The Organisation for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa has revealed that Nigeria recorded between ₦3.5 trillion and ₦5 trillion in post-harvest losses in 2025, attributing the staggering figure to inadequate cold storage systems and weak logistics infrastructure.
The President of OTACCWA, Alexander Isong, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, warning that the country continues to forfeit significant economic value due to persistent inefficiencies across its agricultural value chains.
According to Isong, Nigeria lost an estimated 30 to 40 million metric tonnes of food in 2025 alone, particularly across tomatoes, vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, fish and root crops.
“In monetary terms, this translates to approximately ₦3.5 trillion to ₦5 trillion in economic losses,” he said.
He explained that the losses represent food already cultivated, harvested and transported , investments that had consumed resources including land preparation, seedlings, fertiliser, labour, irrigation and logistics before being wasted due to inadequate preservation systems.
“When such volumes are lost because of weak cold storage and poor logistics, the country is effectively losing Gross Domestic Product that has already been created,” Isong stated.
Describing post-harvest loss as more than an agricultural issue, he emphasised that it is fundamentally an infrastructure and economic challenge requiring coordinated national intervention.
Isong, who also serves as Country Director, Nigeria, for the World Agriculture Forum, noted that without certified and functional cold chain systems, Nigeria would continue to grapple with food inflation, reduced farmer income and limited export competitiveness.
He stressed the urgent need for large-scale investment in refrigerated transportation, aggregation centres and modular cold storage facilities, describing cold chain infrastructure as the critical bridge between farm production and economic prosperity.
“The lack of adequate cold storage facilities remains the primary obstacle. Cold chain is an integral part of agriculture, and without sufficient investment, the sector’s growth and potential are severely limited,” he said.
