Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has unveiled a Mid-Level Agro-Produce Hub at Pen Cinema, Agege, to strengthen food distribution and improve access to affordable food.
Sanwo-Olu, who commissioned the facility at the Old Dairy Farm, Pen Cinema, Agege, said the hub was designed to reduce supply-chain inefficiencies, minimise post-harvest losses and make food more accessible and affordable to Lagos residents.
The Governor also said the facility was part of the state’s Food Systems Transformation Agenda, noting that over seventy per cent of food consumed in Lagos comes from outside the state.
He said the hub would reduce supply-chain challenges, post-harvest losses and food price volatility, while supporting farmers, traders and other actors in the food value chain.
The Governor said Lagos, with a population of over 25 million people, sources more than 70 per cent of its food from outside the state, making efficient transportation, storage and distribution critical to food security.
He said the Agege hub was part of the Lagos State Food Systems Transformation Agenda, which seeks to transform the food chain from production and aggregation to logistics, processing and marketing.
Sanwo-Olu said the state’s flagship Lagos Central Food Systems and Logistics Hub at Ketu-Ereyun, Epe, was at an advanced stage and would be commissioned before the end of his administration.
He noted that other mid-level hubs had already been established in Mushin and Abijo, while construction was progressing at Opebi and Bombata, with additional locations planned for Ikorodu, Apapa, Festac and the Lekki axis.
According to him, the Mushin Fresh Food Hub had recorded transactions worth over four billion naira across 228 market days, with more than 850 registered vendors and over 7,000 direct and indirect jobs created.
The Governor also highlighted the Produce for Lagos Programme and the 500-billion-naira Offtake Guarantee Fund, saying the initiatives were designed to provide farmers with assured markets while improving their incomes and encouraging greater investment in agriculture.
He added that more than 125,800 farmers and fishermen had been trained in modern agricultural practices, while over 4,000 young people had been equipped through the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme.
Speaking on the Agege facility, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Abisola Olusanya, said the hub occupies more than 7,000 square metres, with about 4,000 square metres dedicated to the trading floor and other amenities. She said the facility has cold storage capacity for about 300 tonnes of wet food and dry storage capacity for about 800 tonnes of dry food, as well as electric vehicle charging stations.
Olusanya explained that the hub would bring bulk dealers and retail vendors together, allowing traders to concentrate on their businesses while a facility management team handles sanitation, security, waste disposal and other services.
She said the Agege hub would complement existing facilities in Mushin and Abijo, while the Opebi hub was expected to be commissioned before the end of the year.
The Commissioner said the state government remained committed to expanding the network of modern food hubs across Lagos to improve food distribution and support actors across the agricultural value chain.
