One of the challenges of the Muhammadu Buhari-led government is how to diversify Nigeria’s economy and making agriculture one of the avenues to achieve the objective. Apart from economic diversification, the government wants to make the country food- secure by investing in the agricultural sector, through the intervention of several institutions, including the Central Bank of Nigeria in financing and enhancing the agricultural value chain.
Despite the massive investment in the sector, the overall farm yield in Nigeria is still below average. Nigeria is the largest global producer of cassava, producing around 50 million tons annually.
Both crops are grown predominantly by smallholder farmers, who are faced with the problem of low productivity caused by a combination of adverse climatic conditions and harmful farm practices.
Even though small holder farmers are faced with the problem of low productivity, they have found it difficult to adopt modern technology that will help them scale up and remove the uncertainty attached to their means of livelihood.
Source: vanguardngr.com
