Ground Nuts Farming Distress Call within African Continental Free Trade Area

African Urban Professionals & Rural Farming - (Agricultural Markets that Favour Africa)

My post on Groundnuts, Aflatoxin, and Salon Gossip has seen me get a few phone calls from people who want to grow groundnuts for the Kenyan market. One such call was from a young man who comes from the groundnut growing areas of Kenya, who wanted to find out how he can grow aflatoxin free groundnuts. My first reaction was I am a trader, I really do not know much about agricultural extension services, so I suggested he gets in touch with his with his county agricultural extension offer. Immediately felt a sense of despair in his voice as he hang up the call. I felt God remind me the reason he had reached out for me was because he had found a sense of hope in my article. I felt rebuked because he had come to me looking for a private sector approach, to the groundnut value chain. Hi my name is Fostina Mani. I am the Global Trade Engagement Director at Betta Grains, am also the Founder of a Marketplace called Mothers of Africa Mobile Soko. I believe Africa can feed itself, I believe Africa can profit from Agricultural Trade. That is why I am championing for a Markets Revolution that Favours Africa. Since that phone call I have received several other calls, asking for information about planting groundnuts, my response has since changed, and today I have now become a markets approach one. The African Continental Free Trade Area has an estimated combined gross domestic product of around USD3.4 trillion (a trillion is a million million that is twelve zeros). Kenya’s debt currently stands at USD64.42 billion (a billion is a thousand million that is nine zeros). Kenya has the potential to trade within Africa and clear her debt. Africa’s one large market is the largest world market, the world knows it and are gearing themselves to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area The only question is do Africans know it. Are they willing to invest in themselves so they can begin to trade. Africans need to be uniquely positioned to benefit from Agricultural trade, especially Africa Agricultural Trade. Yes Africans have been blessed with much land. Unfortunately the African employment skewed education, has left many completely helpless regarding what we are supposed to do, with regard to the land we have been blessed with especially the continents Agribusiness potential. I however do believe the time has come for Africa to take its destiny into her own hands, and that is why I have developed an agribusiness mentorship and coaching program. Africa’s agricultural development must begin to yield results. However, to do that Africans must get feed up with its poor agricultural development and begin to come up with their own solutions. The solutions cannot come from governments, but rather individuals looking at themselves and coming up with creative ideas and innovations that will solve Africa’s agricultural solutions. Thank you for listening to me. Please do subscribe to my channels on social media. It is a pleasure to serve you as we walk together on transforming Africa’s Agricultural markets. Thank you and God bless you.