Postharvest Losses: FG To Revitalise Silo Concession Programme

The federal government has announced fresh plans to revive the Silo Concession Programme as part of efforts to curb post-harvest losses, strengthen food storage, and secure national food sovereignty.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this during a meeting with a delegation from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), led by its Director General, Dr. Jobson Oseodian Ewalefoh, in Abuja.

According to him, storage remains central to Nigeria’s food security drive, particularly in the face of massive post-harvest losses estimated at $10 billion annually. “Storage facilities are essential to our food security drive, as they directly address wastage and ensure year-round availability of staple crops,” Kyari said.

The minister stressed that the ministry’s review revealed wide gaps in the programme’s implementation. “Out of the 17 silo complexes concessional to five private companies, only Flour Mills of Nigeria, which operates three silo complexes under three separate Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), has met all conditions and is performing optimally,” he explained.

He added that several concessionaires had failed to bring the facilities into full operation despite earlier agreements.

“Monitoring visits showed little or no progress in some facilities, with reported cases of vandalization and perimeter fence collapse in locations such as Ikorodu and Ogoja,” Kyari noted.

The minister also pointed out that many operators defaulted on payment obligations. “Only Flour Mills has consistently met both performance and financial conditions,” he said.

Kyari assured that the ministry would intensify oversight in partnership with ICRC to enforce compliance and ensure only competent private operators retain the facilities.

The ICRC Dr Ewalefoh, emphasized the need to streamline the programme.

“Only private companies with real operational needs for silos should be retained. Abandoned silos should be retrieved by the federal government,” he said.

He further noted that some concessionaires had failed to remit expected returns to government coffers.

A joint committee was inaugurated at the meeting to review contractual clauses, assess performance, and establish clear modalities for monitoring and evaluation.

The Silo Concession Programme was first introduced in 2017 under the Federal Government’s drive to modernize grain storage and reduce wastage. Nigeria had invested heavily in building 33 grain silos across the country with a combined capacity of 1.3 million metric tonnes, intended to stabilize prices, guarantee buffer stocks, and ensure food availability during shortages.

Under the concession plan, selected private operators were expected to manage and maintain the facilities while paying agreed returns to the government. However, challenges of mismanagement, vandalism, and non-remittance of dues have hampered its success, leaving several silos idle while food losses continued to rise.