In 2013, the federal government, through the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) designated 13 airports as perishable cargo airports in a bid to transform the aviation sector into a major revenue earner for the country by making it participate in the over N250 billion annual air freight export market out of Africa where the country was recording zero participation. That year, the FG established a relationship with the agriculture ministry and state governments to create storage infrastructure, which will step up the evacuation of agricultural products to the domestic market. 

But several years after this designation, only five have facilities to process cargo for import and export. The only functional cargo airports are Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Abuja airports, while the remaining cargo airports lack the needed infrastructures to drive cargo imports and exports across Nigeria.

However, last week, a new airport, the Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport in Ikenne, Ogun state, was added to the list and received its first commercial flight on its runway. The airport terminal has been described as a hybrid of airport structures in Morocco and Paris. 

The world-class agro cargo airport is focused on agricultural exports from Nigeria to other parts of the world, but it also has a passenger terminal, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility. Built on a 9,200-hectare, the airport will be equipped with modern facilities and infrastructure such as cargo handling equipment, cold storage facilities, and processing plants. 

The airport and its accompanying facilities are set to herald a huge transformative effect in Nigeria’s agricultural sector. For example, the cost of post-harvest losses in Nigeria’s agriculture industry is estimated to be N3.5 trillion annually. One of the major reasons identified as the cause is the lack of infrastructures like the agro cargo airport, designated to be close to communities considered food baskets of Nigeria, to aid easy distribution of agricultural produce before they exceed their shelf life. The new agro-cargo airport will solve a bit of this problem. It makes sense that it is also situated at a strategic location. Asides from having close proximity to Lagos, the fifth-largest economy in Africa and Nigeria’s largest economy, it also has a close connection with notable agrarian communities in the hinterlands of southwestern states. 

Currently, Nigeria has a trade deficit, meaning it imports more goods and services than it exports. Consequently, European, Asian and American cargo planes that come into the country with tonnes of goods often leave empty. For a long time, economic experts have expressed concerns over the consistently empty cargo aircraft departing the country despite huge agro produce from Nigeria, which can be exported to other parts of the world. 

Already, several African countries like Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Senegal, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Egypt earn millions of dollars annually from trading in commodities like fruits, fresh fish, vegetables and flowers. Since Nigeria produces similar commodities in abundance, the cargo airport makes one expect a positive turnaround in this regard. 

Another challenge people exporting agricultural goods out of Nigeria face is quality control which makes their produce not meet the international standard. Timi Oke, the founder of Agro Eknor, an agritech startup that operates by sourcing, refining, and exporting agricultural products to global clients spanning Europe, Asia, and North and South American markets, confirmed that many agricultural products coming out of Nigeria were of poor quality. And because the infrastructure for quality control was lacking, they were at the lower end of the pricing scale.

Commendably, the new agro cargo airport has a testing site in its axis approved by the African Development Bank Group, where exporters can test the quality of their goods in conformity with international standards. 

Generally, agro-cargo airports are a vital component of the global food supply chain and the economy of the host country. The project is expected to boost the economy of Ogun State and Nigeria by creating employment opportunities, increasing foreign exchange earnings, and attracting investments to the country.

Tangerine
Tangerine
Tangerine

Elsewhere on Ventures

Triangle arrow