Nigeria is currently widely believed to be losing 20 to 40 per cent of its rice at harvest points and market stages, an investigation by Premium Times has revealed.
Beyond food wastage, postharvest losses along the rice value chain also come with implications for climate change, accounting for emissions of around 0.65 million tonnes of CO2 eq, into the atmosphere.
For Victoria Nwachukwu, a 53-year-old farmer based in Onicha Local Government Area in Ebonyi, one of Nigeria's biggest rice-producing states, poor roads and lack of market access are the top factors behind postharvest losses in rice in her community.
"Many people may come to the state looking for rice, but they cannot enter communities like ours because of bad roads," she told Premium Times.
Amegu Amanator, where Nwachukwu cultivates the grain, is usually a 45-minute drive from Abakaliki, the state capital. However, because of the poor condition of the roads, travel time is roughly two hours.
Early this year, she lost 18 units of 100kg bags of rice worth N1.7 million due to transportation constraints while attempting to convey the produce from the farm to the market. Due to her experience, Nwachukwu is scaling back her cultivation.
"We don't have storage facilities here, but it's not a problem for me because I normally dry and also use chemicals to preserve my rice after harvesting," said Victoria Chinyere, who has a farm in Oshiri in the same local government.
Extending grains' shelf life by applying chemicals raises health concerns.
Lots of grains stored in silos are preserved with heavy, toxic chemicals, which sometimes make them unfit for consumption. Though consumed locally, such grains fall short of international safety standards and are rejected at the point of export after the discovery of chemical residue on them.
Owing to the unavailability of storage facilities, which cost him N1.3 million two years ago, smallholder John Nnabo, who plants rice in Oshiri, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, now uses private-owned storage facilities. He pays between N1,000 and N2,000 monthly for every 100 kg of rice. That will help preserve the produce, pending when he starts milling the grains, while he preserves the rest with chemicals at home.
"The sit-at-home order is a major cause of postharvest loss in the community. We cannot take rice to the market on Mondays. Because of this, the colour of the harvested rice normally changes, which will reduce the quality and value," he said.
The World Resource Institute observed that: "Any innovations in managing postharvest losses, such as the use of hermetic bags for grain storage, cold room facilities for perishable foods, etc., have meagre adoption rates in Africa.
"To help shift these low adoption rates, it's important to co-design such innovations with local farmers and entrepreneurs at the centre while investing in local small- and medium-sized enterprises to help scale businesses. These enterprises also need government support, including public investments, tax incentives and policies to scale", it further said.
Yam
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Nigeria accounts for 69.2 per cent of the world's yam production, with 61.2 million tonnes of the crop produced in 2022.
Yam Improvement for Processing Nigeria, a study of the yam value chain in the country executed by Sahel Partners & Advisory between December 2013 and 2014, found postharvest losses in the crop range between 20-30 per cent, depending on the yam variety.
"We don't have storage equipment. We only preserve our yams based on how we make our storage space conducive for our yams, something like thatched houses where ventilation is much," Japheth Ishenge, secretary of the Association of Yam Shade Owners and Yam Sellers Zaki Biam Market, said.
Located in the Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State, Zaki Biam Market is regarded as the world's largest yam market.
Ishenge noted that farmers and traders in the state record about 40 per cent of post-harvest wastage in yam.
He added that the exposure of the tubers to heat and moisture due to the absence of safe storage houses is among the principal factors stoking decay. He stated that excessive application of fertiliser also causes yam spoilage.
Some farmers sprinkle chemicals on yams to reduce spoilage and, ultimately, wastage, he said. However, many farmers do not adopt this preservation method because of the adverse health implications for consumers.
Traders from Cameroon, Niger and Ghana regularly come to Zaki Biam Market to purchase the yam tubers.
The market accounts for about 70 per cent of the yam cultivated in Nigeria, with more than 200 trucks loading two million tubers of yam every week, not to mention buses and smaller vehicles.
Until 2020, the vast market needed more basic facilities like stalls that could shield yams from unfavourable weather and simple buildings with roofs and partially open sides for ventilation that could serve as storage spaces for yams.
"Ventilation prevents moisture condensation on the tuber surface and assists in removing the heat of respiration. Low temperature is necessary to reduce respiration, sprouting and rotting losses," the FAO said.
