Prime
Why farmers should not work in isolation
Michael Ssali
What you need to know:
- Farming is the art and science of growing crops and rearing livestock, fish, and insects.
No farmer should work in isolation. Farming is an occupation with so many challenges that it is hard to overcome all of them without the support of other people.
That support may not necessarily be physical or financial, much as it may be quite helpful, but the support could be in form of ideas, new knowledge, or advice.
The farmer is always battling weeds, pests, parasites, soil depletion, rodents, and thieves among other issues. Farming is the art and science of growing crops and rearing livestock, fish, and insects. It is not just about food production for the household, but it is also an income generating activity.
It is increasingly becoming knowledge based as farmers try their best to make their businesses competitive, sustainable, and profitable. Farming is widely viewed as a tool for mitigating food insecurity and poverty.
The farmers must therefore interest themselves in acquiring new knowledge regarding their work especially in this era when almost everything is driven by science, technology, and innovation.
It is the reason they must visit agricultural exhibitions to learn about what other farmers are doing and how they are doing it ---- to see new machinery and to acquaint themselves with whatever new technologies and innovations usually exhibited in agricultural shows.
Farmers should also form farmer groups, especially when they are engaged in production of the same commodity. The onset of Climate Change has introduced new challenges which farmers should join hands to overcome.
They can pool resources to hold seminars in their local communities and share ideas about what they can do about problems such as water shortage, fodder shortage, pest infestation, and low market prices.
In their groups they can share ideas about recently introduced crop varieties and animal breeds. They can arrange trips to agricultural research stations in their regions to learn about the attributes of new crop varieties like resistance to pests and disease, higher yields, adoption or resilience to drought conditions, and increased nutrient densities. They can also learn about livestock keeping and ultimately increase milk and meat production on their individual farms. Farmers’ groups can be a very good avenue to hold discussions on good post-harvest practices. They are a good incentive for collective marketing of farmed products. Some farmers’ groups also regularly hold visits to fellow members’ farms to appreciate their work and to point out whatever they don’t do right.
Mr Michael Ssali is a veteran journalist,
