AfricanFarmer Mogaji, group head, agribusiness and agro-allied sector, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has launched an agricultural e-commerce platform and an online radio station to provide smallholder farmers and investors across value chains with timely information.
The e-commerce platform will not only provide a market for agro-commodities but will also support users with professional services needed to boost agribusinesses.
Similarly, the radio station will provide programmes on agriculture, nutrition, and climate services for farmers, investors, and other stakeholders across various value chains to learn from what they heard to boost their productivity and make investments decision.
“The online radio will provide daily relevant information across various value chains in the agricultural sector. Many agribusinesses have failed three years after establishment because of adequate information,” said AfricanFarmer Mogaji who is also the CEO of X-Ray Consulting Limited.
“The e-commerce platform will provide a platform for aggregation, buying and selling and also provides a professional platform for agripreneurs to access professional services of lawyers, accounting and engineers among others,” he said.
He said both the e-commerce and radio station will help amplify the positive things in agriculture to make it attractive to the youths, identify investment opportunities, provide a market place to sell, and provide professional services to players in the industry.
Read Also: Why Nigeria needs urgent, collaborative action to resolve maize crisis
He said that the government has been funding agriculture but the private sector’s funding is still not matching up to the resources required to drive growth in the sector.
He says the e-commerce platform provides both a market place for farmers to sell their produce and a place to offer professional services to players in the sector.
AfricanFarmer stated that Nigeria needs to move its focus of funding beyond the production level and should start funding other aspects of the value chains.
During a rally match at the weekend for the launch of the e-commerce platform and radio station, he noted that marina was chosen for the rally because in the early 60’s most of the banks whose headquarters were domicile in marina are the top funders of agriculture, noting that all that has now change.
“Now, with the rally in marina we are trying to get the attention of the financial sector back to the agricultural space again,” he said.
“We want the financial sector to start looking at funding the sector again and bring their skills on board,” he noted.
He added that the bankers’ committee forum has lots of funds targeted agriculture but the money is still domicile in most bankers because the players are unable to access them.
He says the online radio station can be followed on AgricFM.com and the e-commerce platform on AfricanFarmer.ng.
Programmes on the online radio station will cut across poultry, livestock, forestry, fishing, and crop production. Government initiatives and programmes will also be of focus.
