Problems Of Agriculture In Nigeria/Africa And Their Solutions.

Today\’s post is about the problems of agriculture in Nigeria and Africa. Not just the problems but also you will find their solutions integrated in this article.

(We have earlier disussed how to start poultry business, how to start pig farming business, how to starting snail farming business and how to start fish farming business in Nigeria)

Today we want to share with you the problem of Agriculture in Nigeria.

But then do we really have problems threatening our agricultural sector as a nation and continent?

Yes we do.  As a matter of fact it is as serious as ever, however i am not here to give you bad news but the opposite of it, so read to the end.

Have you ever wondered why agricultural development in our nation is as slow as a chameleon’s motion?

Are you not seeing how improper it is for us to be one of the major importers of food?

Don’t you know that the Nigerian agricultural sector is living below its potential?

Over 50% of our land mass is still uncultivated and fertile but yet the increasing figure of our starving citizens is alarming!

You can see that there is a problem!

You can’t have food in your house and still complain of hunger, when that happens to you then be sure that you have a problem. Problems which can be lack of cooking fuel, or perhaps you don’t know how to cook, or you lack ingredients etc.

The situation of our country and continent’s agriculture is similar to that analogy.

Personally I don’t believe the problems in our Agriculture sector to be treats, they are just barriers and should you fear barriers?

No! You get rid of them instead.

After all by default every victory over a problem leads to your growth and development. So how can you call that which can develop you a treat?

It’s just a way of making you better in disguise, with a tag called a problem.

A treat can kill you and except God there no solution to death, am sure you know that. But then a barrier stops you from progressing.

When barriers come your way, eliminating them is as simple as what you will do when you want to park your car and then you discover a chair or two (which are barriers) occupying your packing space with no body sitting on those chairs.

Let me ask you this question…

When you are going to the market and you discover that the road you are following has been filled up with hundreds of youths demonstrating (violently) for something or protesting rather, what will you do since you can\’t drive them all out of your way just like you did to the chairs?

Of course you don’t need a prophet to tell you that you need to follow another way if you must get to the market in peace.

What am I saying here?

Solving the problems that face agriculture in Nigeria or Africa is simple! I am not saying it’s easy but it is not as complex as feared by most people.

Though the federal ministry of Agriculture may not be the source of our solutions, individual player in the industry could do some things to pave way for themselves

What you must know is this…..

90% of our problems are caused by us, don’t you know?

Throughout the words below you will get to understand how we are involved in our problems.

We are the cause of our problems and we are part of it, which is why it takes you and me to fix it.

In computer programming there is something known as a recursive function, which has to do with using a problem as part of its solution when solving it.

That was what I meant when I said it takes us to solve our problems.

In this article you will discover what those problems are, their cause and solutions. You will also discover that the solution lies within us just like I already said.

Contrary to your expectations, I have highlighted just 3 major problems of agriculture which we are facing in Nigeria and Africa. So am I saying we just have 3 problems standing against agriculture in Nigeria?

No!

What then? All other problems we face in agriculture are products of these 3 parent problems which I shall reveal to you right away. Therefore solving these 3 problems will automatically mean terminating the rest of the problems.

Let’s go….

Problems of agriculture in Nigeria

The first and common (but not known) problem of agriculture in Nigeria and Africa is…

1. Ignorance; the Biggest Problem of the Agriculture in Nigeria

In northern Nigeria, there is an adage that says “ignorance is darker than the dark night”!

Can you imagine that?

By implication, being ignorant means you are as good as being blind. What can you see at night without light?

Nothing!

Knowledge is light while ignorance is its opposite and who doesn’t know that darkness is a severe problem?

See…

Agriculture in Nigeria is seriously and negatively affected by ignorance far more than any other problem we have. It is not by accident that I brought it first in the list.

As a farmer how can you succeed in farming when you don’t know what is happening in the world around you?

How can you compete successfully with the rest of your kind in this busy world when all you know about agriculture is how to till the ground and plant crops, or how to rear animals just the way you were thought by your father?

There is more to agriculture than you know and think. The earlier you come to know that, the better.

In Africa there are certain things which we do not take them too serious. Most of those things are things which we were born into them and so we grew up to know them as norms and values of our local communities.

Hence we believe just in what we were thought about those things from our homes and locality such that any other source of knowledge apart from the traditional source is vehemently disregarded.

A major example of such things is agriculture. Agriculture in Africa is something that has been taken for granted for far too long. We don\’t think there is something to be serious about when it comes to agriculture.

That is an error!

Agriculture in Africa has grown grey hairs but do you know what?

Most farmers in Africa know nothing about agriculture more than what they learned from their fore-fathers. Why is this happening?

Because they think reading and learning about agriculture from any other source is a waste of time and so they do not believe and regard it.

That is a serious problem!

When last did you see a farmer attending a seminar on how to improve his agricultural practice? Or reading a book for the same purpose, when last did you see someone like that?

It’s very rare to meet such kind of people here in Africa.

What do I need to read a book on farming for when I have been farming for the past 15 years?

That is what you will hear when you ask some of them to educate themselves on agriculture. They think they know it all, they think they don’t need more knowledge.

That is a big mistake, it’s a problem and what has it been causing? Ignorance!

Can you now see how we ourselves are causing our problems?

An average African is ignorant of agricultural trends around the world, that’s hurting!

We don’t take farming as a serious business worth investing our time and money for. We lack technical knowledge and real education on farming. How then are we not going to remain the way we are? We need to wake up!

Does this has a solution?

Absolutely!

To every problem there is a solution, so what is the solution to this problem facing agriculture?

Solution.

The elephant among all solutions to ignorance is knowledge acquisition, no better option than that.

How do I acquire knowledge?

