At the Mid of Polarity: Rethinking Medium Farms as Solution to Vulnerability for Small-scale Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Özet

Strategies to increase agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa have mostly been thought to occur through one of the two predominant pathways: large-scale commercial production or intensification of small holder plots. Considerable efforts have been made to further each of these two strategies. It is clear, therefore, that the efforts to go beyond such polarized academic debate on the key challenges to farm size in relation to food productivity is still wanting. Such polarization of the debate presents the obvious problem of limiting solutions by obscuring those that fall in the middle. It is in such a context that the argument for the expansion of medium-scale farming is lost. This article brings alive the lost in the debate about the expansion of medium scale farmers. Arguing from transitional model, the article reimagine medium farms as solution to vulnerability of small scale farmers and their food productivity.

Abstract

The perishable nature of vegetables demands an effective and reliable chain/channel of distribution for fast disposal. Performance of the existing distributive channels, marketing efficiencies of the channel operators and factors that influenced the marketing efficiencies of the marketing operators are integral to effective marketing. Much attention has not been given to this in the agricultural marketing literature in Nigeria. Marketing efficiency analysis revealed that marketing of onions by bulk merchants, wholesalers and retailers is most efficient in one of the selected markets at 149%, 343% and 275% respectively. Transaction loss, sales volume, transportation cost, wages, association dues, stall rent and cost of capital are factors that affect onion marketers in the study area.