A seasoned academic at Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa, Prof. Foluso Olutope Adetuyi, has called on various governments in Nigeria and stakeholders to heavily invest in food storage and processing facilities to prevent food loss, enhance food security and encourage farmers across the country.
The accomplished academic and frontline food biochemist made the call while delivering OAUSTECH’s 8th Inaugural Lecture held in the institution on Wednesday, 27th August, 2025, arguing that the problem of Nigeria is not food production or more production any longer, but lack of storage and processing facilities to prevent food losses and appreciate farmers’ efforts.
“The efforts of successive governments and administration since 1970s had been on food security and more and more productions, whereas when you produce and do not store and process appropriately, you lose it,” the researcher stressed.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Research) argued that one third of globally produced food for human consumption, approximating 1.3 billion tonnes, is lost or wasted every year in the process of producing, storing, processing, distributing and consuming food.
“This is due to the fact that freshly harvested agricultural produce are living things that breathe and undergo physiological changes during post harvest handling. Losses of quantity (weight or volume) and quality (altered physical characteristics) can occur at any stage in the post harvest chain and treatment,” he asserted.
The professor of food and post harvest biochemistry added that Nigeria’s annual food loss amounts to over 750 billion dollars, representing about 30-40 percent of the food produced in the country majorly due to lack of effective storage facilities, processing, and transporting.
“Survey carried out on post harvest food losses in different parts of Nigeria revealed that 20-30% of total grain production , 30-50% of root and tuber production and usually high percentage of fruits and vegetables are lost, with a substantial amount recorded during storage.”
“Tomatoes have the largest total loss rate of 76%, maize loss is 25%, with the greatest losses occurring during the first three stages of the value chain. It was reported that tomato farmers in Nigeria lost over 10 billion US dollars in 2018. It is estimated that up to 50% onions are lost yearly. The major problems causing food loss and waste are improper handling, lack of proper storage, processing, packaging and transportation among others,” Adetuyi insisted.
The former Director of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance explained that preservation, processing and storage of food are vital to food security and continuous supply of foods during season and off-seasons, adding that the main difference between agricultural processes and all other industrial processes is that they are seasonal in nature.
He urged governments at all levels in Nigeria to investing massively in storage and processing facilities, encourage proper storage and processing of the excesses not consumed immediately to prevent spoilage when they are in season, prevent scarcity during off-seasons and unfavourable time, saying this would help eliminate food scarcity, prolong their shelf life, supply necessary nutrients when needed, stabilize food prices, and provide varieties in the family menu, food supplementation, substitution and fortification.
The biochemist recommends that Nigerian Government grant farmers access to funds to enable them adopt new technologies for storage and processing, strengthen research extension linkage so that innovation generated from universities and research institutes are delivered to the farmers or commercialized for the end-users, revitalize and inject sufficient funds into agricultural research centres, especially the Nigeria Stored Product Research Institute (NSPRI).
Adetuyi advised government and the industry to invest in food science technology and related courses to produce varieties of useful food from a single food item and create intensive public awareness through the traditional mass media and social media on the need to curtail postharvest food losses and encouraging proper storage of excess food harvested.
In his remarks, the 4th substantive Vice-Chancellor of OAUSTECH, Prof. Temi Ologunorisa stressed that the lecture has been able to unveil why Nigeria experiences food scarcity and loses 30-40% of its food produce yearly and the decisive actions to be taken by the government, organizations and individuals to ensure such worrisome nightmare become a thing of the past.
“In my opinion, the Nigeria Government should pay attention not just to food production, but to suitable storage and processing facilities to reduce losses. Mangoes are produced, nowhere to store or process them, they get rotten and spoiled. The same with oranges, tomatoes, vegetables and many other fruits and food items. Therefore, production is not our problem, but proper storage and modern processing facilities,” Prof. Ologunorisa reechoed.
The event was well attended by the academia, professionals, captains of industries, farmers, people from different walks of life, family of the inaugural lecture presenter, and staff and students of OAUSTECH.
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