Lagos State Government has commissioned another Mid-Level Agro-Produce Hub network, with a promise to sustain food security strides in the state.
The inauguration of the facility marks the third such agricultural infrastructure after the state government handed over Mushin Food Hub and Abijo Food Hub in Ibeju Lekki, among other hubs being developed across the state.
Besides the hubs, Lagos State is also building a Central Food Security Systems and Logistics Hub at Ketu-Ereyun Epe, designed as the major aggregation and logistics platform, from which food can move closer to the residents.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Fresh Food Hub held at the Pen Cinema Agege, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said that the whole essence is to create a platform where a structured market is adequately stocked to sustain food systems of the state.
He said, “Lagos already has the market, but do we have the audacity to feed that market and that is why we have the Agro Middle Level Food Hub.”
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Supply Chain
The Governor who described the facility as a major component of his administration’s efforts to build a more efficient, affordable and resilient food system for the state, explained that the Fresh Food hubs will reduce food supply chain costs, cut post-harvest losses and create thousands of jobs.
He maintained that the hubs were designed to eliminate unnecessary layers of intermediation and provide modern infrastructure for handling, storage and distribution of agricultural produce.
According to him, the initiative is already yielding results at the Fresh Food Hub in Mushin, commissioned in December 2023.
“Since its commissioning, the Fresh Food Hub, Mushin, has recorded transactions valued at over ₦4 billion across 228 market days, with more than 850 registered vendors and over 7,000 direct and indirect jobs created,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He stated that the figures demonstrated the capacity of properly designed food infrastructure to go beyond providing trading spaces and become catalysts for economic growth and improved livelihoods.
“Well-designed market infrastructure does far more than provide a place to sell food: it improves farmers’ incomes, reduces post-harvest losses, creates jobs, and strengthens local economies,” he stressed.
Another Milestone
In her remark, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms Abisola Olusanya, said the Agege hub marks another milestone in the state’s emerging food distribution network.
Olusanya, who explained the idea behind the food hub, said the project was developed in partnership with Origin Tech Group to move food more efficiently into and across Lagos while reducing losses and improving understanding of the state’s largely informal food distribution system.
“We are trying to deal with some of the problems that have become almost inseparable from the way food is traditionally traded in a city of this size: the amount of food we lose because of poor handling and inadequate storage, the traffic congestion created when food trading and logistics compete for already limited road space, and the conditions under which many of our traders have had to conduct their businesses.
“By bringing these activities into properly designed spaces, we can manage waste better, organise loading and offloading, provide a cleaner and more dignified trading environment and begin to bring a largely informal food economy into a more organised and visible system without taking away the enterprise and commercial relationships that make our markets work.” she said
Food Hub
The Fresh Food Hub Agege occupies approximately 7,000 square metres, with a 4,000-square-metre trading floor capable of accommodating 350 to 400 vendors.
It also has about 1,200 square metres of dry storage with a capacity of approximately 800 metric tonnes and about 300 metric tonnes of cold storage for fresh produce.
