More than 70 per cent of the food consumed by residents of Lagos is produced outside the state, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said, highlighting the challenges facing the state’s food supply system.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed this on Wednesday during the commissioning of the Mid-Level Agro-Produce Hub in Pen Cinema, Agege, where he said the state was working to strengthen local food production and distribution.
According to the governor, Lagos has more than 25 million residents, creating a huge and growing demand for food. He said the dependence on supplies from outside the state exposed consumers to high transport costs, post-harvest losses, inadequate storage, supply disruptions and price volatility.
Sanwo-Olu said 125,800 farmers and fishermen had been trained in modern agricultural practices as part of efforts to close the state’s food production gap.
He also highlighted several initiatives aimed at strengthening the agricultural sector, including the Lagos Agric Scholars Programme, which promotes interest in agriculture among students in more than 440 secondary schools across the state.
The governor said the Lagos State Butchers Academy was also training butchers in modern and hygienic meat processing, while the Lagos Rice Mill at Imota had produced more than 250,000 50kg bags of Eko Rice in the past year.
He added that the recently introduced Eko Fortified Rice was enriched with vitamins and minerals as part of efforts to tackle malnutrition, particularly among children.
Expanding food infrastructure
Sanwo-Olu said the new Agege agro-produce hub was part of a broader strategy to transform Lagos’ food system, rather than simply another infrastructure project.
He said the state’s Food Systems Transformation Agenda, launched after the administration began rethinking food production and distribution in 2021, was designed to address challenges across the entire food chain, from production and aggregation to logistics, processing and retail markets.
The governor said Lagos was developing a network of Mid-Level Agro-Produce Hubs to shorten supply chains, reduce unnecessary intermediaries, improve produce handling and make food distribution more efficient.
The network includes the Fresh Food Hub in Mushin, commissioned in December 2023, and the Fresh Food Hub in Abijo, which was commissioned earlier this year by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the Mushin hub has recorded transactions worth more than N5 billion across 228 market days since its commissioning. It has more than 850 registered vendors and has generated over 7,000 direct and indirect jobs, he said.
He added that modern market infrastructure could improve farmers’ incomes, reduce post-harvest losses, create employment and strengthen local economies.
The governor said the Agege facility would serve residents of the area and neighbouring communities while helping to reinforce the wider food distribution network across Lagos.
Demand-driven agriculture
Sanwo-Olu also pointed to the Produce for Lagos Programme, launched in July 2025 alongside the N500 billion Offtake Guarantee Fund, as another component of the state’s food security strategy.
He said the initiative represented a shift from a supply-driven to a demand-driven agricultural model, with farmers producing against organised and guaranteed demand from the Lagos market.
According to the governor, the approach was designed to address two major challenges confronting farmers — access to finance and reliable markets.
He said guaranteed demand would help reduce distress sales, improve farmers’ incomes and encourage increased investment in agricultural production both within Lagos and in partner states supplying the state’s food market.
