This important conference and discourse on
E-Agriculture is coming at a time when Nigeria is desperate about investing in
a gainful sector that will rapidly restore the nation’s economy which is
currently swimming through rough water. Due to the global oil crisis, Nigeria’s
oil revenue has shrunk, thereby creating the need for diversification into
agriculture and some other sectors.
Prior to the discovery of oil, Nigeria’s economy
flourished through agriculture. Of course, agriculture isn’t new to the
Nigerian economy, during the pre-crude oil era when Nigeria economy totally
dependent on agriculture; the sector has offered vast opportunities and
employed over seventy percent (70%) of the Nigerian labour force. Agricultural
sector has provided food requirements for the country and raw materials for
local industries, as well revenue from exportation of cash crops. Agriculture
can not only be a major source of revenue for Nigeria’s economy, it is also the
bedrock of Africa’s economy as a continent.
The sector accounts for about 20% of Africa’s GDP,
60% of its labor force and 20% of the total merchandise exports. Agriculture is
the main source of income for 90% of rural population in Africa. Agriculture
represents a great part of the Africa’s share in world trade. On the list of 20
top agricultural and food commodity importers in 2004, 60% are from Sub-Saharan
Africa. African countries represent also 50% of top 20 countries, in terms of
the share of total agriculture/ total exported merchandise in the world.
However, discovery of crude oil weakened the
priority given to agriculture in Nigeria, and Nigeria slide into a
mono-economic nation. With the recent global oil crisis which has affected Nigeria’s
economy severely, once again Nigeria is faced with a mandatory need to
diversify the economy, particularly to agriculture. Beyond planting of crops,
harvesting, processing and selling, there are investment opportunities in
agriculture in Nigeria, for example, cashew nut exportation. Nigeria has huge
deposit of cashew nuts, in Kwara, Oyo, Kogi, Benue, and Osun among other
states. In 2015, N1bn export deal was made with cashew growers in Nigeria which
is driven by the rise in demand from China, India and other fast-growing
economies; the global cashew boom has generated profits at most trading houses.
According to a news report, some cashew exporters
in Nigeria are worth millions of dollars in annual revenue. There’s an on-going
campaign to grow more cashews to meet global demands in coming years with the
government and the private sector campaigning to farmers to increase local
cultivation , cashew exports could be inching closer to a new peak of 400,000
tonnes.
Why Technology and Agriculture?
-Technology is an integral part of this century, any sector that wants to grow
must be technology driven.
-To modernize agricultural practices and expose farmers to global trends in
Agriculture
-To ensure accountability in agriculture funding
-To connect farmers with market.
Problems Facing Agriculture in Nigeria and the
Place of Technology
For the purpose of this conference, we shall
discuss three major problems confronting agricultural sector in Nigeria and how
technology can be used to resolve them. In order to help farmers thrive, it is
important not to only develop technologies that target specific needs of
farmers but also to educate the farmers so they can embrace new ways and
utilize them efficiently. For students of Computer Science here today, as we
discuss these problems facing agriculture in Nigeria, the onus of proffering
tech-driven solutions is on you. We shall be discussing three major problems
confronting the agricultural sector in Nigeria and how technology can used in
resolving them.
1. Middle Men Hostage
In Nigeria, farmers and consumers are squeezed by
middle men. Middle men have held both farmers and consumers hostage. Farmers
have no control over the market price of farm products, usually, the prices of
farm products are largely determined by the middle man, and this makes the
middle men more profitable at the expense of the farmer and the consumer. The
middle men have disconnected farmers from consumers and ensured the major
profits are captured, they dictate the market price of farm produce.
It is important to note that the profitability of
farmers is essential to the sustainability of agriculture in Nigeria. Food
items are unnecessarily costly because middle men dictate the market price. To
safeguard the future of Agriculture in Nigeria, linking the retailers/consumers
to farmers is very important. Nigeria is not the first nations to be faced with
this problem, India among others are faced with similar problem.
Technological Solution
Today, E-commerce is fast growing in Nigeria.
