Post by Trade Coach on Jun 19, 2021 0:26:22 GMT 1
Smallholder Farmers In Nigeria Have The Key To Solve Our Food Scarcity Problem: Why Have You Not Joined?
Famine and food scarcity have reached a critical situation in Nigeria today that it seems as if nobody knows what to do any longer. Food prices are going up daily, no one or government agency seems to care or is proffering solution to the problem.
Shall we continue to be watching the situation getting worse and worse daily? Does it mean that the condition has defied all possible solutions?
No. There is a solution; and it lies in the hands of smallholder farmers. In this article we will critically look at the meaning of smallholder faming and how it is the solution to our food crisis.
Nigeria and Africa in general have neglected the importance of smallholder farming for some ages now, in the case of Nigeria since the emergence of crude oil as the major earner of foreign exchange.
Why was it that in the colonial era the country was leading in the production of some important crops like Cocoa in the West, Palm oil in the East, and Groundnut in the North?
Was it because the colonial masters were in charge as they were producing those crops to help oil the industrial machinery of the European countries?
We are going to unravel the problem and see how we are going to be involved in providing solution to what is facing the whole country today.
Who are smallholder farmers?
Smallholder farmers are those farmers who own small pieces of farms where they plant and grow crops for local use, and probably one or more cash crops for money. They hardly can afford to hire labour to increase productivity.
Research has it that this category of farmers make up about 80% of the total farming population in Nigeria and about 98% of all food supply for most of the crops for consumption.
These farmers hardly make it because of the size of their farms and finance available for expansion.
To solve this problem of this dangerous cycle of poverty experienced by small-scale farmers; smallholder out grower schemes came to the rescue.
What is an out grower scheme?
These are schemes setup by companies (usually bit time buyers of cash crops) to source raw materials. It allows companies to provide agricultural inputs and trainings sometimes to farmers and then buy the produce from them at the end of the season under an agreed system.
These schemes have proven in the past to be of great benefit to both the smallholder farmers, aggregators and processors. Their incomes are increased due to higher yields from more financial support from the scheme.
Why you should join a smallholder out grower scheme in your locality as a farmer.
There are many advantages that accrue to small scale farmers that join out grower schemes, and they are as follows:
As a small scale farmer, acquiring farm inputs can be very expensive to handle alone; if you join an out grower scheme you will get help easily.
When you are a member of an out grower scheme, you are sure of the financial viability of your farming operations. You will not be worrying about how to sell your produce because you already have a buyer for your produce.
Your business is more stable because you are sure of a consistent and viable market as the big company is there to take care of those problems on your behalf.
Farmers are bound to receive proper training on modern farm practices, good business skills, and other matters that can increase their productivity.
From the above analysis you can see the advantages of joining out grower schemes as a small scale farmer. Whatever other things to be smoothened out will be handled without much difficulty.
Therefore, you should join the scheme nearest to your local government as a small scale farmer.
We conduct regular trainings at our location; please endeavour to join any of our programmes on export and import.
Contact the admin of this forum for more details.
Famine and food scarcity have reached a critical situation in Nigeria today that it seems as if nobody knows what to do any longer. Food prices are going up daily, no one or government agency seems to care or is proffering solution to the problem.
Shall we continue to be watching the situation getting worse and worse daily? Does it mean that the condition has defied all possible solutions?
No. There is a solution; and it lies in the hands of smallholder farmers. In this article we will critically look at the meaning of smallholder faming and how it is the solution to our food crisis.
Nigeria and Africa in general have neglected the importance of smallholder farming for some ages now, in the case of Nigeria since the emergence of crude oil as the major earner of foreign exchange.
Why was it that in the colonial era the country was leading in the production of some important crops like Cocoa in the West, Palm oil in the East, and Groundnut in the North?
Was it because the colonial masters were in charge as they were producing those crops to help oil the industrial machinery of the European countries?
We are going to unravel the problem and see how we are going to be involved in providing solution to what is facing the whole country today.
Who are smallholder farmers?
Smallholder farmers are those farmers who own small pieces of farms where they plant and grow crops for local use, and probably one or more cash crops for money. They hardly can afford to hire labour to increase productivity.
Research has it that this category of farmers make up about 80% of the total farming population in Nigeria and about 98% of all food supply for most of the crops for consumption.
These farmers hardly make it because of the size of their farms and finance available for expansion.
To solve this problem of this dangerous cycle of poverty experienced by small-scale farmers; smallholder out grower schemes came to the rescue.
What is an out grower scheme?
These are schemes setup by companies (usually bit time buyers of cash crops) to source raw materials. It allows companies to provide agricultural inputs and trainings sometimes to farmers and then buy the produce from them at the end of the season under an agreed system.
These schemes have proven in the past to be of great benefit to both the smallholder farmers, aggregators and processors. Their incomes are increased due to higher yields from more financial support from the scheme.
Why you should join a smallholder out grower scheme in your locality as a farmer.
There are many advantages that accrue to small scale farmers that join out grower schemes, and they are as follows:
As a small scale farmer, acquiring farm inputs can be very expensive to handle alone; if you join an out grower scheme you will get help easily.
When you are a member of an out grower scheme, you are sure of the financial viability of your farming operations. You will not be worrying about how to sell your produce because you already have a buyer for your produce.
Your business is more stable because you are sure of a consistent and viable market as the big company is there to take care of those problems on your behalf.
Farmers are bound to receive proper training on modern farm practices, good business skills, and other matters that can increase their productivity.
From the above analysis you can see the advantages of joining out grower schemes as a small scale farmer. Whatever other things to be smoothened out will be handled without much difficulty.
Therefore, you should join the scheme nearest to your local government as a small scale farmer.
We conduct regular trainings at our location; please endeavour to join any of our programmes on export and import.
Contact the admin of this forum for more details.