Stakeholders in the agricultural sector have called on the government at all levels to prioritize the mechanization of agriculture, highlighting it as a critical solution to the ongoing food crisis in Nigeria.
This appeal was made during a one-day seminar on Women for Food Security in Abuja, themed “Sustainability and Development in Empowering Women for Food Security.”
Sunish Shah, the Executive Director of Captain Agri Machinery EXIM LLP, emphasized the importance of mechanization in achieving higher productivity in agriculture. “If you want to have productivity, you need to mechanize agriculture. It is very simple logic,” Shah stated.
He noted that in Africa, many farmers do not follow proper crop farming practices and rely heavily on manual labor, resulting in low productivity and the use of less fertile lands.
Patricia Stan-Dioka, Chief Executive Officer of Mela Chiyoma Pat Limited, highlighted the crucial role women play in agricultural value chain development, warning that excluding women from the sector would have dire consequences.
“With women, we can achieve a lot in our country. When I see how women are leading in India, I believe we can do the same here. I have lived in India and understand their terrain,” Stan-Dioka said.
She further explained that her inspiration stemmed from the hard work women put in without receiving much in return, and her belief in their potential to drive significant change in Nigeria.
Stan-Dioka, who has a background in agricultural engineering and food security, stressed the urgent need for action to boost food production and eradicate poverty.
“Our aim is to use what we have to get what we want, which is using agriculture to boost our economy and create a healthy environment. This is why I am so eager to reclaim our mandate of becoming the giant of Africa,” she added.
Muhammad Sani Garba, Executive Chairman of Business Visas and Training Limited, urged Nigeria to learn from India’s advancements in agricultural mechanization to improve the sector locally.
“In Nigeria, smallholder farmers are predominantly women. If we empower women, we can also engage the youth, leading to widespread success,” Garba concluded.