Definitely, this topic may have been discussed somewhere else without anyone taking it into cognizance. The fact is, i used to be one of those people until i dived into agriculture about a year and 6 months ago. It was then i really came to see that the middle men in agriculture are the major reasons why farmers are still poor people in Africa. This is serious fact.
I'll share a very recent experience!!. Two days ago, I spoke to a farmer friend of mine, Henry who happen to have farmed water melon and maize the past 3 months and were due for harvest and sales! As a usually practice of farmers in Africa, he called a middle man to price up and buy the whole 4 plots of produce.
For the maize, i was with him when the first came and priced 12 stands of maize for #200. I'll be sincere, Henry just walked away! A second middle man came up with 10 stands for #200. And a third the same thing. It was really getting annoying knowing that an average cob is sold at #50 to #70 to final consumers! How then price 10 for #200??
See this: lets take the best pricing we got at 10 for #200. This means a cob will cost the middle man #20. He sells to retailers at 5 for #200. Signifying a profit of #20 per cob. This stats was what mad my head spin!
The average farmer who toils for 3 months taking the majority of the risk makes the same profit as the middle man who sits in his house for 3months? Don't tell me he has funds! With the way the system is now, virtually everyone has access to funds!
Multiply this by acres of land, you'll discover a very very bad trend. These people are rubbing farmers! This is a major reason behind farmers being poor. They do all the work and get little profit because of a very bad price regulatory system.
About the water melon! It had a more promising profit! Why?
Using Nigeria as a case study: The price of water melon is regulated from the Northan part of Nigeria. A big sized ball costing #450, middle sized is #350 and small ones #200 to #250.
The sales of the water melon was so straight forward! Not just because the price had been regulated, it was difficult for middle men to come in and make profit off farmers on it! Off course, for a middle man, buying a big sized ball at #450 and selling at #450 is a waste of time.
This same method can be applied to all farm produce. Invarably because nothing had been done, farmers are forced to succum to the pricing of these selfish retailers and are exploited due to fear of wastage. Now, retailers are becoming middle men because of the profit in it. This makes them comfortable keeping quiet as the path has alredy been created! The farmer suffers it all!!.
Meanwhile, our tamatoes are coming up! And we'r glad it has a regulated price from the northern Nigeria! A basket of tamatoes costs #13000 to #15000 now! Why would we plant maize??
This cuts deep down to even why some farmers and agriculturist feel some crops do not grow in some regions of Nigeria!! Farmers simply do not see why they should farm it. It all dies down to a price regulatory body that is almost non-functional.
Middlemen have to be well regulated if the standard of living of farmers will take a good graph.
cheers! omonosa.