This document summarizes a presentation on postharvest loss reduction and agro-processing in Nigeria. It discusses key factors contributing to postharvest losses, including ineffective technologies, poor infrastructure, and lack of efficient value chains. Recent developments aimed at reducing losses include university-industry partnerships to develop flash dryers for cassava processing. Challenges remain around access to appropriate processing equipment and technologies. Overall the presentation emphasizes the importance of postharvest processing and value addition to reduce losses, improve incomes, and ensure food security in Nigeria.

1. Postharvest Loss Reduction and
Agro-processing in Nigeria:
Current Development and Trends
By
Professor Lateef Oladimeji Sanni
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development)
President, International Society for Tropical Root Crops
Country Manager, Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (CAVAII)-2008-2019
Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB)
Email: sannilateef5@gmail.com
Nigeria Postharvest & Agro-processing Summit”(NIPHAS) 2019, NSPRI, Lagos, Nigeria on
Friday,12th July 2019.

2. Post Harvest Losses (PHL)
842 million people in the world do
not eat enough to be healthy (FAO,
2013)
Current world population is
expected to reach 10.5 billion by
2050 (United Nations, 2013)
Thereby adding to global food
security concerns
7/12/20192
2

3. Factors contributing to PHL includes:
Ineffective or inappropriate
processing technologies,
poor or non-existent
infrastructure,
poor postharvest handling
and
lack of efficient value -
addition chain (Aworh,
2008). 7/12/20193

4. 7/12/2019
 PHL of fruit and vegetables are
more serious in developing
countries
 Scientists in PHL is significantly
lower than those involved in
production research
 95% of the research investments
focused on increasing productivity
and only 5% directed towards
reducing losses (APHLIS, 2013).

5. inefficient harvesting and drying
methods,
delays in harvesting
poor processing techniques
inadequate method of storage and
distribution, and even at the
consumer end (Sanni, 1999)
7/12/20195
Postharvest System is
characterized by:

6. Post harvest System
7/12/20196
Total Post harvest system (food pipelines) (Source: Paris (1987) as reported by FAO)

7. Recent Developments and Trends

8. 7/12/20198
Case Study of Presidential Initiative on High Quality
Cassava Flour using Flash dryer
University-Industry Linkages
Godilogo Farm Ltd, Cross Rivers State, Nigeria. Godilogo,
IITA, UNIPORT, UI, SEDI, EDO ADP, FIIRO for the
designed and fabricated cassava flash dryer producing
250kg/h.
Newly fabricated flash dryer
Source: Kuye et al.(2008)

9. 7/12/20199Peak product Flash Dryer

10. 7/12/201910SMEs using Flash Dryers in Nigeria Source: Sanni et al. (2012

11.  IITA Leadership and Others
 Dr. Robert Asiedu
 Chief (Dr) Alfred Dixon
 Chief (Dr) Bussie Maziya Dixon
 Dr G. Tarawali
 Dr Peter Kulakow
 Dr Richardson Okechuckwu
 Mr Paul Ilona
 Dr Eke Okoro
 Prof Akoroda
 Dr A. Abass
7/12/201911

12. Technology Development for Value
Addition: Challenges and Prospects
President, Nigerian Institute of Food
Science and Technology

13. IITA-ARCEDEM A & H Iwo
Faturoy Ibadan
FUTA Akure
FUTO, OwerriPRODA Enugu
Peeler
A Major challenge

14. medium
Large
Flash Dryer
Rotary dryer
Equipment Development
Fuel, gas, biomass

15. SANNI explaining principles of Rotary
and Flash drying systems to visitors
EU-UNAAB SME
FACTORY
IITA YAM BARN
PILOT PLANT

