Phillips Nto, a lecturer at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, has emphasized the need for effective strategies to promote value addition in agricultural produce as a solution to the recurring issue of post-harvest losses.
He urged both federal and state governments to develop and enforce policies that would support farmers in preserving their harvests, particularly perishable crops.
Nto, who also serves as the Director of the Agribusiness Incubation Centre (ABIC) at the university, made this appeal during a courtesy visit by a group of female farmers to his office.
He expressed concern over the continuous loss of large portions of farmers’ yields due to market oversupply and the absence of proper value addition infrastructure.
As a new planting season approaches, Nto stressed the importance of providing farmers with the necessary support to process and extend the shelf life of their produce to minimize waste.
“Since most agricultural produce are highly perishable, it is essential to process them to a secondary stage to extend their shelf life and facilitate easier distribution,” he stated.
Nto, the immediate past Provost of Abia State College of Education (Technical), Arochukwu, observed that while the government has largely focused on supporting primary agricultural production, attention should now shift towards value addition to improve product durability.
He emphasized the need for government intervention to help farmers achieve this, noting that such efforts would also play a crucial role in strengthening food security.
He further explained that adding value to crops would ensure year-round availability of food, unlike the present situation where certain crops become scarce shortly after harvest due to their perishable nature.
“With a new farming season approaching, farmers should cultivate their crops with a focus on value addition to prevent significant post-harvest losses caused by oversupply,” he advised.
Nto, who previously served as Abia State’s Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, expressed appreciation for the women’s visit and reaffirmed ABIC’s commitment to supporting them.
“ABIC was established to empower women and other vulnerable groups by helping them leverage agriculture to improve their livelihoods,we have moved beyond subsistence farming. Our goal is to equip you with modern techniques, including value addition,” he said.
Earlier, the delegation’s leader, Beatrice Kalu, stated that their visit to Umudike was to gain firsthand insight into ABIC’s operations, having heard much about the centre’s efforts.
She praised Nto for the centre’s practical strategies in engaging rural women, especially through its radio farmers programme and other awareness initiatives.
Kalu assured that they would embrace the value addition concept to avoid wasting their excess produce this season.
