D-Day is here.

The time - 1.00pm

Join the conversation.

Improving yields of smallholder farmers.

#DoAgric #FollowThePolicies

Next week, join the conversation as we talk about grain handling and preservation amongst others to help smallholder farmers #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

This week, we look at steps to empowering and improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers . #DoAgric #GrowthForAll.

https://twitter.com/borie_nla/status/1154011730802069504?s=19. It's tomorrow. Join the conversation.

The conversation is today, 1pm, looking forward to an engaging conversation .

#DoAgric

#GrowthForAll.

Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to the conversation. How do we empower smallholder farmers for improved livelihoods?
What can be done to improve their welfare and which areas of their lives need improving? #DoAgric #GrowthForAll.

Today and in the coming decades, agriculture worldwide will undergo major changes to meet the future demands of food as societies become more urbanised. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

What does this portend for all? We basically need more food produced with lesser resources. In developing countries, smallholder farmers will play a key role in making food available more important in the food security chain. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

Why are smallholder important and why must we look to them? The largest concentration of poor people stay in developing countries, where implements and information cost more than a life. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

Smallholder farmers in developing countries often produce more than 60% of the food needs of the countries they are in but rarely see the benefits because such economies lack structure. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

The challenges are numerous, however personal experience tells me 5(five) major areas needs to be dealt with comprehensively #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

The areas are
1: Climate Change
2: Price Shocks
3: Limited or Non-Existent Financing options.
4: Inadequate access to health institutions.
5: Education and Information ( low index extension services)
#DoAgric #GrowthForAll

1: Climate Change.

Climate Change is real and a clear challenge to smallholder farmers, to mitigate the effects of this we need to teach farmers on better land and water management practices, improve access to irrigation technologies #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

People would ask why is land and water management important, I can cite three examples, especially in Nigeria, Lake Chad, Desert encroachment, Pastoralists and Farmers clashes, all are the effects of climate change and poor management. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll #ClimateChange

How do we manage land and water with smallholder farmers? We need to teach them how to plant with cover crops or tillage styles. They need to be taught to plough/till into the soil crop residue rather than burn it. #DoAgric #ClimateChange #GrowthForAll

What does this do? The soil develops more organic matter , reduces the need for fertilizers (bottom line improvement) and also gets the characteristic of water retainment and less erosion #DoAgric #ClimateChange #GrowthForAll

When all of these are mainstream practices for smallholder farmers, we would see an improvement in their lifestyles since they now have better knowledge and lesser costs. #DoAgric #ClimateChange #GrowthForAll

2 : Price Shocks
Price shocks are inevitable in the world and most especially in agriculture. In the US and Netherlands, 1 and 2 agric export nations. They have produce boards and buyers of last resort agreements. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

Produce boards /buyer of last resort provides a buffer for farmers, most especially in poor years or there is a glut, they also improve standardization, and as such the quality from smallholder farmers and commercial ones are very close or the same. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

3: Limited or Non-existent financing options.

Smallholder farmers are more than often poor, at the mercy of middlemen who take advantage and end up getting less than deserved for their efforts . #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

With produce boards in place, they can act as guarantors of farmers to seed/pesticide/herbicide/fertilizer sellers, reducing the need for farmers to search for funds when their harvest is usable as barter. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

4: Inadequate access to health institutions.

Health is wealth and as my kinsmen will say " Ílérà ní Ôógun òròò " . Without being healthy or having access to health institutions, smallholder farmers output will drop and we have often seen this happen. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

A feeble body can't put in the hours necessary into the farms especially when the weather is inclement and one needs to either complete planting or harvest. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

5: Education and Information

Education is essential in every aspect of life and continuous access to information is key. These include planting population and spacing. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

Fertilizer needs per yield target which is crop variable, pesticides, herbicides, ability to spot crop infestations and deficiencies with a glance. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

Access to improved techniques and up to date information leads to better yields, lesser costs and a greater bottom line, which translates into improved finances and livelihoods of smallholder farmers. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

Your comments, questions and experiences will be appreciated, kindly use the #DoAgric #GrowthForAll. Thank you

Join me once again in a fortnight . PrecisionAgric and Smallholder farmers. The How, When and Who?

This week, the final part of improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers with precision agriculture deployment. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

On Thursday, join the conversation on precision equipment and smallholder farmers. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

Tomorrow at 1pm, improving livelihoods of smallholder farmers with Precision Agriculture . #DoAgric #GrowthForAll.

Today at 1pm, let's talk about precision agriculture and smallholder farmers. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

Good afternoon everyone, apologies that this came later than planned today.

Precision Agriculture and smallholder farmers.

How do we move rural farmers to precision agriculture? #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

Precision Agriculture /Farming is generally understood as the deployment of sophisticated equipments, technologies for precise application of inputs, especially seeds, pesticides, fertilizers to deliver target specific returns or yields. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

As such precision agriculture / farming is often viewed as expensive and beyond the financial and technical capabilities and affordability of smallholder farmers most especially in developing countries. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

Nevertheless there are huge opportunities to migrate smallholder farmers to such technologies and improvements at micro levels by improving the easily achievable areas where they lack know how and can quickly learn within a short period. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

These are in no particular order but those I consider& can be quickly taught to rural farmers.

1. Soil Tests- Simple soil assessments and test at different depth of between 1inch to 4 inches, which gives an idea of soil organisms, texture& water retention #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

2. Simple methods of soil preparation and planting populations without having to purchase expensive GPS equipment, such techniques involved recording data across all soil types to have easy reference for fertilizing . #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

3. Miniaturisation of machinery for ease of access due to the financial costs of heavy machinery which helps in improving planting, fertilizing, pesticide application and irrigation. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

4. Simple breakdown of complex methods and translation into freely accessible materials and content via USSD or SMS subscriptions services. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

5. Relatively ease of access to finance and credit facilities to farmers and supervision and monitoring of progress either via extension farmers or cooperatives . #DoAgric #GrowthForAll

In closing the adoption of the above will greatly improved yields and livelihood of farmers and at the same time the deployment of precision agriculture would have been met.

I look forward to questions, comments and suggestions. #DoAgric #GrowthForAll .