The Nigerian Federal Government has put the economic cost of post-harvest agricultural losses at N3.5 trillion annually (€8 bln). The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Shehuri, said that post-harvest losses had a large negative effect on Agricultural component Domestic Product (GDP): ”Post-harvest losses is a worrisome situation that threatens the Food Security. In fruits and vegetables, it could be as high as 50 – 60 per cent if poorly managed, unfortunately not much attention is paid to address this problem as much as it is done for production.”
”The economic cost of post-harvest losses as reported by our partner, Action Aid indicated that N3.5 trillion is lost annually due to Post harvest losses. This has a negative effect on Agricultural component Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI) is set to address the challenge through acquisition of enabling infrastructure, tools, equipment and the commitment of the research staff.”
Source: premiumtimesng.com