Limitations And Prospects Of Agricultural Mechanization

Limitations of agricultural mechanization

1. Economic Limitation
2. The majority of Nigerian farmers live in poverty. They lack the funds to buy sophisticated farming machines.
3. Commercial agricultural loans are not available.

iii. Food wastage is caused by poor roads, electricity, and processing facilities.

1. Hiring tractor operators are expensive.
2. Technical-know-how
3. It is difficult to maintain farm machinery because of insufficient or lack of hands.
4. Most farmers are not literate. They are illiterate and cannot read or interpret manuals to operate farm machinery.

iii. There is low maintenance culture.

1. Some farmers find it difficult to adopt modernization.
2. Some machines have sophisticated modes of operation that require only skilled labor.
3. Small Holdings
4. Mechanization should be done on large areas of land. Nigeria’s land tenure system discourages farmers from acquiring sufficient land to support large-scale farming.
5. Some systems encourage land fragmentation.

iii. Most Nigerian farmers are subsistence farmers and have occupied scattered farms where tractors can’t operate effectively.

1. Seasonality of Farm Operations
2. Most farmers only work during the rainy season. Some machines may become inactive during this time. This could cause serious damage to their health.
3. Patronage for certain products during a season can affect productivity.

Prospects of Agricultural Mechanization

These are the solutions to agricultural mechanization problems:

1. An amendment to the 1978 land use decree was made to reduce land fragmentation. This will allow for the acquisition of sufficient land to support agriculture in a particular place.
2. More agricultural extension workers should educate farmers. These workers can help them learn how to use modern equipment.
3. Technicians must be trained to service and handle complex farm machinery whenever and wherever they may be available.
4. Local manufacturers should manufacture this equipment. This will lower production costs.
5. Farmers who want to purchase modern farming equipment should access credit facilities.
6. To avoid food waste, there should be an improvement in infrastructure facilities such as roads, electricity supply, processing, and storage.
7. The government should take more steps to improve agricultural production.
8. Rural areas should have agro-service centers to make tractor hire affordable.
9. Machine spare parts should always be provided at a subsidized rate.