Overview of the Solutions to Agricultural Problems
Food production has been drastically affected by several factors such as climate change, inadequate farm inputs, storage facilities, problems with land acquisition, and more.
These problems have hindered agricultural development and relevant stakeholders have made frantic efforts to solve these problems, some of the solutions to Agricultural problems as highlighted by the National Open University of Nigeria are below.
- Effective Implementation of Land Use Act or decree
- Provision of basic amenities
- Provision of financial assistance or credit facilities
- adequate communication system
- Adequate transportation system
- Provision of storage facilities
- Establishment of an efficient marketing system
- Mass literacy programmes for farmers
- Promotion of agricultural education
- Extension education programmes
- Establishment of more research institutes
- Provision of subsidies on farm inputs
- Establishment of tractors-hiring centers
- Improving veterinary services, and
- Establishment of a young farmers club
Read Also: 17 Problems of Agricultural Development
Effective Implementation of Land-use Act.
The Land Use Act governs the acquisition of land, and it should be properly implemented to ensure that land is available for all eligible individuals for farming. The bureaucratic nature associated with obtaining a certificate of occupancy should be removed to ease the process of land ownership rights.
The acquisitions and ownership of land should be completely removed from the hands of individuals in both rural and urban areas to the government to prevent conflict between land owners and land users. Effective implementation of the Land Use Act will prevent excessive land fragmentation and provide access to large expanses of land for farming.
Provision of Basic Amenities
There should be adequate provision of basic amenities such as portable water, electricity, good schools, hospitals, markets, accessible roads, and more to aid agricultural development in the farming communities to aid agricultural development.
The availability of infrastructural facilities in farming communities will encourage rural-urban migration, and encourage able-bodied young men and women to stay in the rural area and take up farming as their main occupation.
The provision of infrastructural facilities such as access roads aids the transportation of agricultural products from rural to urban areas. The presence of basic amenities increases the standard of living of the farming community.
The rural agricultural communities should be provided with the alternative power source such as solar power to complement the conventional power supply to increase the people’s standard of living.
Provision of Financial Assistance or Credit
Government-owned financial institutions saddled with the responsibility of providing farm credits to farmers should be adequately strengthened to provide farm credits to farmers. Commercial banks and other financial institutions should give farmers single-digit or low interest rates to farmers expand their farms.
Government, Non-governmental, and agricultural stakeholders should also give grants to farmers to encourage the cultivation of major staple foods. Additionally, the loan granted to farmers should be adequately monitored to ensure that it cascaded to the farmer and that farmers do not divert the loan or grant to another purpose other than farming.
Financial institutions should give credit to farmers without collateral security for loans and ensure that the credit issued to farmers is substantial enough to cover the expenditure of the farmer’s farm. Financial assistance to farmers can help farmers expand their farms, increase yield, and in turn increase farmers’ profits.
Good Communication System
The communication system between the farmer, and extension agents should be effective to ensure that information about innovations and technology is available to the farmer. Various communication media such as newspapers, magazines, phones, radio, television, and more should be available so as to communicate innovation and technology to farmers.
The government should ensure that network providers and radio and television stations are established near farming communities to ensure the efficient dissemination of modern agricultural information to farmers.
Alternative electricity such as inverters, and other solar-powered source should be provided to rural farmers to power their phones, televisions, and radios for effective dissemination of agricultural information. All these can serve as solutions to agricultural problems
Efficient Transportation System
This is another solution to agricultural problems. The government should ensure that rural communities have access roads linking them to the urban area to facilitate the movement of agricultural produce from the rural area to the urban area.
A feeder road should be constructed to facilitate the movement of perishable agricultural produce such as yam, meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, milk, and more to the urban area for sale. Transportation systems such as road, rail, air, and sea should be well developed and constructed to ensure the proper movement of goods from the riverine area to the urban.
Government transportation services should be structured in such ways that rural farming communities should be adequately covered to ensure the effective movement of farm producers from the rural communities.
Provision of Storage Facilities
Modern and portable storage facilities should be provided to store agricultural produce from microbial attack. Cold storage and airtight containers should be provided to farmers to store grains, vegetables, meat, and fish.
Local storage facilities such as unground storage, rhombus, and storage above fire should be discouraged as much of the produce is affected by the pests. Government and non-governmental organizations should set up training centers to help train farmers on small processing and packaging of farm produce.
Mobile silos and smart cold storage facilities should provide to assisting farmers in storing fresh and perishable farm produce. Farmers should be trained on how best to construct barns and other modern storage facilities to store tuber crops such as yam, cocoyam, and potatoes.
Provision of Processing Facilities
Processing facilities such as rice milling machines, tomato milling machines, oil palm, yam, and cassava processing machines should be provided to farmers for free or at a subsidized rate. Government and non-governmental organizations should set up processing centers where small and medium-scale farmers can process their agricultural produce into semi-finish or fished products.
Cooperative societies can pull their resource together to establish processing centers where in some farming communities to process fresh and perishable farm produce.
Government and non-governmental organizations can set up processing industries to process raw materials sourced from farming communities into valuable agricultural products.
