Middlemen play an important role in Nigeria’s agriculture by helping farmers connect to buyers in towns, cities, and even outside the country.

Just like Uber, Amazon, Spotify, Netflix and Airbnb link people without owning the main assets, agricultural middlemen bring together farm produce, arrange transport, store goods, and help set prices.

Their benefits include helping farmers sell faster, reducing post-harvest waste, providing access to small loans or farm inputs, and providing a ready market for their produce.

However, there are downsides such as middlemen sometimes forcing prices down, hiding market information, making farmers depend on them, and reducing the farmer’s power to negotiate.

For Nigerian youths, there are many opportunities in produce aggregation, transport, storage, online marketplaces, quality control, and even export services.

By working honestly with clear pricing, simple agreements, and good planning, young people can make a profit while helping farmers earn more and improving the food supply across the country.

Have a good day

Abdullah Opeyemi Akande

B.Agric. (FUNAAB)

GAS (NIAS)

M.Sc. Animal Sci. (UI)

RAS (NIAS)

M.Sc. Int’l Business (UU, UK)

Ph.D. in view