Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos State governor, on Wednesday, launched the Produce for Lagos Programme and a transformative N500 billion Offtake Guarantee Fund, as part of the state’s mission to boost food security and economic growth. The Governor revealed that Lagos’s food economy has ballooned from an annual N6.5 trillion to N16.14 trillion, underscoring its role as Nigeria’s largest food market, consuming over 50 per cent of all food traded in the Southwest region.
Speaking at the official launch event, Governor Sanwo-Olu acknowledged vulnerabilities exposed during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Research indicated that Lagos was highly dependent on food imports, making it susceptible to global supply shocks. Compounding this, the state currently loses nearly 50 per cent of its food between harvest and market, primarily due to inadequate storage and inefficient transportation systems.
“It became clear that we must transform our food system to ensure that Lagos can sustainably feed its people, both now and in the future,” Sanwo-Olu stated. This realisation led to the 2021 launch of the Lagos State Agricultural and Food Systems Roadmap, a comprehensive plan designed to address structural weaknesses, particularly post-harvest losses, poor logistics, and supply chain gaps.
To underscore this commitment, the state increased its agriculture budget from N4.2 billion in 2018 to nearly N80 billion,the highest in Lagos’s history. “For us, this was a bold affirmation that food is economic infrastructure, deserving of the same attention as transport or energy,” the Governor remarked.
According to the Lagos State Government, the intensified commitment is fully aligned with Nigeria’s National Policy on Agriculture and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for food security, and has already yielded impactful programmes. These include the Ounje Eko Discount Markets, the N500 million Ounje Eko Farmers Subsidy Programme, and the ongoing construction of the Central Food Security Systems & Logistics Hub in Epe poised to become the largest food hub in West Africa. Other initiatives include the Middle Level Agroproduce Hub and the Lagos Agripreneurship Program (LAP).
The Produce for Lagos Programme is envisioned as the logical next step in this roadmap. Sanwo-Olu expressed optimism that it will provide guaranteed off-take contracts, improved access to financing, and logistics support, directly connecting Lagosians with the dynamic food economy. This integrated approach aims to boost agricultural production, reduce reliance on informal and uncoordinated supply channels, create essential jobs for the youth, and ultimately increase economic returns for all stakeholders within the food ecosystem.
The programme will be implemented through the Lagos Food Systems Infrastructure Company (LAFSINCO), supported by key Special Purpose Vehicles such as the Lagos Bulk Trading Company, Ekolog (Eko Logistics), and the Produce for Lagos Fund.
The centrepiece of this initiative, the N500 billion Offtake Guarantee Fund, is designed to provide working capital for bulk traders, financing for logistics operators, liquidity for aggregators, and credit support for food producers across Nigeria.
“This fund is not a subsidy, it is an investment vehicle that will catalyse private capital, stabilise food prices, and de-risk agricultural operations across the value chain,” Sanwo-Olu clarified.
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