Juliet Oladele, Reporting
THE Federal Government has urged African nations to harness public procurement as a strategic weapon to overhaul the continent’s ailing logistics systems, curb crippling post-harvest losses, and bolster food security.
Dr. Marcus O. Ogunbiyi, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, made the call on Tuesday at the Africa Procurement and Supply Chain Summit and Awards 2026, held at the Oriental Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Addressing delegates under the theme “Public Procurement is Live: Creating Opportunities for Sustainable Growth in Africa,” Dr. Ogunbiyi declared that procurement had evolved far beyond a mundane back-office function into a powerful lever for economic transformation, institutional strengthening, and improving citizens’ quality of life.
He pointed out that with governments across the continent spending between 12 and 20 per cent of GDP through public procurement, every purchasing decision represents a critical investment capable of stimulating industrial growth, creating jobs, upgrading infrastructure, and delivering greater public value.
The Permanent Secretary emphasised that for the agricultural sector, efficient procurement must directly target the logistics and supply chain gaps that continue to drive food losses and eye-watering prices.
“This is particularly significant for Africa, where supply chain inefficiencies remain one of the greatest constraints to economic growth and regional competitiveness,” he stated.
“Poor transport networks, inadequate logistics infrastructure, fragmented cross-border systems, high freight costs, limited warehousing capacity, and delays in the movement of goods continue to increase the cost of doing business and undermine the efficiency of public investments.”
Dr. Ogunbiyi underscored the acute challenges facing farmers, who depend on efficient logistics to receive seeds, fertilisers, machinery, and extension services on time.
“Likewise, harvested produce must move quickly from farms to aggregation centres, processing facilities, storage hubs and markets,” he said.
“Weak logistics and transportation systems contribute significantly to post-harvest losses, reduce farmers’ incomes, increase food prices, and weaken food security across the continent.”
The Permanent Secretary urged governments to leverage transparent and well-planned procurement to invest in roads, railways, inland waterways, ports, cold-chain infrastructure, warehouses, and digital logistics platforms capable of connecting producers to markets and facilitating trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He further called on African nations to embrace digital procurement platforms, e-contract management, artificial intelligence, data analytics, blockchain, and smart logistics solutions, while strengthening regional collaboration to modernise procurement and supply chain systems.
“Strengthening transparent, technology-driven procurement and resilient supply chains is critical to realising the aspirations of Agenda 2063 and maximising opportunities presented by the AfCFTA,” he added.
Dr. Ogunbiyi disclosed that within the Ministry, procurement was being treated as a strategic mechanism for delivering President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with every procurement decision targeted at enhancing agricultural productivity, expanding mechanisation, strengthening irrigation systems, improving storage and processing infrastructure, and developing competitive agricultural value chains.
“As Accounting Officer, I remain steadfast in ensuring that every procurement process within the Ministry complies with the Public Procurement Act, 2007 and is guided by integrity, due process, competition, and effective contract management,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary highlighted ongoing reforms including the digitalisation of procurement processes, stronger monitoring and evaluation, professionalisation of procurement officers, and increased stakeholder engagement.
The Summit, which brought together procurement and supply chain professionals, government officials, development partners, and industry captains from across Africa, also featured an awards ceremony recognising individuals and organisations for excellence in procurement and supply chain management.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Ogunbiyi congratulated all honourees.
“Together, let us build procurement and supply chain systems that deliver value for money, strengthen public trust, improve logistics, support food security, promote industrialisation, and create shared prosperity for all Africans,” he said.
