Agric Mechanisation - Disturbing Delay

Rudimentary agriculture has over lived its usefulness. True, many of our top ranking personalities owe credence to it for having served as a powerful avenue in financing their education. The evolution of things including galloping population with its many mouths to feed and the fact that agriculture has become an important source of income and economic booster, have ushered in the need to readjust issues and step up production.

This line of reasoning threaded through the speeches and encouragements from the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development during the launching of the 2013 Agricultural season. The Head of State underscored the importance of enhancing what he referred to as "New Generation" agriculture as an unavoidable panacea to increasing production and putting an end to rampant importation. In effect, only 26 per cent of the 7.2 million hectares of potential agricultural has so far been put to use. This poor performance has made Cameroon which ought to be the bread basket for the Central African sub region, to remain a permanent importer of food crop. This has been quite disturbing indeed.

One of the channels through which a lasting solution could come remains the elaborate use of machines. The opening of a tractor assembly factory in Ebolowa falls in line with this new policy. A year ago, several of such tractors were shared to farmers after they had received crash course training on how to use them in order to increase output. Unfortunately, the results remain highly mitigated. Apart from well known agro-industries like the Upper Nun Valley Development Authority, (UNVDA), whose General Manager, Chin Richard Wirnkar, admits the tractors have brought in a new lease of life in his department, some groups are yet to feel the impact. The situation seems even more complicated with the seed multiplication farmer group in Kumba whose authorities say they haven't been able to receive any of the machines.

Mechanised farming, in effect, entails use of improved farm implements and machinery used for different farm operations to increase productivity of land and labour through timeliness of operations, efficient use of inputs, and improvement in duality of produce, safety and comfort of farmers. Its application results in reduction in loss of produce and drudgery of farmer. In order words, farm mechanisation is for increasing production and productivity, comfort and safety as well as return and profitability to farmer by through timeliness of operation, saving in labour requirement, increase in land productivity/cropping intensity and reduction in human drudgery. Saved labour due to mechanisation can be used for processing of agricultural produces, marketing of fresh and processed products, manufacturing and sale of improved tools and implements and other allied activities.

From every indication, mechanised farming requires more than just acquiring machines and sharing to farmers. It entails a whole gamut of activities some of which were enumerated by the Head of State in his keynote speech in Ebolowa. These includeincrease and regular supply of inputs such as fertilizers and chemicals, improved seed farms, training of farmers on new techniques, land reforms, etc. These are therefore some of the challenges that must be embraced including financial and technical support if Cameroon's lofty goal of mechanised farming has to see the light of day.