Agricultural produce dealers in Lagos state  have pleaded with the Federal government for the provision of storage facilities, to reduce waste of agriculture products and increase profits.
Chairman of the association, Mr. Ileyasu Azeez of the Amuwo Odofin branch in Lagos State, addressed the issue of storage saying that; “It will be counter-productive if at the end, farmers and sellers dispose of produce in a hurry, because of fear of the produce getting spoilt’. He reiterated that both farmers and traders would be better off if there were storage facilities for produce and users will be sure of getting fresh produce throughout the year.
As regards the imported solar powered storage system, which some businessmen introduced in the country, the chairman said it could only store 60 tonnes of produce. He also said that in spite of the equipment’s short lifespan of four years, it was costly and the members of the association could not afford it at N10 million per unit. He therefore appealed to research institutions in the country to assist with the provision of tropical storage facilities.
Azeez lamented that members of the association often sell their goods below the cost price for fear that they might get rotten. “It even takes longer than two days to transport produce like plantain, oranges and bananas from Okada, in Edo to Lagos markets. He appealed to the government to provide the facilities and allow installments
“It is only when products are available all year round that people can invest in processing them to add value to them,’’ He said.