I am based in Minna, the capital city of the state of Niger, in the north central area of Nigeria. Niger state is very peaceful in comparison to some other areas of the country, and communities are diverse in faith, with a mixture of Islam and Christianity.
Rural farmers in Nigeria are desperately poor and struggle to live on earnings as low as £150 a year. Farmers in Nigeria also own very small areas of land, so have little to sell at the markets at harvest time. A lack of technology and skills, as well as frequent droughts, mean the amount of crop produced per hectare of land in Nigeria is 10 times less than what would be expected in America.
Although Nigeria as a country is growing fast, rural farmers’ needs are often forgotten within government policies. The gap between average national earnings and farmers’ earnings is ever growing, so it is vital that VSO steps in to improve their quality of life too.
I will be sharing my decades of food business experience to help farmers increase their income from the production of maize and soya beans. My role will be very diverse – from teaching farmers financial literacy so they can stay in control of their income, to setting up local cooperatives to get small holder farmers working together, to getting a better price for crops at market.
In the region of Niger where I’ll be working, 70-80% of the population rely on farming in order to survive, and many are trapped on a very low income. I’ll be focusing on three farming communities that have asked for VSO’s help, which will involve lots of travel to really remote areas. I also hope to spread my knowledge and training out to more farming groups later on in my placement to benefit even more communities.
