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Farrming is not just a means of livelihood but an important part of our culture in this part of the world and, in fact, in most part of the world. Farming or agricultural practice is the primary source of livelihood for most rural dwellers and the only source of food supplies for urban dwellers everywhere around the world. It is the major economic power and pillar in the world. There is no nation that ever existed without it. Even if a nation does not or cannot produce food due to the peculiarity of its geography, it surely needs food and agro-based produce as raw materials for other economic activities.
Agriculture holds the ace in the global economic game even though it is unattractive to most young people in many part of the developing world, more especially in Nigeria, where its practice is mostly at primitive and subsistence levels. This is in spite of various governments’ efforts at making it viable and attractive to the youths.
In most developing and poor countries, poor and subsistence farmers hold tenaciously to it as a tradition and legacy as well as the only source of livelihood. But due to its inability to bring in the expected financial rewards, many either combine it with other sources of income or leave it entirely in favour of other occupations that would afford them the much needed economic power.
However, in the days when wealth and economic powers were not computed in terms of cash values - the days when commerce and trading were virtually by barter - farm ownership was regarded as wealth. The more farms and yields you have the wealthier you were because, of course, the more harvests the more produce for which you can exchange for other needs and wants. This shows that farming is not necessarily the poor man’s occupation. It is a sure path to great wealth, if consciously and intentionally done as a business rather than as a means to merely subsist. It is high time we, especially young people in Nigeria, saw agriculture from a perspective of a business rather than from the perspective of “last resort”.
We have perceived farming as what one does when one has no better alternatives. Farming can be a choice even in the midst of so many other lucrative white collar and blue collar jobs. The green collar job is equally a better or even (can be) the best choice in the midst of so many lucrative occupational choices. This is if we (begin to) see it as a business.
In The Past It Was Just Agriculture. Today, it is Agribusiness.
The population of farmers in developing countries could double if not triple those of the developed nations, yet the excesses of the foods produced by those of the developed nations can feed the developing nations whose farmers are unable to feed themselves adequately let alone having surplus to export.
The disparity, however, that exists between the developed and the underdeveloped nations in terms of agricultural practice, vis-à-vis food production and agribusiness, is surely the result of technological and scientific advancement on the part of the developed nations and the result of the unwillingness of the governments of underdeveloped nations like ours to deploy its human and material resources in the direction that would engender growth and development in agribusiness through technological and scientific advancement.
The reasons for the backwardness are obvious:
1. Our culture of corruptible and oppressive government would not allow the ordinary man to rise from his level: our leaders prefer to rule than lead. The only way to rule is to keep the people poor, uneducated, unaware and un-advanced. When people are ruled they are oppressed. When people are however led, they are positively and productively inspired and empowered. Human resources are developed and that in turn develop the natural resource of which agribusiness is top.
2. Primitive thinking on the part of our policy makers: we have some of the most fertile soil on earth. Our human capital is one of the highest in the world. Not to talk about our many universities of agriculture that are (or should be) saddled with researching into how agriculture can help national economic growth, development and employment. On top of that there are numerous government bodies and agencies charged with the task of making agribusiness a viable economic and foreign exchange alternative. Yet, food production, preservation, processing and export are shamefully low and decent feeding is way beyond the affordability of the average citizen.
3. Slow pace at which technology in Agriculture is being embraced: when the policy makers and politicians stop playing with the emotions and intelligence of Nigerians and embrace, encourage and push aggressively and vigorously for the adoption and implementation of large scale modern farming by empowering local farmers, unemployed and underemployed youths with requisite skills and resources, the economy will be turned around with speed. Our so-called leaders must realize that when the problem of food is solved, others will either solve themselves or become much easier to solve. They cannot but put agriculture and agribusiness top on their scale of preference as far as national policies are concerned. All other efforts at growing and developing the economy are in futility without efforts at massive farming, food production and agribusiness
Massive food production and agribusiness should not be seen as economic diversification as though it is an alternative to be considered, especially in Africa. You don’t bargain sustainable food production anymore than you would negotiate feeding. By sustainable food production I mean producing enough food to feed your citizen with excess to export. Before considering every other natural resource that we have to explore, exploit and export, food for local consumption and agric produce (both cash crops and food crops) for exports must be taken care of first. This is one of the major ways we can lay solid foundation for our national economy.
I believe this is simple enough to understand?
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