Lagos State has flagged off the construction of what will be the largest food security systems and central logistics park in sub-Saharan Africa.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, performed the sod turning at the site of the facility being built on 1.2 million square metres of land in Ketu-Ereyun, Epe.
Establishment of the food park is a component of an audacious five-year Agricultural and Food Systems Road Map (2021–2025) launched last year by the Sanwo-Olu administration to enhance food sufficiency in Lagos.
When completed, the central food and logistics hub is expected to create direct wealth for more than five million traders in the agricultural value chain, while guaranteeing uninterrupted food supplies to more than 10 million Lagosians, at least 90 days, in a period of scarcity.
The hub will have storage facilities for more than 1,500 trucks that will daily service the needs of thousands of operators within food value chain throughout the year, while large commercial transactions would be processed in the facility.
Besides, Sanwo-Olu visited the site of the state-owned Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Ketu-Ereyun, where the governor inspected the level of construction work on the project.
Transactions on food items in Lagos are estimated to be N5 trillion yearly, just as farmers daily lose 40 per cent of produce worth millions due to lack of post-harvest storage system.
Sanwo-Olu said the central food hub would guarantee greater returns for farmers and investors in the agro-allied sector, as the facility would cut out several layers of middlemen and facilitate improved access to modern processing and packaging services.
The governor said market matrix generated from the facility would help the government generate useful data for public planning and for the use of private sector players to project investment.
He said: “Today’s flag-off of the Food Security Systems and Central Logistics Park is proof of our administration’s commitment to addressing the challenges of stakeholders in the agri-space and giving hope to the people through improved quality of life.
“I make bold to say this is one of the most important interventions in agricultural sector that Nigeria has ever seen. The fact that this project is taking off in Lagos, the fastest-growing sub-national entity, means that it is bound to have significant national, regional, and continental impact.
“This hub will provide a better buying experience for consumers, help achieve a reduction in logistics costs, while guaranteeing the standardisation of quantity and quality for agricultural products. ..”