16. Sanni celebrating with fabricators on
the newly modified Rotary Dryer at
SEDI, Enugu via IITA Project

17. • Best bet machine
fabricators
• produce appropriate of
equipments for industry
• Peeler, Flash Dryer, Rotary
Dryer, Cabinet Dryer,
Solar panel dryer,
Extruder, Pelletizer
• Team up to produce
equipment of
international standards
• R&D to strengthen local
capacity
Fabrication for Nigerians
by Nigerians

18. Welcome to CAVA2

19. Investment Outlook (Nigeria)
Products Demand
T/ year
Incremental
Value
000 NGN/t
Industry Value
mn NGN
Equivalent
in USD*
Starch 269,000 207.4 55,791 141.24
Ethanol 1,408,450 40.3 56,746 143.66
HQCF 504,000 1,382.0 696,528 1,763.36
Glucose 90,000 554.6 49,912 126.36
Gari / Lafun / Fufu 10,000,000 69.3 692,830 126.36
Cassava roots 40,000,000 20.8 831,475 2,105.00
2,383,991 6,035.42
* Exchange rate (NGN/$) 395

20. Traditional Food Strategy
Most popular traditional foods from cassava
Garri Fufu1 2
$1.8 Billion Industry
with 10 Million Tonnes
cassava roots required
for Traditional Staple
Foods
Energy efficiency Business linkages Women professionals
Income Generation
Job creation

21. Cassava Processing Equipment
IITA-CFCWA----2012 ABUJA, S/L
High powered Grater Adapted Brazillian Double Press
Adapated Brazillian Automatic Roaster
IITA

22. CAVA (2008–2014) targeted five countries with cassava
and HQCF markets in varied levels of maturity
Target countries for CAVA grant
Nigeria
• High level of processing pre-project (artificial
drying)More than 41 million tons of cassava
produced / year
• HQCF already existed
• C:AVA builds on other cassava grants in the region
Ghana
• Moderate levels of processing
• HQCF already existed but not widely used
• Cassava glut; need for additional markets
Uganda
• No knowledge of HQCF or processing cassava
• Importance of fresh root sales makes introducing
processing more difficult
Tanzania
• No knowledge of HQCF
• Low price of wheat flour in urban centers makes
market more difficult
Malawi
• No knowledge of HQCF
• Very high prices of wheat flour makes market
slightly easier
• Importance of cassava increasing due to drought
WellestablishedLessestablished

23. CAVA Innovations to support
value chain development
• Phone App to link processors with suppliers
• Operationalized agronomic practices
• Measuring starch content at farm level
• Efficient dewatering
• Improved small scale flash dryer (~US$50,000)
• Fuel reduced from 374 to 65 litres/tonne dried product
• Output increased from ~100kg/hr to ~330kg/hr dry product
• Efficiency increased from 11% to 55%
• Nigerian exported to Benin, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Malawi,
Uganda and Tanzania
• Lower cost flash dryer (~US$15,000)
• CASSAVATECH.COM – linking fabricators with processors
• Appropriate Quality assurance
• Uses of cassava products: plywood, paperboard, bakery goods

24. Technological Innovations-Flash Drying
Business

25. 7/12/201925
Hybrid Solar House Research for multi-product drying
The performance of a solar hybrid dryer (Plate 5)
developed by IITA-CFC was adapted for drying
cassava wet cassava cake (Adedibu et al., 2014) at
FUNAAB’s Industrial Park Unit.
Plate5: FUNAAB Solar Hybrid Dryer
Source: Adedibu et al. (2014)

26. Inclusion Composite Bread Policy
IITA, NRI,

27. CAVA has won multiple prestigious awards
Excellent score for impact as a case study in UK
Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014

28. Yam Products in Nigeria
• Raw Yam = 60%
• Dried Yam Chips/Flakes = 38%
• Poundo Yam = 2%
• Storage Losses = 10-15% for
the first 3 months, 50% after 6
months
• ROI = >100%

29. Yam chips production is predominantly dominated by informal
processing sectors (cottage and rural small scale processors) resulting
in very large variation in quality and safety (Babajide, 2005)
Parboiling Steeping DryingPeeling
Yam Chips Production

