NADF lauds efforts to reduce post-harvest losses
By Felicia Imohimi
The National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) has commended the private sector, development partners and other stakeholders for their commitment to invest in reducing post-harvest losses in Nigeria’s food system.
Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, Executive Secretary of NADF, made this known during an interactive session with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.
He recalled that the recent Africa Food Systems Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 5, provided a platform to highlight the challenges facing food systems across the region, with post-harvest losses identified as a common problem.
“Post-harvest losses remain one of the major challenges we face in the country, accounting for as high as 60 per cent in some value chains,” he said.
Ibrahim noted that investors at the forum had shown optimism and interest in investing in Nigeria’s post-harvest system, stressing that addressing the menace was key to strengthening the nation’s food security.
He explained that governments across Africa had taken steps to reduce underinvestment in agriculture, but more needed to be done to attract private capital.
“What we are trying to achieve now is to identify the risk factors that need to be mitigated and the enabling environment that must be put in place to drive private investment into the sector,” he said.
The executive secretary said NADF was established to provide holistic funding to the agricultural sector, with a focus on farmer productivity and profitability.
He added that Nigeria was blessed agriculturally across various regions and demographics, but emphasised the need to harness its potential for sustainable growth.
“Funding is critical in every sector that seeks to grow and achieve its potential. Our mandate cuts across the entire agricultural value chain, including research, to ensure we create an environment where funding flows,” Ibrahim said.
According to him, NADF is deploying blended finance, guarantees, concessionary loans and targeted funding to catalyse agricultural and industrial growth.
He listed access to land, markets and skills as key building blocks to enhance farmers’ productivity, noting that these approaches validated NADF’s current interventions. (NAN)
Edited by Tosin Kolade
Published By
- Agriculture and Environment Desk Controller/Website Content Manager.
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