How Nigeria wastes 38 million tonnes of food amid worsening hunger

Despite rising hunger and worsening malnutrition across the country, Nigeria is grappling with a stark paradox, as an estimated 38 million tonnes of food are wasted annually.

Nutritionists and experts across the agricultural value chain, who spoke exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, said the scale of waste occurring at various points along the food value chain underscores systemic inefficiencies that the country can ill afford amid growing food insecurity.

They warned that such massive food losses are not only an economic setback but also a significant public health challenge, as many Nigerians continue to struggle with limited access to nutritious food, particularly vulnerable groups such as children and low-income households.

The experts argued that with millions of Nigerians unable to meet their daily nutritional requirements, reducing food waste could play a critical role in improving dietary access and easing the burden of malnutrition nationwide.

They were reacting to the European Union’s recent declaration that Nigeria is Africa’s leading food-wasting country.

Speaking in Abuja during the commemoration of this year’s International Zero Waste Day, themed “Food waste reduction – minimisation and valorisation,” the Deputy Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Zissimos Vergos, disclosed that Nigeria wastes roughly 38 million tonnes of food every year, more than any other country on the continent.

Checks by PUNCH Healthwise show that Nigeria ranks as the highest food-wasting country in Africa, with an estimated 189 kilograms of food wasted per capita annually.

Trailing Nigeria is Tanzania, which records 119 kilograms of food waste per capita and a total of 6.9 million tonnes annually.

The Democratic Republic of Congo follows with 8.9 million tonnes of food waste and a per capita figure of 103 kilograms, while Uganda records 4.5 million tonnes.

Similarly, Mozambique, Madagascar, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Malawi each record 103 kilograms of food waste per capita, with annual waste ranging from 3.1 million tonnes in Mozambique to 1.9 million tonnes in Malawi.

Amid the huge food wastage, about 27.2 million Nigerians are currently facing hunger, a figure that could rise to 34.7 million between June and August 2026 if timely interventions are not implemented to address the worsening food security challenges, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Already, about two million Nigerian children suffer from severe acute malnutrition, with only two out of every 10 affected children receiving treatment.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, seven per cent of women of childbearing age suffer acute malnutrition.

UNICEF also says malnutrition is a direct or underlying cause of 45 per cent of all deaths among children under five.

Speaking further with PUNCH Healthwise, the experts called for coordinated policy actions and improved storage infrastructure to curb food waste.

According to them, without urgent interventions, Nigeria risks further widening the gap between food surplus and nutritional deprivation, with long-term implications for health outcomes, including a worsening malnutrition burden.A Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Ignatius Onimawo, said most of the produce being wasted are fruits and vegetables, which are rich in micronutrients.

He explained that micronutrient deficiencies among Nigerians are contributing significantly to the country’s malnutrition burden.

“If you look at the foods being wasted, most of them are fruits and vegetables. These are the foods that contain micronutrients, which are essential for immunity, proper body function, and disease prevention.

“But they are highly perishable, and because they are not processed or preserved, they are lost. As a result, we suffer micronutrient deficiencies, which contribute significantly to malnutrition. This problem is widespread globally, but it is even worse in Nigeria, despite the fact that we have the resources to address it through proper processing and storage,” Onimawo said.

The don attributed the food waste largely to poor processing and storage systems.

“Nigeria will continue to be rated as a major food waster until there is a clear policy on food processing and storage and, more importantly, the implementation of that policy. If excess food is processed and stored, it can be available throughout the year.

“We have good soil, we have a good climate, and these resources are there. But the government has failed in policy and implementation. Policies exist only on paper,” he said.

The public health nutritionist explained that government policies should focus strongly on food processing and preservation.

“One of the major causes of malnutrition is poverty. When food becomes expensive during the off-season, poor people cannot afford it, and malnutrition increases. So, if we address processing and preservation, it will help,” he said.

Onimawo, a former Vice-Chancellor of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, stressed the importance of nutrition education, adding that families need to be taught simple methods they can use at the household level to process and preserve food.

“If this is done effectively, it will significantly reduce the level of malnutrition in Nigeria,” he said.

Also speaking, an agricultural economist, Prof Benjamin Ahmed, said the estimated 38 million tonnes of food wasted annually are mainly due to storage and marketing losses.

“The wastage comes as a result of what happens after crops have been harvested. We do not store them well. Storage facilities are not available. There is no value addition, and we prefer to sell them raw.

“And as we move from market to market, there are a lot of losses incurred either in transit or in storage,” he said.

Ahmed, who is the Deputy Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said consumer behaviour also contributes to the waste.

“Consumer behaviour for agricultural commodities in Nigeria is quite different. In other countries, especially in Europe, people go to grocery stores or supermarkets to buy these items.

“But in Nigeria, only a few people go to stores. Many people prefer to buy raw items and prepare them themselves. That again creates a problem for the efficiency of the marketing system,” the don said.

The agricultural economist, however, urged the government, private sector players, and farmers to take proactive steps to curb food waste.

“For the farmers, they should not sell all their products immediately after harvest. They can sell in batches to reduce waste along the way. But for them to do that, they need granaries and warehouses where they can store their products temporarily.