The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security plans to revitalize the Silos Concession Programme to reduce post harvest losses and achieve food sovereignty. This initiative aims to ensure a resilient, efficient, and effective storage system that improves the food storage ecosystem.
Senator Abubakar Kyari, the minister of agriculture and food security, who made this known, said there is an urgent need to revitalize silo storage facilities,. He cited Nigeria’s massive post-harvest losses estimated at $10 billion annually, noting that storage facilities are crucial to food security. This, he said, would directly address wastage and ensure year-round availability of staple crops.
The Ministry’s review process revealed that several concessionaires failed to meet their obligations, with only Flour Mills of Nigeria performing optimally. The Ministry plans to work closely with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission to intensify oversight, enforce compliance, and ensure competent private operators manage silo facilities.
This renewed push aligns with the agricultural transformation agenda of the current administration, which is determined to achieve food and nutrition security. The Director General of ICRC, Dr. Jobson Oseodian Ewalefoh, emphasised the need to retain only private companies with operational needs for silos and retrieve abandoned silos. Not only that, the DG also said that some of the concessionaires have failed to remit income to the government cofers.
To achieve this goal, a committee has been set up to review contractual clauses, assess performance, and establish a clear modus operandi, monitoring, and evaluation framework.
