Farmers: The unsung heroes of our society
The need to eat is the most basic and fundamental of all human needs. In turn, economic prosperity is contingent on the health of the local community. Sub-Saharan Africa's agricultural sector, which employs at least 40% of the region's workforce, provides the economic basis for the food we eat daily. Across Africa, smallholder farmers constitute the backbone of our agrarian economy. To develop less than one hectare of land, many men and women work tirelessly. Several grains and root crops are grown for human and livestock consumption.
This year's National Farmers Day was celebrated with a national Agricultural Fair under the theme: "Accelerating Agricultural Development Through Value Addition" in honour of the occasion from Tuesday, November 29, to Friday, December 2, 2022.
Famous athletes, musicians, actors, actresses, models, and even scientists occasionally come to mind when asked to name some heroes. What about farmers? We think of them as an afterthought, if at all! Honestly, I'm curious as to whether or not you have any prior experience working with farmers or farms. To be honest, we don't give much thought to where our staple foods and beverages come from. While most of us would like not to have to, there would be no groceries in the stores or food on our dinner tables if it weren't for the quiet, hardworking farmers in the background, usually in remote areas of our country.
Over the years, farmers have faced numerous obstacles, many of which have been brought about by the unpredictable nature of the global climate. As our population grows, it will become more challenging to meet everyone's needs. Organic commodities are more expensive than conventional ones because farmers have a difficult time producing bountiful harvests without fertilisers and other chemical inputs because it is becoming more complicated to produce on similar pieces of land for the same yield as a decade ago. This is a contributing factor to the higher cost of organic produce.
Farmers in our country face a challenging environment due to factors such as consumers' constantly fluctuating preferences, a constant need for more food, and the high cost of investing in cutting-edge farming technology. Our farmers face two major challenges: a lack of government assistance and funding, and unpredictable outbreaks of novel diseases and pests. Droughts, floods, and bushfires can easily wipe out a crop farm, leaving farmers destitute and unable to feed their families.
So, let's ask ourselves: do we ever pause to consider the work that goes into growing the food we enjoy so much? Do we ever pause to think about who produced our food? Is it really any of our business if these pivotal farmers are happy with the money they receive for their produce? If fresh produce was less expensive, it would benefit us all. These are questions meant to make us pause and reflect so that we may better show our gratitude to smallholder farmers who work so hard all year round to make sure there is enough food for everyone in our communities.
A terrifying feeling, hunger is shared by all who have experienced it. Think for a second about wanting to buy a specific fruit or vegetable but being unable to because it is out of stock everywhere. Just how would you feel? People of various economic backgrounds lined up to buy food in 1983 when rains failed in Ghana, causing bushfires to rip through the country and reducing crop harvests.
No one should merely sit around and hope that nothing like this ever happens again, either in their own communities or anyplace else in the world. Let's work together and offer as much support as possible if we want to get more young people interested in farming. Additional sustainable funding and programmes, and strategic innovations are needed to fight soil depletion. To increase food production and distribution around the world, it is imperative that governments and agricultural industry stakeholders take the initiative and champion the cause of putting idle land to productive use.
The world's population is growing at an alarming rate, and food is becoming increasingly scarce. Despite this, Africa and Ghana have vast amounts of arable land that could be put to use by modern farming innovations like vertical, aquaponics and greenhouse farming, which should be encouraged to the fullest extent possible. We need to act quickly to safeguard our water bodies from the ‘ganged galamsey raid’, and we must take education about climate change implications extremely seriously. Let's give our farmers a helping hand by giving them access to more credible, sustainable, affordable credits and resources to produce crops, fish, and livestock.
Farmers in Africa play a crucial part in our economies, yet they nevertheless confront significant challenges. Due to their meagre resources, these farmers are particularly vulnerable to the adverse consequences of climate change and shocks like droughts, floods, pests, and diseases. Worse, they work in an area that receives an unfair share of funding. According to the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), just 4 of 49 African countries meet the required threshold of 10% public investment in agriculture.
Starting with constant access to development-generating knowledge that smallholder farmers can immediately benefit from, and extending to input and output markets to ensure efficient interaction across the sector, the infrastructure and management services of the entire sector's value chain need to be retooled immediately to ensure fundamental, paradigm shift. Thus, the agricultural sector would benefit from increased income, accelerated growth, secure access to affordable and nutritious food, and heightened economic participation. Our food and economic security can be improved with the support of a digital ag-ecosystem.
Due to their role in providing us with food and other necessities, farmers deserve our enduring appreciation. It is about time that we as a nation and race did more to appreciate and cherish the crucial part farmers play in guaranteeing the continuation, growth, and extension of the human species.
We wish all farmers and agribusiness stakeholders across Ghana a happy Farmers' Day! For your agribusiness advisory needs, don't hesitate to reach out to us via info@researchdesk.consuting.
By Kojo Ahiakpa, Director of Policy and Research, Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG)