Mechanization for Rural Development: A Review of Farm mechanization in Borno State

Abstract

Agriculture is known to be the predominant economic engagement of the majority of the people in Borno State providing livelihoods for over 80% of the population. Integrate agricultural mechanization into agricultural value chains to improve adoption and adaptation. The current focus on the development of agricultural value chains offers real opportunities for accelerating agricultural mechanization. Evaluation of tractor maintenance and Servicing culture in Borno, stated by Washara et.al. (2023) concluded that the major constraint with machinery and mechanization in the state is the poor access of farmers to mechanization. This is as a result of the high cost of mechanization inputs, the low purchasing power of the majority of farmers to acquire them, and the poor access to loans by farmers. To achieve this goal, it is now widely recognized in the region that agriculture should be promoted as a business and not just for subsistence. This calls for the development of medium to large-scale farmers who will need a lot of agricultural engineering technologies to improve their effectiveness and be profitable. In order to enhance agricultural mechanization in Borno State and Nigeria in particular, the way forward is that the government should intervene to counteract the conflicting issues of high prices, low demand, low supply, and high prices. For this to happen, demand must be encouraged through the concealment of professional medium to large-scale farmers. The elaboration of an agricultural mechanization strategic {AMS} would provide an opportunity to identify the various factors that result in the high cost of agricultural machinery in the country. This will then be followed by providing incentives to stimulate demand for agricultural machinery as well as local production.

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