Introduction to Problems of Agriculture
Despite the advancement in agricultural technology such as using drones in agriculture, smart agricultural machinery, herbicides, feeds, and insecticides. Agriculture across the globe is still bedeviled with several problems which have resulted in global food insecurity.
The efforts of agricultural stakeholders to revive agriculture, and make it lucrative have resulted in little or no progress, especially in developing countries where agriculture is mainly at subsistence level.
The problem hindering successful agriculture across the globe could result from natural disasters, inadequate knowledge and skills, and inadequate financial resources to purchase inputs to boost agricultural production.
In many countries, food importation has been on the rise, they import few or nearly all types of food. They spend nearly their gross domestic earning importing food resulting in huge financial indebtedness to financial institutes such as the World Bank or International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Lists of the Problems of Agriculture
Some of the problems that have hindered agriculture development in the world are highlighted below:
- Illiteracy among farmers
- Land tenure system
- Inadequate Basic Amenities
- Inadequate capital or poor financing assistance
- Inadequate transportation facilities or road network
- Poor storage facilities
- Inadequate farm inputs
- Inadequate processing facilities
- The problem of pests and diseases
- Poor communication network
- Inadequate extension services or Extension agents
- Poor farm tools and machinery
- Poor marketing system
- Natural hazard
- The problem of environmental degradation
- Wrong attitude toward agriculture
- Instability of government policies and programmes
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Illiteracy or Low Level of Education Among Farmers
Most farmers especially those in developing countries can neither read nor write which constitutes a serious problem for agricultural development. Due to these factors, they are not aware of the current trend in agricultural production. They cannot read instructions on farm inputs such as herbicides, insecticides, and other agrochemicals used on the farm.
Additionally, some of these farmers possess low levels of education which is not enough to understand some agricultural technology needed to boost farming.
Illiterate and poorly educated farmers may not know the planting date and distance for crops, exotic breeds of animals to rear, required varieties of plants to be cultivated, and quantity of fertilizers and feed to give to farm animals and plants respectively. Illiteracy also leads to poor adoption of farming innovation and technology among farmers.
Land Tenure System
The system of land ownership across the globe constitutes a serious problem for agricultural development. Land is one of the assets that is jealously and carefully guided. In Africa, particularly the West Africa subregion land is jealously guided such that one can kill his relative due to land.
This singular fact coupled with the system of land tenure ownership makes land a scarce commodity. The system of land ownership which vests land in the hands of a community, state, or individual makes land acquisition for agricultural purposes difficult. In some West African countries particularly Nigeria, the ownership of land is vested in the hands of the government, individuals, and communities.
However, the right to land ownership is with the government’s weak policies and the bureaucratic nature of government policies makes the acquisition and ownership of land for agriculture difficult. Land owned by the individual is usually fragmented which does not encourage large-scale agriculture, while land owned by communities is usually large but cannot be used for the cultivation of permanent crops. The increase in urbanization has made land availability for agriculture difficult.
Inadequate Basic Amenities
Basic amenities such as good road networks, electricity, health care centers, good schools, smart telephone networks or services, potable water supply, and good markets, are grossly insufficient in the rural area where most of the food is produced.
The inadequacy of these social and infrastructural amenities in the rural area where 70% of agricultural production takes place constitutes a serious setback to agricultural production.
Able-bodied young men and women who are supposed to reside in rural areas are forced to migrate to the cities where these social and infrastructural amenities are available, leaving the farming sector in the hands of elderly men and women. This leads to low food production, which eventually leads to insecurity.
The presence of social and infrastructural amenities in rural areas can boost the standard of living, therefore creating a better and more productive farming system. The movement of goods and people from the rural areas to the urban areas for sale cannot be effective under a bad transportation road network. Similarly, poor health facilities and potable water supply will increase the rate of infection and diseases and delay the treatment of illness among rural farmers thereby reducing agricultural production and eventually contributing to the problem of agriculture.
Poor Communication Network
The communication network available in the rural areas where 70% of agriculture production takes place is bedeviled by poor communication networks thereby hindering agricultural production. Network facilities are only installed in the urban areas where fewer agricultural activities take place than in the rural areas.
This leads to poor communication between the extension agents and the farmers. The transmission of agricultural innovation and ready market for the sales of agricultural produce to rural farmers via phone and television by agricultural extension personnel are hindered by poor networks from service providers.
Additionally, communication facilities such as radio, television, telephone, telex, fax, and their network service are available in the rural areas for farmers to purchase as they have to transport to the urban cities where they are available.
