I am sure the most discouraging part of this piece is likely going to be the topic, isn’t it? Why is it so? After all the usual saying is ”Farmer is King” or something like that. Why don’t we have young people dreaming to be farmers…talent shows to discover new and promising farming talents…The show titles will sound like ‘The Next Farming Star’ ‘Project Farm’. Sounds nice right? Try pitching this idea to Africa Magic or Ultima Studios…you will realize why we don’t have one yet.

But we agree that Farmers have one of the most important jobs in society; they carry the weight of feeding the world. In fact, rural farmers account for the greater part of the population of any developing country such as Nigeria. Yes they are many…but why is food this expensive in Nigeria? What could have caused the last Tomato scarcity we experienced not too long ago? Tomato of all things, that just needs its seed to be in the ground; it grows with little or no pruning. And yet we bought 5 tomatoes at 400 Naira for almost 2 months!

What do we expect when 90% of rural farmers worldwide are illiterate, yes not just in Nigeria. And access to valuable information is almost impossible in today’s digital age without an education. Hence we have a sector being run on meager information! When the rural farmers lack access to knowledge and information that would help them achieve maximum agricultural yield, they are limited in what they can do and condemned to stay at the level of subsistence..I mean they are liable to die poor. And the fewness of farmers operating above subsistence is a grave threat to food security. In essence, we all are at risk if farmers are lacking in knowledge and information. Access to funds and knowing what to do with the Meagan funds that surfaces is also a huge challenge to the rural farmer. If farmers don’t have what it takes to attain large scale production, necessities like mechanization will remain a luxury and not the norm that it should be. Hence farmers will produce lower quality and quantity, make less and less money, and live poor lives.

It is wrong for the farmers producing the food for the rest of us, to feel and live like the worst of us. Hence, rural farmers need better solutions and support to help make agriculture a viable and rewarding way of life for them; the result of which is more and more youth participation in the sector, less unemployment and ultimately this will mean all of us having better quality and quantity of food to eat.
And yes, Farmers are needed urgently!

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