The world of a farmer is a world full of uncertainty yet with high optimism to achieve bountiful harvest. Such a high hope for a profession whose major activities are embedded in passion, hard work and consistency, coupled with overwhelming uncertainties This is the tough skin farmers are made up of all over the World, and that's why farmers hardly give up in the face of many trials and failures. Sadly, farmers do not enjoy the full benefits of their efforts as little or no value is added to their produce, leaving them at the mercy of social interventions to make ends meet. This has been normalized for too long and there is a need for farmers to go beyond production to a lifestyle of value addition especially for crops with short shelf span in order to maximize profits.
No two ways can do it, smallholder farmers need to be provided with the required skills and capacity to add value to their produce as well as adopting simple technologies. This enables them to reduce post harvest losses especially during glut, get more value from their efforts (as the real cost of production is still very high) and ability to enjoy true and genuine shared prosperity among the farmers. In addition, there is a need for relevant stakeholders to develop a better market system for the various agricultural value chains beyond the ceremonial raw materials. Most importantly, development of new products-mix for the consumer's market is very vital to stimulate the market, change its dynamics and increase market value, which has a ripple effect on the food supply chain. Most importantly, smallholder farmers should easily have access to constant and up-to-date market information to help them make a better production decision and connect them to better use of these opportunities to grow and develop the agricultural ecosystem, leaving no one behind.
Therefore, access to information, skills acquisition relevant to product development and enabling the environment to strive are key to changing the market dynamics where farmers can get more benefits and value for their efforts and promoting shared prosperity. Smallholder farmers must go beyond just producing crops into the actualization of value added products that help to save cost, reduce losses and maximize the profits. Subtly, there is a new narrative in the industry, "from farming to agribusiness". This is not another mantra or catchy phrase but should be a reality that every smallholder farmers need to accept and deploy it now so as to unlock and enjoy all the benefits available in this sector. Nothing to hide as the future doesn't just happen but it is created through what we do today and repeatedly. Let us think, do and repeat value addition to achieve zero hunger and shared prosperity!
