The mechanization of agriculture or the use of mechanical power to carry
out various agricultural activities is very important in today's world.
This is a transition from using human or animal power to perform
agricultural tasks to using machines to perform all types of agricultural
activities. Agricultural mechanization includes the production, distribution,
operation and maintenance of all types of agricultural machinery, machinery,
equipment and tools.
Some of the purposes of agricultural mechanization are to eliminate
tedious and stressful farm work (routine work) and increase the yield and
productivity of agricultural products. Agricultural mechanization was
introduced in Nigeria because the country has large farms that use large and
sophisticated machinery to carry out most agricultural activities.
However, despite the introduction of mechanization, non-mechanized
domestic farming communities still face challenges. This is because despite the
fact that a large part of the population (about 70%) is engaged in agriculture,
few people have access to modern agricultural machinery and technology.
The largest proportion of the agricultural population still carries out
agricultural activities using primitive methods. This has resulted in low
profitability, which means that the volume of products produced is not enough
to meet the needs of the cooperating population in Nigeria.
Less than 10% of the world's developed countries are engaged in
agriculture, but this does not matter because they not only provide enough
production for their countries, but also have surplus for export. But that is
not the case in Nigeria. This is because the few who introduced agricultural
mechanization could not produce enough to meet the needs of the Nigerian
people, let alone export to other countries.
A representative example is the importation of rice, even though there
are rice farms in Nigeria. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the
mechanization of agriculture.
This article explores ten possible ways to improve agricultural
mechanization in Nigeria so that the country can meet all the basic needs of
its citizens.
The Ways to Improve Agricultural Mechanization in Nigeria are, Establish
and support agricultural distribution services to inform farmers about the
adoption of agricultural mechanization, Use of renewable energy, It provides
credit facilities available to farmers purchasing agricultural machinery, We
produce household machines at a low price, Labor force training in agricultural
machinery, Establishment of local agricultural machinery factories/workshops, Build
a good transportation network, It funds research projects in the field of
agricultural machinery, Encouraging the private sector to work with governments
to improve agricultural mechanization, Increasing the number of agricultural
machines available to farmers etc.
The improvement of agricultural mechanization in Nigeria can only be
discussed in this direction because agricultural mechanization is a transition
from the use of human or animal power to the use of machines to carry out
agricultural activities.
Before considering ways to improve agricultural mechanization, it is
important to note that the transition from the use of human and animal power to
the use of machine power is a gradual process. You should not rush.
Improvement doesn't happen overnight. However, if the methods below are
applied consistently, Nigeria will experience improvements in agriculture
through the mechanization of agriculture.
Here are the Steps on How to Improve Agricultural Mechanization in
Nigeria
• Increasing the number of agricultural machines available to farmers
There are too few agricultural machines and implements in Nigeria.
According to a report entitled “Improving Food Security through Mechanization,
the Road to Nigeria” written by Jimoh Babatunde of vanguardngr.com five years
ago, there were a total of 40,000 tractors in Nigeria. Serving his country was
not enough. In the past, federal and state governments have bought and sold
some tractors and other implements to state agricultural centers and farmers'
associations, but access has been very difficult. There have been cases of
queens entering these agricultural centers to use tractors because there are
not enough tractors to go around.
The government needs to buy more tractors and other farm machinery. But
to ensure an equal distribution of farm machinery and equipment, federal and
state governments must find a way to know the number of farmers in their jurisdictions.
This can be done with the help of agricultural higher education
institutions, which assist the government in obtaining data. This helps the
government to determine the amount of farm machinery to buy and distribute to
the farming population at a given time.
• Development of inexpensive locally made machines
Another way to improve agricultural mechanization in Nigeria is to
encourage local production of some agricultural machinery and equipment through
local sourcing of raw materials. Nigeria is known to have abundant natural
resources, some of the raw materials that make up the components of these
agricultural machines.
For example, iron and carbon, which form steel and are processed into key
components of all agricultural machinery, are available in commercial
quantities in Gyeonggi Province and other regions. This means that local
production of some agricultural machinery is possible in Nigeria if the right
conditions are created.
Therefore, it is necessary to produce cheap farm machinery locally and
sell it to farmers at a reasonable price. If farmers could easily purchase
domestically manufactured but highly efficient machines to assist them in their
farming operations, there would be no need to purchase expensive foreign
machines that are not suitable for the environment.
