PYXERA, the implementing partner of YieldWise in Nigeria, is working with 20,000 farmers in Kano State to equip tomato farmers with skills in post-harvest loss (PHL) management in the tomato value chain.
Despite offering simple PHL technologies, farmers have also been linked to the Dangote Processing Factory where they can sell their harvest for processing into tomato paste.
In a statement made available to Daily Sun, farmers have also been connected to alternative market channels (traders and retail stores) that provide volume commitments enabling them to invest in good agronomic prices.
The statement added: “One year since its launch, there is progress in access to post-harvest technologies, governments recognising the importance of these technologies and post-harvest management, large buyers procuring from smallholder farmers, and financial institutions developing innovative financial products targeted at smallholder farmers.
“Aggregated farmers within YieldWise have been connected to the Dangote Processing Factory that has been able to process the first batch of tomatoes since opening plant three years ago. 10,000 farmers have been aggregated and connected to 15 alternative market channels.”
The statement indicated that PYXERA has been able to introduce simple PHL technologies such as plastic crates with high PHL success rate since the design of the crates, which has allowed farmers to transport their produce easily with minimal damage (reduced PHL by 78 per cent among the small sample of farmers piloted).
An increase in players from the private, public and non-profit actors to 23 – they all have an ultimate goal of cutting post-harvest loss of the tomato value chain by half.
It has linked farmers to financing by supporting the registration of over 4,000 farmers with bank verification numbers to pre-qualify for the primary requirement to access loans under the Anchor Borrower Scheme. The scheme is an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and is facilitated by the Bank of Agriculture (BoA).