The Lagos State Government says it will upgrade the agricultural supply chain by connecting all value chains with the newly established Eko City Farmers Market.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Gbolahan Lawal, made this known on Tuesday at a Stakeholders Meeting on the implementation of Eko City Farmers’ Market.
Lawal said the farmers’ market would be a platform for the best of the city’s producers to meet with consumers and end-users.
He said they would use the traditional and innovative development methods to showcase a well organised high-quality market to meet the consumers’ increasing demands for farm produce.
The commissioner said that objectives of the market were to connect producers and make shopping entertaining, make produce accessible and affordable to consumers and to preserve the nutritional value of farm produce.
He said that it would also promote the “farm to fork” concept of the input and output policy of the state government.
Lawal said farmers in the state lacked direct access to markets, a situation, which he said led them to sell their produce to middlemen at a rather ridiculous farm gate prices.
He added that the farmers’ market would help in eradicating this.
“Farmers in the state lack direct access to markets and this led to the selling of their produce to middlemen at ridiculous farm gate prices.
“Farmers that are able to penetrate the market find it difficult to break through cartels by the market associations.
“Therefore, they are forced to sell at the association dictated prices. These challenges have restricted many of the farmers to subsistent production,” he said.
Lawal said that it was the commitment of the state government to make Lagos a 21st-century economy and deliver change in the agricultural land space, hence the introduction of the Eko City Farmers’ Market.
He said the Eko City Farmers’ Market intended to increase productivity and as well create an avenue for inclusive business where farmers could make more profit since they sold directly to consumers.
READ ALSO:Death Threat Against Akintola; Culprit Must Be Arrested, Punished – MURIC
According to him, the government will provide a conducive environment and other services like cold storage for fish farmers, haulage and logistics for farmers and vendors to market their produce.
“We are working toward building a 21st-century economy; therefore, we should focus on creating a digitalised method of marketing.
“As a result, the ministry will be partnering with some financial institutions in providing ATM stands and POS payment machines for farmers to receive payment for their produce,” Lawal said.
He added that the maiden edition of the Eko City Framers’ Market would hold on Feb. 23, and subsequently hold every month.