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How the South-South Agro Expo is Keeping Farmers in the Business of Feeding the Nation
By Chukwudi Agbom
Agriculture is the most important sector of every economy. It ensures that meals are available on the plates of every citizen. Aside providing food, it also provides raw materials, used for the production of goods in several industries.
Farming is the largest aspect of agriculture and requires a lot of investments. Without good farming equipment farmers suffer and are frustrated because of low productivity. It is a known fact any nation that can’t cultivate enough food for her citizens is in big trouble. Today the costs of staples like garri and rice are on the rise. By 2030 food demands in Nigeria are expected to swell by 70% due to increase in population.
Secondly, farmers face the problem of storing their farm produce. Lack of storage facilities results in wastage. It's therefore very necessary that the government must provide adequate storage facilities for farmers so we can have enough food in our market.
The reasons for apathy towards farming is the drudgery associated with agriculture, limited access as to finance, unfavorable business environment, and lack of basic social amenities in rural areas where agricultural lands are surplus. When these things are not available people migrate to cities where they believe the can get better deals and the farms are abandoned.
No country can survive without farmers. In many ways, investing in agricultural can be a strong and fruitful venture. Farmland in itself is a useful, tangible thing and agriculture yields physical results that can be directly correlated to the success of the nation and where it’s heading in the future. By investing in a farm, you are investing in the success of a community and securing a piece of land that will appreciate year after year.
Investments in agriculture will ensure that farmers return to farms. Investments will help shift farmers from subsistence to market-led agricultural sector which means that for the country to achieve this goal there should be a lot done in order to make the produce from Nigeria compete favourably on the international market.
To achieve this a lot of strategies have to be put in place to ensure that this dream is fulfilled among which are cases of reducing post-harvest losses, value addition to agricultural products and improved means of irrigation, agricultural insurance among others.
Impressively the South-South AgroExpo is breaking grounds and leading the way in the aspect of creating a conducive atmosphere for farmers, manufacturers and investors to meet collaborate and network. At last edition of the expo exhibitors like Bountiful harvest services showcased well packaged cassava products, Child Foods presented baby food products that could compete favourably in the international market and communities showed bountifully untapped sea foods that could bring in favourable economic gains for the region .
Held at Ibom Hall Grounds in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State the exhibition will run from November 11th-16th, 2019. The number of exhibitor is estimated to have surpassed 100 from 11 states and other countries from all over the world. Interested participants can visit www.southsouthagroexpo.com or call Ntiense - +2348027782770.