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Poor road infrastructure across the country is significantly driving up transportation costs and deepening food insecurity in Africa’s most populous country, according to a new report by the World Bank.
The report titled ‘Transport Connectivity for Food Security in Africa: Strengthening Food Supply’ said that many roads in rural Nigeria are either unpaved or poorly maintained, making it difficult for farmers to move produce from farms to markets, especially during the rainy season.
“If areas of production and population centres are remote and it is difficult to move goods around the country, higher transportation costs can affect food security,” the World Bank noted.
The World Bank said that Nigeria is among the most vulnerable countries in Sub-Saharan Africa when it comes to detour costs — the added burden faced when transport networks are disrupted. These disruptions often force trucks and food suppliers to take longer, more expensive routes, it said.
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According to the report, the country’s inadequate rural road network contributes to a situation where even short transport distances come at high costs due to poor vehicle conditions, bad terrain, and lack of road maintenance.
“The geographical vastness and diverse climatic conditions across Africa mean that food must often travel long distances from production areas to consumers, with many points of potential or actual weakness and high risks of food spoilage and loss.”
“Targeted measures are therefore needed to strengthen and streamline supply chains to ensure their resilience and sustainability,” it added.
The report disclosed how the Rural Access and Mobility Program (RAMP), implemented between 2008 and 2018, with over $300 million, brought 1.5 million people within 2 kilometres of all-season roads, leading to a 31 percent increase in the volume of agricultural produce transported across the country.
However, despite these gains, the report noted that Nigeria continues to suffer from the consequences of neglected road infrastructure.
As a result, farmers in many regions face delays that cause post-harvest losses, particularly for perishable crops like tomatoes, vegetables, and fruits.
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“Outside urban areas, trucks often travel empty or partly loaded, reducing efficiency and increasing costs,” the report noted.
It reported that this inefficiency contributes to as much as 40 percent post-harvest loss of perishables in some Sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria
The report called for urgent investment in rural road connectivity as part of broader efforts to reduce food insecurity.
It recommended scaling up infrastructure improvements, integrating rural roads with agricultural development programs, and involving local communities in road maintenance for sustainability.
Also, the report revealed that in 2023, Nigeria recorded a cereal trade deficit of $2 billion, and South Africa had a net positive balance of $170 million.
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