Transforming Africa’s Commodity Marketing Through End-To-End Digital Solutions
The traditional agricultural commodity marketing system across Africa has been ingrained for hundreds of years, despite population growth, urban migration, and disruption across production value chains.
The need for a more efficient way of transporting commodities from rural to urban areas has become evident, as farmers and off-takers are now calling for a transformation in the value chain to meet the growing demands of consumers from farm to factory to enhance traceability and profitability.
The stakeholders across the agricultural value chain are no longer satisfied with existing purchases based solely on quantity, price, and convenience. More and more smallholders and emerging farmers are seeking ways to increase qualitative production to remain sustainable in the face of growing demand for crops as well as the increasing cost of agro-inputs.
While manufacturers are requesting processors for more sustainable supply chains, and proof of traceability from farm to factory, consumers are also demanding transparency and traceability for products they purchase.
In response to these growing demands, an innovative commodity marketing system needs to be developed to link and create a seamless supply chain from farm to fork, connecting growers directly with processors and manufacturers more transparently and sustainably which would save time and money for all stakeholders.
Zowasel's market-oriented platform offers a seed, finance-to-market approach through its Marketplace the opportunity for farmers, cooperatives, and merchants to access a broader network of processors and manufacturers to sell their crops and earn more against the conventional local markets.
And, for the big processors and manufacturers, it offers a platform to source sustainably across the supply chain, and most importantly to save time and money traveling across remote communities sourcing from local open markets or aggregating randomly.
“The Zowasel Marketplace platform offers a unique solution, ensuring access to the market for smallholder farmers and cooperatives by connecting them directly with processors and buyers”. said Oluwapelumi Gabriel Akanbi, Zowasel’s Lead Sustainable Manager for the Northwest, Nigeria.
Zowasel achieves this through a strategic approach of engaging smallholder farmers in remote communities, providing them with valuable free training on precision agronomic practices focused on crops like maize, paddy rice, sorghum, cocoa, soybeans, oil palm, ginger, and wheat. This targeted training significantly boosts their yields, enhances crop quality, and ultimately increases their income.
We’re also actively involving merchants in rural markets across major regions in Nigeria, integrating them into the platform, and facilitating connections with numerous buyers and processors. I’m genuinely excited about these innovative solutions and their potential long-term impact on people, communities, and the planet.”
The Zowasel platform offers the opportunity to list and create offers, review the top bids and select the most suitable offer based on price, quantity, location, and timing. The digital interface of Marketplace replaces the traditional methods of commodity marketing, saving time and resources for all stakeholders across the value chains.
To solve the problems of sustainability, traceability and quality and most harvest losses, Zowasel offers smallholder farmers, agricultural cooperatives and emerging farms access to Precision Ag programs to access free virtual and physical GAP & Agronomy services tailored to take precise action to achieve optimal yields.
Furthermore, farmers across some value chains have the opportunity to join and benefit from Zowasel Sustainable Ag, a program dedicated to driving sustainable production across value chains to protect the communities, people and the planet, enabling processors and manufacturers to positively influence their supply chain to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs)
This has put Zowasel on the path of making meaningful progress toward climate action through a scalable implementation of sustainable farming practices within existing or new value chains. In Nigeria for instance, Zowasel works with Barry Callebaut, Wilmar and Diageo to build new paths to inclusion and sustainability, supporting smallholder farmers to adopt new farming practices, to help realize long-term productivity, sustainability and profitability across the Cocoa, Oil Palm and Sorghum value chains.
Sustainable Ag program incentivizes farmers to invest in the quality of their crops and the sustainability of their ecosystem, instead of focusing solely on quantity, farmers now have a reason to prioritize crop quality, ultimately benefiting all stakeholders.
According to our lead in Sustainable Livelihood, Priscilla Charles Udoh, “Zowasel’s Sustainable Ag program has empowered farmers to lower expenses, prioritize profits, and simultaneously enhance soil fertility, environmental conservation, and pollution prevention. By embracing sustainable agricultural practices, we’re boosting food production without unnecessary waste. This positive shift has already improved livelihoods in the short term’’.
Looking ahead, we anticipate even more farms embracing productive inputs and practices, ultimately driving a sustainable increase in output supply, enriching our food systems with high-quality produce.”
The direct connection between farmers and buyers not only streamlines the supply chain but also fosters transparency and trust in commodity transactions. By mitigating risks, providing actionable insights, and unlocking additional margin opportunities, the Marketplace paves the way for a more sustainable, prosperous, and environmental consciousness for the entire agricultural industry.
Zowasel is revolutionizing commodity marketing, through a more transparent, efficient, and sustainable way for producers and processors to connect and transact seamlessly with counterparts to save time and money.
