Cluster Farming: Frontier for a resurgent Nigerian agriculture

Onome Amuge 

As the Nigerian government scrambles to address the growing threat of food insecurity through the implementation of the zero percent import duty and exemption of Value-Added Tax on basic food items, it faces an uphill battle to reform traditional farming practices that have held back agricultural productivity for generations.

Despite efforts to transform subsistence farming into a lucrative commercial venture, small-scale farmers in rural areas have remained entrenched in subsistence farming, hindered by meager incomes, unstable livelihoods, and insufficient funding. These persistent issues have impeded the Nigerian agricultural sector’s ability to guarantee food security and create the much-needed employment opportunities that can fuel wealth creation and economic growth.

Trapped in the maelstrom of globalisation and large-scale commercial farming, Nigeria’s smallholder farmers cling to their livelihoods by a thread. But a flicker of light glints on the horizon, a beacon of hope in the form of cluster farming, experts say.

This sustainable, economically viable solution, lauded by experts as a lifesaver for small farmers, farmers with limited resources, and socially disadvantaged farmers, offers a chance to keep their agricultural operations afloat and even thrive in a landscape dominated by large-scale operations.

Cluster farming, as defined by agronomists, involves a group of agricultural growers in a region coming together to form a collective that enjoys economic benefits, shares burdens, and uses modern farming techniques and equipment. Small farms called “satellite farms” form clusters around larger farms called “hub farms.” These clusters allow the smaller farms to benefit from research and innovation, and the sharing of modern farming techniques and equipment.

Cluster farming, a novel approach to agriculture, has been identified to offer numerous benefits to small-scale farmers. These advantages include:

• Access to recent and otherwise costly agricultural research and technology, which enhances productivity.
• Affordable farm inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, which lowers overhead costs for farmers.
• Improved marketing and distribution channels, ensuring that crops reach their intended markets more efficiently.
• Greater access to extension services, providing farmers with the guidance and support they need to grow their operations.

Agricultural clusters have captured the attention of two giants in the world of global trade and food security—the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). These organisations have acknowledged clusters as a crucial tool for enhancing agribusiness and agro-industrial development, especially for small-scale players. Both bodies have elevated cluster farming to the status of a sustainable model, which supports and propels the growth of these businesses while ensuring the preservation of their environment and the communities they serve.

Beyond recognising the crucial role of agricultural clusters in sustainable agribusiness and agro-industrial development, the FAO has also issued an impassioned plea to governments around the world. To ensure that clusters thrive, the FAO calls for comprehensive and participatory monitoring, evaluation, and supervision of these systems.

Solomon Samson, the CEO of Agriwealth Integrated Farms, in a note made available to Business a.m., defined cluster farming as a way for smallholder farmers to group together to share resources and reduce the risks involved in farming.

According to Samson, most smallholder farmers cannot afford expensive equipment such as tractors or plowing machines. However, through cluster farming, the costs of these items can be shared among the group, allowing the farmers to access them without having to pay for them individually.

“One of the major problems of fruit and vegetable farmers,most especially cucumber farmers, is that the market determines the price rather than the farmer determining the cost of production. In this case, cluster farming can influence the market and that’s one of the solutions to market determining price for farmers,” he said.

According to Samson, cluster farming functions like a cooperative society, where farmers come together with a common goal: mutual development and collective action. This allows farmers to pool their resources, such as equipment and knowledge, thus minimising costs and maximising their chances for success.

Samson believes that cluster farming, if implemented prior to the recent flood crisis, could have been a lifeline for the agricultural sector.

Samson stressed that cluster farming provides farmers with easier access to essential inputs and know-how through training and empowerment programs, which are critical in enhancing their productivity and overall profitability.

The agriculture expert also underscored the unique appeal of cluster farming to financial institutions. These organisations, he explained, are more inclined to lend funds to clusters of farmers rather than individual farmers, a vital element in ensuring financial sustainability.

Despite the benefits of cluster farming, Samson acknowledged that distrust among farmers could hinder its success. He asserted that building trust among farmers is essential to ensure cooperation and equitable resource sharing within the cluster.

” If we come together to form a cluster and we are doing the same thing,if a farmer is thriving and others are not recording the same level of success, it could lead to issues such as jealousy and unhealthy competition which is a disadvantage,” he added.

For farmers interested in the benefits of cluster farming, Samson suggested the following essential steps for establishing or joining an existing group:

– Choose an ideal location and assemble a group of professional farmers.

– Register the cluster under the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) with an official name.

-Open a corporate account for financial transactions within the cluster.

-Define official positions, delegating various roles and responsibilities that align with the cluster’s objectives.

Samson emphasised that cluster farming creates a community among smallholder farmers, which has the potential to tackle various obstacles that farmers often face. These include improved access to resources, extension services, and knowledge sharing, as well as a heightened sense of community.

The CEO of Agriwealth Integrated Farms stated that through these programmes, farmers can gain much-needed financial support and technical assistance, which will ultimately lead to increased food security and better support for farmers’ needs.

According to Meka Nwabuko, the managing director of Prime Agro Seeds Limited, cluster farming and cooperatives play a vital role in revolutionizing agriculture for smallholder farmers, who form the backbone of food cultivation and production in the country.

Nwabuko, who recently participated in the AgriConnect Summit in Lagos, highlighted the variety of obstacles that hinder smallholder farmers from achieving profitability. He also identified access to inputs, financing, markets, technology, knowledge, security, and infrastructure as major challenges.

“Small holder enabler programmes have shown that these challenges are more structurally and sustainably solved when farmers are grouped together in clusters and/or cooperatives.

“In a cluster farming model support (inputs, finance, technology, knowledge, market etc.) can be better deployed, managed, evaluated and enhanced than when deployed to individual farmers.

“Impact of government interventions for example through infrastructure deployment and security are also more impactful in these cluster models,” he stated.