Read the passage below carefully:
In Jigawa State, northern Nigeria, date palm farmers historically lost up to forty percent of their harvest each season to rapid spoilage during humid transit to urban markets. Traditional woven raffia baskets provided minimal ventilation, causing dates to crush under their own weight and ferment rapidly. Two years ago, a local agricultural cooperative introduced perforated, stackable plastic crates alongside solar-powered evaporative cooling hubs at central collection points. Farmers who joined the cooperative and adopted these crate systems noted a significant reduction in transit damage. Consequently, buyers from distant cities like Lagos and Abuja began offering premium prices for intact, unfermented dates. Although the initial outlay for plastic crates was twice the cost of traditional baskets, participating farmers recovered their capital within a single harvest cycle due to higher sales margins. However, non-member farmers in adjacent villages continue to rely on raffia packaging, arguing that the upfront investment in synthetic crates remains financially prohibitive for smallholders operating without cooperative credit facilities.
Based on the passage above, which of the following can be logically inferred about date palm farming in the region?
- Access to cooperative credit facilities plays a decisive role in helping smallholders transition to improved post-harvest techniques.Answer
- BPlastic crates completely eliminate all post-harvest losses for date palm farmers in northern Nigeria.
- CTraditional raffia baskets yield higher overall profits because their initial purchasing cost is lower.
- DUrban buyers in distant cities prefer dates transported in traditional raffia baskets due to lower retail prices.