Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Diplomatist July 19 Edition . | Page 43

AFRICA DIARY
Farmers who wish to raise signifi cant amount of money to fund the launch or growth
of their project may choose to go the equity crowd-funding route. Generally, the
investors in a crowd-funding project are passive, limited partners while the landowner
is the active partner, making all the decisions to include what to grow when to plant,
and where to sell the harvest, or pay a manager to do these things.
generally reluctant to invest in the agriculture sector, as they
judge the inherent risks to be too high. Available statistics
show that less than 5 percent of loans given out by commercial
banks go towards agricultural projects. On the other hand,
many individuals, especially employees of private and public
institutions, have access to funds, which they could potentially
invest in agriculture. Agricultural crowd-funding platforms
bring these farmers and prospective investors together, often
for a small commission.
Farmers who wish to raise signifi cant amount of money
to fund the launch or growth of their project may choose to
go the equity crowd-funding route. Generally, the investors
in a crowd-funding project are passive, limited partners while
the landowner is the active partner, making all the decisions
to include what to grow when to plant, and where to sell the
harvest, or pay a manager to do these things. The benefi ts
generated are shared among the farmers, entrepreneurs and
investors. Generally, the crowd-funding platforms offer
returns on investment ranging from 10 – 35 percent per
annum, depending on the project and partners. Some of
the agricultural crowd-funding players in Africa include:
‘Farmcrowdy’, ‘Growsel’, ‘BaySeddo’, ‘ThriveAgric’,
‘eFarms Nigeria’, and ‘FarmIgnite’.
Blessed with rich, arable lands, Africa yet remains one of
the least agriculturally developed regions of the world. With
the right attitude and support, Africa’s small and medium
scale farmers can feed both the continent and the rest of the
world. African Governments must invest in infrastructure that
gives smallholder farmers better access to markets, including
processing and storage facilities to minimize post-harvest
losses. There is also the need for improved road networks
between farm and market. Governments must also invest in
research and development to give smallholder farmers access
to agricultural innovations and technologies.
The story of “the rise of medium – smallholder farms in
Africa” is one yet unfolding; we cannot tell exactly how it
will end. We, however, are coming to realise the importance
of small and medium-scale farms in driving economic growth,
job creation, food suffi ciency, foreign exchange earnings, and
rural transformation across Africa. 
* Author is a Ph.D Student of ‘Pan African University
Institute of Life & Earth Sciences’ (PAULESI), Ibadan and
Research Fellow at the ‘International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture’ (IITA), Ibadan. Valentine is the Proprietor of
‘Beta-Agro Allied Global Ventures’, a start-up enterprise
involved in agribusiness and providing agricultural
consultancy services to clients in Nigeria.
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 7 • July 2019, Noida • 43