Ekiti govt moves to tackle post-harvest losses among farmers

The Ekiti State Government has revealed that the agricultural outfit named Ilu Eye Agro Trading and Aggregation Company, set up last year, has commenced operations towards tackling the perennial post-harvest losses by farmers in the state.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Ebenezer Boluwade, in a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune in Ado-Ekiti, explained that the setting up of the company was part of the measures by the administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji to ensure food security in the state.

He added that the operations of the company are expected to reduce post-harvest losses among farmers and prevent the negative activities of middlemen purchasing farm produce and commodities from farmers at rock-bottom prices, only to hoard and resell them later at exorbitant prices.

According to him, the company would be responsible for the buyback of some selected agricultural commodities like rice paddy, beans, maize, garri, and palm oil from the farmsteads across the state.

He said, “The initiative is a testament to the government’s dedication to creating food security and a sustainable food system in the state and is designed to consolidate the giant steps of the state government at the upstream and midstream stages of the agricultural value chain.

“The company’s social and commercial responsibilities are to make food available at the special food markets that will be soon created in the state, stressing that this will help the state to bend the food inflation curve.”

Boluwade stated that the state government had invested in renovating and constructing huge, spacious warehouses and other necessary storage solutions to guarantee safe and secure food storage practices.

The commissioner noted that the overall objective of this outfit will be achieved “when it is finally transformed into a commodity exchange company that will ensure the formation of fair, transparent, and real prices in accordance with the interests of the consumer by partially compensating for the price differences in terms of location and time of agricultural products, which are extremely common in production and consumption.”

The statement reads, “The commodity exchange creation ensures seamless access to markets and finance opportunities to farmers, as it is presently practiced in Ethiopia and other East African countries where farmers easily get production finance while pledging the future produce as collateral.

“Talks are in an advanced stage with local and international partners to layer the initiative with digitisation solutions like blockchain technology, which has the potential to change and transform the commodity trading industry by providing a secure, transparent, and efficient platform for trade settlement and supply chain management.

“This will ensure traceability of the products to confirm if all phytosanitary protocols are observed along the value chain.”

He said the company requests all farmers’ groups, associations, cooperatives, and individuals to reach out to the company through the dedicated contact details already provided.

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