Basic Knowledge in Agriculture #21

Agriculture is the backbone of every country because it contribute to the economic development and also serves as sustenance to improve our livelihood. Here is my contribution to the concerning topic of discussion.

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What are the contributions of Agriculture in your country

Agriculture plays an important role in national development, allowing countries based on agriculture to generate billions of Naira. The contribution of agriculture reduces poverty where people will have surplus food to end malnutrition, and hunger. Farmers who practice this type of occupation can also earn additional income to support their families. In Nigeria, farmers in rural areas engage in planting different varieties of crops such as maize, millet, yam, cassava, etc. Doing this contributes to the agricultural sector in Nigeria and also improves the standard of living of local farmers.

The contribution of agriculture to our country can reduce food importation, where citizens will no longer rely on imported food. We can see that countries whose major occupation is agriculture will continue to see progress and growth, while other countries will partner with them so that their own citizens can enjoy a better quality of life.

Additionally, agriculture provides employment opportunities for youths who have just graduated from the university to earn income that can sustain them for a long period of time. By doing this, we can reduce the unemployment rate in our country.

Talk about the problems your country is facing in the agricultural sector

This problem has been in existence for a long time, and the following are the problems that farmers face in the agricultural sector of a country:

• Illiteracy: This contributes to the problems faced by farmers in any given country. Most of these people do not go to school, which gives them a big problem in applying or operating certain machines. The majority of these farmers are old people who do not know how to read and write.

• Insecurities: This problem reduces the number of farmers where agricultural products will not be able to surplus in the country. The cattle herders, in this aspect, contribute to this setback of agriculture by allowing their cattle to eat crops planted by the farmers. When the farmers see this, they will not be happy, which may lead to attacks on the herders and their cows. The herders may regroup themselves and retaliate by burning the community. If these issues occur without a solution, it will result in low agricultural output.

• Lack of transportation: Many farmers in rural areas find it difficult to transport their farm products to the market due to poor roads. In fact, most of them carry agricultural products on foot or by bicycle, which is a slower process to reach final consumers in time. Even before reaching the market, they will sell it at a lower price.

• Lack of financial resources: Many farmers do not have access to credit from financial institutions. Lack of capital does not allow farmers to invest in the farm to buy the modern technology they need to carry out farm operations.

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Give possible solutions to these problems

Here are some possible solutions to the problems:

Firstly, the government should support local farmers by equipping them with modern farm technology so that their work can be easier and faster. Access to this available technology will help the farmers monitor the growth of their farms. This modern way of agriculture can change the current situation some of our forefathers faced in the olden days.

Secondly, the government should bring out policies that will support farmers. In fact, these policies must be aligned to support youth and local farmers. Another solution to agricultural problems is to build storage facilities where the farmers can store their goods effectively and efficiently.

Thirdly, capital is very important as without it farmers may not be able to carry out their farm operations successfully. Farmers must have full access to capital or the ability to borrow from friends or financial institutions with the aim to return the money.

Lastly, irrigation plays an important role. We can depend on irrigation systems when the rain is not falling again. This will help the farmers to continue supplying food to the masses.

Thanks for taking your time to read my post. I would like to invite @huraira50, @goodybest and @radleking to participate in this contest.