By Mark Lenu
Farmers in Rivers State say they are tired of using manual labour to farm, urging the newly elected local government chairmen in the state to mechanize the agricultural sector.
Mechanized agriculture or agricultural mechanization is the use of machinery and equipment, ranging from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated, motorized equipment and machinery, to perform agricultural operations.
The farmers said the demand for mechanized farming from their LG chairmen is not too much as such would help provide food security, jobs, and economic boost across the LGAs.
Speaking with our correspondent, the National President of the Commercial Farmers and Agro-Allied Producers of Nigeria, Amadi Fidelis said until farming is commercialized with the use of machinery, the sector will not attract the youths.
“The suffering in manual farming is too much and has made vibrant farmers age quickly and a lot of farmers are chronically sick as a result of it. We don’t need such kind of farming in this modern time.
“Now that the state has gotten new local government chairmen that have been legally allowed to govern with financial autonomy, the chairmen have to mechanize farming in their respective LGAs,” he said
The farmers said the lack of interest in agriculture by previous governments contributed to the steady hike in food prices in the state, adding that the state is blessed with farmlands and expert farmers but the government had not encouraged agriculture in the state.
“The type of farming that will increase food production and control price inflation is mechanised farming which is too expensive for peasant farmers to afford. This is why the local government administration must come in to assist farmers to get the farming equipment they need,” the farmers said.
They also urged the government at all levels to tackle insecurity in rural communities, noting that criminal gangs have made farmlands and bushes their hideouts.
“Our safety is no longer guaranteed when we go to the farm, the issue of insecurity should be looked into with all sense of seriousness. Fear has made a lot of farmers stay at home. Government needs to act fast,” they said.
