Towards a Successful Agricultural Transformation
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- April 19, 2021
It’s currently the onset of the long rainy season in Kenya and the agricultural areas in Kenya are busy with different activities.
From land preparations to planting and weeding, etc. the Western and Rift Valley regions especially are expecting high amounts of cumulative rainfalls of over 200mm.
The agricultural sector is so huge, with about 10 million people of the Kenyan population involved both directly and indirectly.
The sector is estimated to be contributing up to 26 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and more than 60 percent of the foreign exchange earnings through exports.
The agricultural sector not only enables the manufacturing sector of the economy through provision of raw materials but also promotes education and training for scholars.
However, having a favourable weather for agricultural activities does not guarantee a high return.
Any person who is into agricultural practice or who wants to venture into the sector is supposed to know a few basic things that will lead to better agricultural returns.
The factors range from land to management of the farm.
i. Land
Land is a major factor for agricultural production since it provides the space on which the production takes place.
Having a land that is of good quality gives the farmer a more production advantage than those in areas with low quality.
The farmer should therefore make a good choice in land selection.
The location of land also affects how it will be utilized. Lands that are in close promixity to the farmer’s homestead will tend to be more cultivated than those that will require travelling for longer distances.
The land tenure system in which the land is held by the farmer is also of a greater importance. Land tenure systems are set of laws by the government that shows rights relating to the use of land.
A farmer should always try to have a freehold tenure on the land as it is of a higher desirable component when it comes to agricultural development program than leasehold tenure.
ii. Human Resources
Human resources, mostly known as labour, is the physical and psychological effort spent in the production of the agricultural produce. These human resources may include; harvest-hands, draftsmen, planters among others.
Human resources can either be hired labour or from family members. The farmer can decide on the most desirable and cost effective means of human resources.
iii. Capital
Capital entails all the non human elements that may be used in the production process. They may include money, tools, machinery, seed and storage facilities.
The capital enables easy and efficient running of the farm.
iv. Management
Management is mostly considered as the human aspects in the agricultural production process.
Land, human resources and capital can’t be productive without organization and co-ordination by someone like a farm manager.
In order for easy running of the farm, a farmer should have some key management skills that will help him/her go through the never ending decision making process in the day to day life.
So what can be done to boost African agricultural productivity?
Transforming a country’s agriculture sector can create jobs, raise incomes, reduce malnutrition, and kick-start the economy on a path to middle-income growth. In fact, almost every industrialized nation began its economic ascent with an agricultural transformation.
Countries that have developed successfully have shifted resources from agriculture to manufacturing. The Green Revolution benefited most regions of the world, particularly East Asia and the Pacific, where cereal yields quadrupled between 1960 and 1990. But Africa missed out on this and the continued lack of progress in agricultural productivity has been blamed for holding back the region’s overall economic growth.
The eight factors below are drawn from ‘Transforming Africa’s Agriculture to Improve Competitiveness’ — an analysis by the African Development Bank in the World Economic Forum’s Africa Competitiveness Report 2015.
1. Develop high-yield crops
Increased research into plant breeding, which takes into account the unique soil types of Africa, is a major requirement. A dollar invested in such research by the CGIAR consortium of agricultural research centres is estimated to yield six dollars in benefits.
2. Boost irrigation
With the growing effects of climate change on weather patterns, more irrigation will be needed. Average yields in irrigated farms are 90% higher than those of nearby rain-fed farms.
3. Increase the use of fertilizers
As soil fertility deteriorates, fertilizer use must increase. Governments need to ensure the right type of fertilizers are available at the right price, and at the right times. Fertilizer education lessens the environmental impact and an analysis of such training programs in East Africa found they boosted average incomes by 61%.
4. Improve market access, regulations, and governance
Improving rural infrastructure such as roads is crucial to raising productivity through reductions in shipping costs and the loss of perishable produce. Meanwhile, providing better incentives to farmers, including reductions in food subsidies, could raise agricultural output by nearly 5%.
5. Make better use of information technology
Information technology can support better crop, fertilizer and pesticide selection. It also improves land and water management, provides access to weather information, and connects farmers to sources of credit. Simply giving farmers information about crop prices in different markets has increased their bargaining power. Esoko, a provider of a mobile crop information services, estimates they can boost incomes by 10-30%.
6. Adopt genetically modified (GM) crops
The adoption of GM crops in Africa remains limited. Resistance from overseas customers, particularly in Europe, has been a hindrance. But with Africa’s rapid population growth, high-yield GM crops that are resistant to weather shocks provide an opportunity for Africa to address food insecurity. An analysis of more than one hundred studies found that GM crops reduced pesticide use by 37%, increased yields by 22%, and farmer profits by 68%.
7. Reform land ownership with productivity and inclusiveness in mind
Africa has the highest area of arable uncultivated land in the world (202 million hectares) yet most farms occupy less than 2 hectares. This results from poor land governance and ownership. Land reform has had mixed results on the African continent but changes that clearly define property rights, ensure the security of land tenure, and enable land to be used as collateral will be necessary if many African nations are to realise potential productivity gains.
8. Step up integration into Agricultural Value Chains (AVCs)
Driven partly by the growth of international supermarket chains, African economies have progressively diversified from traditional cash crops into fruits, vegetables, fish, and flowers. However, lack of access to finance and poor infrastructure have slowed progress. Government support, crucial to coordinate the integration of smallholder farmers into larger cooperatives and groups, may be needed in other areas that aid integration with wider markets..