It will become easier to mechanize agriculture and productivity will
increase. Research should also be done on certain types of hand-operated
machines whose performance, even when operated by hand, exceeds the power of
humans or animals. It must be designed
for easy maintenance and repair. This encourages farmers to buy and use them.
• Establishing and supporting agricultural extension services to
inform farmers about the adoption of agricultural mechanization
Agricultural extension services should be established to educate farmers
on the need to use agricultural machinery in all agricultural activities to
increase productivity.
It is true that Nigeria has various agricultural extension services
established by the federal government, state governments, international
agricultural organizations and some universities, but these services do not
seem to address the introduction and adoption of new technologies by farmers.
Therefore, the government should establish extension services at all levels and
the focus should be on introducing new machinery that can be easily adapted to
each farmer's circumstances.
These agricultural extension service activities should also include
teaching farmers how to operate farm machinery and tools and how to maintain
these tools to ensure long-term use. Agricultural extension agents also act as
liaisons between farmers and the organizations that produce these machines. Let
me explain. Acting as a liaison agent, the agricultural extension agent conveys
all the feedback from the farmers to the agricultural machinery manufacturing
organization while training the farmers on how to use the newly introduced
agricultural machinery.
The feedback could be about the difficulties farmers face in operating
and maintaining these machines. Agricultural extension agents delegate these
tasks to the organizations that manufacture the machines so that engineers can
solve these problems.
If farmers realize that agricultural extension services have established
a communication channel through which they can express their views on the
agricultural machinery industry, they will be encouraged to use the
agricultural machinery introduced. This will improve agricultural mechanization
in Nigeria.
• Providing credit facilities available to farmers purchasing
agricultural machinery
One of the problems with agricultural mechanization in Nigeria is that
farmers cannot buy agricultural machinery because of low income.
Most of these agricultural machinery and tools are very expensive for the
average farmer to purchase and maintain. At the time of writing, the situation
has worsened as the price of agricultural machinery has increased with the
dollar exchange rate at 360 naira to the dollar in the parallel market.
To solve this problem, the previous government created credit facilities
with the help of banks and other financial institutions to extend credit to
farmers. But all these transfer plans have a common problem. This means that
there is a bureaucratic bottleneck in obtaining loans for the purchase of
agricultural machinery.
The attitude of the few farmers who received these loans did not help
either. That's because they used the loan money for non-agricultural expenses.
This did not encourage financial institutions to extend loans to farmers.
One way to solve this problem, which is part of the solution mentioned in
the previous paragraph, is to use a registered agricultural agent, who acts as
a witness in the lending process. Someone else must act as a guarantor, putting
themselves in the farmer's shoes and making sure the money is used to buy the
equipment the farmer needs.
Unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles in obtaining the requested loans
should also be removed. The process of obtaining a loan for the purchase of
agricultural machinery should be very simple and quick.
Again, mechanisms must be put in place to monitor farmers' access to
credit resources and ensure that these loans are actually used for the purposes
for which they were approved, in this case the purchase of agricultural
machinery.
• Training of agricultural technical personnel
Agricultural machinery is not automatically created. One person has to
create the design and another person builds what is drawn on paper and brings
the design to life.
Therefore, many people need to be trained in the design, assembly,
maintenance and repair of agricultural machinery. Currently, there are some
institutions that deal with the training and education of specialists engaged
in the assembly and repair of agricultural machinery.
These institutions must be supported financially and materially. Again,
more people should be encouraged to take these training courses.
It is clear that Nigeria needs agricultural machinery personnel who can
solve the problems farmers face while using machinery. The training also aims
to develop managers who can design machinery suitable for farmers' environments
and provide solutions to problems faced by farms.
When farmers see that agricultural technicians are well trained, they
have more confidence in their workers and their products. This increase in
confidence leads to the widespread use of man-made machinery, which in turn
leads to improved agricultural mechanization in Nigeria.
• Establishment of local agricultural machinery factories/workshops
Favorable conditions should be created for the opening of local
industries, machine shops, factories producing machines and tools at the local
level.
This will encourage the further development of domestically produced
machines and tools. In addition, jobs for agricultural machinery specialists
will be provided through the opening of local industries, machine shops and
factories.
