Dr. Kingsley Uzoma, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement, delivered an urgent call to action, framing Nigeria’s post-harvest loss crisis as a profound failure to protect national productivity gains.
Speaking at the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum, Dr. Uzoma stated that years of successful agricultural programs aimed at boosting crop yields are being tragically negated by insufficient storage and inefficient handling across the country.
He illuminated the paradox that has plagued Nigerian agriculture, noting that while productivity has increased, “we are at the same level of now admitting significant problems in terms of post-harvest losses.” He cited the enormous annual loss, emphasizing that this value should be driving economic growth and supporting the nation’s youthful workforce. Dr. Uzoma stressed that the government must now execute a strategic national pivot from focusing only on production output to prioritizing value recovery and systemic efficiency.
Conveying the seriousness of the national commitment, Dr. Uzoma spoke with the authority of the Presidency, stating the Honourable Minister “has championed the cause of trying to change that or scale up our storage capacity from the five per cent to at least 50 per cent.” He assured investors that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is personally invested in the sector’s comprehensive transformation and is ready to collaborate with partners to secure the future of the sector.
Dr. Uzoma described the current storage deficit not as a technical hurdle, but as an enormous, untapped investment opportunity waiting for patient, long-term capital.
He concluded with a clear objective for the gathered partners: “That is why we are here today, to present the investment opportunities before the global political audience of Nigeria and Africa.” He assured them the new program would enhance food security and contribute to improving agricultural performance across the continent.
