Improving the Development of Small-scale Farming In Sub-Saharan Africa

Human beings can live without having foot wears and clothes, they can navigate life without computers, and move without cars but human beings cannot live without food. This is how important farming is to the human race.

Farming is known to be one of the most dignified forms of employment, with it's role as a food supplier.

Agriculture and farming hold great promise for the African continent as more than half of the Earth's arable land which is roughly 600 million hectares is located in Africa.

While other parts of the world are reaching the limits to the amount they grow per hectare of land, Africa can still substantially increase yields with currently available technology

Yet, with all this natural endowment, Africa is a net importer of food. Despite an abundance of uncultivated farmland, African countries in the region spend about US $35 billion importing food instead of creating the conditions to grow more food locally

A lack of political will, supportive agricultural policies, and investment, coupled with a focus on short-term development solutions, have left large tracts of agricultural land underutilized, small scale farmers poor and food insecurity on the rise in some places.

Small-Scale Farming

In Africa, there are an estimated 33 million smallscale farms, and the farmers that live on them contribute up to 70 per cent of the food supply

With greater investment in small-scale agriculture, many African countries have the potential to increase food production and reduce poverty.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, we could see it has a quarter of the world's arable land but only produces 10 per cent of its agricultural output.

Economic growth from Agriculture is eleven times more effective at reducing extreme poverty than any other sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In the Sub-Saharan region, bringing small-scale farming into the 21st century and dealing with rural poverty remains massive hurdles.

In this region, small-scale farmers are known to produce the greater proportion of food consumed in the developing countries..

The various national and international agricultural research centres located in these parts of the world have developed agricultural packages which have been proven, at experimental levels, to be highly productive.

However, small-scale farmers in these areas continue to produce at levels far below the capacities of these packages as predicted from experimental results. Consequently, these farmers, despite their relatively large numbers, could not produce enough to feed themselves let alone the general population.

In order to improve the development of small scale farming in the Sub-Saharan African region, here are some of the measures to put into consideration.

Study Responsible Factors

There is a need to study the various factors responsible for low agriculture production of smallscale farmers at the household level.

Studying these factors could lead to relevant national and international policies with respect to small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan region.

Such factors could include factors as to why the produces spoil so fast and reasons for low patronage among others.

Provide Better Farming Inputs

For this region to enjoy agriculture to its fullest, small scale farmers need better farming tools like improved seeds, fertilizers, animal feeds, Medication irrigation and mechanization services.

Again, modern technology such as the use of soil microbiome, which does not require nitrogen fertilizer application in crops like maize, wheat, and rice as well as grass pasture, should be adopted.

Adopt the Farmers Field School Concepts

This concept was advocated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO in 2018.

This system allows a group of farmers to be trained, and in turn, these farmers return to their different communities to train other farmers on what they have been taught. With this, small-scale farming could reach massive development faster

Training and retraining in any field are faster ways of getting quick and positive results, even if governments or other bodies cannot train every small scale farmers, the FAO concept could go a long way if

In Africa, there are an estimated 33 million smallscale farms, and the farmers that live on them contribute up to 70 per cent of the food supply adopted in this region.

Assisting Small Scale Farmers

Assisting small scale farmers in the Sub-Saharan region so that they would be able to produce food all year round is a great push for improving small scale farming in the region and in the African continent general.

For instance, in communities where there are water bodies, they could assist the small-scale farmers in facilitating the provision of irrigation services. These services might not necessarily be free, the button line is that the small scale farmers have access to these and with it, they can do more in food production.

In the same vein, mechanization services should also be made available to small scale farmers as this would enable them produce more food for the continent.

Availability of Loans and Grants

Most small-scale farmers do not have the necessary tools and facilities to work with. These sets of farmers should be given access to loans with a flexible and convenient re-payment method.

Provision of affordable loans and credit facilities would also help small scale farmers to purchase the needed farming inputs. With this, small scale farmers would be able to expand the hectares of land cultivated.

Most of the farmers in cooperative societies and associations can be provided with money to purchase agricultural machinery for a group of farmers in a community, so that these services can be offered to them as and when needed at a reduced fee.

These loans or grants would also help them in purchasing modern farm techniques

Resource Research and Extension Systems

These research systems need adequate resources so that they continue to make high-yielding, drought or flood- resistant and disease resistant varieties.

Joint research and planning meetings between research and extension workers on one side and farmers on the other is necessary. With this, farmers problems can be made known and addressed through research.

Many communities in Africa have practiced the research and extension system and it yielded great result for the communities. For instance, in Ethiopia, their agricultural extension system is worthy of emulating, where to every farming village, three extension workers for crops, soils and livestock are posted. Since Ethiopia introduced this approach, the agricultural sector has consistently produced superior results

With the research systems working adequately, many setbacks concerning small scale farming in the sub-Saharan region could be handled and solutions given.

Availability of Treatment and Storage Facilities

In the Sub-Saharan region of Africa, farmers face a lot of post- harvest losses and majority of these losses are from small scale farmers who have limited or no proper treatment and storage facilities for their farm produce.

They can be taught simple and economical ways on how to store their farm produce like the use of the local made cribs. If these loses are curtailed, small- scale farmers would not only save more money but they would also be able to push more farm produce to the markets.

Establish Agri-business

Making it possible for small-scale farmers to venture into agribusiness is another way of building entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector

Focusing on this area would be a plus and an added advantage in growing the African economy

In conclusion, the agriculture sector in the subSaharan region of Africa especially the small-scale farmers need to be given attention so that food production can be intensified.

There is no doubt that small-scale farmers have an important role to play in the development of the African Economy

They are also seen as food providers, livelihoods creator and a source of foreign currency earnings for Africa.

Therefore, if the suggestions in this article are followed, then small-scale farmers should be able to take advantage of the vast opportunities that exist to change the fortune of Sub-Saharan Africa region and the continent at large .