.
She stressed that a continuous disruption in food distribution sequence could portend catastrophic consequences on security of the people.
Tue Commissioner pointed out that Lagos initiated the agriculture plan to protect its residents from the effects of food shortages.
“Upon completion, the Central Food and Logistics Park will unleash the potential in both the upstream and downstream of agricultural sector. This project will further reaffirm the leadership of Lagos as the first destination for agricultural produce along the West African corridor,” Olusanya said.
Some of the farmers who spoke in a separate interview with Voice of Nigeria lauded the initiative by the government and stressed it’s importance in the areas of savings more produce, thereby preventing incessant loss witness due to lack of post-harvest storage system.
The hub will be operated on off-grid power source of 900 megawatts, and is expected to provide 16,000 direct jobs.
Amenities that will come to the facility include aggregation facilities, administrative offices, trading area, packaging facilities, processing facilities, cold chain/dry goods services, and logistics services.
Others are trailer park, water treatment plant, health centre, fuel station, fire station, abattoir among others.
Confidence Okwuchi
