The use of Information and Communication Technology, ICT, in the agricultural business is gaining momentum in Nigeria with many farmers becoming aware of its importance, consequently creating an enabling situation to maximise the advantages accruing from the scheme. But this is not just happening. There are challenges and success accounts that are aiding the accomplishments to be attained.
The enlightened farmers and lovers of agriculture are doing everything within their ambit to create awareness for the unaware to be aware about the importance of ICT as it relates to agriculture. They are using the media – television, radio, newspapers, social media and town-criers to sensitise people. Unlike before when there was no or poor access to ICT facilities in the country, the case is different today.
Many households are able to purchase electricity generating sets in the event that there is no electricity supply from the authorities to power their ICT gargets. Poles-apart before 1999, when telephony company was not discentralised and few financially rich people were exposed to using telephone, over 70 percent of Nigerians now own handsets to do their businesses. Even in the recent past, there was a promise by the authorities to provide local farmers with over ten thousand handsets to assist them in communication, which number of handsets is going to be improved later.
Impact:
Otherwise known as E-Agriculture, its emergence is boosting the level of production and sells in the agricultural and rural development across the country. The perception by farmers on how to aim, enlarge, estimate and function are somewhat made easy. The disparity between farmers in the rural and urban areas is insignificant. They are now operating on the same level in innovation, dissemination of information about their produce. The understanding of this rather new phenomenon in Nigeria is evolving in scope and many people understand the area and are growing as it is growing.
What used to be specialties of those who formally majored in education in the area of agriculture are being simplified through ICT. Inter alia, it can only take a farmer to surf the Internet and acquire the knowledge that he or she wants to acquire: Be it on crop growing, irrigation/water management, applying fertilizer to the soil, control of pest, casing of crops, how to harvest farm produce, transporting post-harvest and handling, transportation of food products, crop storage and safety, marketing and amongst others. All these are being made easy to farmers by ICT.
Over-again, ICT is making farmers to run their endeavours at a very low cost and they are being exposed to their counterparts across the globe. Through videoing, drawing, photographing, process descriptions, and other information in digital arrangements, those in the business of farming in the country are able of linking up with other farmers from around the world. ICT is helping farmers to create any document they want to showcase to the world without error. They are able to transfer money through ICT gargets devoid of high risk of criminal activities in the streets. The money or document transferred gets to its recipient with an equal speed of air. Today, some persons who are educated on how to use and apply ICT in the agricultural sector did not have to be formally educated persons.
Capacity building:
ICT is building confidence in the agricultural sector. Participation of individuals and groups are on the augment. ICT is building ability across the country. Agriculture is being made to be in the public glare, different from the days of yore when one has to go inside the bush to identify with the types of crop specie that were being sought after. In its aptitude, ICT is creating employment opportunities for all and sundry both in the administrative and technical department without significant notice in the exodus of people from one district to another, where they are looking for a maximised environment to practise agriculture.
In their wisdom, farmers are having prospective price astuteness to sell their produce with the aid of the acumen derived from ICT. They are also capable of taking decision with stakeholders across the sphere. The skill for farmers to forecast what to plant and what not to plant in any season, is no longer farfetched. With the knack of ICT to dictate weather condition, farmers are taking appropriate intelligence on the method they could use to fight flooding and other menaces that are occasioned by climate change.
Enabling environment:
Tariffs for ICT are being slashed. The country is not ignoring this change representative. Many foreign goods are being consigned as contraband, therefore creating facilitating environment for farmers. ICT practice in the country is not being attended with isolation or with any gender bias. Anybody can use ICT in any positions – be it leading or led.
The authorities are really making serious investment on ICT road-and-rail-networks and making ICT amenities readily obtainable to the agricultural sector without or less sweat. And with the Land Act Decree of 1978 (which amongst other items in it) states that the government owns the land, telecoms masts are being erected at strategically important locations to enhance ICT familiarisation across the country. The cost of internet connectivity is being subsidised. ICT is permitting young people to engage in agriculture. They are no longer seeing it as a business or practice for the aged, which was what agriculture used to be in this clime.
Many are taking the opportunities created by ICT to engage themselves; thereby pulling out from streets as loafers. This phenomenon is holding sway with many using it enthusiastically and upgrading in new manufactured technologies as they are manufactured. It has become a valuable engagement with people wanting to improve in their area of specialty of agriculture. It is enabling the rural communities to develop and boost their sense-of-worth, keeping them thinking and compelling them to seeing better future than what obtains in their immediate environment.
Sustainability:
To keep the success story of ICT in the country effective, there should however be unequivocal support from the authorities to farmers; and ICT should be welcomed as a remedy for furthering agricultural assembly in copious ways. Innovative practices have to be upheld without hindrances to enable farmers have the continuous access to policies of the authorities without having a biased frame of mind. Volunteer-groups sensitising and forcing the interest of farmers on the need for ICT consumption should not be in dearth. Changing of technology should be ubiquitous as it is obtainable in the developed world. More websites have to be created for veritable use to stimulate people with any on-ground information. Adequate capital has to be formulated through loan facilities to enable farmers meet up with their needs of ICT.
The role of ICT in maximising agriculture is gargantuan. Power supply has to be improved to enable ICT lift farmers in the country to the peak where they belong. This has worked very well in the so-called developed world. ICT lifted that world from being underdeveloped to the undeviating developed world that it has become today. Every aspect of ICT has to be made available to farmers at their door steps, just as the authorities are subsidising the cost of internet connectivity.
ICT should be made a mandatory course of study at the tertiary level. Intensive mentoring and crusade concerning ICT should be fad. There should be no barrier on this matter between the elite and the masses. The elite should assist the masses to leap off from economic conundrum. E-mail hackers and SMS message trackers have to be discouraged by instituting their anti-squad. Since the youths are vulnerable to succeed, they should be highly encouraged to exploit E-Agriculture, for the country to maximise the benefits of ICTs in the agricultural sector.