The Agricultural and Allied Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said Nigeria must invest at least $538 million every year for 10 years to grow its agro-processing capacity and reduce food waste.
According to Banjoko, Nigeria’s plan to increase agro-industrial capacity should be a long-term one. He said while the Federal Government’s current partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme is a step in the right direction, it is not enough.
“The AfDB has committed $538 million to kickstart the SAPZ project in eight states. But if Nigeria can invest that same amount every year for the next 10 years, then we can talk about real agro-industrial growth,” Banjoko said.
He explained that the idea of industrialising agriculture is not new, but must be handled better this time. He advised the government to focus on each state’s agricultural strength and support them to build industries around crops they are good at. He gave examples such as cocoa, rubber, groundnuts, grains, and sesame seeds.
Banjoko also warned that some states have not joined the SAPZ project because of the counterpart funding required. He said this could delay Nigeria’s dream of achieving agro-industrialisation. “Not all the states are participating. Some have refused to commit funds and that’s a major challenge,” he said.
Meanwhile, a Professor of Mechatronics and Agricultural Machinery at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Prof. Ozoemena Ani, warned that the country has failed in similar agro-processing projects in the past because of lack of planning and poor follow-up.
Prof. Ani said, “This is not the first time we are seeing agro-processing centres. Back in 2003 and 2004, the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation set up processing centres across Nigeria’s six zones. I was part of the project. The problem was there was no sustainability. No proper power plan. No business model. It was all government style and that doesn’t work in competitive markets.”
He said government policies should help local farmers and producers. He gave an example of how imported garri and rice are cheaper and more accepted than local ones. He said this shows there is a big problem in Nigeria’s agricultural system. “Farmers cannot compete if foreign food is cheaper and better accepted,” he noted.
Prof. Ani also criticised government monitoring, saying most agriculture projects are not properly checked. He said that any new effort in agro-processing must include serious evaluation, good plans to help farmers, and must be continued over time.
Agriculture experts believe that without enough investment in processing, Nigeria will continue to waste food, lose money, and miss out on export earnings. According to AfDB President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, African countries must stop exporting raw materials. He wrote on social media platform X on April 25, 2025, that “the export of raw materials is the door to poverty, while exporting value-added products is the road to wealth.”
Nigeria currently suffers a large amount of food waste due to lack of processing and storage. According to a research paper titled “Economic impact of waste from food, water, and agriculture in Nigeria: challenges, implications, and applications—a review” by Ibiwumi Kolawole and others, about 37.9 million tonnes of food is wasted every year in Nigeria. This is about 189 kilograms of food wasted per person in the country.
The paper also said that Nigeria loses and wastes 40% of its total food production. That is also about 31% of the land used for farming. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that Nigeria loses about $9 billion every year due to post-harvest food loss. That is nearly one-quarter of the country’s annual budget.
The researchers listed tomatoes, oranges, cashews, onions, beans, wheat, cassava, potatoes, and yams as the main food items wasted across Nigeria. Experts believe that if Nigeria builds proper agro-processing plants in every state and encourages farmers, food losses will reduce and the economy will benefit.
