By Kudirat Adewale
The Lagos State Government has made notable progress in ensuring a secure food supply for its more than 20 million inhabitants through various ambitious investments and policy changes designed to establish a robust, equitable, and environmentally friendly food network.
During a media conference conducted on May 6, 2025, at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms Abisola Olusanya, presented the state’s strategic plan as part of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s administration’s efforts over the past half-decade.
She stated that the Ministry’s initiatives revolve around a four-point strategy: enhancing local food production, establishing collaborations across inland areas to increase supplies, constructing advanced food storage and logistical facilities, and setting up market systems that capitalize on Lagos’s pivotal position as both a harbor and business hub.
Olusanya mentioned that the priority value chains include poultry, fisheries, pig farming, coconuts, and horticulture—areas where Lagos has a competitive edge. He emphasized that these initiatives are supported by partnerships with other states abundant in arable land to meet Lagos’s food requirements.
A key part of the reform plan is the Lagos Central Food Security Systems and Logistics Hub in Epe, which Olusanya refers to as a “showcase initiative” and will be the biggest food logistics center in Sub-Saharan Africa upon completion.
According to her, the facility, which is in its final construction phase, is designed to handle over 1,500 trucks daily and will serve as a high-tech aggregation, processing, storage, and distribution centre for the state’s N14 trillion food market.
“It will revolutionize Nigeria’s food sovereignty strategy,” she stated, mentioning that the combined cold and dry storage facilities, along with a 14,000-head capacity slaughterhouse and a specialized dock for efficient transport, aim to lower food costs and decrease post-harvest waste.
The commissioner stated that the hub is being implemented via a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) following a Design-Build-Finance-Operate-and-Transfer (DBFOT) approach.
Olusanya stated that the initial stage covers 100 hectares out of a total area of 400 hectares. Once fully operational, this phase will handle more than 1.5 million metric tons of food per year.
Olusanya pointed out another accomplishment as the successful commissioning of the Lagos Rice Mill in Imota back in 2023.
She described it as the largest in Africa and third globally, with the capacity to produce 2.4 million 50kg bags of rice annually, saying that the facility is expected to generate 1,500 direct and over 250,000 indirect jobs.
Additionally, she said the state launched the ₦500 million Ounje Eko Farmers Subsidy Programme in 2025, offering 25% subsidies on animal feeds, tractor services, and fertilisers, particularly targeting poultry and aquaculture farmers.
According to the Commissioner, these initiatives collectively position Lagos as a model for food systems development across Nigeria and West Africa, with several states already replicating aspects of the central hub project.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Syndigate.info
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