The Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority (LSADA), in partnership with Farm Junction, has launched an initiative to link farmers with consumers as part of efforts to tackle the challenge of marketing and post-harvest losses usually experienced by farmers across the country.
The Managing Director of Farm Junction, Yinka Omogoye, at a stakeholders meeting in collaboration with the LSADA, noted that the initiative will provide support structure for farmers to address waste by providing storage facilities, packaging, and logistics to farmers at minimal cost, thereby increasing their return on investment.
Omogoye pointed out that the program is expected to bring stakeholders in the agricultural value chain under an umbrella with the intention of bringing produce to consumers or exporters, encourage farmers to produce more, and guarantee food security for Lagos in the immediate future and for the nation at large.
“If we have food security, everything else will fall into place, so for farmers, don’t be afraid to go to your farm to produce; bring it to us; we will take it from you, process it for you, and we will present your product or produce to the people that will buy and pay you your money.
The program manager for LSADA, Alade Adewale, said in his remarks that the collaboration intends to ensure that there is a market for the farmers while advising them to take advantage of the collaboration.
He noted that the stakeholder meeting is also an avenue to ask the farmers what their problems are, adding that they don’t want to assume farmers’ problems and that they want to hear directly from them what their problems are for LSADA to know how to find solutions to problems.
The Deputy Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Lagos State Chapter, Shakin Agbayewa, stated that the initiative is good because the aggregation of farmers together and the provision of storage facilities will help to address the challenges farmers face in selling their produce, especially the perishables.
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