1 min
Workers are one of the most important assets we have in the agricultural sector in developing countries. They are involved in various production activities, such as planting, weeding, pruning, harvesting amongst other support services. Although its alternative is the use of mechanisation for these activities, broad use is still limited due to the initial costs of procurement and also availability of technical know-how and other factors.
Over the years, there has been a decline in the number of workers available for agricultural activities, especially youth workers. One of the major reasons for this decline is the low wage or salary earned from agricultural activities as a result of the increasing rate of inflation (Which has made the cost of living higher than expected).
Therefore, cross border labourers became a norm especially in Nigeria (Southern part of Nigeria). Over the last one decade, we had labourers mainly from Benin Republic and Togo, who worked on farms from January till December of every year and there was a high influx until recent years. The issue of forex exchange made Nigeria unattractive to the laborers from neighbouring countries and right now, it is a difficult task to get sufficient labour to work on the farms. This is a big concern, which has affected production capacity where farmers reduce their land size due to unavailability of labourers.
The way forward? The cost of labour will continuously increase and it would be difficult for many farmers to be able to afford more labourers. Thus, embracing mechanisation would be the only option to continue sustaining food production. Therefore, there is a need for the government to provide incentives through tariff reduction for importation of farm machineries and promote local assembly of farm machineries through tax incentives to organisations that are directly involved. We need to promote mechanisation and make it affordable for every farmer in order to guarantee continuous food production and achieve our goal of food security.
We cannot afford to slow down food production in the face of an increasing population, it is a big threat to our National security. Thus, we need to put immediate measures in place to ensure that mechanisation is mainstreamed in the food supply chain. Let us create the right policies that encourage mechanisation, provide the appropriate incentives that help stakeholders to use and access mechanisation. We need the right environment to strive and thrive for productivity and security of our food. The right time is Today! We need to start working NOW!
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
Therefore, cross border labourers became a norm especially in Nigeria (Southern part of Nigeria). Over the last one decade, we had labourers mainly from Benin Republic and Togo, who worked on farms from January till December of every year and there was a high influx until recent years. The issue of forex exchange made Nigeria unattractive to the laborers from neighbouring countries and right now, it is a difficult task to get sufficient labour to work on the farms. This is a big concern, which has affected production capacity where farmers reduce their land size due to unavailability of labourers.
The way forward? The cost of labour will continuously increase and it would be difficult for many farmers to be able to afford more labourers. Thus, embracing mechanisation would be the only option to continue sustaining food production. Therefore, there is a need for the government to provide incentives through tariff reduction for importation of farm machineries and promote local assembly of farm machineries through tax incentives to organisations that are directly involved. We need to promote mechanisation and make it affordable for every farmer in order to guarantee continuous food production and achieve our goal of food security.
We cannot afford to slow down food production in the face of an increasing population, it is a big threat to our National security. Thus, we need to put immediate measures in place to ensure that mechanisation is mainstreamed in the food supply chain. Let us create the right policies that encourage mechanisation, provide the appropriate incentives that help stakeholders to use and access mechanisation. We need the right environment to strive and thrive for productivity and security of our food. The right time is Today! We need to start working NOW!
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
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