Organization of Mass Literacy Programmes
The government through the agency of adult and non-formal education should organize mass literacy programs for non-educated farmers in order to curb illiteracy among farmers. Adult education centers should be set up in farming communities where farmers are taught how to read and write.
They should be well mobilized to encourage farmers to acquire necessary knowledge needed to leave them out of illiteracy. They should be taught how to read and write in their local language or dialect to aid the acquisition of knowledge.
Educating farmers is necessary to reduce the effect. Custom and the superstitious practices among local farmers. At the end of the program attendee who completed the course should certify and the period of the learning or schooling should not disrupt farming activities.
Promotion of Agricultural Education programme
Agriculture as a subject should be made compulsory at all levels of primary, and post-primary school to enable students to acquire skills, techniques of farming, and the significance of Agriculture in national development. Government and non-governmental organizations should provide adequate tools and equipment to facilitate adequate teaching and learning of agriculture science in schools.
Practical farms and laboratories should be provided in school to enable students to demonstrate or carry out analysis and practice farming. Teachers and lecturers of agricultural science should be well paid to motivate them to put in their best in the teaching of agricultural schools.
The government should provide scholarships or grants to students who are willing to take an agriculture career and resources should be provided to graduates who study agriculture to establish themselves immediately after graduation.
Efficient Extension Education Services
An efficient extension education service is necessary to carry the farmer’s problem from the farm to the research institution and to carry the solution of the farmer’s problem from the research station to the farmers for effective farming.
The government should employ more extension personnel to boost the current number of extension agents available in the system. Extension agents who understand the local language, customs, and traditions of the farmers should employed.
Utility vehicles, bicycles, and motorcycles should be supplied to extension agents so that they can easily visit farmers on their farms and communicate innovation and formation of new farming systems to the farmers. The extension agent should be well paid and promptly to motivate them to discharge their duties effectively.
Provision Farm Inputs
Farm inputs such as fertilizers, improved seeds, breed of farm animals, and agrochemicals (such as herbicides insecticides, etc), should be provided to farmers promptly and timely.
Government and non-governmental organizations should procure farm puts for farmers free of charge or at a subsidy rate to enable average farmers to purchase large quantities of improved seeds, fertilizer, and agrochemicals to aid agricultural development.
The subsidies or the free farm inputs should be well monitored to ensure that farmers receive these inputs, and are not converted to personal uses. The farm inputs should be substantive enough to cover a large number of hectares
Establishment of Tractor Hiring and Service Centers
Tractor hiring centers should be established in all farming communities so as to enable farmers to have access to tractors to avoid the use of crude farm implements carrying farm production.
The government should purchase large quantities of farm machinery and implement for farmers to hire tractors and farm machinery at subsidized rates.
Additionally, technically skilled personnel should be hired to service damaged farm machinery in those centers that will service as well as to make spare parts available in large quantities. Mini and portable farm machinery farm should be made available for farmers to purchase and use.
Establishment of Veterinary Centers
Veterinary centers should be established close to farming communities where both local and imported animals are effectively treated and cared for.
These centers should be well-equipped to diagnose and treat sick and diseased livestock. Vehicles should be provided to transport sick animals back to the farmers’ ranch or farm.
Qualified veterinary doctors should be employed man these centers so as to carry out artificial semen, improve, local bread, quarantine, and ensure that farm animals are healthy. Mobile veterinary doctors should established to visit livestock farmers in their farms and carry out routine checks of farm health.
Establishment of Agricultural Research Institutes
Existing research institutions should be strengthened to develop new species of plants and breeds of animals for agricultural development.
The government should recruit more qualified plants and animal breeders to develop new varieties of plants and breeds of farm animals to meet man’s nutritional needs, early maturity, and resistance to pests and diseases.
Revenue should be made available for the establishment of molecular laboratories and screen houses. Private or non-government research institutions such as the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) should be strengthened and tax-free to provide the needed support required for agricultural development.
Establishment of Farm Organization
Farm organizations such as cooperative societies, young farmers clubs, girls’ girds, etc. should be strengthened to ensure agricultural development. Cooperative societies will help farmers help farmers pull their resources together promote farming as well as to generate credits for agricultural development.
Young Farmers Clubs (YFO) Future Farmers of America(FFA) and other farmers’ organizations should be established to stimulate interest in the young generation of farmers that will take up agriculture as their main source of occupation.
School-based organizations should established in primary, and secondary schools and in tertiary institutions to cultivate skills and competency in performing agricultural activities. Financial assistance and other encouragement should be provided to young farmers to engage in agriculture to boost food insufficiency.
The presence of the Young Farmers Club and Future Farmers of America will help to change the youth’s impression or attitude towards farming. Government and non-government therefore should through the Ministry of Education effectively establish clubs among secondary and tertiary school students to catch them young. .
In Conclusion
In order to ensure food security and agricultural development, all hands must be on deck to find lasting solutions to the problem of agriculture across the globe.
the present solution made by several stakeholders such as the government, non-governmental organizations, science technology experts, and the farmers needs to be intensified to ensure wholistic approaches are arrived at to ameliorate the problem of agriculture.