The following recommendations provide a starting point for Nigerian stakeholders to strengthen food donation policies and legal frameworks. Policymakers, donors, food banks, and other organizations dedicated to increasing food donation and reducing food waste (collectively referred to as “food recovery organizations”) should continue working together to consider additional opportunities for advancing food donation and reducing food waste.

To ensure that food is donated safely without posing risks to recipients, the federal government should:

• Amend the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control Act (NAFDAC Act) to feature a donation-specific chapter.
• Publish draft regulations related to the NAFDAC Act that elaborate on food safety for donations.
• Produce and disseminate clarifying guidance on food safety requirements relevant to donation.

To ensure that quality-based date labels do not cause food that is safe for consumption and donation to be discarded, the federal government should:

• Amend the Pre-packaged Food, Water and Ice Labelling Regulations to explicitly permit food donation after the quality-based date.
• Promote education and awareness on the meaning of date labels. To ensure that liability concerns do not deter potential food donors, the federal government should:
• Enact national legislation that establishes clear and comprehensive liability protection for food donors and food recovery organizations.

To ensure that tax incentives encourage businesses to engage in food donation, the federal government should:

• Amend the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) to explicitly include food recovery organizations as eligible recipients under the fifth schedule.
• Amend the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) to allow in-kind donations, including donations of food.
• Provide a tax deduction for activities associated with the storage, transportation, and delivery of donated food.

To ensure that food donors and food recovery organizations are sufficiently incentivized to donate food, the federal and state government should:

Create government grant opportunities for food donation infrastructure.

Click here to Read The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas for Nigeria