The key players in agricultural marketing are the middlemen and we can consider them the ultimate buyers. They are the bridge between farmers and the market (traders, wholesalers, retailers and consumers).The importance of Middlemen can never be over emphasized but sometimes they are seen as more of a curse than a blessing! They underprice farmers in rural areas leaving them with little or no choice but to sell and they inflate prices when they bring food down to the urban areas where they know foods are needed in large quantities. On the other hand, Middlemen go through a lot of risks trying to convey goods from the rural region to the cities, especially as it relates to the poor infrastructure in the country. They also have a lot of influence and power over the farmers and the market price of agricultural products than any other group within the value chain, providing them with the opportunity to make a lot more money than the farmers. There is no doubt that Middlemen are very critical in the Nigerian Agricultural value chain but, how do we manage their reach and influence? And how do we make sure they transact fairly with farmers?

One of the major problems of agriculture in Nigeria is the lack of storage facilities which have resulted in loss of about 30-50% of crops during  harvest, post-harvest,storage and transit to consumers. Lack of storage facilities, ailing and insufficient processing industries and poorly developed marketing channels are responsible for the loss. How do we make storage facilities available and affordable for farmers? what are the alternate storage facilities we can provide in order to reduce loss on the field,in storage, in transit and at our markets?

Most often, the people who gain access to funding are the big farmers who in most cases do not really need the money. A series of government initiatives has still not made any impact as the farmers who need the funds are less likely to access the funds. Also, international finance organizations that have the funds and are willing to lend out upwards of $100,000 which is outside the interest of the small holder farmers and Agric SME's who make up the large percentage of the Nigerian farmers. How do we make funding accessible and affordable to the majority of farmers??? We will love to read your opinions and any experience you may have . #senceagricforum #senceagricconversationsonagriculture #funding.