Mechanizing agriculture in Nigeria is the best way
to go. Even illiterate farmers know that.
Agricultural equipment helps a farmer
cultivate more with less labour.
Simply put, a farmer with access to a
tractor could plant 10 hectares per day, compared to just one hectare per day
if the same operation is being done manually with hoes and cutlasses with human
labour.
Even a workaholic farmer can see the
difference.
So why does the Nigerian farmer appear
indifferent to the use of modern technologies in boosting his yield and thus
his income?
Most of them still carry out subsistence
farming trusting in the same crude tools that was popularize by the cave man
two million years ago.
Is it that Nigerian farmers don’t welcome
the use of high tech in farming? Far from it!
Is technology a taboo, forbidden in the land?
As far as I know, definitely not!
Then why is it that majority of our
food growers still rely on hoes and cutlasses in the jet age?
The reasons are not so far fetched. Two
of the biggest challenges are:
The Challenges
1. The High Cost of Mechanisation
Not many farmers can afford a tractor
on their own. Even when lumped together in cooperatives, oftentimes they still
don’t have the wherewithal.
Buying a tractor is not like purchasing ticket for
a fashion show. It’s a big deal.
Hoes and Cutlasses cost way less than some snacks in Mr Biggs. Little wonders then that these tools are the most prized in a farmers collection.
2. Inadequate Government Support
Clearly, most agricultural equipment
hiring services in this part of the globe are owned and controlled by
government agencies and departments.
The practice for many years in Nigeria
is for state governments to buy the huge equipment and then rent it out to
farmers.
But the process has never been
effective and it won’t start to be anytime soon.
It’s commonplace to enter a Local
Government Secretariat and see old, dilapidated tractors lying broken and
unused.
The ones in good shape are often
deployed for the personal use of civil servants to the detriments of genuine
farmers.
The trouble of applying, qualifying and
waiting for several days before it is delivered has made many a farmer lose
interest in trying again.
The Solution
It’s not mathematical physics and we
don’t need Einstein to help us with the solution.
Agric Mechanization Services must be
privatized.
It’s a known fact that Nigerian
governments both at the state and federal levels try to be the ShopRite that
has it all and sells it all. But this country is no longer populated by 30
million people.
Nigeria is now one of the largest nations in the world.
For our country to be fully mechanized,
it requires at least 200 tractors per 100 square kilometers. It can currently
boast of less than 10.
You still believe that the government
can do it all? You must be one of those who believe that the earth is still
flat!
A Public Private Partnership (PPP)
venture? Maybe Yes.
Government has to play a leading role
in encouraging and supporting investors who show concrete interest in offering
agricultural equipment hiring services.
Let them buy the tractors, supply the
tractors, give the necessary training, do repairs and maintenance.
That way farmers know where to go to,
to get what and for how long. The hiring rate is subsidized, the processing
time is reduced and farmer’s profit is increased.
The result: productivity is greatly
multiplied.
Isn’t that what we all want?
No comments:
Post a Comment