Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday commissioned the Lagos Fresh Food Hub at Pen Cinema, Agege, describing the facility as a vital component of the state's strategy to strengthen food security and improve supply chain efficiency. Flanked by his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, and the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, the governor inspected agricultural produce at the new facility and used a Point-of-Sale terminal to make a purchase.

Sanwo-Olu stated that the project forms part of the Lagos State Food Systems Transformation Agenda, which aims to address challenges across production, aggregation, storage, logistics, processing, and retail. He noted that Lagos has a population exceeding 25 million people and relies on food transported over long distances from outside the state, leading to high logistics costs, post-harvest losses, and price volatility. To mitigate this, the state is developing an interconnected network of food hubs rather than depending on a single central market.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, explained that the hubs operate on a hub-and-spoke model, linking a central facility in Ketu-Ereyun, Epe, with mid-level hubs across the metropolis. The Agege facility occupies approximately 7,000 square metres, featuring a 4,000-square-metre trading floor that can accommodate up to 400 vendors. It also includes 1,200 square metres of dry storage with a capacity for about 800 metric tonnes, around 300 metric tonnes of cold storage, a dedicated seafood section, parking spaces, and electric vehicle charging points.

Olusanya projected that the hub will facilitate more than N5 billion in annual food transactions. However, she disclosed that full operations will commence in six weeks to allow for the completion of operator onboarding and logistics arrangements. The operating model is supported by a comprehensive framework covering quality control, waste management, inventory tracking, and sanitation standards.

The governor urged farmers, traders, and aggregators to maximize the opportunities provided by the facility. He also highlighted other agricultural interventions, including the Produce for Lagos Programme, the N500 billion Offtake Guarantee Fund, and training programs that have equipped more than 125,800 farmers and fishermen with modern skills.