N5 Trillion Lost Annually as Nigeria’s Logistics Crisis Devours Food Supply Chain, Stakeholders Warn
Kathy Kyari
Nigeria is bleeding an estimated N5 trillion every year through massive post-harvest losses and inefficient logistics systems that see up to 40 per cent of farm produce wasted before reaching consumers, industry leaders warned on Thursday, calling for urgent reforms to fix the country’s broken transport and road infrastructure.
The warning dominated discussions at the 10th Anniversary Lecture of City Business News in Lagos, themed “Logistics as the Engine Room of Nigeria’s Economy,” where stakeholders painted a stark picture of how weak infrastructure, policy inconsistencies and highway extortion continue to undermine economic growth and food security.
President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and former Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, said Nigeria loses between 30 million and 40 million metric tonnes of food annually due to inefficiencies in its logistics chain.
According to him, the losses translate to between $2.3 billion and $3.3 billion yearly, or about N3.5 trillion to N5 trillion, adding that the agricultural sector bears the heaviest burden.
“The Middle Belt is the food basket of the nation. To move goods from the Middle Belt to Lagos, about 40 per cent of them rot away,” he said.
Oyeyemi blamed the crisis on poor road networks, rising diesel costs, policy fragmentation and widespread extortion on highways, revealing that transport operators spend between N150,000 and N250,000 per trip on illegal payments at checkpoints.
He urged the Federal Government to remove illegal roadblocks, subsidise Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for transport operators, introduce dual-fuel systems for logistics vehicles, appoint a Coordinating Minister for Transportation, and reinstate weighbridges to prevent overloading and premature road failure.
Chairman of the occasion and founder of ABC Transport Plc, Sir Frank Nneji, also called for bold structural reforms, including the concessioning of federal roads to private investors.
“The federal government has kind of abandoned the road sector. We still have records that majority of Nigerians go by road. Statistics shows that more than 90% of people still go by road. But there is so much emphasis on flying, on air,” he said.
Nneji argued that private sector participation would guarantee better infrastructure, noting that transport operators are willing to pay tolls if roads are properly maintained.
“The federal government should hand off road development and give it to the private sector. That's the only way we can get safer roads. That's the only way we can get quality roads. As somebody who comes from the industry, I'll tell you that operators are ready to pay tolls to move on very good roads. We are ready to pay tolls,” he stated.
He also highlighted the role of the media in driving reforms, recalling how investigative reporting helped trigger the establishment of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) after journalists documented the poor state of federal roads.
Responding, the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, represented by Assistant Corps Marshal Matthew Olonisaye, assured stakeholders that the Corps would continue strengthening partnerships and enforcing traffic regulations to improve road safety.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to public sensitisation to improve the movement of goods and passengers nationwide.
Publisher of City Business News Online, Mr. Moses Ebosele, in his remarks, urged governments to prioritise logistics-friendly policies, stressing that the sector is central to economic growth, trade competitiveness and national development.
He noted that Nigeria’s logistics ecosystem must be strengthened through improved port operations, expanded rail and inland waterways transport, modernised road networks and digital logistics systems, especially as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) expands regional trade opportunities.
Ebosele added that the publication remains committed to deepening coverage of key economic sectors and promoting policy discussions that support sustainable development and a more efficient logistics system.
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