Crop production, fishing, livestock and forestry are the four main segments of the agriculture sector in Nigeria. Crop production which by far is the largest segment, accounts for about 85% of the sector’s total output. The sector ranks as the largest employer of labour in the country, engaging over 48% of the country’s labour force (NIPC). Between 2013 – 2019, agriculture contributed an average of 24% to the nation’s GDP. In recent times, the significant decline of the global oil price - which was partly induced by the advent of the novel coronavirus pandemic - has again shifted attention back to agriculture as a veritable means of economic diversification and an avenue to cushion the effect of sharp dip in foreign exchange revenue from crude oil export. Nevertheless, the share of agriculture in Nigeria’s total export earnings, which averages 2% - 3% per annum, is insignificant compared to crude oil exports (75%).

Limited access to funding remains one of the most challenging issues that agribusinesses face in the country. Beyond access to finance, however, another major challenge local agribusinesses face are post-harvest losses.

Post-harvest losses refer to losses incurred between harvest and the moment of human consumption. They include on-farm losses, such as when grain is threshed, winnowed, and dried; as well as losses due to inadequate harvesting time, climatic conditions, practices applied at harvest or handling, and challenges in marketing produce. Significant losses are furthermore caused by inadequate storage conditions as well as decisions made at earlier stages of the supply chain, including transportation, storage, and processing, which predispose products to a shorter shelf life.

In Nigeria, these are particularly high due to:

1. underdeveloped physical infrastructure for storage, processing and logistics,
2. lack of access to inputs and machinery,
3. lack of technical training and
4. insufficient financial resources.

Food loss and waste undermine the sustainability of our global food systems. When food is lost or wasted, all the resources that were used to produce this food - including water, land, energy, labour and capital - go to waste.

This series will provide insights about technical options to sustain agricultural produce as food. Moreover, since management skills and knowledge are preconditions to using equipment properly, this series will cover both aspects equally, as well as present plausible German solutions. Under the consideration that food loss and waste happen at all levels, the series addresses actors along the entire agricultural value chain.

Each webinar brings together industry experts and consultants to discuss challenges, as well as potential mitigating measures (such as mechanization or organizational management) based on true experiences and practical industry examples. The webinar series is organized by the Competence Centre Agribusiness at the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria, and we are happy to partner on this with the Business-Scout for Development programme as well as with the initiative “SDG Market Building” of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

For questions: agribusiness(at)lagos-ahk.de