How inconsistent buyers, poor infrastructure undermine farmers market access

For many smallholder farmers in Nigeria, the biggest barrier to market access is not a lack of information, but broken trust.

At the recent BusinessDay Future of Agriculture Conference, held on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, experts revealed that inconsistent buyers and unreliable market systems are discouraging farmers from participating in structured value chains.

The conference, tagged ‘From Seed to Feed: Strengthening agricultural inputs for food security’, highlighted how poor infrastructure and inconsistent buyers continue to hinder market access for smallholder farmers.“People assume it’s because of a lack of information. It’s not. It’s because aggregators are inconsistent,” noted Cobi-Jane Akinrele, founder of Ake’ Collective.“Farmers would rather grow what they have a market for,” she stated.

Farmers, she explained, are often promised guaranteed markets for their produce, only to be abandoned weeks later.“For instance, if someone says, ‘Grow soybeans, I’ll buy everything,’ then nobody shows up. Next year, that community won’t listen again,” Cobi-Jane explained.

Afioluwa Mogaji, Chief Executive of Agbado Value-Chain Limited, also highlighted how the absence of formal, structured markets poses a barrier to market access for farmers.“Nigeria does not have a formal structured market for smallholder farmers,” he noted.

“Not all smallholder farmers have proper documentation. All they do is bring their produce to the market and sell. This risk is high, but profits are also high,” he added.This pattern typically erodes trust and damages long-term agricultural productivity, experts warn. It also leads farmers to act rationally by reverting to crops they are certain they can sell, even if those crops are less profitable.

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Infrastructure challenges further compound the problem. In regions like Plateau and Taraba States, seasonal disruptions make transportation nearly impossible.For instance, experts note that there is a bridge in Taraba State that collapses every rainy season, cutting off farmers’ access to markets.“Why would anyone produce for a market they can’t reach?” Cobi-Jane questioned.

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Yet, examples of success show that consistency from aggregators or offtakers can overcome even the toughest barriers. Recounting a shea nut project, the founder of Ake’ Collective shared how her team committed to buying produce every week, despite poor roads and insecurity.“The first week, only two people showed up,” she recalled. “By the fourth week, the entire community mobilized.”

Her model proved effective, highlighting that reliable purchases and immediate payment can build trust between farmers and aggregators.This resulted in a self-organizing supply chain, with farmers overcoming logistical hurdles to meet demand. “People will do the work if they trust you,” she said.

With nearly 95 percent of Nigeria’s farmers classified as smallholders, their inclusion is critical. Yet structural barriers,poor infrastructure, limited market access, and logistical challenges,persist.Experts concluded that beyond financing and technology, trust and consistency are the real currencies of agricultural markets. Without them, even the most innovative solutions risk failure.