Did you know that smallholder farmers provide up to 80 per cent of the food supply in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa? According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), eighty percent of the farmland in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia is managed by smallholder farmers (working on up to 10 hectares). While 75 percent of the world’s food is generated from only 12 plants and 5 animal species, making the global food system highly vulnerable to shocks, biodiversity is key to smallholder systems that keep many rustic and climate-resilient varieties and breeds alive.
Smallholder farmers are individuals who work in areas that range from less than one hectare to ten hectares and are pastoralists, small-scale farmers, foresters, and fishermen. They are usually characterized by family-focused motives such as favoring the stability of the farm household system, using mainly family labor for production and using part of the produce for family consumption.
In Nigeria, the majority of farmers operate on a modest scale, having an average landholding of less than two hectares. Nigeria’s smallholder farmers cultivate 70% of the arable land. However, the majority of them cultivate crops for their own families and communities, making subsistence farming the norm. According to a report by the FAO of the United Nations, Nigeria has an estimated 34.5 million farmers, which represents about 70% of the country’s labour force and a significant number of the farmers in Africa.
Smallholder farmer’ economic viability and contributions to diversified landscape and culture, is threatened by numerous factors and finding innovative ways to tackle these challenges is crucial. The obstacles and challenges faced include:
1. Limited access to credit
2. Climate change and environmental degradation
3. Inadequate Infrastructure
4. Limited access to market information
5. Gender bias and lots more.
There are several ways in which these challenges could be tackled such as:
1. Farmer cooperatives should be strengthened to enable them to acquire bulk inputs, access larger markets, and negotiate better prices. This approach helps their bargaining power and enables collective decision-making which fosters collaboration between farmers and agribusinesses to establish financial institution’s involvement in agriculture
2. Financial literacy programs and financial inclusion are crucial for smallholder farmers. Innovative approaches such as mobile banking, microfinance institutions, and farmer-specific loan schemes can provide easier access to credit, allowing farmers to invest in improved inputs and technologies.
3. The government should invest in rural infrastructure development, including roads, storage facilities, and irrigation systems, to improve transportation and reduce losses incurred by farmers.
4. Agro-processing and storage facilities at the local level should be enhanced. This will provide value addition of produce by smallholder farmers and reduce post-harvest losses.
5. Agricultural extension and consultancy services should be strengthened, as they help provide technical expertise, training, and advisory services to smallholder farmers on climate change adaptation, and facilitate knowledge-sharing on market intelligence and value chain development. This will empower them with the knowledge and skills needed to adopt modern farming practices, overcome challenges, and improve productivity.
6. Leveraging mobile technology and internet access is an innovative way to tackle challenges faced by smallholder farmers. Digital platforms provide timely and relevant information to smallholder farmers. This can include weather updates, market prices, farm management techniques, databases and government support schemes.
When sustainable agriculture is adopted by smallholder farmers, average crop yields increase with sustainable systems becoming more diversified. Agricultural extension providers play a huge role in tackling the challenges faced by smallholder farmers.
FutuX Agri-consult Limited is Africa’s leading agricultural extension service provider a company that has also leveraged technology. FutuX has launched an Application called “Farm Gird” which provides a digital platform for farmers to monitor their farms and input relevant information. When it comes to educating, training and guiding smallholder farmers, that’s our specialty. We provide appropriate knowledge for future foods.
Are you facing challenges as a smallholder farmer and do you need an expert to help you navigate through it? Get in touch with us.
