Challenges farmers face in Africa
Some of the major challenges and problems which farmers in most parts of Africa face is has become an issue in the society.
Farmers are the food providers of a Africa and sometimes the challenges which they faced are caused by ignorance and inadequate source of knowledge and that is why I have compiled the below challenges which most farmers face as well as the solution which is applicable to both Growers and breeders.
1: Marketing
One of the challenges farmers face is marketing. Commercial farmers usually find it difficult to market their agro products after harvest especially those around rural areas.
One of the major reason why marketing is sometimes due to unstable prices.
It even becomes more difficult during inflation which so many African countries have been suffering from.
It can be very challenging especially if you are a grower, sometimes you end up using your capital and profits on irrelevant and unnecessary commodities just to protect your products.
Solution
You can have a contract farming if you are a commercial farmer with big hectares of lands, with contract farming you grow and farm based on the deal you had previously, and you are sure of the number of products to harvest or grow.
Contract farming on the other end has its own side effects which may include low marketing profits compared when you sell them in the open market.
You can start advertising your agro products online through several social media like WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram.
You can hire a digital marketer to help you run campaigns and paid ads targeting customers with average age and locations that are heavily into agriculture.
With a graphic designer you can design and attach your business name and logo along with the pictures of the list of products available for sale.
Ensure your graphic designer is able to deliver neat graphics only because the way you present your agro products matters a lot.
You can turn your farming business into a professional service and create custom website and social media handles to reach out to more audience and with the help of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) you can get leads to your products in No time.
2: Transportation
Transportation is another major problem especially with farmers around rural areas.
It becomes even more difficult if the road are bad because a lot of logistics limit several areas in which they can transport to, commercial farmers in rural areas might have hybrid Products due to the soil which in most cases are available in these rural areas however cannot exceed transport to other area, they can only sell within the geographical zoning areas.
Solution
If you are into animals/livestocks you can partner with some brands and companies with an agreement that they will make availability of transportation.
With this you can easily transport your products on terms.
Another way of finding solution to this by purchasing lands only in areas that area easily accessible by logistics.
3: Security
Security is another challenge most commercial farmers face.
70% of crop farmers from rural areas complain of Livestocks and Cattles vandalizing their farmland some of these grazing animals could be travelers.
according to research During harvesting period there is usually a high percentage of theft recorded in rural areas, from crop stealing to robbery.
And these acts are usually carried out at night.
Predators are not left out of it, there are some crops and plants which snakes, rabbit, grasscutter and cats feed on which makes can result to losses.
Livestocks/Animals breeders have similar tie as they face both theft by human and predators.
Poultry farming attracts lots of predators.
In some cases this acts are carried out by staffs and workers, and neighbors around the area.
Solution
Get farming/security dogs for for security for your livestocks especially if you are in a remote area and you are farming on poultries and other livestocks.
Setting CCTV cameras is another option for those who have the finance to enhance their security.
Providing standby light using batteries and solar energy can be of use as well.
For Crop growers, you can set traps for predators, there are several traps for different predators , these traps can further your increase the security in your farmland
Incases where you are being disturbed by birds and hunks, you can set scarecrows within your farm or poultry.
Finally, you spray chemicals incases where you have inserts on your grains.
4: Finance
Most farmers have the experience and expertise when it comes to farmers however the capital to start growing becomes an issue and in most cases they miss out in a particular crop opportunity based on the season and market trends.
In any business at all, finance is needed to Start and in the case of farmers capitals are usually needed to either buy seedlings/suckers or the animals/livestocks along their feeds and other equipment to enhance the production.
Solution.
Part of the solution to this challenge is Bank Loan especially when you have a good size of land, There are grants and loaning opportunity provided by the government occasionally however one needs to be very vigilant to catch these opportunities if not you can easily miss out.
However loans comes with its downside because you be required to pay some percentage within a period of time and in cases were the farmer find difficulties during farming or harvest it becomes another problem.
Another solution is Cooperative Farming/Contract farming: you can easily partner with someone who has the capital but no farming knowledge or resources to stand.
Profits can shared during and after harvest.
Finally, you can seek grants from neighbours and friends around while you promise to pay then back with some percentage, if you are able to meet your first agreement, you can gain trust and be able to access more capital.
5: Climate Change
Over the years, climate change has been one of the major challenges farmers face and this in most cases destroy the plans and routines if majority of commercial farmers who are dependent on what they farm on for source of living.
During climate change, farmers will have to adapt and learn the new season to be able to meet up with the dynamic season for production.
Solution
Make use of weather forecast and be frequent with forecast news so you are not caught unaware.
6: Flooding
During Raining season one of the challenges farmers battle is flooding, especially growers around riverine areas.
There are several cases were farmers travel out of their shelter and farm to a different location for safety as some of these floods can sweep humans and properties talk more of crops and plants.
Solution
The solution only solution is to monitor the period of time in which these periodic floods occurre then you can do irrigation system in a different location.
With irrigation farming you can get hybrid Products although this type of farming system involves spending more money however it's better than loosing what you sweat to sow.
7: Sickness And Diseases Spread
Both Growers and breeders do face the issue of viral sicknesses and diseases from animals and plants However this happens ones in a while but when it happens it can be very dangerous and consuming.
It takes only Farmers with patience and good sound mind to overcome this challenge because it can take all your capital and profits which you laboured for all at once.
Solution
Maintain healthy farming, ensure your environment is clean, plant only healthy seeds and if you notice an infectious sign be quick to seek for your agronomist and take need necessary steps to stop it from spreading.
For animals, make sure whatever you use in feeding your animals are clean, the environment should be clean regularly because even their feases if left for too long can cause infectious diseases that can be dangerous to even human.
When you notice any sign, contact your vets immediately.
8: Insincere workers and staffs
Most farmers also complain about their staffs and workers, some of them don't follow routines and can be rude.
While some run away with funds in no short while which places the Business at risk.
Solution
Ensure to interview whoever you bring in to work for you, get the necessary informations about them and where they live and if possible they should have Guarantors to stand for them, so you can have someone to hold responsible whenever something fishy occurs.
CONCLUSION
These challenges were collected from a survey done on one of our community in which several farmers drop a list of problems which they face on their farms and some of the comments were mutual and related.
We then used these surveys to look for the possible best way to find a lasting or temporary of solving these problems..we hope that the information provided in this article will be of help to most farmers facing similar challenges.
Thanks for reading you can drop your comments for any question or Contribution.
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