Nigeria discards 38 million tonnes of food annually, the highest rate in Africa, the European Union's Deputy Ambassador Zissimos Vergos warned. The staggering volume, reported during a recent engagement, underscores severe losses in food security, economic stability, and environmental sustainability across the country. Vergos linked the waste to inefficiencies in storage, transportation, and supply chains, noting that such losses exacerbate hunger and inflate food prices for consumers.
The EU's figure of 38 million tonnes exposes Zissimos Vergos as the bluntest foreign voice on Nigeria's food waste scandal. For Nigerians already battling inflation, this waste means every discarded grain is a direct tax on household budgets and a missed chance to feed the poor.