Inadequate Capital or Financial Assistance
Farming requires huge financial involvement, capital is needed for land preparation, purchasing farm inputs, maintenance of the farm, carrying farm protection practices, and harvesting activities. Inadequate capital coupled with poor financial assistance from the government and financial institutes constitute serious challenges to agricultural development.
Financial institutes depend on collateral security for loans which may be land properties, certificates of occupancy, farmers ‘ creditworthiness, financial statements and records of the farm, etc. before granting loans to farmers which in most cases are not available.
Similarly, most financial institutes demand high interest rates which discourage most from seeking farm credit from financial institutions which results in farmers operating small pieces of farmland.
Additionally, most farmers particularly those that reside in developing countries are peasant farmers that operate between 1-2 hectares of farmland, and their yield or output is basically for family consumption such farmers cannot have sufficient capital to expand their farm beyond the subsistence level which hinders agricultural development.
Inadequate Storage Facilities
Storage is the process of preventing farm produce from microbial attack. The facilities required to keep farm produce from spoilage are grossly inadequate in most towns and villages where agriculture is practiced.
Storage structures such as silos, refrigerators, cooling vans, and cold rooms, which are particularly used for storing grains and fresh produce from spoilage are available in the rural area, where they are available, electricity is not available to power such facilities.
These make farmers depend largely on traditional storage structures such as bans, cribs, rhumbas, and underground storage to preserve agricultural produce from spoilage. The uses of these conventional storage facilities lead to the attack of pests and diseases which reduce the quality and quantity of agricultural produce.
Inadequate Processing Facilities
This is also one of the problems of agriculture. Harvested agricultural produce needs to be processed and preserved to extend their shelf life.
Turning agricultural products from the raw state to the finished or semi-finished products is one of the major factors necessary for agricultural development. Agricultural produce in its raw state is bulky, and fragile and can easily be attacked by pests and diseases.
Processing machines such as oil mills, cassava mills, pellet-making machines, feed mixers, additive mixers, packaging machines, and feed driers are lacking or inadequate in rural areas, where they are present they are highly expensive which peasant farmers cannot afford.
Some of these processing machines are imported, and spare parts may not be readily available in rural areas the technicality of these machines which require skilled manpower to operate and service make maintenance of such machines difficult.
Inadequate Extension Agents or Services
The transmission of information and agricultural innovation about the latest farming system from the research station to the farmer is grossly insufficient, hindering agricultural development. The extension personnel responsible for the passing of this information about modern farming from research institutions are inadequate. The ratio of agricultural extension agents especially in developing countries is poor.
Additionally, the number of extension agents available to keep the farmers abreast of the latest developments in the farming system has no means of mobility or visiting the farmers in their respective farms. Even when these mobility are available the cost of maintenance or keeping the vehicle or motorcycle functional is high which contributes to the problem of agricultural development.
Few extension agents designed to work in the rural areas where farmers dwell are poorly remunerated which reduces motivation to work effectively.
Crude Farm Tools
Rural farmers still use farm tools and implements such as hoes, cutlasses, spades, wheelbarrows, knapsack sprayers, head pans, and more, which reduces agricultural development.
These tools do not allow farmers to expand their farms beyond their subsistence level, drastically reducing food production. Crude farm tools lead to drudgery, predisposing farmers to serious health challenges, and reducing their life span.
In developing countries, these tools are prevalent in every household and are mainly used for agricultural production, resulting in low yield, low-income earning, and food production. All these contribute to the problem of agriculture.
Inadequate Farm Machinery and Implements
Important farm machinery to ploug, harrow, ridge farmland, protect crops from pests and diseases, weed, harvest, and process crops are grossly inadequate, and beyond the reach of most peasant farmers.
Convention farm machinery is not environmentally friendly, expensive, spare parts are not easy, and often lead to soil degradation. In contrast, smart farm machinery and implements are small, portable, environmentally friendly, and cheap, but in most cases, the manpower to repair and serve some of these farm machines is not available in developing countries where there is a lot of farmland for agricultural activities.
Due to these factors, rural farmers have no choice but to fall back to simple farm tools that reduce agricultural production.
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The Problem of Natural Hazard or Uncertainty
Natural hazards such as bushfires, flooding, drought, hurricanes, tsunamis, and fluctuating weather conditions constitute serious problems for agricultural production.
