ADOPTING TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN SMALL-SCALE FARMING FOR FOOD SECURITY IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

Abstract

Technology is embraced by virtually every field today ranging from healthcare, education, manufacturing among others. The need to make use of available technology in Agriculture by the small-scale farming populace is still at its infancy. Subsistence farmers account for over 75% food production in Africa and the rate of population increase is such that if care is not taken, there might be food security issues. The introduction of technology at every stage of subsistence agriculture becomes inevitable (from plowing, planting, harvesting, preservation, production, and packaging in the industry) to ensure maximum food production, surplus and affordability by every citizen in Africa. This paper harvested the issues being faced by small-scale farmers within South-west, Nigeria in embracing technology enabled farming, the requirements, and ways the available technology could be utilized to improve farming practices. Farmers were visited in their respective farms to understudy their challenges in farming and food production. Questionnaires were distributed among 120 subsistence farmers cut across three states in the south-west, Nigeria. The results from this study show that the old and traditional implements require hard labour and many manhours which drives away youth from participating, thus leading to low production. The proposed technology enabled farming if implemented will result in higher yield with lesser man-hours. With the right support and enabling environment from the government, the present farming system can be scaled higher, and that the technology adoption will attract more youth to farming and food security will be ascertained.