Worried by the huge losses being recorded from the concession of its idle silos to private operators nationwide, the Federal Government on Friday has indicated its plan takeover the idle silos to stop the financial losses from the agricultural facilities.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, who gave this hint in a statement on his official Facebook page stated the government would reclaim the idle silos due to huge post-harvest losses from them currently estimated at $10 billion yearly.
Specifically, he disclosed that out of the 17 silo complexes concessioned to five private companies, only Flour Mills of Nigeria, which operates three silo complexes under three separate Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), has met all conditions of the agreement and is performing optimally.
The minister stated: “Many concessionaires defaulted on their payment obligations, with only Flour Mills consistently meeting performance and financial conditions.”
According to him, a committee will be constituted to review contractual clauses and performance, adding that any silos left idle will be reclaimed while defaulters of the contract will face sanctions.
Kyari lamented that it was unfortunate that some concessionaires had abandoned their silos facilities, pointing out that in order to reverse the ugly situation, strict compliance will be enforced.
The Minister had on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) led by its Director General, Dr. Jobson Ewalefoh, to review the performance of Nigeria’s silo concession programme introduced to address the government’s inability to optimally utilise its facilities due to funding and other operational challenges.
Kyari highlighted the urgent need to revive the silo storage facilities as a strategic step towards reducing the nation’s post-harvest losses currently estimated at $10 billion annually.
He described the storage facilities as essential to our food security drive, as they directly address wastage and ensure year-round availability of staple crops.
The Minister maintained that the ministry, in collaboration with the ICRC, would intensify oversight, enforce compliance and ensure that only competent concessionaires are allowed to manage the silo facilities in order to achieve the present administration’s agricultural agenda aimed at ensuring national food security.
Ewalefoh was quoted as stressingthat only private companies with real operational needs for silos will be allowed to retain them.
The ICRC boss warned: “Abandoned silos would be retrieved by the Federal Government,” adding that some concessionaires have failed to remit required returns to government coffers.
“A new committee will be established to review contractual clauses, assess performance, and set clear intervals for evaluation”, Ewalefoh added.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government in 2022, through the then-Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, disclosed its plan to lease the food silos to private operators from which it estimated to earn N18 billion from the concessioning of the facilities yearly.