"Regular inspection of tubers is important to remove sprouts and rotten tubers and to monitor the presence of rodents and other pests. In general, tubers should be protected from high temperatures and provided with good ventilation during storage," it added.
Relief came for the market in 2020 when the Muhammadu Buhari administration built 660 stalls/sheds and a 200,000-yam storage facility to support micro, small and medium enterprises in the country. Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo commissioned the facility and said it targeted reducing yam postharvest loss.
Much as the two storage houses have helped moderate yam wastage at the market, Ishenge said they can only store the produce of 20 farmers at a time, meaning many interventions are still needed.
He told Premium Times that the yam farmers want the government to set up a yam flour industry, which he believes will help curb wastage and boost value addition.
The FAO suggested sealing yam tubers in polythene film bags, coating them with Epolene E10, and curing them to reduce wastage.
During Premium Times' visit to Bodija Market in Ibadan, Oyo State, traders tied yam tubers to big frames made of stakes inside yam barns to avert spoilage.
Ramoni Alapinni, a trader, said the practice is quite important because of the poor means of transporting yams from different parts of the country to the market.
"Some of the yams came from far places, and we need to quickly put them in the open so they won't spoil," he said.
Fruits & vegetables
The Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI) estimates that Nigeria records 50 per cent post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables, a view shared by PLAN, which has stated that they mainly occur during harvesting, storage, transportation and processing.
"The problem is not production, but post-harvest losses," Mohammed Kabir, a young farmer residing on the outskirts of Ogbomoso, one of the towns known for producing mangoes on a large scale in the country said.
"From Ogbomoso to Gambari (another town outside Ogbomoso), you'd see mangoes everywhere, with farmers placing them on the major roads as you move along. The absence of off-takers makes it difficult for those farmers to make good sales because most of the mangoes become rotten after some weeks of harvest and poor sales," Kabir added.
In Osun State, multiple traders at the Odo-Ori market in Iwo told Premium Times that the absence of off-takers in major farming areas and villages where fruits and vegetables are grown often compounds postharvest losses.
"The last time I planted vegetables on a vast expanse of land, I ran into small troubles because I could barely sell them at profitable prices," said Baba Ajadi, who owns a farm on the outskirts of town along Ibadan-Osogbo road.
"The problem is multi-faceted: we have issues with seeds, storage and off-takers. Many of our people struggle to avoid postharvest losses by selling at discounted prices at Odo-Ori on market days," he said.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
When Premium Times visited some markets in Iwo and Ile-Ogbo, many farmers lamented huge losses from poor storage facilities and other logistic constraints associated with the supply of farm produce.
At Oje, one of the biggest fruit markets in Ibadan, a trader, Saheed Babalola, said the wastage people in the fruit and vegetable business record could not be quantified.
"There is no modern storage facility or electricity to help store our fruits. So, we put them inside an enclosure to keep them ahead of sales once we return from the farm.
"It's a loss for us and a major challenge for many women doing business here. Imagine what's possible if we have good storage facilities to help eradicate or reduce the losses," Babalola said.
Fish
To cut losses, fishermen in Akwa Ibom State are also deploying self-help methods, including preserving catch with ice blocks. This simple yet effective technique significantly extends the freshness of the catch, reducing spoilage risks.
Abraham Etukudo, 48, a fisherman in Ibaka River in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, said he experienced postharvest losses some years back. However, with the new method, losses are not as significant as they used to be.
Vivian Egboro, a seafood dealer in the community, also said she uses ice blocks to preserve her fresh seafood because the area lacks a cold room.
"Even if I want to send this fish to Lagos or the northern part of the country, I use an ice block, not a cool room. The fish will not spoil except if you don't preserve it well or maybe leave it inside the vehicle for three to four days without adding new ice blocks.
"I don't experience much spoilage of fish in recent days, but we used to have it, and it always comes as a result of bad roads," she said.
Another fish dealer, Gbenga Joseph, preserves his fish by smoking them on fire, using firewood.
"I deal with dry fish, so whenever I receive the fish from the fishermen, I normally put them on fire. It can take about two to three days to dry very well. Then my customers will come and pick them," Joseph said.
