Encouraging Farmers to Embrace a Saving Culture
Farmers need to actively promote and cultivate a saving culture, which is crucial for supporting land cultivation, acquiring essential farming equipment, and purchasing necessary inputs.
Transporting agricultural products from farm gates to markets is another key area where savings play a vital role, especially in ensuring funds are available during off-seasons or unexpected challenges. Opening a dedicated account for farming activities is a prudent step in this direction.
Additionally, farmers should consider joining cooperative societies, which allow them to pool resources, participate in collective activities, and share profits.
Farmers must also establish clear guidelines for productive systems that will enable the expansion of farms and farming activities. This includes investing in storage systems, processing centres, and machinery, as well as simplifying marketing procedures to increase revenue and strengthen the nation’s economy.
Moreover, it is essential for farmers to adopt wise financial practices by reinvesting profits into diverse business ventures, fostering integration, and contributing to national development at both local and national levels.
The Vital Role of Banks in Supporting Farmers
Currently, many farmers face significant financial challenges, with limited access to the support needed to produce vital agricultural products, the costs of which are rising at an alarming rate.
Farmers often express concerns about the high cost of agricultural inputs in the open market, which should ideally be subsidised by the government. With a growing population and increasing demand for food, the pressures on farmers are intensifying.
To address these issues, banks must step up and provide soft loans tailored to farmers’ needs. These loans should focus on areas such as production, transportation, processing, value addition, marketing, and the purchase of agricultural inputs. By doing so, banks can play a critical role in supporting the growth and advancement of the nation’s agricultural sector.
Certain packages may guarantee the sector’s overall productivity, lower the cost of conducting agricultural business, allow for expansion, provide cash when needed and at the farmers’ discretion, be integrated into businesses, and prudently aid in output. Maintaining the security of their crops and livestock, facilitating insurance policies, encouraging a saving culture, and deterring various price hikes in the marketplace are also essential.
Addressing High Seasonal Costs
The high seasonal costs associated with all types of agricultural inputs were reflected in the high cost of agricultural products produced on farms, the low cultivation of multipurpose land, and the discouragement of farmers from engaging in any kind of agricultural practices.
The government must continue to supply and subsidise all agricultural products in the nation, as many farmers are unable to control input costs. Additionally, farmers who raise livestock face numerous challenges that also need to be addressed.
The need for land and inputs, as well as the best ways for farmers to organise into cooperative societies, encourage and cultivate saving habits, and purchase all necessary inputs ahead of time to minimise costs and participate in all farming operations within the nation, are imperative given the growing population.
There is an urgent need to develop the nation’s systems for offering agricultural input services. While the various issues and low yields of agricultural production are associated with the high cost of inputs across the nation, the untimely distribution of these inputs, and the financial difficulties faced by farmers make it challenging for them to acquire and obtain these inputs.
To facilitate the easy delivery of agricultural inputs to all farmers, the government should encourage the private sector to establish distribution centres for agricultural inputs throughout various geographical locations.
Additionally, farmers should be connected with dealers at subsidised rates in designated areas, and efforts should be made to promote the creation of agricultural transportation systems and the facilitation of warehousing systems for the simple distribution and sale of agricultural inputs across the nation.
Creation of the Nation’s Input Delivery Centres
Inputs must be made available at lower prices, and easy, man-made distribution methods must be provided at lower prices nationwide.
These are untapped areas where people have not yet found employment, but the necessary conditions still apply to individuals, making this one of the most profitable businesses in the country and the world.
The nation currently faces high food costs and excessive demand for food throughout the day. Therefore, it is necessary to establish ground-breaking business facilities to encourage investment and profit-making through input delivery centres, even if this is mostly a seasonal industry. The demand for agricultural inputs is rising daily and occasionally.
Michael Adedotun Oke
Project Facilitator,
Talent Upgrade Global Concept and Michael Adedotun Oke Foundation
maof2020@gmail.com
Phone: +23408027142077