Viability of smallholder farms in Africa
“The Green Revolution resulted in regional food surpluses within 25 years in East Asia. Driven by the political will to make their countries self-sufficient in food, Asian countries doubled cereal production between 1970 and 1995, while the total land area cultivated increased by only 4 per cent. Furthermore, the Green Revolution mainly focused on irrigated wheat and rice together with improved crop varieties and expanded use of chemical fertilizers,” Amaza stressed, noting how mechanisation could play a role in enhancing productivity among smallholder farmers.
He believed the idea that widespread mechanisation would take jobs away from everyday people was false and that people should embrace the idea.
“From the Chinese experience, this is not true. It is possible to make the smallholder farmers productive. This is the key point for inclusive growth because there are so many smallholder farmers in Africa. If we could figure out ways to make sure they are productive, that could be a sure way to reduce inequality, increase their income and reduce their poverty,” he stressed.
He spoke about enablers to mechanisation and expressed hope that it could resolve the inequality issue and empower many rural farmers.“If we can increase mechanisation we will have more land to farm on and solve the labour shortage at harvest time. During harvest time, people ask for leave from their workplaces and go back to their home towns and this disrupts the normal industrial production. So, if we could solve the labour shortage problem through mechanisation, we can have a convergence between the dry season and the peak season, which can help the rural farmers as well. So, this is another advantage,”
source: einnews.com
