The Organisation for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa (OTACCWA) has said Nigeria requires between 6,000 and 7,000 refrigerated trucks to effectively tackle post-harvest losses estimated at N5 trillion annually.
The President of OTACCWA, Mr. Alexander Isong, made this known in an interview in Lagos. He explained that an earlier projection of 5,000 trucks represented only the minimum threshold, noting that further analysis indicated a greater need to ensure nationwide coverage.
According to him, achieving meaningful coverage across the country, including rural farming communities, would require a structured combination of small last-mile refrigerated trucks, medium distribution vehicles and heavy-duty long-haul cold transport trucks.
“Without cold mobility, storage facilities alone cannot solve the problem. Transport is the critical missing link,” he said.
Isong added that expanding refrigerated transport must be supported by the establishment of pre-cooling centres close to farms to minimise spoilage shortly after harvest.
He also advocated the deployment of digital traceability systems to monitor temperature compliance throughout the supply chain.
The OTACCWA president noted that strengthening cold mobility infrastructure would help stabilise food prices, boost farmers’ incomes and significantly reduce waste. He added that it would also enhance Nigeria’s participation in regional trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Isong emphasised that cold chain infrastructure is vital to addressing food insecurity in Nigeria’s agricultural sector, particularly by reducing post-harvest losses.
He explained that a cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply system designed to preserve and transport perishable goods such as food, pharmaceuticals and chemicals from production to consumption while maintaining consistent temperature standards to ensure quality and safety.
OTACCWA is a multidisciplinary body comprising professionals, companies and organisations across Nigeria and ECOWAS member states. It advocates collaboration, sustainability and innovation in the cold chain industry, focusing on perishable goods, pharmaceuticals and vaccines, as well as policy development, standards setting and infrastructure expansion.