Fairtrade and OTACCWA, organizers of the Nigeria Agrofood and Plastprintpack trade show, have projected a substantial increase in Nigeria’s food production, estimating it to rise by 48% to €62.6 billion between 2021 and 2024. According to their statement, Nigeria’s food production has shown significant improvement, surging by 39.6% from €26 billion in 2016 to €36.3 billion in 2020.
Freyja Detjen, Senior Project Manager at Fairtrade, highlighted Nigeria’s robust investments in food and packaging technology, amounting to €363 million in 2022. This investment positions Nigeria as Africa’s second-largest investor in the sector, following South Africa with €381 million and leading Egypt with €319 million.
Despite these investments, Nigeria remains one of Africa’s major food importers, with food imports totaling US$6.9 billion in 2022. Additionally, Nigeria emerges as the second-largest investor in plastics technology in Africa, with €143 million invested in 2022 and an annual growth rate of 17.6% between 2016 and 2022.
The Food and Agricultural Organisation’s report highlights Nigeria’s vast agricultural land area of 70.8 million hectares, with major crops including maize, cassava, guinea corn, yam beans, millet, and rice. However, the agricultural sector faces numerous challenges such as poor land tenure systems, low irrigation farming levels, climate change, land degradation, low technology adoption, high production costs, limited financing, high post-harvest losses, and poor access to markets.
Fairtrade and OTACCWA announced their collaboration for the 6th West African Cold Chain Summit and Exhibition alongside Agrofood and Plastprintpack Nigeria 2024. This event will feature the 3rd Annual MFI Awards and the launch of the Millers for Nutrition Country, powered by TechnoServe through the Millers for Nutrition Coalition (M4N) initiative sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The summit will include top-level conferences with over 70 speakers and more than 20 sessions. Notable attendees will include Nigerian ministers, members of the Dangote family, and representatives from the Dangote Foundation. The event will also showcase products and solutions tailored for the Nigerian market, with exhibitors from various countries participating. Bureau Veritas, specializing in testing, inspection, and certification services, is the Registration Sponsor for the event.
