Food Security: Lagos To Launch N500bn Produce-For-Lagos Guarantee Fund

The Lagos State Government will on July 23 launch a N500bn Produce-for-Lagos Offtaker Guarantee Fund and Programme, aimed at boosting food security, reducing imports, and enhancing agricultural productivity across Nigeria.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, made the announcement on Monday.

The initiative is expected to reduce post-harvest losses in participating states by 40 percent, create over four million jobs nationwide, cut national food imports by over 60 percent, and drive an annual 25 percent reduction in food prices and inflation.

Olusanya called on stakeholders across Nigeria’s agricultural value chain — from farmers to financiers — to unite in building a food sovereign system.

“Join us as we kickstart a bold vision to catalyze, empower, and scale food production, storage, logistics, marketing and distribution across the nation, creating jobs, boosting local economies, and securing our future food supply with the launch of the Produce-for-Lagos offtaker guarantee fund & programme,” she said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“We are calling on stakeholders across Nigeria’s agricultural value chain … from farmers to financiers, to come together and drive a food sovereign system.”

Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city, is projected to reach a population of about 24 million by 2030, which will push annual food demand to approximately N7.96tn.

Given current production levels, the state would need to import food worth about N3.38tn annually by 2030 to meet demand.

To bridge this gap and achieve 40 percent local production, Olusanya said in May that the state must increase food output by at least 20 percent annually.

“The food demand of the state will rise to N7.96tn per annum by 2030. At present, with the local food production output, the state will need to import food worth about N3.38tn per annum by 2030 to meet demand.

“To achieve 40 per cent local production, the state needs to grow its production by about 20 per cent per annum.”

Food Security: Lagos To Launch N500bn Produce-For-Lagos Guarantee Fund is first published on The Whistler Newspaper