12/22/2025
Please feel free to copy and share this post far and wide in support of all farmers and ranchers, not only here in the U.S. but around the world. Be sure to forward the entire message, including the original poster. It was written by a farmer in Nigeria. It's extremely important to let the general public know what is happening to the real source of their food, and countless other products that they purchase, consume and depend on daily. FARMERS and RANCHERS are the backbone...the folks who keep all of us alive and well around the world. Stop kidding yourself that it's the big corporations. They couldn't do it without the backbone. So take a few minutes and read this excellent message from a humble pig farmer in Africa. It applies to all of agriculture, to every hard working farmer and rancher regardless what part of the world you're in. Thank you for your time:
STOP CALLING IT NEGOTIATION. IT IS FARMERS ABUSE, AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT.
There is a point where negotiating ends and humiliation begins. Farmers face it every day. People admire the animals, praise the hard work, applaud the courage it takes to run a farm, yet in the same breath they want the produce at prices that cannot feed a worker, buy fuel for a generator, or cover a single day of feed. This is not bargaining. It is deliberate underpricing. It is exploitation dressed in fine politeness. And farmers are tired of pretending it is normal.
Every farmer knows this script. A buyer walks into the farm or inbox full of praise. The pigs look good. The hygiene is excellent. The infrastructure is solid. Everything is professional. Then the buyer names a price that is not just low but painfully far from reality. A price that ignores feed cost, labor cost, medication, transportation, depreciation of infrastructure, and the long months of waiting. A price picked from the air, far below the cost of production.
The buyer expects a smile. The buyer calls it negotiation. The buyer expects the farmer to be grateful because at least someone is offering something. This is where the problem begins.
Farming is work. Not charity. Not luck. Not guesswork. Work.
Healthy pigs do not grow on motivational quotes. They grow on feed that gets more expensive every single season. They grow inside pens that cost real money to build. They grow under the supervision of a farmer who wakes early, checks health, manages workers, buys drugs, monitors water, fixes broken structures, balances expenses, assesses market conditions, deals with unpredictable weather, and still ensures the animals do not suffer.
So why do people walk into a farm expecting to get top quality animals for poor quality prices. Why is it normal for the same market that respects imported goods to casually attempt to depress the value of locally produced food. Why do some buyers feel comfortable embarrassing farmers publicly with price offers that cannot pay for even a single bag of feed.
This pattern is not a mistake. It is the result of a culture that undervalues food production. A culture that asks farmers to carry the burden of rising costs, economic instability, and inflation while expecting to buy food at the price of ignorance. A culture where farmers are the backbone of the nation yet constantly pushed to the edge financially.
It is abuse. Not physical abuse. But financial and psychological pressure that slowly discourages farmers, drains their resources, and forces them to scale down or quit entirely.
When a buyer knowingly underprices a farmer, several things happen.
Feed debts increase.
Animals stay longer on the farm, eating more feed and reducing profit margins.
Cash flow collapses.
The farmer cannot reinvest or expand.
The farmer cannot hire.
The farmer cannot improve infrastructure.
Eventually, production quality drops. National supply drops. Prices increase. Everyone complains later, yet nobody wants to pay fairly at the beginning.
This is not just about pigs. It is the same pattern across poultry farms, crop farms, fish farms, goat farms, vegetable farms, and every farming sector. Farmers carry the nation’s food on their backs yet are pressured to accept the lowest possible prices. That kind of pressure builds a silent crisis. The crisis always shows up in the same places. Malnourished animals. Farms shutting down. Scarcity. High prices. Food insecurity.
Every underpriced transaction contributes to this chain reaction.
The real question is simple. Why should a farmer be expected to produce food at a loss just to satisfy a buyer who refuses to adjust to reality. Nobody walks into a fuel station and names their preferred price for petrol. Nobody enters a pharmacy to dictate the price of antibiotics. Nobody visits a mechanic and tells him to reduce the cost of engine repair to suit their mood. Yet people feel comfortable walking on a farm to offer insulting prices for animals that took months to raise.
