The Nigerian Government has launched the Nigeria Postharvest Systems Transformation Programme (NiPHaST) to strengthen food security, reduce post-harvest losses, and drive economic growth under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Announcing the initiative at the Nigeria Legacy Session of the Africa Food Systems Forum in Dakar, Senegal, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said NiPHaST is designed to stabilise food prices, enhance storage systems, and improve farmers’ incomes.
Senator Kyari explained that “the programme will ensure the availability, accessibility, and affordability of staple foods while advancing national food sovereignty.”
The Minster said that the programme would focus on household storage technologies, community-level warehouses, cold rooms, and strategic national silos managed through public–private partnerships, among others.
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Senator Kyari said that it would create robust investment in the storage value chain in terms of processing, preservation, packaging, marketing , climate, smart metal Silos , cold rooms, among others.
He stressed that “the initiative would unlock private sector investment, strengthen market confidence, and expand storage infrastructure.”
Senator Kyari noted that “it also improves agricultural exports, nutrition, household sales, job opportunities, farmer’s income, and wealth as well as achieved food import substitution in the agricultural ecosystem.”
He revealed that Nigeria loses an estimated ₦3.5 trillion annually to postharvest inefficiencies, largely affecting smallholder farmers, saying; “This is not just produce going to waste. It is opportunity lost and livelihoods destroyed,”
Senator Kyari however called for stronger international collaboration, stressing that “transforming post-harvest systems will secure farmer livelihoods, revive agribusiness confidence, and position Nigeria as a leading food supplier in West Africa.”