30. 
Peeling Parboiling DryingSteeping
Yam Flakes Production

31. Eating Amala with
Soup.

32. Technology improvement - Yam
Pounding
Traditional
Locally Fabricated
Mechanized yam pounder

33. Flash drying of Poundo
Yam at SME, Benue, Nig

34. High Quality Yam Flour

35. 35
Fresh storage of Yam
with Modern Barn
for High Quality Flour

36. Fresh Yam Tubers
Fried product
Fried Yam Chips
Frying Temperature-175-180oC
Initial Dry Matter-0.179-0.214 kg/kg
(Frying Time- 4-5 min)
Blanched and fried yam chips
Blanching Temperature-70-75oC
Blanching Time-4-5 min
Frying Time-5 min
Dried and fried yam chips
Drying Temperature-70-75oC
Drying Time - 3-4 min
Frying Time – 4-5 min
Extruded Snack
Extruded Yam Starch-BSG Snack
Barrel Temperature – 110oC
Screw Speed – 121.47 rpm
Brewer Spent Grain (BSG)- 9.58%
Optimization conditions for the production of fried yam chips and extruded
yam starch-BSG snack
Fried and Extruded
Yam Products

37. Research gap (hot topics for yam in Web of
Science –Tomlins 2017, fb)….Value addition
limited.

38. Use of millet flour in the extrusion
Snack industries
Cassava refined
flour
Extrusion
Snacks
Sour Dough Bread
Millets are high in minerals,
particularly iron, calcium,
magnesium, phosphorous, zinc
and potassium.

39. Losses could be as high as
50-70% on the average at
retail and wholesale levels.
Due to:
poor processing technology
lack of good storage system
Poor transporting system
used for the distribution of
fresh tomatoes
Lack of ability to process
and add value to tomato.
Sun Dried Tomato
Postharvest Losses of Tomato

40. • Large volumes of dried tomato moves from the North
to all corners of Nigeria.
• Middle age, married and lowly educated men were
processors and marketers
• Sun dried sliced tomato dominated the Nigerian
markets.
• Nylon was the major packaging material for the dried
product with prediction storage period of 6 months’
shelf life.
• Dried tomato consumption pattern were not
significantly affected by season –it is available all year
around across the country.
Challenges facing dried tomato value chain
in Nigeria
i. Low or no product quality control to
ensure consistency of dried tomato
ii. Lack of good market information system
iii. Poor capacity of the processors on
efficient low cost climate smart drying
technologies
iv. Lack of linkages with other important
stakeholders
• Wide spread spatial network of the
processors, traders and consumers of dried
tomato in Nigeria.

41. Sweetpotato pests and diseases
41
Ganiyat Olatunde

42. Commercial processing of sweetpotato-
The way out of post harvest losses
 Reduced post harvest losses
 Availability of stable forms
 Improved nutrition and health of consumers (wide variety of
healthy food products)
 Encourage production and improved livelihoods of farmers
 Widens the scope of economic activities along the value chain
42

43. Sweetpotato
products
43

44. Sweetpotato research activities in
FUNAAB Bread
Ja
m
Juic
e
Crisp
s
Root
production
44

45. Challenges
Raw material for fabrication
Quality control
Synergy amongst various
actors in STI
Infrastructure
Available Credit Facilities
Sustainable Policies

46. Conclusion
 Value addition skills, acquired through proper training, would
lead to significant reduction in post-harvest losses because farm
produce would have been converted or packaged into storable
or quickly marketable forms; farm income would be enhanced;
higher demand for produce/products would be triggered.
 Facilitate mass production of user friendly technologies to
enhance productivity of cassava value chain
 Encourage high-growth and technological innovation-based
entrepreneurship schemes
 Fostering a culture of innovation and maintenance is critical

47. Thank You for your
Attention!