The local production of agricultural machinery by these organizations
increases the number of machines available to Nigerian farmers as they are
readily available and sold at affordable prices. Farmers are encouraged to use
more machinery when they can easily buy it from local factories at affordable
prices. The use of local agricultural machinery will improve agricultural
mechanization in Nigeria.
• Encouraging the private sector to work with the government to
improve agricultural mechanization
Improving agricultural mechanization in Nigeria is not the government's
job alone. The private sector must also participate.
Private organizations and wealthy entrepreneurs should therefore be
encouraged to partner with government to improve agricultural mechanization in
Nigeria. Partnerships with the private sector should include funding for
research projects, investments in agricultural capacity and machinery, and
donations to agricultural engineering faculties in higher education
institutions to ensure continued operations.
Their partnership can also extend to helping farmers purchase the farm
machinery and tools they need to streamline their farming operations. Research
institutions can also approach the private sector when conducting research
projects related to agricultural mechanization.
When you contact a private organization, you should explain to them what
benefits you will receive after the project is completed.
• Use of renewable energy
For agricultural mechanization to become active, energy issues cannot be
ignored. Energy issues are another challenge facing the adoption of
agricultural machinery in agricultural activities. One of the main problems it
faces in Nigeria is the irregular supply that has been experienced in most
regions. As a result, most agricultural processing industries, which require a
lot of energy to operate processing equipment, have been closed.
Let us understand that the use of machines for processing agricultural
products is also a part of agricultural mechanization. Now is the time to think
about how many farmers can generate their own power without relying on the
national grid. Where possible, consider using renewable energy sources such as
solar, wind and hydropower. Another problem is the use of conventional fuels to
power agricultural machinery such as tractors and harvesters. Research is
underway to shift from using fossil fuels such as kerosene or diesel to using
environmentally friendly but renewable energy sources such as compressed air to
power agricultural machinery.
Nigeria cannot be left out. It would be a huge step forward in
agricultural mechanization if Nigerian farms could generate their own
electricity using their own renewable energy sources instead of relying on the
national power grid.
• Establishing an excellent transport network
Better transport facilities need to be developed in the country to
facilitate the transport of farm machinery from local factories or workshops to
markets and from markets to farmers.
Nigeria has all kinds of transport options. These means of transport must
be used to the greatest extent so that agricultural machinery can move freely
from production to purchase locations.
Road transport is the most popular form of transport of goods and people.
Therefore, in order to ensure the free movement of agricultural machinery from
factories to farms, it is necessary to build a main road connecting the
machinery factories and farms and to restore the existing roads.
We also need to build good agricultural roads that connect agricultural machinery from farms to livestock barns so that heavy agricultural machinery can move freely from farms to livestock barns. This prevents unnecessary damage to farm machinery.
In addition to road transport, other transport methods such as railways and waterways need to be explored and developed. The transport of agricultural machinery should not be limited to road transport. This is because there are agricultural machines that can be easily transported to their destination using other means of transport. For example, it is better to carry fishing gear at sea on a fishing boat.
Improvements in agricultural
mechanization will occur rapidly if there are good transport routes. Because
the agricultural machines will reach their destination at the right time.
• Funds research projects in the field of agricultural machinery
Projects related to agricultural machinery and equipment should be
supported through funding. Unfortunately, many research institutions in Nigeria
complain of lack of funding.
The government must show strong political will at all levels to support
projects related to the development of agricultural machinery by allocating
sufficient funds to research institutions and higher education institutions
engaged in the development of environmentally friendly agricultural machinery
for farmers. Research institutes for the development and production of
agricultural machinery must also be increased.
These institutions require financial and material support from the state.
If scientific institutions are supported, more agricultural machines will be
produced.
With the help of agricultural experts, farmers can use these technologies
themselves. This will lead to improved agricultural mechanization in Nigeria.
Final Thought
Improvement of agricultural mechanization is very important in Nigeria.
The primitive agricultural practices still used by Nigeria's large farming
population are inadequate to meet the needs of the country's large population.
Modern technology using agricultural machinery not only helps to improve
the agriculture of the country but also helps to boost the economy of the
country.
Improving agriculture through mechanization will earn Nigeria much respect in the National Commission. Therefore, all hands must join hands to improve agricultural mechanization in the country.
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