Typically, agricultural goods have low price points
and low value at
harvest, so the
most efficient
mode of transport is carrying these goods in large volumes. Normally, carrying the
agricultural goods starts from the original farm to the final destination by
collecting goods from each farm to the distribution point in order to carry
goods in a large quantity to be worth to the transportation mode that may be by
small truck, train or even a large ship.
At Greenhills we experience the issues of
transportation of harvested cassava stems first hand and it brings to the fore
the infrastructural inefficiencies of the terrain in which we operate. Below
are three ways we address the problem of transportation in our model;
1. Road
Infrastructure: Greenhills Cassava Farmstead has invested in repairs of the
access roads leading to the farm. The terrain is bad and muddy thus restricting
the free flow of movement to and from the farm. We recognize that the supply chain of the
cassava will be considered in every phase of the product. Therefore,
if we are not processing the tubers immediately on the farm, we have to get the
produce to the processing points within a few hours of harvest. It is why our
scheme 2 is located at Ihunbo, Ogun State, where road infrastructure no longer
poses a problem to our model.
2. Logistics:
Those that have had to carry out construction projects and interact with
truckers know the challenges with getting reliable logistics arrangement with
truckers in Nigeria. Upon the backdrop of rising cost to fuel the trucks, the cost
of logistics is at an all time high. To cut cost, The Greenhills team has to
utilize the tractors for logistics from the farm to the roads where the
truckers complete the last mile of deliveries to the customers.
3. Route:
Transportation
used in cassava’s supply chain is mainly by road transport. At
the Greenhills Farm, there is only one route in and out to the city center
where the cassava is processed and this puts the business in a situation where
if there are challenges on the road, it delays the delivery of the tubers which
is bad for the quality of starch to be extracted from the tubers. The lack of
alternative routes from farm to processing invariably increases the cost of
doing the cassava business. At Greenhills Farmstead, we plan to establish our
processing plants within the farmstead to preserve the integrity of our produce
and minimize the cost incurred from route challenges
We take customer satisfaction very seriously and we also want to maximize profits for our virtual farm owners, therefore, we are constantly coming up with solutions to all forms of challenges that affect us negatively.
Thank you for taking
the time to read. If you have any enquiries about the new scheme in Ihunbo, Ogun
State, Nigeria, you may reach out to us using our official Whatsapp channel.
