By Cynthia Alo & Precious Enaike
 A new study has shown that despite the effectiveness of cold-room facilities in preserving agricultural produce, high operating costs and unreliable electricity supply are limiting their wider use in Nigeria.
The study focused on the use of cold rooms in Nigeria’s agro value chain, conducted by the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, NSPRI, found that 77 per cent of cold-room users rated the facility effective, citing their ability to preserve commodities, extend shelf life and reduce the pressure on farmers and traders to sell perishables at distress prices immediately.
The findings were presented at a stakeholders’ workshop on “End Users’ Perspectives of Cold Rooms in Nigeria,” organised by the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, NSPRI, and Energy Saving Trust, UK, under the Efficiency for Access initiative.
Speaking at the event, Executive Director of NSPRI, Prof. Lateef Sanni, said post-harvest losses remained a major challenge to food security in Nigeria, stressing the need for practical solutions to preserve agricultural commodities across the value chain.
Sanni said cold-room technology, alongside other preservation methods, could help reduce losses while improving the quality and value of agricultural produce before it reaches consumers.
Presenting the findings, Assistant Director of Research and Head, Postharvest Engineering Research Department, NSPRI, Dr. Michael Omodara, said the study involved 10 cold-room operators, 159 users and 151 non-users, covering fish, meat, fruits and vegetables.
Omodara said: “77 per cent of respondents rated cold rooms as effective, while 23 per cent did not.”
He said those who rated the facilities effective mainly cited their ability to preserve commodities, extend shelf life and reduce the pressure on farmers and traders to sell their produce immediately.
Omodara identified high cost of implementation, technical inefficiencies, unreliable electricity and inadequate awareness as major factors limiting cold-room utilisation.
He said Nigeria continued to record significant post-harvest losses due to infrastructure gaps and fragmentation across the agricultural value chain, from production and transportation to storage, markets and consumers.
Operations Manager, HIAS Nigeria Limited, Barakat Badmus, said poor market validation, inadequate awareness and low initial utilisation were also affecting investment in cold rooms.
She said cold room operators, sometimes, encountered a gap between communities’ expressed demand for cold rooms and their actual willingness to use the facilities after deployment.
Co-founder of Ecotulu, Michael Akinshate, said high operating costs, unreliable electricity, inadequate capital, poor perception and low utilisation remained major obstacles to the sector.
He said many farmers still viewed cold rooms mainly as facilities for fish and meat, while others preferred to sell their produce immediately rather than store them in anticipation of better prices.
Akinshate said unreliable grid electricity had increased operating costs, prompting his company to adopt solar-powered cooling solutions.
At Mile 12 Market, Lagos, Chief Operator of the Net Zero Cold Room, Usman Musa, said inadequate storage capacity was another major challenge.
Musa said the solar-powered facility had a capacity of about six tonnes, which was insufficient to meet demand from traders.
He said whenever there was a disruption in grid electricity supply, users of other cold rooms moved their commodities to the solar-powered facility, resulting in overcrowding.