Dr Olugbenga AdeOluwa, the Country Coordinator, Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Initiative in Nigeria, says organic agriculture value addition to produce will lead to maximisation of profit.
TBI Africa said AdeOluwa made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said that improvements in the effectiveness and efficiency of agricultural value chains could also enhance benefits to all participants in the value chain, and contribute to food security and poverty reduction.
“We are encouraging value addition to EOA products so as to earn higher profit margins and provide employment for quality processing and packaging between production and the market.
“The humongous change and value-enhancing revolution currently in the chains of organic agriculture is benefiting both national and multinational agribusinesses which other forms of business in agriculture can also benefit from.”
He said that agriculture as the mainstay of economic activity of most people living in the rural areas, faces challenges that could only be solved through effective operation of the value chain.
“Some of these challenges include low productivity, paucity of opportunities for value addition, environmental degradation and limited access to productive assets and inputs.
“Other challenges are inadequate support services (extension and research) limited access to rural financial services, inadequate market and rural infrastructure, post-harvest losses and a constrained enabling environment.”
He said that organic agriculture offers the opportunity to capture added value at each stage of the production, marketing and consumption process.
AdeOluwa advised smallholder farmers to engage in value chains to improve their livelihoods, whilst reducing their risks and increasing their resilience.
He said that the advantage of the value chain was to increase food security and accelerate economic growth on a sustainable basis and enumerated the benefits of organic agriculture practice value added chain.
“Organic agriculture encourages consumer participation through the entire value chain process.
“Buyers are assured of product quality, supply and safety through integrated systems from production to retail.
“Through organic agriculture, suppliers are more assured of a market and the benefits of economies of scale.”
According to him, value chain improves access to markets, reduces response time to changing customer demand and enhances more rewarding business relationships.
“It achieves economic growth that reduces poverty, gives access to markets, inputs, technology, and a whole range of services for the smallholder farmers.
“It creates wealth in poor communities by sustainably linking large numbers of micro and small enterprises into international, national and local value chains.
“Value chain can influence small-holder farmers to improve or upgrade their products and processes, and thereby contribute to and benefit from the chain’s competitiveness,” AdeOluwa said.
