The Lagos State Government, in partnership with the Federal Government, has empowered stakeholders in the agriculture value chain with storage facilities and post-harvest technologies in a bid to reduce the losses being recorded in the sector.
The zonal coordinator of the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, Dr Olatilewa Oladuntan, said this according to a statement on Sunday.
Oladuntan was quoted as saying this during the training organised for processors, farmers and traders at the Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority, Oko-Oba, Agege, adding that the move would address food insecurity.
She said, “The post-harvest technologies and storage facilities distributed to the agricultural stakeholders are meant for the processing of their crops, reducing post-harvest losses, and prolonging the shelf life of agricultural produce.
“About 50 to 60 per cent of perishable and durable crops suffer wastage after harvest and this is what we are trying to minimise by providing ice box fridge and hermetic drums for the storage of grains, smoking kiln for fish farmers, among others.”
Oladuntan noted that the training was also aimed at sensitising farmers to health hazards in the sector.
“This training was necessary to curtail gaps in food processing such as misuse of technology in the packaging of food items and misapplication of chemicals which cause health hazards.
“That is why we have put in efforts to ensure that people adopt these post-harvest technologies,” she said.
The Programme Manager, Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority, Dr Olamilekan Pereira-Sheteolu, urged the beneficiaries to use the items to contribute their quota to food security in the state.