My 15 years journey growing cassava, processing garri

Atinuke Akinbade is a smallholder farmer. She is into crop production in Oyo State, south-west Nigeria. She started farming, mainly cassava, 15 years ago after an unsuccessful trading career.

Ms Akinbade is the coordinator of the Smallholder Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON), Oyo State chapter. She farms and processes cassava and in this episode, she shares her experience with PREMIUM TIMES.

PT: Can you put us through your journey in agriculture?

Mrs Akinbade: I was into buying and selling different commodities but I didn’t get maximum output so I decided to try farming. I started 15 years ago and my major intention was to help improve food production in the country. I chose farming because I knew I had the capacity to grow in the sector; I knew I would be fulfilled as a person. More so, farming is quite lucrative.

PT: You are into crop production. Which of the crops do you grow?

Mrs Akinbade: I grow Cassava and maize and I also process garri — cassava flakes.

PT: As a farmer involved in crop production, you need land to cultivate. How have you been able to get farmland for production and what is the size of the land?

Mrs Akinbade: It is not a new thing that land is difficult to get especially for women. For me, I use my parents’ land for farming, this is because of the size of the land and also how fertile it is. Although I have access to land on my husband’s side, they are pretty small for the kind of cultivation I’m into.

PT: Are there cooperatives or farmers’ associations that you belong to; because they help farmers access some benefits from either government or other organizations?

Mrs Akinbade: Yes, I belong to a cooperative society.

PT: How does it work, how do the women benefit from it?

Mrs Akinbade: We just started it. We divide ourselves into 10 groups and we loan ourselves money from the group. When any member needs money, she can approach the group, and get assistance, then pay back with little interest.

PT: How does the association fund itself to give out loans to members?

Mrs Akinbade: We have various ways of funding ourselves: we have contributions, dues and loans from other cooperatives.

PT: What are the challenges you face as a woman farmer?

Mrs Akinbade: The major challenge I face is climate change. It is difficult to manage because I am a smallholder farmer. The major impact of climate change is on my output, change in rain patterns and dry season is also another issue. I cannot practice irrigation because I don’t have the resources to construct the irrigation system.

PT: You have complained about climate change, have you gotten any special training or support for farmers in Oyo State?

Mrs Akinbade: The only training we received was on land management and control. It has helped improve our knowledge of land and how to address issues of the environment. It was not really about climate change.

PT: How do you deal with insecurities?

Mrs Akinbade: The governor is doing a great job regarding insecurity, especially for farmers. He helps the farmers to deal with insecurity, so we have less worry on that part.

PT: What kind of tools do you use on your farm? Do you use machines on your farm?

Mrs Akinbade: No, I don’t use machines. I use crude tools.

PT: How do you manage labour on your farm?

Mrs Akinbade: We employ workers to work on the farm (Cotonou boys) and we pay N25 per ridge. So if the person works on 200 ridges, he makes N5,000.

PT: What type of seed do you use, how do you plant it and where do you get it from?

Mrs Akinbade: We get the seeds from the market, not improved seeds.

PT: What kind of support do you need as a woman farmer?

Mrs Akinbade: For me and other women farmers, we need grants or loans to buy good seeds better than the ones in the market. We just need access to improved seeds and grants.

PT: Have you, through the association or privately, benefitted from any government support?

Mrs Akinbade: Aside from the training on land management by the state government, the federal government gave them four bottles of chemicals for pests in the year 2021. It was an effort on their part but it was slightly significant. But we added our own for farming that year.

PT: You are into garri processing, do you have a machine for it?

Mrs Akinbade: No we are managing with someone. We buy fuel and we pay a small amount. We are supposed to pay N7,000 but we pay N5,000.

PT: How many bags of garri do you produce from your farm every month or every six months?

Ms Akinbade: It ranges from 15 to 40 bags every month

PT: How many times do you process garri from your farm?

Mrs Akinbade: I process garri every six months with cassava harvested from my farm but I produce every month, I don’t wait till every six months; I collect from other farmers too.

PT: Do you have any market for your garri, how do you sell it?

Mrs Akinbade: Some people come to buy while the young members of the cooperative group take bags of garri to the market to sell.