Since agriculture deals with living things, these natural hazards have a devastating effect on living organisms. Bush fire can lead to the burning of farm animals, crops, and the entire farmstead while flooding, tsunamis, and hurricanes can sweep away crops and animals thereby leading to food insecurity.
Additionally, weather and climate have various degrees of influence on agricultural activities. Fluctuating weather conditions can lead to a shortage of rain, flooding, drought, high humidity, and more, which has a great impact on crop production. All these contribute to the problems of agriculture across the globe.
Inefficient Marketing System
An inefficient marketing system constitutes a serious problem. Efficient marketing channels are necessary to boost agriculture development. The marketing channel that exists in agriculture due to the location of farmers or farm settlements leaves farmers at the mercy of the middlemen.
In developing countries, there are poor marketing boards set up to coordinate the buying and selling of agricultural products. The roads leading to some of these agrarian communities are not accessible during the rainy season as some of the lorry carrying agricultural commodities may stock on moldy water for days or where the road is motor-able, they are usually in a sorry state leading to frequent break of vehicles which increase the market cost.
These frequent breaks and delays on the road can lead to spoiling or rotten fragile agricultural products, due to these, there will be an insufficient supply of food, leading to a decrease in the agricultural products in the market thereby creating artificial scarcity for the benefit of middlemen.
The Problem of Pests and Diseases
Pests such as grasshoppers, weevils, locusts, scale insects, and armyworms as well as mosaics, and black pods, hinder agricultural production. The activities of pest and disease attacks on crops in the field and store can reduce the quality and quantity of crops.
Additionally, the outbreak of pests and diseases on farms increases the cost of production since extra resources or income is expended on the purchase of insecticides and agrochemicals for the treatment of crops and animals.
Investment in agriculture is often threatened by the incidence of pests and diseases which often reduce farmers’ income.
Apathy toward Farming
Naturally, farming is perceived as a dirty job and strictly belongs to the occupation of the poor and downtrodden. People’s feelings and interest in farming constitute serious setbacks to agricultural development.
Parents and guidance do not allow their children to study agriculture and agriculture-related courses in school rather prefer courses such as Law, medicine, nursing, and so on, thereby leaving farming for aged farmers, and less privileged in society. Youths who are innovative and quick to accept agricultural innovation are in other professions, resulting in poor adoption of innovations and technology that boost agricultural development.
Additionally, youths and young adults who remain in the rural areas for farming are perceived as a low class which weakens the morale and interest of the youth in farming rather than working in the offices in the urban area and wearing good clothes. All these contribute to the problems of agriculture across the world.
Customs and Traditions of the People
Certain prevailing traditional beliefs and customs have a negative influence on agricultural development. Beliefs and customs dictate the types of crops to be cultivated, and animals to be reared.
Some communities especially in Nigeria forbid the rearing of certain animals such as pigs, dogs, snails, monitor lizards, antelope, and more, and the cultivation of crops such as cocoyam, these results affect the development of agriculture in Nigeria. More so, certain beliefs and superstitions in some rural communities have a negative influence on the adoption of agricultural innovations and technology.
Environmental Degradation
Environmental problems such as air pollution, soil erosions, bush burning, deforestation, desert encroachment, and more hinder the successive cultivation and rearing of farms and crops respectively.
Bush burning leads to the volatilization of major minerals in the soil, dead of vital soil microorganisms, and eventually the destruction of farm properties and crops, while deforestation, soil erosion, and desert encroachment cause the depletion of the soil.
Additionally, pollution of the environment leads to the death of plants, soil, and aquatic organisms. These factors reduce soil fertility, minerals, and microorganisms thereby contributing to the problem of agriculture.
Ineffective Farmer’s Organizations
Effective farm organization is necessary for farmers to secure financial assistance from financial institutions and the government. Many credit institutions prefer to give credit to cooperative societies rather than individuals.
More so, certain financial assistance from the government to the farmer is done through cooperative societies which are not effective or completely nonexistent making it difficult for farmers to secure farm credits or financial assistance from the government or financial institution.
Farm organizations agriculture such as thrift, credit societies, and cooperative societies help to provide financial assistance to farmers and help protect farmer interests, and since they are not available farmers are left in the hands of middlemen who excessively exploit the rural dwellers.
In Conclusion
Agricultural development is bedeviled with a lot of factors which it is not limited, but include illiteracy, land problems, poor credit or financial assistance, poor transportation system, poor marketing system, poor extension personnel or services, natural disasters, environmental degradation, and more. Whenever these factors are fully addressed agriculture can take full responsibility for solving food insecurity across the globe.