Smallholder farmers play a vital role in Nigeria’s food production, yet many struggle with limited access to markets, low bargaining power, and post-harvest losses due to fragmented supply chains. Aggregation—the process of consolidating smallholder produce into larger, marketable volumes—has proven to be an effective solution, improving farmers’ income, reducing waste, and ensuring better market linkages.
The Foundation has been actively enhancing aggregation systems across Nigeria, particularly through its Farmers’ Hubs, which provide post-harvest storage, market linkages, and quality control. In 2024, these efforts yielded ₦710.4 million in revenue, a 28.69% increase from 2023, underscoring the effectiveness of structured aggregation in transforming smallholder farming into a commercially viable venture…
📌 Read more about this—download the 2024 Annual Impact Report.
The Importance of Aggregation for Market Access
Despite producing 80% of Nigeria’s food, smallholder farmers often face several challenges that limit their market access.
One major issue is fragmented production. Individual farmers produce in small quantities, making it difficult to attract large buyers. Additionally, inconsistent quality due to a lack of standardised post-harvest handling reduces market acceptance. High logistics costs also pose a challenge, as transporting small quantities to urban markets is expensive and often unprofitable.
Limited market information further complicates the situation, with many farmers lacking real-time data on pricing, demand, and buyers’ requirements. This leads to low economies of scale, as selling in small quantities limits their negotiating power. Moreover, post-harvest losses are significant–up to 30–50% of harvested crops–estimated to be valued around ₦3.5 trillion annually, are wasted due to poor storage and inadequate processing facilities. Market volatility exacerbates these difficulties, forcing farmers to sell at any available price, leading to income instability.
By organising farmers into aggregation hubs, these challenges can be mitigated. Aggregation facilitates economies of scale, ensuring that farmers can access better pricing, storage facilities, and streamlined distribution networks. It also reduces transaction costs, standardises product quality, and creates direct market linkages with larger buyers such as processing companies, retailers, and exporters.
FSSS and the Growth of Aggregation Services in 2024
In 2024, aggregation activities played a crucial role in driving revenue and farmer participation across different regions in Nigeria. The Northwest region led the way, contributing ₦353.1 million in revenue, followed by the North-central region with ₦252.5 million.
Key highlights of FSSS’s aggregation strategy included:
- Increased Farmer Participation: More farmers are engaged in structured aggregation networks, allowing for bulk sales and improved price negotiations.
- Targeted Crop Aggregation: Key crops such as tomatoes, pepper, onions, maize, cowpea, rice, and sorghum were prioritised based on market demand.
- Digital Tools for Market Linkages: Platforms like the Soluta app helped farmers track inventory, receive price updates, and coordinate with aggregation centres.
- Investment in Processing Facilities: In Doma, Nasarawa State, a rice processing hub enabled farmers to package and sell de-stoned, high-quality rice, attracting premium buyers.
Despite these gains, challenges such as high fuel costs, limited storage infrastructure, and logistical bottlenecks affected profitability.
📌 Read more about this—download the 2024 Annual Impact Report.
Case Study: The Impact of Aggregation on Terry Ligom’s Community
Terry Ligom, a farmer and hub manager in Agbile village, Gboko LGA, worked with maize and rice farmers from his community in Benue State, who used to struggle with erratic market prices and limited storage facilities.
“They would sell at whatever price buyers offered because they couldn’t afford to store their crops,” he recalls.
In 2024, through the FSSS-supported Farmers’ Hub he manages in Benue, the farmers benefited from:
- Bulk Sales: Aggregation enabled them to sell twice as much produce at higher market prices.
- Post-Harvest Support: With access to proper storage, post-harvest losses reduced drastically in the community.
- Market Linkages: The hub manager, through the support of the Foundation, secured contracts with rice millers and bulk buyers, earning more income than the previous year for the farmers.
“They can now plan ahead, knowing I have a ready market for their produce,” Terry says.
His story is the experience of thousands of smallholder farmers who have benefitted from FSSS’s aggregation model across Nigeria.
Conclusion
Aggregation has proven to be a game-changer for smallholder farmers, allowing them to compete in structured markets, secure better pricing, and reduce waste. In 2024, FSSS demonstrated how aggregation can transform rural livelihoods. 📌 Read more about this—download the 2024 Annual Impact Report.
With continued investment and stronger partnerships, aggregation will not only boost farmer incomes but also contribute to Nigeria’s food security and economic growth.