The Agricultural narrative in an African setting

I had to put a long thought in my first post after my long absence, deciding on a topic to discuss and I finally chose to address the issue of Agriculture and its developing cycle in African countries. It is my hope that this article will not impress you but rather impress upon you as you read along word after word. Lets jump straight into the topic, why is agriculture in Africa still where it is today? 

For a very long while, there has been less informed and calculated approaches when it comes to Africa's agricultural terrain, a problem which has developed into a system of recurring events in our modern conventional dialogues. Hitherto there has always been the age old problems of bad roads, post harvest-handling losses, lack of market linkages/access, lack of mechanization, dependence on rainfall farming, zero agro-insurance covers, lack of industries to process raw materials, and many others. Obviously these old challenges facing the sector has to be addressed, and the need to be very much analytical with the modernization of the old cash cow. It is not too far from home thus, to imagine or see the resulting stigma of engaging in agriculture as a source of livelihood when the subject is brought up in our modern conversations. Typically the response one will receive is "Who does agriculture?" "Why waste my time to gain nothing from hard work with little to no profit?" Africans have been programmed to see a lasting negative in their engagement with agriculture, because of its long exposure with the rural poor. It is therefore not surprising this old narrative has evolved from a blanket statement of a "cultural specific" (I use cultural specific here to emphasize agriculture in the African perspective as a way of life and not as a business) into the general rule. 

The argument is not far from the hard truth, which steers clear to the fact that primary producers of agricultural raw materials are amongst the worlds most poverty stricken below the pyramid of wealth creation. Which is why it isn't surprising to know the closest cocoa tree to Switzerland is thousands of kilometers away from its borders, and yet is the highest profiting country in cocoa, why should this be the case? Usually the question is: How can agriculture pay? The narrative formed over the years is that rural folks in abject poverty with no alternative means of livelihood due to lack of education, are those who engage in the sector. This fact has impressed upon and continue to have such strong impression on the African youth simply because there is little to no success stories to serve as motivations for potential entrants. "The wealth of Africa is not its diamonds, gold, oil etc etc, but it’s people particularly the youth. We must invest in them" -Reginald Mengi. 

The emphasises with the emergence of global citizenship has seen technology and the other sectors having major breakthroughs and progress, yet agriculture continues to experience little to zero progress. To have had someone pave the way for you is the most blessed thing you can ever hope for, sadly that can't be said for Africa's agriculture. It is not deliberate , it is a culture, and we need to create a different one altogether for the younger generation. It should not be forced, but nurtured to grow and take form on its own, carefully being directed, guiding it towards a social construct. Its called growth and development for a reason, and it goes hand in hand with innovation and consistency. If you don't support emerging creativity or innovations you simply just keep repeating history. Africa has leap-frogged to the info-tech stage which is actually a good thing, in order to catch up with the rest of the world. But whereas the focus is to catch up with the world, we have failed to prioritize the one basic need of man, that which we all survive on: Food, with a resulting consequence of food scarcity in divers areas of its regions. 

One would assume that with her vast rich farm lands across her terrain, Africa should not be lacking in food commodities but the reverse is the truth. In Ghana for instance I have observed a worrying trend; Turks in the north, Indians in the Afram plains, Germans in the Volta, the Chinese buying from those willing to sell purposely for galamsey/timber, Nigerians taking over major commercial centers in the Capital city of Accra. Lands, resources, food security and markets are being taken over by foreigners and yet the youth don't even realise what's happening around them. One will say globalisation is the word, for sure, but the problem is that young Ghanaians are not capitalising on the opportunities all around them, they rather buy into the fantasy of a social media dynamism where they would rather spend their time. People basically don't realize they are spending time just as they spend money, and it will be a grave injustice on Africa to wake up one day and realise her indigenous food, crops and way of life is no more, with foreign tastes now adorning her dinner tables. "The biggest capital for most foreign investors in Africa is our ignorance." -Reginald Mengi 

 As said by Margaret MacMillan, It was with agriculture that human beings began to get complex. We should be less likely to settle or short change our freedom for our complexity. A lot of the youth keep compromising daily, and only a few are daring to get complex with agriculture with some very promising African AgTech startups coming up. To name a few are CowTribe, Agrocenta, Agroinnova, Esoko, Agrikua, Farmcrowdy, iCow, sokopepe, Farmdrive, and many others. Its a natural way of human beings, no doubt. Only few dare to cause a change to benefit the greater human history, yet this has been skewed with less focus on agriculture. But the evolution of human society should always be looked at through agriculture. Why did, why is? These daring questions on the status quo is what define us as being humans. So think about this, in Africa, is technology taking us over, or are we as a people in Africa taking technology over into the future?? From the day human beings rubbed two stones together to make fire, technology has become an unstoppable phenomena. 

To pen this to a closure I will leave you with this parting gift. Do you want to venture into farming? Do you want to engage in commercial farming as a business? Being organized is where all complexities start. If you are thinking of starting an Agribusiness venture in the agriculture value chain? You will be surprised how much you can make if only you are willing to invest your time to get it right. Agriculture is measurable and with a good consultant can be projected with a gross margin profit much beneficial than most salary paying jobs. With the best production guides, management and business plans, you will see higher returns in less than 3 months. Should you have plans to venture into the terrain and need help strategizing then contact #HouseofFarms in Ghana on house.farmsgh@gmail.com, they provide the best consultants to work on your area of need in agribusiness value chain. But in the mean time, here is a to-do, and it is my prayer that as you organize your thoughts around this article, neurons will collide to birth new innovations for the development of agriculture for the progress of Africa. 

 1. Study market trends 

2. Decide on a 1 or 2 vegetable/crop supply portfolio 

3. Get your farming logistics right (Land, water source) 

4. Set up a nursery/get quality seedlings with aid from an Agronomist 

5. Do intensive land preparation 

6. If you have manure, apply (recommend organic*) 

7. Get a sustainable irrigation system 

8. Transplant (Have a 2 week transplanting schedule -recommended*) 

9. Get a spray program from an experienced Agronomist (still organic) 

10. Now chill but "Dont be an Absentee Farmer" 

11. Check 10. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.