AgriTech Solution

90% of food production is done by smallholder farmers, who has the largest population of people living in abject poverty. This has been a long standing state of these farmers due to many unfavourable conditions under which they live

Therefore, we are introducing innovative ideas and technology to assist the farmers and their community improve their standard of living and that of their dependents in the rural communities

By introducing innovative ideas and technology to the farming practices of the rural farmers, there will be increased farming knowledge, improved productivity, profitability, rural wealth, social development, better livelihood, employment creation and national food security

Nigeria alone has a land area of 98.3 million hectares, with 74 million hectares good for farming; yet half of its arable land has not been exploited to produce crops and livestock to stem the threat of hunger and poverty through efficient production system (Opara, 2011)

There is very limited access to modern improved technologies and their general circumstance does not always merit tangible investments in capital, inputs and labour. Agriculture sector being a major employer in Nigeria not-withstandingyet provides a decreasing contribution to National Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

One of themost destructive factors that hinder productivity in smallholder farming is lack of market which impoverishes and discourages them from production.

A small scale farmer depends on his efficiency in the utilization of basic production resources available to him. He makes a significant and important contribution to the national product, about 99%of total crops output. The smallholder farmer is the main producer of 98%of the food consumed in Nigeria with the exception of wheat.

Smallholder farmers make up to 80% of farmers in Nigeria and produce a substantial percentage of the food consumed by Nigerians. These farmers are producing below their capacity because of numerous challenges they experience. Different governments have had many programmes to solve some of the constraints that militate against the farmers’ efficiency but they are yet to produce enough for Nigerian citizens to stop food importation. Many solutions to the problems have been proposed by many authors. If these proposals are put into practice, inefficiency in small-scale production in Nigeria could be overcome.

Nigerian governments should encourage research institutes and universities to carry out more researches and equip the extension system more to disseminate the research findings effectively to farmers. The government and private sector should also increase financial assistance to small scale farmers for practical application of the research findings. Additionally, farmers have achieved some level of efficiency through deployment of their indigenous knowledge. If provided with the right inputs, feasible technology and relevant information, they are capable of transforming traditional agriculture.

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