8/18/2019 Value Chain in Agriculture

1/1

 Value Chain Script

Farouk is a smallholder tomato farmer in Kaduna. Mama Ivie runs a

catering business in Lagos. Tomatoes are a big part of Mama Ivie’s

weekly purchases. hatever Farouk does with his tomato produce

directly a!ects the "uality and price of tomatoes that Mama Ivie will buy.This is so because of the #alue $hain.

Think about the value chain as%. & chain' If one part is missing( the

chain becomes dysfunctional. Farouk needs the right type of fertili)ers(

irrigation and harvesting services to get a bumper harvest. *nless there

is guaranteed o!+take( Farouk starts to run a race against time so the

tomatoes do not go bad. The middlemen load them up in trucks. ,ut these

trucks often break down on the long tortuous roads to the markets( and

the race of rot often catches up with most of the produce( leading to

waste and higher prices by the time they reach Mama Ivie. Meanwhile

Farouk is caught up in a cycle of poverty because he must sell at very low

prices.

-rganising the whole range of goods( processes and services necessary for

an agricultural product to move smoothly from the farm to the nal customer

or consumer must be a priority for us all.  &n inclusive market system that

promotes fairness and certainty will ensure that farmers get rewarded

here on earth. If this assumes the attention of a renewed commodities

e/change system( warehousing( contract farming and credit will be

addressed seamlessly. & well+dened system will also enable investments

in e!icient and sensible forms of processing( packaging andtransportation. Technology as an enabler for capacity building and

e!iciency in agriculture is a signicant tool for organi)ation( data

collection and e/ecution. There is a signicant potential for 0ob creation

in the development of a tailored value chain for &griculture.

 &t the end( with the right level of commitment to value chain

development( the link between Farouk and Mama Ivie will no longer be

tedious.