₦airaland Forum

Each time agro products are exported from Nigeria, one question keeps coming to my mind:

Are the farmers behind these products really benefiting?

Smallholder farmers are the backbone of Nigeria’s agricultural exports, yet many remain underpaid while raw commodities leave the country.

I keep thinking about:

When will Nigeria move from exporting raw agro products to value-added goods

How Nigerian agro products can gain more international visibility and trust

How buyers can continue to access quality Nigerian produce

And how our environment can be protected throughout the value chain

Whenever containers are loaded at the seaport, I’m less excited about the deal and more concerned about the long-term impact.

So I ask:

Exporters: Do you think about farmer welfare beyond pricing?

Farmers: How can sustainability be better integrated into production?

Policymakers: What policies truly encourage value addition?

Buyers: Are you conscious of how your purchases affect people and the environment?

In my view, sustainable agro trade in Nigeria is not just about foreign exchange—it’s about fairness, value creation, and environmental responsibility.

This is the approach we stand for at Afrik Fair Nigeria Limited.

What are your thoughts?

It always amazes me that I can't buy chocolate in Nigeria like I can in a shop in UK where they are yelling that the tiny amount of cocoa in a bar has made the price quadruple.

No, farmers are not being paid fairly because no value is added to their product. A person who makes gari earns a lot more profit than a cassava grower.

Exactly. Value is created at the processing stage. As long as Nigeria exports raw cocoa instead of chocolate, farmers will earn the least. The gari vs cassava example explains it perfectly—value addition changes income.

To start a mini export business you need the following

A good mentor
A product website
A buyers gathering
A local seller or supplier
A business name

That's all!