Farmers do the work and middlemen reap the profit

[FarmTech]

It is pathetic to see how farmers will do all the work but end up selling at a ridiculous price. How to we stop this trend?

[Ikowa5]

@farmtech, d problem is dat d farmers are not united and are not saying in unison. Even area where they ve an unbrella body(farmers group/association) they are either in comatose or moribund. Most of d farmers group are by "action" grant and loan driven, once they get it, every farmer to his/her tent. We need to start looking beyond dis and start saying no dis so called middlemen, by finetuning our marketing strategy as a collective group, for a better and deserving profit

[Henlus]

I agree with you Ikowa5. One thing that make these middlemen successful is that they can supply to their clients regularly and in large quanty, if farmers unit and do the same, they'll reduce the exploit. Another thing is for farmers to agree on a selling price.

[Ikowa5]

You are right sir, d underlying word is stick together in "one voice" for mutual benefit. A corporate or individual customer will take(farmers dat came together under one organised umbrella/voice) more seriously than an individual called a middleman

[John@]

You are right sir, d underlying word is stick together in "one voice" for mutual benefit. A corporate or individual customer will take(farmers dat came together under one organised umbrella/voice) more seriously than an individual called a middleman

Very true bro. I wish farmers will form a strong union one of these days and get rid of greedy middlemen.

[FarmTech]

Nice contributions so far, being united and doing proper market research before planting or raising animals is the key.

[FarmKing]

I think farmers should learn how to market their produce more effectively. They should also target harvest time in such a way that it won't coincide with the time other farmers are harvesting. If you harvest when other farmers are harvesting, you'll be faced with glut in the local market. And since most farm produce are perishable and due to lack of storage facilities, you may be forced to sell at a giveaway price.

[Kiwi]

It will be better if a farmer have his own sales outlets.

[FarmKing]

Farmers should unite under a union where they'll pull their resources and establish common facilities for storage. It will also build their bargaining power and allow them to sell to companies that buy in large quantity.

[FarmKing]

Middle men have always fix the price of farm produce in many places. It is high time for farmers to turn into marketers.

[Hunter]

I believe some of these middlemen operate as a cartel/mafia. They’ll do anything to prevent farmers from selling directly to the traders. And most farmers can’t stand up to them because of poverty. When you feed from hand to mouth, you can’t afford to stay without any cash in your pocket. They control most, if not all the markets.

[Danny]

Farmers should form groups or cooperatives and market their produce directly to the nearest retail outlets in towns. They should also make use of available market information and grow products that can fetch good prices on the market.

[Hippo]

Farmers should diversify. They should go into other areas that bring them more income – after doing proper research.