Concern over waste in fresh produce value chain

Any regular user of the Mile 12 Express Road in Lagos is used to seeing the waste that accumulates close to the market. The waste is mostly of perishable goods such as tomatoes, pepper, fruits and vegetables. One cannot help but lament the loss that accrues to individuals in the value chain as a result […]

Any regular user of the Mile 12 Express Road in Lagos is used to seeing the waste that accumulates close to the market.
The waste is mostly of perishable goods such as tomatoes, pepper, fruits and vegetables. One cannot help but lament the loss that accrues to individuals in the value chain as a result of such wastage.
Available statistics show that over 70 percent of perishable goods are lost in the value chain due to poor preservation and storage techniques.
Most farmers still rely on the natural shelf life of produce which, given Nigeria’s weather conditions, often does not exceed a few days.
This translates into higher costs for these produce as the retailers have to factor in the cost of the produce that will go to waste when selling their produce thereby making consumers pay in excess of about 30% on perishables.
According to a social commentator, Abigail Anaba, Nigerians, in practical terms, pay N100 for tomatoes that could actually sell for as low as N30.
She said apart from consumers, who bear the loss, farmers, wholesalers and retailers of perishable goods also experience lower returns due to poor storage and preservation techniques.
Anaba noted that available techniques often rely on the availability of electricity for cooling and refrigeration which calls for a need to develop technology and innovation that will address the issue of storage and preservation without totally relying on the electricity grid.
She said that a number of Nigerians in the private sector are already taking advantage of the business opportunity to develop low cost storage solutions that will enhance storage and preservation of fresh produce.
Anaba explained that a few are already providing such solutions on a small scale but cannot scale to the mass market because they simply cannot afford to do so.
This, she said, informed the Gems4 Enterprise Challenge Fund developed to provide both technical and financial support (up to £150,000) to private sector actors willing to adopt innovative business models and approaches to developing and delivering storage and preservation solutions powered by affordable and alternative energy sources to poor actors within the wholesale and retail value chain.
The fund, she said, seeks to support private sector providers with proving the business case for delivering innovative business solutions targeted at low income actors, particularly those in the informal sector.