Nigeria bleeds nearly $10 billion every year to post-harvest losses, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Senator Abubakar Kyari has warned.
Speaking on Monday at the launch of the Green Legacy Rural Community Agriculture and Infrastructure Network (G.R.A.I.N) Pulse Centre in Kangire, Jigawa State, Kyari blamed the massive losses on poor storage, weak infrastructure, limited processing, climate change, flooding, soil degradation, and increasingly erratic rainfall.
Agriculture currently contributes 24% of Nigeria’s GDP, with smallholder farmers supplying 70% of the nation’s food, he said. “By empowering smallholder farmers with modern tools, technology, and markets, we can unlock the full wealth of our land and people,” Kyari added.
The minister stressed that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was making agriculture central to national transformation, with private-sector partnerships playing a critical role in strengthening food systems.
The new pulse centre is designed as an integrated hub for farming, infrastructure, and rural development, spanning the full agricultural value chain. Equipped with modern facilities, the centre will also create safe pathways for exports and be replicated nationwide.
Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar hailed the centre as proof of the power of public-private partnerships. “This microeconomy will benefit Nigeria because of its multiple advantages, particularly the integration of modern facilities and technologies,” he said, praising Tinubu and Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi for prioritising food security.
Governor Namadi described hosting Nigeria’s first pulse centre as “a brilliant innovation” that will power rural livelihoods. The Kangire hub includes a solar-powered integration system and digitally connected services, with the governor pledging continued investment in agriculture to fuel jobs, infrastructure, and prosperity.