Well there are a lot of options out therefore you to choose from, but the axis of all those options is learning. Learn, learn and learn.

That’s how you acquire knowledge!

Attend seminars, read good books practice what to have learned to gain experience and become better. That is how it works!

If you want to start a poultry farm, don’t just start it the way others do. First learn how it is done. How to start and how to run it successfully…

For you to become a soldier, you will have to undergo some procedure and processes. What are some of these things? You will be screened and then allowed to write exams and finally undergo a vigorous training for about 9-10 months or so etc.

So is it when you want to succeed in agriculture, you need to learn about it, you need to be trained just like soldiers do.

Learn about the best agricultural input processes, when and how it is supposed to be done.

If you you are interested in growing trees or plants, learn about cross-breeding, propagation (and other related things) from professionals.

Know the pest of your crops and how to stop them.

Know the diseases of your animals and take preventive measures to ensure a disease-free farm.

Learn about the different type of Agro-chemicals, their advantages, disadvantages and the best way to apply them. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you know it all because there is always something new you will discover when you decide to learn.

Acquire knowledge, fight ignorance!

The next problem of agriculture in Nigeria and Africa is…

2. Low use of technology and machinery.

This is another problem crippling the growth of our agricultural sector!

The whole world now depends on technology for a lot of things raging from medicine, education, socialization, transportation, finance, information and communication, agriculture etc.

Technology today is a leverage which you cannot do without.

The use of technology for agriculture in Nigeria and Africa is as low as negligible. Our farmers are still using manual farm tools to cultivate their land, resulting in low quantity of crop production and slow rate of growth and development. It is only few farmers that have access to and utilize machinery in their farms which is why they produce and sell more crops and animals than you.

With technology, agriculture is made easy and without it agriculture becomes miserable, difficult and slow in this fast world.

Lack of technology is a problem, but the good news is that you can fix it.

How can you fix and solve this problem?

Let’s see how….

Solution

As a farmer, to solve this problem of lack of technology you need to get involved in using different technologies that can meet your agricultural needs and solve you under-development problem.

Do you have poultry, rabbit, fish, pig farm or just any other type of farm?

This is what you must know…. Every business needs an online presence, if you must survive in the 21^st century business war then one of the weapons you need is a website. Get a website for your farm, it’s a great use of technology. One of the major advantages of having a website for your Business is that it automatically opens you up to a national and global clients or customers.

You need an incubating machine/hatcher etc. for your layers poultry farm. That is Technology!

Can you afford a tractor or a combine harvester? Why not buy one for a start; you need it for your farm. The joy of having a tractor is that once you have it fueled and maintained, it can do the work of 200 laborers thereby saving you the expenses of paying those laborers.

Get some modern food storage and processing facilities for your farm…..

Create ideas and use technology to implement them.

Technology is all about making life (including agriculture) easier, take advantage of it today!

The next most common problem standing against agricultural progress in Nigeria and Africa is…..

3. Funding; the third problem of Agriculture in Nigeria.

Most Africans are poor!

In Nigeria an average farmer’s dream is limited by lack of fund. Often times you will hear complains like I want to buy I tractor but I have no money, or I need to expand my poultry farm but I lack money etc.

In fact a lot of farmers have hectares of land capable of producing crops that can feed a whole state or province but because they cannot afford to buy the necessary machinery they need to cultivate that size of land, the only option they will be left with is to make use of just a hectare or two which their human strengths can cultivate.

Are you facing the same or similar problem like that? Are you in the same situation?

Well I have good news for you!

Capital is not scarce and so all you need is the knowledge of how to get it.

I know the banks have failed to give you loans, the governments failed you too because most of them left you with unfulfilled promises. I know they might have abandoned you.

But you see it’s time to stop complaining and say to yourself enough of depending on banks and the government then go ahead to find out how to get capital.

I strongly recommend this book written by our CEO for you, it is titled “How to get capital to start your own business” it is written to guide you comprehensively into some deep secrets to the art of getting capital from people and other idea driven ways/options. That book can help you solve this problem of lack of funds which is facing agriculture in Nigeria and Africa badly!

Another problem of agriculture which you might be expecting me to mention is “inadequate amenities”.

Yes you are right because it is a problem but you will be wrong to expect these things from the government!

Am I saying it’s actually bad for the government to provide these amenities for the benefit of agriculture? Of course not!

I am only saying that there are more than 70 ways to go to the market.

Yes you need good roads to transport your crops from the farm to the market or the seaport for exportation. You need electricity to power your machines and you need good water source to carry out your irrigation farming practice.

What if the government fails to provide them?

Are you just going to sit back and start complaining?

That will not be wise!

So can you provide for yourself the basic amenities you need?

The answer is yes!

Are you asking how?

It’s simple. If you can come out successful at solving the three problems stated above, then you can provide amenities for your agricultural activities without the help of government.

This is what I mean…

First fight ignorance by acquiring knowledge (knowledge on agriculture and business). When you are endowed with knowledge then the way to follow will be clear.

Secondly, apply or deploy technology for your agriculture.

And thirdly, get funding to boost and propel your agricultural Business.

With these three solutions in place, how can you still be poor?

And if you become a millionaire how can you not provide the necessary amenities you need to practice smooth agriculture?

Thinking?

You now get what I mean!

Now i want you to think of any other problem of agriculture which you can remember, you will discover that they are all caused by these three major problems; Ignorance, Low use of technology or Lack of funding.

What next?

Take action today!

Because it takes you to make a positive change, only you can stop you, otherwise you are unstoppable.

See you at the top!

If you\’re interested in any Agric business in Nigeria, our experienced farmers can work with you, so that you won\’t make mistakes that could lead to lose of your investment 

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