Agricultural Technology: Type, Effect and Constraints on Food Production: A Case of Nigeria Agriculture

Abstract

A review of agricultural technology: types, effect and constraints to food production, a case of Nigeria agriculture was carried out. Technology is composed of material objects, scientific knowledge and methodological processes utilized to transform them for individual and social needs. Agricultural technology includes materials and methods by which land is cultivated and crops are harvested and also the way livestock is cared for. They include biotechnology, fertilizers, pesticides, medicines, water Management/Irrigation and chemicals. Agricultural technologies will become even more important as the Nigeria's population rises and declining state of factor inputs. The focus must therefore be on how to produce more food, with agricultural technologies while conserving the factor resources, because of rising concerns that agricultural growth will not be able to keep up with population growth. Several factors have been shown as constraints to the use of agricultural technology for production by small scale farmers, agricultural engineering. Agricultural technology has been seen to have both negative and positive effects on agricultural production. It has improved food production and preservative methods, as well as enables farmers to cultivate surplus food and preserve enough against times of scarcity. This has been achieved through the provision of farm equipment such as tractors, harvesters and chemicals. The negative effects are some areas of risk-assessment considered with our present biotechnology: the potential for genes moving from genetically engineered crops into wild plants; pests eventually developing resistance to pest-resistant crops; introducing allergy-causing compounds or changing the nutritional composition in foods. Among the constraints to use of technology in Nigeria are: high cost of agricultural inputs and services, high risk of uncertainty in agriculture, non-existence/inadequate farmers' co-operative organization, lack of political consensus to commitment and policies by government, poor government commitment to implementation of policies in agriculture and general reluctance on part of the farmers to pay for technology. The study recommended enhanced provision of rural credit to accelerate the use of agricultural technology, government should make available agricultural technologies for the farmers, awareness about the existence of agricultural technologies should be created, cost of the agricultural technologies should be subsidized and access roads should be provided by government for easy movement of agricultural technology implements and extension workers.