Lagos State has identified high transportation costs, inadequate storage facilities, post-harvest losses and market inefficiencies as major challenges threatening food supply chain resilience and household food availability. The state said better coordination across the entire food value chain, from production and processing to transportation, distribution and market access, was essential to strengthening the system and improving welfare. The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Ope George, made the remarks on Tuesday during the first day of a three-day review of the Strategy for Food Systems Transformation Pathways and validation of a Standard Operating Procedure for the South-West geopolitical zone, held in Ikeja.
George noted that Lagos, as a major centre of consumption, commerce and distribution, depends heavily on food supply connections with other parts of Nigeria, particularly northern states. He stressed that stronger collaboration between food-producing and food-consuming regions was essential to tackling supply chain challenges and improving the movement of food from farms to markets. The commissioner said the goal was to strengthen food value chains, improve market access for producers, enhance food availability and build a more resilient and sustainable national food system. He added that food systems transformation extended beyond agricultural production to include processing, storage, transportation, distribution, market access and sustainable consumption.
George said addressing the challenges required coordinated policies, effective institutions and sustained collaboration among governments, development partners and other stakeholders. He stressed that policy commitments must translate into clearly defined responsibilities, coordinated action, appropriate resource allocation and measurable outcomes. The validation of the draft Standard Operating Procedure was significant, as the document should provide practical guidance for coordination, clarify responsibilities and support consistent implementation across participating institutions.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Abisola Olusanya, said the state's approach was built around human capital development, infrastructure, technology, financing and enterprise support. She noted that the government had adopted approaches informed by experiences in other countries. The state had launched a five-year Agricultural and Food Systems Roadmap in 2021 to guide sector development. The National Convener of Food Systems, Clementina Ebere-Okoro, said the Federal Government developed and validated its Food Systems Transformation Pathways following the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit to improve food security, nutrition, livelihoods and environmental sustainability.
Ebere-Okoro identified climate change, insecurity, malnutrition, post-harvest losses and rising food prices as interconnected challenges requiring evidence-based decisions, effective partnerships and coordinated action. The three-day engagement was expected to produce a clear assessment of implementation progress and outstanding gaps, a validated standard operating procedure, and concrete actions to strengthen coordination and accountability. For residents and businesses in Lagos, stronger food supply chain coordination could help moderate food costs and improve access to goods, though results depend on effective implementation across multiple states and institutions.