Kyari: Public-Private Partnerships Key to Reducing ₦3.5trn Post-Harvest Losses

Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has emphasized that a strong and strategic public-private partnership is essential to reforming the agricultural sector and cutting the nation’s annual post-harvest losses, estimated at ₦3.5 trillion.

Kyari made this known during a high-level panel discussion at the FAO Hand-in-Hand Sahel Regional Initiative, held recently in Rome, Italy. The event focused on accelerating capacity, partnerships, and investments to transform agrifood systems across the Sahel region.

According to the minister, scaling up the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) — Africa’s largest such initiative — from eight to 27 states will provide integrated infrastructure, reduce production costs for agro-processors, and boost food value chains nationwide.

He also highlighted the implementation of the Nigeria Postharvest Systems Transformation Programme (NiPHaST) as a major step toward curbing the ₦3.5 trillion lost annually to poor storage, cold chain gaps, and inefficient warehousing.

Kyari underscored the importance of “strong institutions, innovative financing, strategic and robust public-private collaboration, and smart governance” in unlocking the full potential of farmers, processors, and agribusinesses across the Sahel.

“The pathway to upscale is to implement a laudable agenda,” Kyari said.