I have a dream! I have a dream!! That one day, farmers would get optimum value from what they produce rather than the meagre value they survive with. This is because they put a lot of hours to produce the quantity of food being purchased in the market. These hours come with sacrifices, courage, failed attempts, emotional investment amongst others. These are immeasurable values that are not included in the cost of production, thus we refer to them as the real costs. The real cost of producing cost is too high and it is increasing daily as the impact of climate is hitting hard, insecurity is on the rise in some farming communities, inflation is on the rise and the cost of accessing inputs is not left out. Many times, farmers put their lives on the lifeline to produce food in the face of these challenges, coupled with an unfriendly business environment.

Sadly, they hardly get commensurate compensation for these costs they incurred in the process of ensuring that food is produced. Due to the increasing real cost of food, many youths are discouraged to embrace agriculture. This is the reason investors need to invest in socioeconomic infrastructure that would provide social safety and emotional support

The real cost of food is huge and should not be borne by farmers alone. We need to build a system that can help reduce the burden of producing food through provision of mechanization ( at an affordable price), easy access to relevant agricultural information, ease of doing business and improved security of lives and properties in the rural communities (where the majority of the farmers reside and carry out production activities). Also, building of a support system amongst farmers should be promoted and supported by stakeholders in the sector.

This is an unprecedented period, and it requires unprecedented actions that would reduce the real cost of foods. We all must be burden bearers and it is important to know that "a thank you "to a farmer could go a long way to motivate him or her. Appreciate a farmer today!