Nigeria Loses ₦3.5trn Yearly To Post-Harvest Losses, 40m Tones Of Food — BoA

The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) has disclosed that between 30 and 40 million metric tonnes of food are lost every year before reaching consumers in Nigeria.

The bank also said Nigeria loses about ₦3.5 trillion annually to post-harvest losses, blaming poor access to reliable energy and inadequate cold-chain infrastructure for the huge economic losses across the agricultural value chain.

According to the bank, fruits and vegetables account for 40 to 50 per cent of total losses.

It further indicated that about 50 per cent of onion harvests are lost annually due to the absence of cold-chain facilities, while over 40 per cent of post-harvest losses are directly linked to energy poverty.

The bank stated this in Kaduna during a two-day workshop on the Clean Energy Access Framework (CEAF) organised in partnership with DalaHill LP, with support from the Africa Climate Foundation (ACF), to strengthen the bank’s capacity to finance clean energy solutions for agriculture.

Presenting the framework in Kaduna, Head of the Clean Energy Delivery and Implementation Unit (CEDIU), with Bank of Agriculture, Dr. Adnan Aminu, said the country’s energy deficit has become a major obstacle to agricultural productivity, food security and rural economic development.

According to figures presented at the workshop, “Nigeria loses an estimated ₦3.5 trillion annually—equivalent to between $2.3 billion and $3.3 billion—to post-harvest losses”

“Without certified cold-chain systems, Nigeria will continue to struggle with food inflation, reduced farmer income and limited export competitiveness,” the presentation stated.

Speaking with journalists, Aminu said the Bank was developing a financing framework that would enable farmers and agribusinesses to access loans for clean energy technologies capable of reducing these losses.

Also speaking, Project Manager at DalaHill LP, Toby Ilori, said the project was conceived to help bridge the gap between climate finance and agriculture by providing the technical and legal frameworks required to unlock investments.

“Nigeria has enormous agricultural potential, but energy challenges continue to affect production, processing, storage and exports. This initiative is designed to provide practical solutions that will enable the country harness available climate finance to transform the agricultural sector,” Ilori said.

Head of Strategy and Performance Management at the Bank of Agriculture, Ogaruwu Anselm, said clean energy financing would expand access to funding while supporting environmentally sustainable farming practices.