Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are in a tough time in Akwa Ibom as the continued lockdown announced by the state government takes toll on their operations.
According to experts, Small and Micro Enterprises make up about 84.5percent of businesses in the country and are seen as the next to large enterprises or corporations in terms of employment, employing as much as 28.9percent of the total labor force in businesses nationwide.
Among the worst hit are small scale poultry farmers, food processing businesses and those operating restaurants, according to BDSUNDAY check in Uyo, the state capital.
For the small scale poultry farmer, the problem is made compounded by the restriction of movement which makes it difficult for consumers to visit their farms or for them to take their products to buyers.
According to one of the farmers, who simply identified herself as Emem, she has over 100 crates of eggs for sale but she has not been able to find buyers.
Emem, who took to her verified twitter handle to lament her plight, requested her followers to repost her tweet to enable prospective buyers locate her.
In the same vein, small scale farmers in Uyo have equally been passing through tough times as the lockdown continued to be extended by the state government.
According to one of them, Anietie Akpan, there is likely to be no end in sight to their plight since they have not also been able plant to carry out planting at the subsistence level as a result of the lockdown.
“It is going to tougher next year as we have not been able to plant our crops by this time of the year,’’ he said.
According to one of them, a review of the lockdown order will encourage and facilitate farming activities, food production and processing adding that while it is important to stay alive, it is equally important for people to food to stay alive
The lockdown illustrates the growing frustration and economic uncertainty small scale business operators are going through as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to experts.
Lucy Ekpenyong, state manager of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, Akwa Ibom State, believes that SMEs are more likely to be hit harder by the lockdown because more than 72 percent of them rely on the transport/mobility to access their merchandise, services and clientele and that had been halted.
“The ripple effects of thousands of small businesses closing will have a massive impact on increasing unemployment and crime significantly,” she said.
In a interview with BDSUNDAY, she said the economy might not experience stability in a while with the current sharp fall in the price of crude oil which she said has further compounded the situation.
She noted that the worst hit are the informal and micro enterprises “who have utilised their small capital to feed their families during this lockdown,” and she urged government at all levels “to make available soft loans and grants to this category of businesses.”
ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo
