Sanwo-Olu Inaugurates Mid-Level Agro-Produce Hub in Agege

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has commissioned a Mid-Level Agro-Produce Hub in Agege as part of efforts to strengthen the state’s food supply system and reduce the cost of food.

The facility, located at Pen Cinema, Agege, occupies 7,000 square metres of land and is the third mid-level agro-produce hub established by the state.

It follows similar facilities at Idi-Oro, Mushin, and Abijo, Ajah.

Speaking during the commissioning on Wednesday, Sanwo-Olu said the hub was designed to establish a more direct farm-to-table supply chain by reducing the number of intermediaries between farmers and consumers.

According to the governor, the initiative would help reduce food transportation costs, minimise post-harvest losses, curb food spoilage and ultimately lower prices for consumers.

He said the network of food hubs would also create employment opportunities while providing farmers with improved access to markets and helping investors participate more effectively in the food value chain.

Sanwo-Olu said the development of Lagos’ food system required more than increasing agricultural production because over 70 per cent of the food consumed in the state is produced outside its borders.

He explained that food transported over long distances through fragmented supply chains was exposed to high logistics costs, inadequate storage, supply disruptions and price volatility.

The governor said his administration therefore launched the Lagos State Food Systems Transformation Agenda in 2021 to address challenges across production, aggregation, logistics, processing and distribution.

He said the Agege hub represented part of the infrastructure being developed to make food distribution more efficient and resilient in Lagos.

Sanwo-Olu also highlighted the Lagos Central Food Systems and Logistics Hub at Ketu-Ereyun, Epe, describing it as the flagship food infrastructure project of his administration.

The Epe facility is being developed with cold and dry storage facilities, processing and repackaging centres, quality-control laboratories, warehouses, logistics bays and digital trading platforms.

According to the governor, the project is designed to become the largest food logistics hub in Sub-Saharan Africa, with capacity to service more than 1,500 food trucks daily and handle over 1.5 million metric tonnes of food annually.

Sanwo-Olu said construction of the Epe hub had reached an advanced stage and would be commissioned before the end of his administration.

He stressed that Lagos required a network of strategically located food facilities rather than relying on a single large centre to meet the distribution needs of its growing population.

The governor said the broader food infrastructure programme was intended to create opportunities for farmers, investors and consumers while improving the reliability and affordability of food across Lagos.