Problems Of Agriculture In Africa And Solutions

The problems of Agriculture in Africa cannot be overemphasized.This article will seek to highlight some of the major farming problems in Africa that has caused farmers many a great loss and also ways on how to get rid of this agric problems.

Africa although a great continent rich in fertile soil and beautiful wide landscape is the only continent in the world where poverty and hunger are on the increase. The number of malnourished Africans is on the rise from one year to the next. African land can be able to provide fertile land, thriving crops, high quality and abundant yields, numerous healthy cattle, a better home, good education for children, financial security, and generally a better life for all. The continent is able to provide all this and more to the hardworking small-scale farmer, large-scale farmer, whole countries, Africa as a continent, and even the world as a whole.

Why then is africa facing this agricultural problem?

This continent has a lot of potential however; this potential remains for the most part untapped and most African farmers in the present day face great challenges on a daily basis. Most African farmers of agriculture today are either smallscale or subsistence farmers who cultivate crops and look after animals just to feed themselves and their households. .

1. Lack of financial support

Challenging legal and financial situations are restraining growth in African agriculture. This means lack of financial support systems which would enable farmers to grow, expand, and preserve their fields. Despite there being several micro-finance groups doing operations in Africa today, very few farmers have access to these groups, and majority of the other farmers have no clue on how these groups operate and how they can get help from such groups in the long run. In the case of small-scale farmers, credit is regularly inaccessible and unaffordable. Without suitable financing, farmers are not only unable to invest in their operations, but also more exposed to market instability and unpredictable weather.

     Solution

• Try to gather funds from your family and friends and start small. As your business grows and flourishes well,it will attract a lot of investors in real and on the internet.
• Apply for international grants and loans or government grants

    2. Poor access to markets and lack of good transportation

This is also one of the major problems facing agriculture throughout Africa as a whole. Most farm produce in Africa goes to waste in the remote areas because majority of farmers find it hard transporting their farm produce to the market to sell. This is because there is no existence of roads and if it did exist it is usually very bad making transport extra-difficult. Furthermore,most remote areas are cut-off from the rest of the world and there are no proper storage facilities in the rural areas for perishable goods e.g. tomatoes, green vegetables, onions.The result of this is the farmer experiencing a large waste of his agricultrural produce.

     Solution

• Since the farmers cannot access the market. Let the consumers come buy from directly from the farm and if you sell to companies;let them come load their goods from your farm.

   3. Lack of access to fertilizer

In Africa, most poor farmers farm on the same pieces of land over and over again leading to degradation because agricultural lands have become so expensive in Africa. As a result of this degradation leads to fertile lands loosing most of their nutrients to become barren or unproductive. Therefore, farmers depend majority on artificial fertilizers to enable them to cultivate crops on the same piece of land time and time again. Artificial fertilizers are rather expensive in Africa, and are completely unavailable in rural areas.

Solution
Cow,goat or poultry dung are great alternatives to industrial fertilizers. You can even create a fertilizer hole where you let things decompose and then apply them to your plants for great harvests.

   4. Lack of Information

This is and still remains the number one setback facing majority of small-scale farmers in Africa, and as a result of this, majority of them miss out on current and improved methods of farming. Specifically those in remote areas do not have access to radio signals, and other means of communication. Additionally, some farmers do not have access to better yielding or better seeds(hybrid seeds). Research shows that there are seeds which thrive better and are disease resistant and more tolerant than others. On the other hand, these seeds are frequently sold at higher prices than regular seeds, and as a result of this, not so many farmers can afford them; and due to lack of information, some farmers don’t know such seeds exist.

     Solution

• Form a group and build a relationship with other farmers so that new information when received can be shared amongst all. This information can include new breeds, new diseases or ways to increase produce.
• Visit agricultural blogs and forums to stay updated with happenings around you.

What other problems of agriculture in Africa have you experienced and is not added here?