Curbing food wastage

Again, most farmers produce blindly, with no data to rely on in terms of available markets. There are still issues with population census. It would help if farmers understand the statistics of consumption for their products. It would guide production and better distribution.

Another contributing factor to wastages is poor packaging and the wrong use of pesticides. Some years ago, the EU rejected beans from Nigeria because of excessive use of preservatives. This is not just an embarrassment, it is very telling because the same products get consumed by Nigerians, often resulting in either food poisoning or kidney ailments.

The foreign exchange that ought to be gained from such exports is often lost. This must make the agencies in charge of standardisation to do better at supervision and enforcement.

Insufficient storage facilities also contribute to the wastages. Perishable products have a short shelf life. Given the Nigerian weather, there must be a deliberate plan by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to guide production for farmers, most of who are not too literate to either understand or access some necessary storage systems and facilities. State and local governments ought to step into this production and distribution chains to make the food items reach the consumers.

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The example of Lagos State government is commendable because they often organise ‘Village Markets’ where farmers sell their products at subsidised rates. This helps the farmers to reach more consumers and avoid wastages.

The tiers of government in the country must invest in food processing industries. It would not only create more jobs and minimise food wastages, it would add more money to the economy. Most of the wastages happen because, besides immediate consumption of certain food items, the Nigerian economy seems not to have room for processing. The few private investors in the area often get overwhelmed by production and again, lack of adequate storage facilities.

A state like Benue ought to be competing with Florida in the United States, given the huge amount of fruits produced in the state.

Jos, Plateau State, is known for the production of vegetables and the government can make it possible for farmers to export these and attract foreign exchange. Most countries in the Middle East rely heavily on imported farm produce, often flown in fresh. To benefit from this market, cargo airports in states like Plateau must be highly functional. Government can construct more cold rooms and silos to help in storage.

It is however important to note that food wastages have not always been in this huge scale because, in the past, government agencies and marketing boards were more functional. There must be a conscious effort to revive such agencies as marketing boards and farm settlements strictly supervised by relevant ministries at the federal and state levels.

Nigeria cannot afford this level of wastage. There must be conscious efforts by the governments to be seen to be better managers of the food production and supply chains. It needs a realisation that the food insecurity is not mainly as a result of social ills like herder-farmer clashes, terrorism, banditry, etc., alone.

Conservation, efficient storage and distribution is a multi-faceted and capital intensive food preservation journey that needs the cooperation or both government and the citizens.

We want to see a concerted effort at reducing the wastages. The governments at local, state and federal levels must be willing to take the necessary steps because food is life and a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.