This article is about the fundamental problems facing Agricultural Development in Africa. Africa is faced with many problems and this doesn’t exclude the agriculture sector. Despite the abundant gift of nature that would boost agriculture in west Africa, there are still a lot of problems related to agricultural development in West Africa.
Most of these agricultural development problems are caused by man itself and perhaps the farmers. Even the solution is just very close to the farmer as well. However, it might take a lot more year’s for our agricultural sector to boost like the western world.
Africa has a lot of potential to generate a lot of income in the agricultural sector but still, there is no rapid development of this sector. Of course, we know some issues are behind this but do you think there is a way out of these perhaps as soon as possible.
This article will be about all these problems relying on agriculture in West Africa and how they can be dumped off as well. Who knows this might be for a farmer undergoing the same problem as well and needs the urgent solution instantly.
The 6 Problems of Agricultural Development in West Africa
- Inadequate financing or capital
- Inadequate storage and processing facilities
- Poor Marketing system
- Environmental and climatic factors
- Pests and Diseases
- Inadequate tools and machines.
1. Inadequate financing or capital as a problem of Agricultural Development in Africa
This is a major problem militating against agricultural development in Africa. Africa is a high-cost continent with a low circulation of money. The poverty level is so high that virtually many inhabitants of Africa can not even get proper land to cultivate. The main kind of agricultural production practised in Africa is subsistence farming and it is almost impossible to get any revenue from that. How on earth will a poor man waste his money on farmland that it is impossible to make profits.
Most farmers can not even buy the proper species of livestock or seeds to improve the production and income from their farms. While those that can even do that can not manage with proper fertilizer and chemicals because of the cost issues relating to these.
However, there are solutions to getting the best from the high cost of farming in Africa. This can be loans from agricultural banks or direct benefits from the government. Also, cooperative societies are qualified for free incentives from the government which can be later passed on to the farmers.
2. Inadequate storage And processing facilities as a problem of Agricultural Development in Africa
This is another problem of agricultural development in Africa. Storage and processing facilities need to be charged for a lot of spoilt products and losses in Africa. Without the right storage and processing facility, many African Foods and cash crops will be lost. The fact is that the technology innovation jas gone in-depth into a way that traditional means of measuring storage and processing facilities can not come near the modern machines used for processing and storing agricultural produce.
Without adequate storage facilities, pests and diseases will destroy farm produce and those remaining will be below the planned output from the farm. This also results in the low selling of agricultural products that have not been victimised by pests and diseases.
Governments have the power to subsidize the rate of agricultural raw materials and they should be in Incharge of this. Farmers in West Africa can not spend a lot of money on storage facilities because of the economic crisis, however, with a subsidised rate, they can these storage spaces and improve the quality of their agricultural produce.
Also, some government boards or NGOs can help by buying this agricultural produce for the farmers and storing it appropriately until they can sell it to people later on.
3. Poor Marketing System as a problem of Agricultural Development in Africa
The marketing process of agricultural raw materials is very poor in west Africa. This reduces the final profit that will be made from the high yearly yield from the farm. The roads, the markets and so many other factors result in poor marketing for farmers. Without a cost limit, farmers can not easily account for the proportion of their yield to the final results of the sale. This will finally lead to low accounting and less income than what was thought of in the plants.
Here is the situation where the people involved in marketing should be held down. The way the middlemen increase the price of agricultural produce is extreme even after buying for a very low price from the farmers. This is the reason you have to make use of Ofarms. An agricultural marketplace that doesn’t add any cost to your produce. You can sell just anything that pertains to the agricultural sector for FREE on these sites.
Also, the government can still enact laws that will guide the cost and effectiveness of cost amongst West African countries. Once there is a good price for a product, the farmer and the customer benefit from it.
4. Environmental and climatic factors as a problem of Agricultural Development in Africa
Africa is blessed with a favourable climate and environment. Yet, these might be very difficult to determine because of the unpredictable climate. Sometimes, farmers will expect a high amount of rainfall within a year but this might not be the result later on. If the plant cannot survive in low rainfall conditions it begins to shed its leaves and maybe die eventually.
In this case, farmers can go for the proper irrigation methods for there crops if the climatic and environmental condition is unfavourable for the plants.
5. Pest and diseases as a problem of Agricultural Development in Africa
The infection of certain parts of agricultural produce will lead to the infection of the whole produce eventually. If this is not properly monitored it turns into an unchangeable issue after the effect has been transferred to every other surrounding agro product. Thereby reducing yield and perceived incomes for the farmer.
If insecticides are pendant, farmers won’t be scared of the effect of pests. Proper storage facilities keep pests away. However, the cost of this equipment is disturbing. But with the proper identification of these pests, diseases and their effects, the farmers can look for preventive measures against them instead of spending a lot on managing them.
6. Inadequate Tools and machines as a problem of Agricultural Development in Africa
Lastly on the problems of agricultural development in Africa is the problem of inadequate tools and machines. The sole of every farm is adequate equipment. These machines and tools must be adequate so that the farming operations can take place easily and without delay. Ploughs, tractors, harrows, and so many other farm machines should be in abundance when needed by the farmer. Practising Agriculture with traditional farm tools should be stopped especially now that technology is extremely favouring agriculture.
In Africa, it is almost impossible to get or own all these machines. However, a farmer can rent this for a very low rate at government-owned quarters.
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