E-Commerce is gaining more popularity with the increasing number of people who
are gaining internet access and are becoming IT literate, with the number of
mobile phones surpassing the population of the country. The most common online
activities of Nigerians in percentage are browsing and searching, 74 per cent,
selection of a product, 56 per cent, paying online, 15 per cent, paying
offline, 82 per cent and online checking of results, 43 per cent. This implies
that, Nigerians are actively engaged in e-commerce.
However, on many of the e-commerce platforms where
e-merchandise is done, clothing items and electronic gadgets are usually on
display for sale. There is a need for a shift into sales of agricultural
produce online in Nigeria; technological platforms should be developed to
connect farmers directly with retailers/consumers. Initiative such as the local
mobile application- Hojah (www.hojah.com), which is a platform for cooked and
raw food items to be sold should be encouraged. More of such platforms should
be developed, and farmers should be encouraged and trained to use such
platforms to display their produce in order to connect the market directly.
2. Farm Security
Insecurity in farms in rural Nigeria is
increasingly alarming, particularly with the widespread of Fulani herdsmen
attack on farmers and their farms. Even though the tension between Fulani
herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria has been in existence for many years, the
tension is taking a more severe dimension with increasing and constant attacks
on farms and farmers. In April 2016, among others, news reported that Fulani
herdsmen invaded farm settlements in Ibadan destroying crops and injuring
farmers. Similar attacks were launched against farmers in Benue, Ekiti and Ondo
states.
The Nigerian government at all levels has started
suggesting solutions to the on-going attacks on farms by Fulani herdsmen who
take their cattle to graze on farm lands. One of the suggested solutions is
creating grazing area. Creating grazing area is a fantastic way to resolve
this, since the cattle will only move within the grazing area. However, the
need to answer the following questions:
i. How will this grazing area be demarcated?
ii. How will herdsmen know when “they” and the
cattle are out of boundaries?
iii. How can the government track movement of
cattle in order to spot any cattle out grazing area?
Technological Solution
During President Goodluck Jonathan’s
administration, the idea of distributing mobile phones for local farmers was
raised. In order to ensure monitoring of grazing area for Fulani herdsmen and
their cattle, and security for farmers, the following can be introduced:
i. Toll Free Emergency Call Line for Farmers: Since
majority of the farmers use mobile phones, a toll free emergency number for
farmers to connect security operatives is very important. Inability to report
attacks early enough downplays tendencies of intervention by security
operatives.
ii. Tracking Devices/Surveillance: More also,
tracking devices and surveillance can be used in tracking movement of herdsmen and
cattle; this will enable the government and the security agents to identify
herdsmen who have crossed the grazing area into farm lands.
3. Lack of Access to Research Development
To make farming the backbone of Nigerian economy,
it must be made viable. If the sector is not revamped, viability is impossible.
There are developments in agriculture, such as improved seedlings and stems
which grow faster with more yields, pest, weed and erosion control, new
fertilizers e.t.c. but many farmers are unaware, particularly in rural areas.
If farmers learn about new developments in agriculture, they are able to
implement in their farms and increase productivity, hereby ensuring food
security in the country.
Exposing the farming population to improved ways of
farming will move farming out of traditional practices. Lack of access to
research development in agriculture among rural farmers has continued to limit
productivity. Many of these rural farmers cannot read English, but they are
able to read local languages.
Technological Solution
An online farmers’ community where farmers connect,
read and discuss developments in local languages is crucial. Just like social
networking, farmers networking should be encouraged, to expose farmers to new
practices, developments and trends in the farming profession.
Such platform should be developed, and farmers
should be trained to take advantage of it for agricultural development in the
country.
Conclusion
Dear audience, like I said earlier, above are the
three major problems I consider very important, these problems need speedy
technological solution. However, there are other problems confronting
agriculture in Nigeria that needs technological solution, such as record
keeping in farms, lack of access to funding opportunities e.t.c. The key focus
of introducing technology to agriculture in Nigeria is to ease the practice of
agriculture in Nigeria, increase viability of agriculture and ensure food
security in Nigeria.
I urge Computer Scientists in Landmark University
and other Universities across Nigeria to proffer solutions to these problems
confronting agriculture in Nigeria through technology. The next set of
billionaires in Africa will emerge from agricultural sector; let’s join hands
to make agriculture a more lucrative venture.
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