Farming deserves respect. Farmers deserve respect. And one of the simplest forms of respect is fair pricing.
The farmer is not holding the country to ransom. The farmer is keeping the country alive. Food is not optional. Food is survival. And survival depends on farmers being able to sustain their farms without being undervalued into bankruptcy.
This is why conversations about pricing must change. A farmer is not obligated to accept abusive pricing. A farmer is not required to reduce prices to please buyers. A farmer has a right to charge according to market realities, cost of production, and standard profitability.
A nation that wants food security cannot continue encouraging a culture that forces farmers to operate like beggars. A farmer who sells at a loss today will not produce tomorrow. A farmer who keeps absorbing financial abuse will eventually collapse under it.
This is the truth many avoid because it is easier to pressure a farmer quietly than to face the uncomfortable reality. Food production is expensive. Good genetics are expensive. Medications are expensive. Labor is expensive. Fuel is expensive. Materials are expensive. And pretending otherwise does not change the facts.
Farmers cannot keep carrying the entire burden of inflation while society refuses to adjust. Underpricing a farmer is not about saving money. It is about refusing to acknowledge the real cost of food.
There is a clear difference between negotiation and exploitation.
Negotiation requires respect. Exploitation thrives on ignorance and entitlement.
A buyer who truly respects farmers will not walk into a farm expecting to pay the price of supermarket biscuits for an animal that took over half a year of work to raise. A buyer who shows respect will ask questions. What are the feed costs. What is the market trend. What weight class is the pig. What is the breed. What medications were administered. What is the current cost of feed ingredients. What stage is the economy in. Buyers who understand farming naturally offer fair prices because they understand the investment required.
The abusive ones pretend not to know.
Some even brag about how many farms they have “priced down.” They call it sharpness. They call it smartness. In reality, they are choking an industry already struggling under the weight of rising costs.
Every consumer wants healthy animals, thick skin pigs, good finish, good weight, clean farms, and excellent production standards. Yet many want all these at the lowest possible price. This contradiction is destroying farms.
Quality does not survive under disrespect.
A farmer who keeps lowering prices to satisfy buyers will eventually cut corners. Corners that affect animal health. Corners that produce sick pigs. Corners that produce poor quality pork. Corners that bring long-term problems to consumers. All because the market refuses to pay what is fair.
Paying farmers properly is not charity. It is sustainability.
The same people who deliberately underprice farmers are the first to complain when pork becomes expensive during festive seasons. They forget they helped destroy the pricing system when they refused to pay farmers fairly during production periods.
Healthy farming requires cycles of fair exchange. When farmers earn properly, they invest more in quality. Better genetics. Better housing. Better feed. More workers. More supply. Prices become stable. Quality becomes consistent. Everyone benefits.
Fair pricing is not just an economic necessity. It is a national security issue, because food is national security. Starving farmers means starving the country.
This conversation needs to be louder, not softer. It needs to be public, not whispered. Farmers need to stop accepting humiliating offers. Buyers need to stop pretending low offers are normal. Agriculture cannot move forward if everyone keeps pretending exploitation is negotiation.
Every farmer reading this deserves better. Every farm deserves fair pricing. Every producer deserves respect. And the only way this system changes is when conversations like this one go viral enough to force people to rethink how they treat farmers.
If you want quality animals, pay for quality. If you want sustained supply, support the people producing it. If you want farming to grow, stop treating farmers like they should beg for survival. The real abuse is not in the work. The real abuse is in the disrespect.
Farmers are not begging. Farmers are producing. And production deserves proper value.
If you agree with this, say something in the comments.
Share it. Let the message spread.
Let the people who underprice farmers feel the pressure for once.
Let the respectful buyers speak up too.
Every comment, every share, every reaction pushes this conversation to more farmers and more buyers.
Original post by GreatLadyFarmer | GricGreat Limited • Aaye town, Ijare road, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria
