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Nigeria’s leading commodities exchange amplifies its commitment to eradicating food poverty and empowering smallholder farmers
Lagos, Nigeria. 30 May 2022. AFEX, Nigeria’s leading commodities exchange, marked World Hunger Day by committing to feeding an additional one million households over the next 12 months. To date, AFEX has helped smallholder farmers grow their income by 400%, within 2-3 years of joining its platform. It has worked with over 350,000 farmers and traded 600,000MT worth of commodities, which in turn has resulted in the company feeding over 4 million households.The company is focused on helping the additional one million households avoid hunger in the coming year.
World Hunger Day is an internationally recognised day of awareness focused on tackling the global hunger crisis. Although world economies produce enough food to adequately meet humanity’s nutritional needs, the UN estimated that in 2021 alone up to 811 million people experienced hunger, with the numbers suffering hunger and malnutrition increasing following the Covid-19 pandemic and recent shocks to world supply chains from the war in Ukraine. Africa is acutely affected by food insecurity, with 70 percent of populations in West Africa running out of food in 2020.
AFEX is committed to helping the continent feed itself by levelling-up Africa’s agro-tech sector and by boosting and making food production more efficient. The company works closely with farmers and uses its unique tech solutions to increase yields and productivity.
With more efficient pricing mechanisms and transparent, fair distribution fees, agricultural producers working with AFEX benefit from significant – and often life-changing – savings on taxes, charges, and transportation costs.
Ayodeji Balogun, CEO at AFEX said, “AFEX is committed to reducing food insecurity and smallholder farmers in the ecosystem play a very important role in this effort. At the core of what we do is to ensure that those furthest behind are reached, especially with the aggravated global food crisis we’re currently facing. Our food producers do an amazing job to ensure Africa is fed and our mission is to ensure that an additional 1 million households over the course of the next year don’t go hungry.”
“Through a more equitable and fair distribution of income for the smallholder farmer, the lifeblood of our food supply chain, we are laser focused on continued employment generation, social integration and remaining one step closer to eradicating hunger for those at most risk.”
According to AFEX’s 2021 Crop Production Survey report, a lack of access to inputs – such as seedlings, pesticides, and fertilizers – is a major factor in underproduction. AFEX’s distribution networks give smallholder farmers access to these inputs, while its extension services provide advice on their most optimal use.
Nigeria’s storage capacities currently stand at less than 5%, resulting in excessive post-harvest losses, all of which impact food security. To solve the problem, AFEX operates a nationwide network of warehouses that are in close proximity to farmers. The company is targeting empowering more farmers to generate employment and help boost food production across the country.
AFEX is calling on all young changemakers to support them this World Hunger Day and beyond, by registering for their Code Cash Crop Hackathon. Registration is open here.